Introduction

Our interest here is in the English language teaching implemented in the 1970s. The option for this period, ruled by the military (1964-1985), occurs especially for two reasons. First, because it is a period of deep political and ideological changes. Second, because it is marked by close international relations between Brazil and the United States of America, such as the agreement between the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which exerted great influences on our educational policies.

To explore the theme of the English language in this period, we will take Colégio Estadual do Paraná (CEP) as the locus, as it is one of the most traditional schools in the state, since its foundation in 1846, being called Licêo de Coritiba, to the present day. Therefore, historically investigating the teaching process developed within it has repercussions on the understanding of a significant part of the Paraná education network.

In CEP, the consolidation of English language teaching, to the detriment of French language teaching, took place in the 1970s, as we could see in previous research (^{Bocca, 2020}). Now, our study of such teaching will focus on textbooks.

According to Alain Choppin (2002), the textbook has been consecrated as a source for historians of education since the 1980s, because, in addition to being a depository of knowledge and skills considered necessary, it conveys an ideology, participating in the process of acculturation. Because of this, “[...] by directing their gaze to the manuals, the historian can observe, in the long term, the appearance and transformations of a scientific notion, the inflections of a pedagogical method or the representations of a social behavior” (Choppin, 2002, p. 15, our translation).

In this sense, we are guided by Cultural History because this theoretical current takes into account several historical objects, such as popular culture, literate culture, representations, discursive and social practices, thus valuing the cultural particularities of the objects analyzed.

Concerning Cultural History, ^{Chartier (2002}, p. 27, our translation) points out that

[...] it must be thought of as the analysis of the work of representation, that is, of the classifications and exclusions that constitute, in their radical difference, the social and conceptual configurations proper to a time or space. The structures of the social world are not an objective datum, just as intellectual and psychological categories are not; they are all historically produced by the articulated practices (political, social, discursive) that build their figures.

Thus, its main objective is to identify how, in different places and times, a certain reality was thought, constructed, and interpreted. In this way, we are conceiving textbooks as important objects to understand aspects inherent to school subjects, such as content, approaches used, and social perspectives, since they are elements “[...] revealing representations and values predominant in a certain period of a society that, simultaneously with the historiography of education and the theory of history, allow us to rediscuss intentions and projects of social construction and formation” (^{Correa, 2000}, p. 12, our translation). Therefore, it is a guiding material for the knowledge to be transmitted, thus selecting and categorizing knowledge.

Therefore, we aim to analyze the English language textbooks used at Colégio Estadual do Paraná in the 1970s, as to their pre-textual and textual elements regarding the methodology and the activities carried out, to problematize the purposes of this teaching through the legislation in force at the time.

To this end, we believe it is important to analyze the texts, images, and exercises proposed in the books to understand some intentions on the part of the State project towards society, regarding the subjects in formation. Another contribution of this study is to collaborate with the area of History of School Subjects, by bringing an excerpt of the English language teaching in Brazil, expanding the period already researched by ^{Oliveira (1999}), who traces the history of this teaching from the years 1809 to 1951, and by ^{Casimiro (2005}), who, focusing on the English textbooks used at Colégio Pedro II in Rio de Janeiro, analyzes the period from 1938 to 1958.

The History of School Subjects seeks to understand what happens in the school space through the teaching practices carried out in the classroom and through the objectives that led to the constitution of the subjects. For ^{Chervel (1990}), it is the task of this area to identify, classify, and organize the purposes that a discipline assumes at a given time, which can be religious, sociopolitical, psychological, and cultural, among others. However, the author states that a large part of the purposes imposed on the school are yet to be unveiled. In this sense, this is what we intend to understand in this study concerning the English language in the 70s.

Some considerations about the 1970s

The economic model during the military regime was based on the development and modernization of Brazilian capitalism and sought to consolidate the urban-industrial society, thus excluding the working classes from political decision-making. It was a model based on technical rationality, in which technocrats¹ took the place of politicians. The slogan ‘Brazil Great Power’, a nationalist propaganda generated by the ‘technical efficiency’ applied to the way of managing the State and its companies also had its ideological segments in educational policy and was carried out in the reform of primary and secondary education, approved under Law No. 5,692², of August 11, 1971 (^{Ferreira Jr & Bittar, 2008}).

It is a reform supported by the “[...] technocratic ideology, which proposed an authoritarian and productivist pedagogical conception in the relationship between education and work” (^{Ferreira Jr & Bittar, 2008}, p. 333, our translation) and influenced by the theory of Human Capital. According to this theory, education is the greatest investment for the acquisition of skills that have repercussions on the productive capacity of work. Therefore, ‘human resources’ are a consequence of investments in people’s education. In this way, education would end up raising the income of these future workers (^{Faheina, 2014}).

Law No. 5,692 disseminated the productivist tendency to the country’s schools through the technicist pedagogy, adopted as an official pedagogy, based on technique, rationality, and efficiency. The concern of the reforms of primary and secondary education was to adjust the training of qualified labor to the logic of the capitalist society. For this, the techniques, methodologies, and teaching instruments should be “[...] based on the principles of rationality, efficiency, and productivity, in order to ensure people’s qualification and insertion in the labor market” (^{Faheina, 2014}, p. 274, our translation).

The technicist pedagogy, aiming at an efficient education, believed that technological devices, such as television and other audiovisual resources, would lead students to the apprehension of their own reality, previously taught only through written books, thus revolutionizing educational practices. Skinner’s behavioral theory offered the psychological basis for this pedagogy, having in programmed instruction a pedagogical proposal mediated by technology and based on the relationship between learning and behavior change through reinforcement (^{Faheina, 2014}).

The main changes caused by this law were the merger of primary and junior high courses - eliminating the entrance exam that previously separated the two levels, aiming to expand schooling - and the constitution of primary education lasting eight years. In addition, it transformed secondary education, previously divided between classical and scientific courses, into vocational education. The following subjects were included: Moral and Civic Education, Physical Education, Art Education, and Health Programs.

Primary and secondary education had a common core (Communication and Expression, Sciences and Social Studies), mandatory at the national level, in addition to a diversified part, according to local needs and peculiarities. This diversified part would enable young people to work (^{Castro, 1983}). The teaching of foreign languages was part of the diversified list, that is, it was not mandatory in the primary, but should have a minimum load in the secondary education.

We will see in the following analyses how this legislation has repercussions on English-language textbooks.

About the textbooks

For ^{Choppin (2004}), the textbook has four functions: referential, instrumental, ideological/cultural, and documentary.

The referential function is because the textbook is a “[...] privileged support of educational content, the depository of knowledge, techniques or skills that a social group considers necessary to transmit to new generations” (^{Choppin, 2004}, p. 553, our translation). This function is considered instrumental because it puts into practice learning methods, by proposing activities aimed at the acquisition of skills. Its ideological and cultural function, on the other hand, lies in the fact that it is considered “[...] one of the essential vectors of the language, culture, and values of the ruling classes. A privileged instrument for the construction of identity” (Choppin, 2004, p. 553, our translation). The documentary function is explained by the fact that the textbook can provide a set of documents (textual or iconic) that contribute to developing the student’s critical spirit.

Regarding the influence of textbooks, by silencing or exalting voices, ^{Melo (2014}, p. 31, our translation) reflects on the fact that learning the knowledge exposed in these materials happens at the same time that students “[...] apprehend conceptions of the world and readings of reality inserted in the way these same pieces of knowledge are posed. For this reason, through pedagogical means, the book holds in itself an incredible capacity for social influence”. In her study on the diffusion of stereotypes about the female sex in textbooks, the author concludes that, in addition to being useful for teaching, these materials are a means of disseminating values and ideology - in this case, the role of women in society, presented in an explicit or camouflaged way.

In short, the textbook is the bearer of values, ideologies, and cultures established, mainly, by the dominant groups, but which are subject to the reaction and resistance of those who receive them, so the teacher has a strategic role in this process.

^{Casimiro (2005}, p. 55, our translation) recalls that “[...] English textbooks arose due to the need for a work tool for teachers, a support material for the content, a means to achieve the objectives of English language teaching [...]”, since it compiles, organizes and makes available knowledge, brings texts and complementary sources, and can “[...] be a powerful tool for pedagogical guidance, to better develop classes and make (non-bilingual) teachers more confident when teaching the subject”. Due to these characteristics, the textbook often works as a teaching standardizer.

English language teaching

We intend here to explore English language teaching from its approaches and methods. It is worth remembering that there is a distinction between these two terms. Approach is related to theory, to the assumptions of teaching and learning, that is, it is a type of philosophy; the method, on the other hand, has a more restricted nature, it is the practice, the planned way of acting of this philosophy, which must follow a sequence of steps (^{Borges, 2010}).

We will not focus on this conceptual differentiation, as we are interested in understanding ‘how’ and ‘what’ was taught, as well as how approach and method are interconnected to the teaching objectives outlined by educational policies according to the configuration intended for a given society in a specific period. For example, the approach based on grammar and translation prescribed the memorization of grammatical rules and vocabularies to enable the translation of texts. In other words, the focus was on the written language to the detriment of orality. Therefore, the goal is not to train a speaker of the foreign language, but someone who only understands written texts.

This approach, preponderant in Brazil at the end of the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth century, intended to contribute to the intellectual and spiritual formation of the student belonging to the elite, since a small portion of the population had access to education. A mastery and practical use of the English oral language was not expected, but grammatical analysis and the reading and translation of literary texts were valued (^{Oliveira, 1999}).

In the twentieth century, the reforms of English language teaching oscillated between advances and setbacks, sometimes removing the literary treatment, and sometimes resuming its pragmatic aspect. In the Vargas Era, in 1931, there was a change in the structure of education, aiming to adapt it to the new reality of the country: nationalization and modernization. Thus, the workload of Latin was reduced, emphasizing modern languages, in addition to reinforcing its cultural and literary character, adhering to the Direct Method, that is, the foreign language should be taught in the foreign language itself, without resorting to the mother tongue (^{Oliveira, 1999}).

In 1942, English was taught in primary school, from the second to fourth grade, and was optional in the secondary. The period from 1950 to 1960 was one of internationalization of the Brazilian economy, whose reference was the United States of America. Therefore, English, along with French, was taught in schools, with the practical purpose of work training, suppressing the study of English history and literature (^{Oliveira, 1999}).

^{Uphoff (2007}, p. 11, our translation) points out that in this period the introduction of the Audiolingual Method occurs, whose innovation lies in the theoretical foundation based on behaviorism, which conceives “[...] learning as a process of imitation and mechanical repetition”. In it, the reproduction of what was heard was encouraged without worrying about the exact meaning of the words or the grammatical structure. The grammatical progression was gradual, from simpler to more complex structures - a principle influenced by the structuralist movement in linguistics. The student should experience the English language only with the structures already mastered.

In 1961, with the enactment of Law No. 4,024 (LDBEN - Law of Guidelines and Bases of National Education), the teaching of modern foreign languages became partially mandatory in primary school and recommended its inclusion in the secondary, being at the discretion of the states, according to the conditions of each establishment, and not providing for any teaching method. After the implementation of the military regime, we had the importation of modernizing teaching techniques for schools that continued to exclude most of the population. The techniques followed the organizational principles of companies and sought rationalization, efficiency, and productivity, as mentioned earlier.

In 1971, Law No. 5,692 assorts the teaching between subjects of the common core and subjects of the diversified part - foreign languages belonged to the latter. They were offered in the secondary school according to the conditions of each school.

In 1978, according to ^{Uphoff (2007}), the communicative method arrived in Brazil, arising from the need for a reformulation in the teaching of English based on critical pedagogy and the European movement, which defended the functional theory of language. In this method, oral communication should take place through stagings made by the students about situations of their daily life, and it was advisable to speak in the mother tongue as little as necessary. Grammar was subordinated to verbal communication. It also suggested working with topics of interest to the students, made possible by the introduction of additional texts, such as newspapers, comic books, songs, etc.

Therefore, it is observed that the teaching of the English language, over time, presented similarities, permanences and differences, ruptures and particularities.

Methodological procedures

The textbooks analyzed here were selected from what was contained in the Annual Reports of the CEP teachers, written in the 1970s, available at the CEP Memory Center, to which we had access.

The book entitled English as it is in the U.S.A, produced by the Centro de Cultura Anglo Americana (C.C.A.A) and printed by Waldyr Lima Editora, was used throughout the 70s. The authors of the collection are: Waldyr Lima, Brian McComish, and F. Bowen Evans.

Waldyr Lima Editora³ is directly related to the network of C.C.A.A. language schools, whose website points out that, in 1961, in Rio de Janeiro, Waldyr Lima developed an interactive teaching method, the result of research carried out in courses in several countries, based on the needs of the Brazilian student. Due to the demand, in 1970, Waldyr Lima Editora was created to produce teaching materials. In 1982, they innovated with the use of TV sets and videocassettes in classrooms and, later, in the 1990s, computers were used in classes.

About the other authors, we have the information that F. Bowen Evans was a retired American diplomat and writer who lived in Brazil in the late 1960s. Before joining the U.S. Foreign Service, Evans was an educational administrator and university professor, having taught at the University of North Carolina and Columbia University in New York City. As for Brian McComish, nothing is presented.

It was verified, in these Teaching Reports, that Preparatory and Book I were used in primary school; Book II and III were used in the 3 grades of secondary school.

For the analysis proposed here, inspired by ^{Coracini (1999}), we listed the following elements:

The books verified in this research do not present post-textual elements (appendices and references), thus making their analysis impossible.

English language textbooks

The English textbooks adopted by CEP in the 1970s are part of a collection developed in Brazil by Brazilian authors and publishers in partnership with Americans. The collection ‘English as it is in the U.S.A.’ was part of an English course prepared for Brazilian primary and secondary schools. It is a collection composed of 7 books (from Preparatory to Book Six), however, in this research, we will focus on the four books (Preparatory, Book One, Book Two, and Book Three) adopted and worked on in CEP, as stated in the teachers’ reports. We clarify that we did not obtain the complementary audiovisual materials, such as recorded tapes and diafilms; therefore, we will restrict the analysis to textbooks.

The four works analyzed are cited, with their respective references, at the end of this text. It is worth mentioning that the books do not provide information about the year of publication and intended grades, but indicate that they can be used in the primary and secondary schools, which may represent a sales strategy.

Pre-text elements

Cover

It should be noted that the title English as it is in the U.S.A. conveys a feeling of confidence to the reader, producing the representation of an efficient didactic material, deserving of credit, given its incontestable character, since it transports to Brazil the same American English - a textual element that is reinforced with the brand that produces it: an Anglo American Culture Center (C.C.A.A.).

The covers of the books Preparatory and Book Three contain illustrations (see Figure 1 below), while the covers of Book One and Book Two do not present these images, being restricted to giving information about the title and method.

Caption: Preparatory book (left) e Book three (right).

Source: Lima et al. (n.d.a, n.d.b).

Figure 1 English as it is in the U.S.A. book covers 

As can be seen, the covers of the books contain a strip simulating a roll film, with scenes from everyday life. In the Preparatory book, we observe two children getting to know each other, a mother putting her daughter to sleep, two girls wondering about some toys, and a man checking the time.

On the cover of Book Three, the images on the roll film are: the purchase of a rug, a visit to the zoo, the search for an address, and a trip to the countryside. Images that are consistent with what is postulated by the audiolingual method in force at that time, which, linked to complementary audiovisual materials, should privilege, as ^{Uphoff (2007}) points out, a progression of learning, going from the simplest to the most complex.

By enunciating the adoption of the audiovisual method, we believe that such illustrations are intended to transport the reader to the world of cinema, or at least photography, seeking to cause an ‘audiovisual effect’, as it makes us think of a ‘film roll’ (something used in the 1970s), which contemplates images, sounds, action. Therefore, ideas that refer to an active, dynamic, allegedly interesting, engaging, and efficient method.

Presentation page

The four books destined for primary and secondary schools begin with a presentation page, as shown in Figure 2 below. In it, we find the statement that the collection: “[...] leads the student without any knowledge of English to an optimal level of mastery of the language, both for everyday use and for the entrance exam”. We shall note that the books promise to teach the English language from the beginning to the end of school learning, with the expectation of passing the entrance exam.

This page also highlights the methodological proposal of the book, explaining that “[...] the oral phase is audiovisual and the written phase is presented in the form of programmed instruction”. There is no specification or detail of either of the two methodologies, probably because it addresses the teacher, who must have knowledge about it.

We shall remember that programmed instruction, according to ^{Parra (1983}), came from the United States due to the arrival of technology in its schools, such as radio, TV, and projections, but which still required the presence of a teacher transmitting information to students. Skinner, an American psychologist, in 1954, based on his studies on experimental behavior analysis, managed to subsidize a consistent teaching program to question educational practices in vogue at that time. One of the fundamental points is reinforcement, seen as an engine of learning. In short, Parra (1983, p. 80, our translation) points out that:

Programmed Instruction can be characterized as a self-taught form of teaching, in which information is presented in small doses and gradually, following a logical chain, from the simplest to the most complex, from the most concrete to the most abstract, allowing the student to assimilate knowledge, step by step, according to their own pace and speed.

As explained at the beginning, this proposal was one of the pillars of technicist education, since it was based on the standardization of the teaching process, using strategies to achieve the efficiency of the pedagogical work.

Source: Lima et al. (n.d.a, n.d.b, n.d.c, n.d.d).

Figure 2 First page of the books 

As for the audiovisual method used by the authors for the oral learning of the language, we will not be able to analyze it, because, as mentioned, we were not able to obtain these material resources.

It is also observed on this initial page that the teacher had access to several complements of the book, such as: didactic devices (color films and recorded tapes), ready-made scripts (lesson plans and tests), and evaluative support (answer sheets and correction keys). Such materials point to a high degree of direction of the classes, as the teacher received the complete package, from planning to evaluation. Their role was to apply the instructions received.

Page dedicated to the student

All books begin with this brief message to the student:

You are an integral part of a country that is growing. Your country is part of a world that is becoming smaller every day [...] As the world becomes smaller, people everywhere need to communicate in order to be quickly and easily understood. The English language is, today, this instrument of communication (Lima et al., n.d.a, n.d.b, n.d.c, n.d.d).

This excerpt brings the idea of English as a lingua franca, as it is treated as “[...] a language increasingly present in the interactions between speakers of different mother tongues in the most diverse communicative situations” (^{Bordini & Gimenez, 2014}, p. 14, our translation), that is, English to communicate, the language as a social practice that should be used by non-native speakers. However, such a view is opposed to the title, which, as previously stated, is English as it is in the U.S.A., bringing the promise that the student will appropriate the language as a native speaker.

The note, as shown in Figure 3, also highlights English as the language of development and globalization. This view is reaffirmed in the following excerpt: “[...] It is the most important language in the world. Therefore, learning English is undoubtedly a basic necessity for you as you prepare for your future professional life”. Thus, English is considered an essential knowledge for access and insertion in society and the labor market. A language seen as a superior and universalized language.

This understanding of language is in line with the ideological and cultural function of the textbook highlighted by ^{Choppin (2004}), presented earlier. In other words, it is configured as an instrument capable of contributing to the transmission of values, culture, and identity of the ruling classes.

Source: Lima et al. (n.d.a, n.d.b, n.d.c, n.d.d).

Figure 3 Message to the student 

The following excerpt is related to the learning procedures that the didactic material believes to promote:

As you know, speaking and writing are the two main forms of communication. With our teaching you will learn, initially, to communicate through the spoken form and then, in a natural progress, through the written form (Lima et al., n.d.a, n.d.b, n.d.c, n.d.d).

We shall remember that, as mentioned, orality will be learned by audiovisual, and writing by programmed instruction and, thus, by repetition, it will happen naturally. To this end, words of encouragement are presented, in the line of behavioral psychology, of ‘behaviorism’: “[...] Speak it, even if it is mispronounced at first, and you will learn quickly because you can only learn a foreign language by speaking it”.

Again, the recommendations point to the methodological direction assumed, as follows: “Always do the exercises in programmed instruction and the other exercises, because they are the complement of your oral work in the classroom. They are intended to fix the written form of what has been learned orally”. Such a recommendation follows one of the principles of programmed instruction, that of stimulation, as pointed out by ^{Parra (1983}). It is based on the student’s active participation in learning, which occurs through continuous questions. It also expresses the appropriation of the American structuralist view of language, that is, “[...] oral language should be prioritized to the detriment of writing”, as ^{Uphoff (2008}, p. 11, our translation) points out.

Finally, more words of encouragement and exaltation of the importance of the language, stating that, at the end of the course, “[...] you will be able to master the language that is a means of communication around the world, putting yourself in a better position to be useful to your country that is in full development” (Lima et al., n.d.a, n.d.b, n.d.c, n.d.d, English as it is in the U.S.A. - Message to the student, our translation). This excerpt explicitly highlights the importance of the English language for the Brazilian developmental project and for the formation of human capital.

Characters

The collection has a page at the beginning introducing the characters that will be part of the stories that start each unit. Some of these characters change with each book, as seen in Figure 4.

The characters of the book are present during the short dialogues, in direct speech, which introduce the units. In the book Preparatory, they are: a couple (the father, Mr. Burton, and the mother, Mrs. Jean Burton), their children (Bill and Vicky), the neighbor (Miss Sally Adams), two more children (Mike and Peggy), the commentator and a cat. Unlike all characters, who speak in the first person, the commentator brings the possibility of constructing sentences in the third person.

Book One has slightly more mature illustrations, containing the following characters: the Miller family (the father, Jim; the mother, Dorothy; the son, Robert; and the daughter, Cathy - both are high school students). Also, Peter, Frank, and Christine (also high school students); the teacher, Miss Oliver; a woman, called just Woman, who appears as a cashier in the cinema; and a waiter; in addition to the commentator:

Caption: Preparatory book (left) e Book one (right).

Source: Lima et al. (n.d.a, n.d.b).

Figure 4 Pages with the characters 

The illustrations in Book Two are similar to those in the previous book. In addition, the characters are also the same, except for the addition of Charles (an engineer and Frank and Christine’s father) and a doctor, Doctor Kennedy. The waiter and the woman who worked as a cashier at the cinema are replaced.

The characters in Book Three have the illustration made with more elaborate lines, given the maturity of the students at this stage. Despite this difference, the characters are the same as in the previous book, except for the student Peter and the doctor, who were replaced by a waiter, a flight attendant, and a maid.

We must remember that ^{Chartier (2002}) addresses the book and its constitution as a means of communication of knowledge, a support of cultural content, of representations. Thus, it is interesting to note that the characters in the books bring the representation of the traditional family, for example, the Miller family: composed of a father, whose profession carries social prestige - engineer; a mother, whose profession is not informed, but who is always at home taking care of her children and husband; two children, a girl and a boy, sociable, obedient to their parents and high school students. In line with what ^{Melo’s (2014}) research shows, the English language textbook, in addition to teaching the language, carries values, and models of social and moral organization, strengthening and inculcating stereotypes. For the author, such stereotypes may be subtly placed at the epicenter of school culture, but they signal the power of capturing students in the traps of the sedimentation of prejudices (Melo, 2014).

In the books, children are represented with many toys and are always happy playing outdoors in their leisure time. Young people, on the other hand, go to the movies, drink Coca-Cola and milkshakes, eat hamburgers in cafeterias, use the subway, visit Disney, play sports, and play instruments. Adults travel by plane; the teacher uses many audiovisual resources in her classes; the clock is an object present in several stories, indicating the concern with time; coffee is always served with cream, an uncommon habit in Brazil. Also, the houses differ from the Brazilian standard: they are large, two-story, with gardens, decorated, full of furniture and appliances, with cars and bicycles in the garages. Also, the sports practiced by students, in addition to soccer, are baseball and American football - sports not practiced in our country.

We observe in these examples marks of the dominant ideology, the American one, which exerts an effect that to learn a foreign language is to apprehend the habits and culture of that society. Elements that, in line with the importance given to this language, at the beginning of the text addressed to the student, contribute to the formation of human capital, since there may be a correlation between improved work capacity, innovation, and wealth.

Textual elements

Activities

The exercises, in the form of programmed instruction, aim to put into practice the content studied. Initially, there is an explanation, in Portuguese, of how this teaching system works: the student must use a piece of plastic with two open spaces, one to show the blank exercise to be completed, and the other to cover the answers. In addition to the explanation, there are recommendations for the student not to deceive himself/herself by copying the answer instead of trying to solve it. Thus, the student is guided by commands given by the book. There are 26 steps related to vocabulary and 8 activities of the grammatical part.

In addition to these, there is also the proposal of exercises such as ‘Mark the correct item with an X’, ‘Create sentences by arranging the words in the correct order’, ‘Complete the gaps with the given words’, ‘Rewrite the affirmative sentences in their negative form’, ‘Complete the gaps with the verbs in parentheses in the appropriate tense’, ‘Dictation’, ‘Label the images with the given sentences’ and ‘Word search’. These activities demand answers that are only about writing a few words in the blank spaces.

The activities follow what ^{Parra (1983}, p. 81, our translation) describes as “[...] an ordered series of exercises to communicate knowledge, aiming to develop the student’s ability to behave in an increasingly complex way”. To do so, it is necessary to divide the content into elementary units, articulated in a certain sequence that directs the student to the expected answer.

In Preparatory and Book Three, there is a ‘Model Questions for Exams’, with the following description: ‘Solve these exercises in the classroom with the teacher. He/She will solve your doubts. See below the types of questions that will be in your tests’. The types of questions do not differ from the previous types. Also, every two or three units, the books bring reviews for evaluative tests. At the end of Book One, there is a page with the answers to the review exercises, which is not included in the other books. In this way, students could check their answers without the help of the teacher.

Also in Book One, there is an answer sheet for multiple-choice tests (see Figure 5). The instructions for use are given in the statement, in Portuguese. This sheet provides us with clues about what the tests were like: 70 multiple-choice questions, with four answer options for each question.

This book, being of a higher level of complexity, contains a greater number of activities in programmed instruction, but with fewer objective questions, giving more opportunity for the practice of writing, even if guided and limited to the grammatical and lexical issues studied in the unit. To exemplify the elaboration of sentences requested, observe the following exercises:

• 1) In the story, how does Robert feel? ____ _ _ _ _ _ s_ _ _

• 2) Do you usually have headaches? (Lima et al., n.d.b., p. 77).

Notice that the first one guides the expected response; in the second, the answer can be free, however, it can only be an affirmative or negative answer.

In Book Three, before starting its first unit, there are four pages dedicated to the review entitled General Review, with a note, in English, recommending that those exercises should be done in class with the teacher. They are objective exercises, following the pattern of the other books. However, the exercises in this book are more complex, that is, they do not offer the answer options already in the statements, but they present longer and more complex sentences, in addition to containing free-response questions. In other words, there is a greater possibility for the subjectivity of students, not concerning the exposure of their opinions, but at least so that they can put into practice the grammatical structures and vocabulary learned. For example, in this exercise: Is the street where you live narrow or wide?, the student should write about the street where they live, using the vocabulary and grammar studied.

Therefore, in short, the activities proposed in the four books are centered on objective questions, whose concern is purely lexical and grammatical, to the detriment of discursive questions. Thus, they do not allow the exposure of the student’s opinions, in addition to not contextualizing the knowledge. Also, there are no translation activities, on the contrary, all the content, except for some statements in the initial years, is in English.

No books have long or complex texts. The only textual genre adopted is the dialogues used to introduce vocabulary and grammar. According to ^{Uphoff (2008}, p. 13, our translation), this trend of grammar-centered teaching lasted until the end of the 1970s; with the arrival of the communicative method, in the 80s, the interactional dimension became more significant and, thus, “[...] speaking fluently is more important than speaking in a grammatically correct way [...]”, in addition to the fact that the error is then considered inevitable and necessary.

Source: Lima et al. (n.d.b, p. 25).

Figure 5 Answer sheet for tests - Book One 

Final remarks

We shall recapitulate the functions that ^{Choppin (2004}) points out for textbooks and relate them to the legislation. As for the referential function, that is, the knowledge and skills to be transmitted, we observed, in the stories presented in the form of short dialogues and in the activities of vocabulary and grammar, that the teaching of the English language did not have its content affected by the purposes of the military dictatorship, either in terms of conduct or values. However, we found out that it was through the methodology and procedures in the classroom that the type of education and the model of citizens to be formed that the government desired at that time were put into effect.

Thus, it was due to the instrumental function (^{Choppin, 2004}), which conceives the didactic material as a tool to practice learning methods, that, through programmed instruction, learning based on repetition and memorization was promoted. Programmed instruction allows the study to happen individually and progress at the student’s pace. However, in the message to the student, it is stated that the purpose is to promote the student’s communication with the world and their future performance for the development of the country.

As seen, the material focuses on training the student to recognize words and on the view that reading is the same as speaking. Thus, despite having the intention of promoting innovation in the teaching of the English language, by bringing complementary materials, such as diafilms and recorded tapes (to which we did not have access), which appear to be more interactive, dynamic and efficient, the activities of the books are based on memorization.

On the other hand, the documentary function (^{Choppin, 2004}), which refers to the textual elements that contribute to the student’s criticality, is quite weakened, as they are texts that are not related to the students’ daily lives, and the activities do not open space for the positioning of their ideas.

At this point, it is worth noting that, in Law No. 5,692/71, the modern foreign language lost its characteristic of a formative element of general culture to become an instrument of professional qualification in secondary school, in the area of special training. In an excerpt from CEP’s 1973 curricular project, it is stated that several courses in various specifications (technical courses, courses in the areas of industries or services, etc.) were offered for ‘professional qualification’, and the English language curriculum should carry an essentially practical and even commercial aspect, as we see below:

[...] teaching technical, scientific or commercial terms in order to achieve, in the end, the specialization itself and the spirit of independence, self-realization and a reserve of potential knowledge in the specific field that allows the mid-level technician the possibility of consulting foreign bibliography and obtaining scholarships abroad (Colégio Estadual do Paraná, 1973, our translation).

This statement indicates the cultural, ideological, social, and educational character proposed for that moment. In this sense, we have the book with its ideological/cultural function (^{Choppin, 2004}), which refers to the values conveyed for the construction of identity; we observe its focus on consumption, well-being, wealth, belongings, comfort, that is, the valorization of material goods.

Thus, we can answer our initial question, about the purpose of English language teaching at that political moment. As seen, technocratic education was intensified and made official in the 1970s, textbooks followed this trend with the system of programmed instruction and a discourse that English was the language that the market needed. However, it limited the exercise of language, thought, and social interaction.

We shall remember that it was a period of industrialization and urbanization, with growing demands for labor, led by a military government, which was not interested in awakening critical awareness in the population, so the teaching limited to grammatical and lexical structures was very appropriate. Also, with the reduced interaction between students, by proposing material with individualized teaching, the book-student relationship was providential, with the teacher playing an auxiliary role only, since the ‘silencing of teachers’ was very convenient.

Therefore, if the textbook carries the referential, instrumental, ideological, and cultural functions pointed out by ^{Choppin (2004}), we can say that it transposes them to teaching, whether by its pedagogical methods, content, exercises, or activities, favoring the acquisition of certain competencies and skills. As already stated, the textbook is the product of certain conceptions of the world. Thus, the role of the teacher is crucial to identify and position themselves in the face of the values that the book conveys, either through the content that is being prioritized or through the approaches and methodologies used.