Abstract
Globalization has challenged distribution and understanding of knowledge causing instability and uncertainty for teacher education. This paper presents the results of a doctoral research on teacher education and the challenges posed to educators involving multiliteracies, English as a lingua franca – ELF and translingual practices. Seven teacher educators and twenty-one undergraduates of the Portuguese-English languages major of a public university in Brazil participated in the study. Students’ class observation in the supervised practicum was the first data instrument, then questionnaires and interviews were applied to both teacher educators and students. Data analysis was based on multiliteracies, proficiency, ELF and translanguaging. Through content analysis categories were created to undergraduates and teacher educators’ praxis. Results indicated that participants refer to multiliteracies as didactic-pedagogical resources used in the classroom, rather than as a language concept or teaching approach. They emphasized the need to bring different semiotic resources to build meaning in language classes however, they recognized that changing practices require time and availability of structural resources. The proficiency theme was strongly linked to the linguistic knowledge of English language and, to the participants’ perceptions of the native-speaker construct. As far as ELF was concerned, the participants seek to negotiate meanings and make use of communicative strategies in favor of intelligibility when they have misunderstandings in interactions. In the translanguaging theme, it was found that the participants can perceive the influence of Portuguese in the teaching of English, and they feel responsible for discussing the issue of errors in the classroom.
Author Information
Isabel Cristina Vollet Marson, State University of Ponta Grossa, Brazil
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