Mobile technologies and Brazilian Portuguese teaching for foreigners

The multiplicity of resources offered by the Internet, expanding mobile services, led to the emergence of mobile learning. Through this strategy, applications installed on mobile devices use digital information and communication technologies to promote language teaching-learning. In order to understand how this process occurs, this study analyzes three apps aimed at teaching Portuguese as a second language: Duolingo, Babbel and Busuu. Based on studies of gamification and language learning by computer, apps are classified according to four paradigms, based on the highlight (i) language approaches; (ii) the content presented, such as reading, text production, vocabulary, grammatical topics, oral tasks and pronunciation; and (iii) the use of images to represent vocabulary and daily situations. Data analysis allowed us to understand that, although a behaviorist structure predominates, working the language in a fragmented way, as an object of study and not as a form of communication and social interaction, the three applications present a well-planned system in terms of gamification. It has concluded that these tools do not present themselves as protagonists to the teaching of the Portuguese language to foreigners, but, used as support, contribute to learning.