Estereótipos culturais em estágios avançados de aprendizado de inglês como língua estrangeira e seus desdobramentos para ensino e uso do idioma

Abstract

This Master Degree‟s research consists of an ethnographic investigation which is concerned with the study of issues related to interaction in a foreign language (FL), focusing on cultural differences and cultural stereotypes existing not only in interaction in broad social contexts, but also in the teaching-learning process of a FL. This way, relying mainly on the studies by Hall (1959), Kramsch (1993, 1998), Viana (2003) and Barbosa (2008), we aimed at discussing the occurrence of fixed / stabilized cultural images (stereotypes) in the speeches of learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), especially those belonging to advanced levels, trying to establish a possible relationship between the learners‟ linguistic proficiency and the stereotypes (about the English language and English speaking countries) that remain rooted in their minds even after several years of formal study of the target language. Our goal, with the studies developed, was the search for a wide understanding of the culturelanguage relationship, investigating the reasons why some stereotypes persist in the vision of proficient EFL students. Data were gathered in two different language institutes, by watching EFL classes (from different methodologies) and interviewing students with the objective of eliciting and analyzing factors that might influence the creation and maintenance of cultural pre-concepts, aiming at contributing to reflection and actions in the teaching-learning process of foreign / second languages. The results obtained indicate that culture is generally presented in a simplified and generalized way in EFL classes. There is, therefore, a need for a systematic approach to the teaching of culture in FL classes that contemplate the intrinsic relationship between language and culture, seeking the development of cultural sensitivity that might unravel stereotypes and contribute to develop critical students in the learning process and in the use of a foreign language.