Aprender e ensinar espanhol como língua estrangeira: o papel das crenças na formação de ingressantes no curso de licenciatura em Letras

Abstract

In the framework of foreign language teachers’ formation, studies points out that beliefs can influence teachers’ actions in the classroom and also that these professionals may recall their experiences as language learners in order to make decisions. Therefore, the identification of possible beliefs and the reflection about them are required steps to a better comprehension of the learner. According to Almeida Filho (1993), the beliefs are part of the Global Operation in the language teaching. Following the same thoughts, Barcelos (1995, 2001, 2004a/b, 2006) contributed to the consolidation of the concept of beliefs in Brazil. The present work aims to identify the beliefs about learning and teaching Spanish from students who are beginning the Language’s degree in Portuguese/Spanish, as well as to verify if there were any changes in relation to these beliefs during this research. Considering the qualitative and interpretative aspect of this research, it was used, as methodology, a mixed questionnaire, an autobiographical production and a semi-structured interview. Through these instruments, it was possible to observe the beliefs’ dynamicity. The results indicate a modification in relation to the belief of a supposed facility that Brazilians have to learn Spanish (Kulikowski & González, 1999). The data of this work also presents changes in the view of language as a list of words to be learned, which seems to be modified, prevailing cultural aspects in the language learning. Regarding to teaching, it was acknowledged beliefs related to the image of a good Spanish teacher and to the foreign language classes. The models mentioned by the participants are, largely, influenced by the classes at university and not by their experiences from the Elementary and High school. The study reveals the dynamic and heterogeneity aspect of the beliefs developed by the learners, who demand from their teachers’ professor/trainer a constant critical and reflective acting.