Narrativas autobiográficas e identidades: histórias de letramento de professoras

Abstract

People still become language teachers in the performance society (Han, 2017), which has often proven to be hostile to the profession. This research is qualitative and interpretative, and through the analysis of previously recorded and transcribed semi-structured narrative interviews, it aims to understand and describe the motivations and paths that led the research participants to choose a career as a language teacher, seeking to comprehend their literacy trajectories and the autobiographical narratives that emerged in the interviews. The three teachers participated, in 2022, in a training program entitled “Multiliteracies and Digital Technologies in the Classroom.” Regarding the narratives, we rely on the works of Flannery (2015), Labov; Waletzky (1967); regarding teacher development, on Kleiman (2005, 2014), and Kersch (2020); and on works about identity and teacher identity by De Fina (2015) and Klering, Trarbach, and Kersch (2023), respectively. Analyzing the narratives of the three teachers, certain patterns were observed in their stories, namely, the individual-as-example, the relationship with the field of Language Teaching, and the emotional involvement with students. The results reveal the complexity of the educational world and its human nature, which is intrinsically linked to the performance of both sides, educator and learner, contributing to the argument that advocates for a dialogic and humanized education that frees students and teachers from the mechanical roles perpetuated in Western educational culture.