Academic literacy practices of undergraduate students in the language interdisciplinary project at Pibid-Furb

Abstract

Although speaking English is a highly valued practice by the Brazilian society, among the population there is the belief that it is not possible to learn English in public schools. Scholars depart from the idea that beliefs are individual, social, dynamic, contextual and paradoxical, and that besides resulting from experiences, they can be resignified. In the context of teacher education, when investigating academic literacy practices, researchers seek to understand the meanings that subjects attribute to the social practices of reading and writing. In this realm, the Program for Initiation in Teaching (Pibid, Portuguese initials) established itself as an opportunity for initial education. With the partnership involving universities and basic education schools, by means of the mediation of supervisor teachers in the two spaces, meanings about teaching are discussed and constructed. This article reports a scientific initiation study, of a qualitative nature, that aimed at investigating academic literacy practices of three undergraduates of a Letters course (Portuguese/English) that participated in Pibid, from August/2017 to February/2018. Twenty classes taught by the subjects were observed, as well as group meetings. Written productions (reflective diaries, class plans, and abstracts for scientific events) were collected, and a questionnaire was applied by the authors. Results indicate that the development of academic literacy practices has a positive impact on the formal and informal processes of the subjects’ academic and professional performance. As strengths of the program, the structure of organization, the opportunities for belief resignification, for reflection about theory and practice, and for mediation stand out.