Predominant linguistic skills in the academic uses of Guaraní as a mother tongue in Paraguayan students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the level of predominance of the linguistic skills employed by Paraguayan students in the academic use of Guarani as their mother tongue. The research is non-experimental and has a cross-sectional design. The sample consisted of 300 students, proficient in Guarani as their mother tongue, aged between 12 and 17 years, and 100 (active) Guarani teachers. Two instruments were applied: the first one called "Test to measure language skills in academic contexts", applied to the students, and the second one called "Test to measure teachers' perception of language skills towards Guarani mother tongue students". The data were processed using IBM's Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The results highlight fluency, comprehension, interpretation and written skills in Guarani. These findings influence the valuation of indigenous languages in education and language policies in Paraguay.