Reflexive teacher on orality appropriation in the foreign language teaching-learning process

This is a qualitative, documental and interpretative metasearch article on Applied Linguistics (LA) area, where the characteristics of the subjects involved (teachers and learners) in orality appropriation in the Foreign Language (LE) teaching-learning process are studied. In order to develop this article, theatrical texts, body and voice should be considered as appropriation mediators. The assumptions of Ortiz-Alvarez (2009) and Basso (2008) – reflexive competence – concerning the attitude of the teacher as a language professional who is reflexive on his/her practices, together with the definitions of Perrenoud (2000; 2008); Dewey (1959; [1916]2012; Freire (1975; 1976; 1984; 1996); Libâneo (2006) and Schön (1992; 2000) are here used. The professors metasearched on this article are Massaro (2001; 2007; 2008), from the University of São Paulo (USP) and Reis (2008; 2011; 2012), from the University of Brasilia(UnB); they are (re)analyzed according to the paradigms: a reflexive teacher in the exercise of his/her reflexive practices. The search for the conciliation between a practice peddled by theories and the classroom reality is visible on teachers’ thoughts – those professors not only contemplate their approaches and techniques, but also try to change or propose changes on the world perceptions of learners, other language teachers and, sometimes, their institutions. The term reflexivity is used to define the proposal of acting-thinking-(re)acting as a constant of language professionals lives. Along the reading of the metasearched professors’ work, it is noticed that they have a critical reflexive path (reflexivity) on their reflexive practices reality. They demand an emotional and cognitive involvement that supposes personal unique attitudes - such as an open mind that has the ability of listening to different opinions, with no prejudices or resistance which can block a certain question to be seen from a different point of view.

DICT IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM: CHALLENGES IN ITS APPROPRIATION BY BEGINNER-LEVEL TEACHERS IN TRAINING

Our work is primarily concerned with the challenges involved in the appropriation of DICT by beginner-level participants of the Institutional Program for Scholarships for Initiation in Teaching in Brazil. Although the current generation of beginner-level undergraduate students may be seen as “digital natives”, their use of digital technologies, however frequent, takes place only outside the school environment. The technology skills which they acquire in their daily lives are not transposed to the classroom when they find themselves in the position of teachers. It is still challenging to understand their difficulties in appropriating technology to educational purposes, since educational agents seem all to agree on how important digital technologies are in school, while failing to put it to actual classroom use, and while simply providing access to digital technology is far from sufficient. These skills should be understood and applied in schools by meaningful teaching practice, which should go beyond the mere instrumental use of technology. Therefore, we here focus on the process of elaboration of digital technologies assisted teaching practices in the foreign language classroom. Our corpus is composed of classroom activities and classroom interventions, elaborated and staged by beginner-level teachers in training, who are the project participants, during the course of a school year. These activities comprise the development of an intervention project, which consists of an activity plan, its critical discussion, its application and further reflection.