Monoglossia and polysemy contained: the regulation of meaning in pedagogical discourse

• Main Author: Gabriel Dvoskin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidad del Valle 2021-01-01
• Series: Lenguaje
• Subjects: pedagogical discourse; dialogism; polyphony; discursive scene
• Online Access: https://revistalenguaje.univalle.edu.co/index.php/lenguaje/article/view/8797/13187

The aim of this article is to analyze the contribution of the instructional materials used to teach the subject Language and Literature for the secondary school of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires to the critical training of students (as mandated by the National Law of Education since 2006). We adopt a dialogic and polyphonic perspective on the use of language and analyze the textbook delivered by the Ministry of Education in 2018. The analysis shows that the selected textbook presents language disconnected from its social context of use, so that it becomes an object independent from the speaker. On the other hand, there is a hierarchical relationship between the speaker-specialist and his interlocutor-student based on knowledge thereby reproducing an education model based on the transmission of information. As a consequence, the textbook prevents controversy, avoids discussion and inhibits student’s criticality.