THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TEACHER’S ACTION BY ENGLISH TEACHERS FOR CHILDREN: A VIEW TO TEACHING AS LABOR

ABSTRACT This article aims at recognizing the activity of teaching English as a Foreign Language to children and the dimensions of the teacher action based on the theoretical and methodological principles of the Sociodiscursive Interactionism (BRONCKART, 1999-2003, 2007, 2008). The data were resumed from two case studies from 2013/2014 and 2015/2016. The theoretical input examines the existing gap in the Humanities curriculum education regarding teaching English to children in Brazil (ROCHA, TONELLI; SILVA, 2010; TONELLI; FERREIRO; BELO-CORDEIRO, 2017; SANTOS; BENEDETTI, 2009), on behalf of children’s particularities (VYGOTSKY, 1998), and education for a critical citizenship (ROCHA; BASSO, 2007; PESSOA; BORELLI, 2011). Teaching as labor and how the teacher’s action is shaped (FAῘTA, 2004; AMIGUES, 2004; MACHADO, 2004) anchor the analyses of the teachers’ reflections. Data were generated through interviews and a reflexive session based upon a drawing. Data analyses reinforced the relevance of teacher education targeted at the specific traces of the English to children teaching education activity, composed of every dimension of the human being. It also revealed teachers’ beliefs about teaching EFLC in public schools as well as traces of linguistic imperialism influence.