[Pedagogical Practices in German Language Teaching: Positive Affects]

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze the pedagogical practices used by German-speaking educators, from different states of Brazil, in the light of Vigotski's (2009 [1934]; 2018 [1926]) and Wallon’s (1978 [1942]; 2010 [1941]) insights. The practices were analyzed taking into account the interactions between the subjects (students) and different sociocultural objects of knowledge (school areas and contents) within the context of globalization. The German educators’ practices were evaluated considering both elements that positively affect the student interest in the German language, and elements that could adversely affect the learning process. A questionnaire with 11 closed questions was elaborated to assess the correlation between the pedagogic practices and the possibilities of positively affecting the students and motivate them to learn German language. We concluded that the group of 85 educators who answered the questionnaire developed pedagogical practices that positively affect their students and were thus more likely to achieve successful results. The study highlights the importance of using sociocultural themes in the pedagogical practice as a crucial factor of second language learning.

Keywords:
affectivity; emotion; education; Germany as foreign language; learning