Paper short abstract:

The study carried out addresses the status of Portuguese language in São Tomé and Príncipe with particular focus on the analysis of the factors involved in the teaching and learning process of Portuguese in school context.

Paper long abstract:

This paper addresses the status of Portuguese language in São Tomé and Príncipe with particular focus on school contexts. Linguistic diversity and complexity is a structural feature of African Portuguese-Speaking Countries. From the interaction of the existing Creoles and the Portuguese language in São Tomé and Príncipe, a variety of Portuguese has emerged and become the mother tongue for the majority of Santomean nationals. Such language, predominantly oral and with substantive variation, has a significant impact in the way students learn Portuguese at school and raises deeper issues such as L1 versus L2 teaching methods. With the aim of identifying features characterizing distinct learning environments, we carried out a comparative study between two different school contexts: one in the capital city, the other in a rural area. It focused on two key dimensions: (i) one external to school, concerning the structural status of the Portuguese language in the country and its different socio-geographical contexts; (ii) the other regarding teaching and learning conditions at school. Within this framework, we have sought to understand the representations students have of Santomean Portuguese vis-à-vis European Portuguese and the implications resulting thereafter in their communicative self-esteem. We have also assessed pedagogical guidelines, human resources and available materials, as well as teachers' practices that characterize the scenario where the Portuguese language teaching and learning process takes place. The research method adopted for this study was based on field research with diversified information collection and analysis techniques, namely direct observation, informal conversations, focus groups and document analysis.