“Foi na raça”: histórias de professores de português para estrangeiros

Abstract

The theme of this research refers to the beliefs and experiences of teachers of Portuguese as a Foreign Language regarding their role in the process of teaching. Assuming that most teachers of Portuguese for non-Brazilians did not have specific formal instruction in the area, we aim to analyse the experiences and beliefs of ten teachers, in order to understand how these teachers learned (and are learning) to educate students linguistically and to investigate the way in which those who already work in teaching insert themselves and present themselves in the world of Portuguese as a Foreign Language. Based on the socio-constructionist perspective of narrative (BASTOS, 2005; BRUNER, 1997; LINDE, 1993); in the concepts of identity (HALL, 2006; ALVES, 2019) and belief (BARCELOS, 2006); in Interactional Sociolinguistics constructs - such as Goffman's concept of Face (1967) - and in the concept of Deixis (LEVINSON, 1983) as analytical tools, we will analyze how these beliefs about teacher education are constructed through interviews. This work is part of the qualitative research tradition of an interpretive nature (MASON, 1996). The data generation occurred from two movements. At first, we sent a questionnaire to a group of professors of Portuguese for non-Brazilians who work in the coordination of the application of the CELPE-Bras exam in institutions in Brazil and in other countries. Secondly, we carried out unstructured interviews (FONTANA; FREY, 1994) with these teachers in the area of Portuguese for foreigners. From the stories narrated, we could notice: the force of chance in the training paths and the overcoming of adversities, since most of the teachers interviewed had in-service training, in practice; the defense of an intercultural linguistic education (MENDES, 2022). From the point of view of the construction of the narratives, we observed the recurrence of evaluations regarding their formations and the attempts to preserve the face during the conversations. The speeches of professors point out the need for greater institutionalization of the area and suggest ways to develop a training of professionals in the area of Portuguese as a Foreign Language.