Paisagem em línguas indígenas para o ensino e fortalecimento da identidade nas escolas indígenas de Oaxaca, México

Abstract

The linguistic landscape in indigenous educational contexts motivates indigenous language teaching processes and strengthens the cultural identity of the wider educational community. In Oaxaca, Mexico, teachers in indigenous education (preschool, kindergarten, and primary) develop different types of linguistic landscapes as bilingual, community, and intercultural pedagogical tools. This paper describes the types of linguistic landscapes produced by indigenous teachers to strengthen their teaching processes in the indigenous language and promote identity in the classrooms of indigenous schools in this state. A qualitative approach is used to analyse some images of the linguistic landscape that primary teachers had produced and the characteristics of each case. The results show that three types of landscapes stand out: 1) promoting the learning of school subjects in the indigenous language, 2) developing alphabetic writing in the indigenous language, and 3) strengthening cultural and community knowledge. It concluded that, in Oaxaca, the linguistic landscape as a pedagogical tool in the classrooms of indigenous schools emerges from the contextual needs of the teachers and, thanks to their community pedagogical work, these landscapes are constantly updated and include an infinite variety of signs.