Some reflections on teaching Portuguese

(Revisiting the past in Palavras)

Abstract

After a period of relegation, the issue of grammar teaching is back on the agenda. This is undoubtedly the area most strongly reflected in teachers' growing awareness of linguistics and, therefore, in our obligation to intervene as linguists. It is important, however, to declare from the outset our conviction that linguistics' contribution to mother tongue teaching far transcends the limited scope to which it tends to be confined. There are other aspects to consider in this contribution that we consider much more fundamental and to which we have already referred elsewhere.