Childhood and its multiple languages

The aim of this book is to analyze the conceptions of language presented by teachers who work in public Early Childhood Education institutions - the first stage of Basic Education. In addition to these conceptions, we analyzed the discourse of these teachers in relation to their pedagogical practices, in terms of the child's exploration and use of languages. For these analyses, we relied on theoretical perspectives recognized as interactionist, which consider language to be a social, historical and cultural product. These include the studies carried out by Vygotsky (1987) and Tomasello (2003). We start from the understanding that language is not restricted only to the child's use of speech, but to all forms of communication and expression that carry meanings, or are made up of signs, such as the language of the body, images, among others (FRANÇOIS, 2006). In this sense, in interactive contexts, in school environments, from Early Childhood Education onwards, a gesture, a drawing, a cry or a look can be considered language.