Who am I? Professoras de língua inglesa de uma escola de idiomas em Gurupi:

Abstract

This work is part of the field of Applied Linguistics studies and its object of research is to discuss the self-gaze of the English-speaking professional, that is, the delineation of their identity taking into account the postmodern globalization scenario, a scenario where there is union and separation, identification or not with the other and with other cultures, there is encounter and mismatch, losses and discoveries in the physical and cultural space in which identities circulate in a constant process of formation. This is a qualitative case study in which 4 (four) teachers from an open-course English school in the city of Gurupi, state of Tocantins, were interviewed. The overall objective isto get to know the language school professionals and understand how they deal with the identities of LI teachers themselves and with the cultural and social responsibility of teaching a foreign language and the question we seek to answer is: how do English language teachers who work in language schools deal with their own identity in the context of teaching a foreign language in an era of postmodernity where identities are seen as multiple, decentralized and fragmented? The results of the analyzes showed (i) that the first element that guides the work of these teachers is what classifies them as a homogeneous identity group within the school, by being this element the didactic material, that is, this material equals them as LI teachers ; (ii) that the participants showed an intimate relationship of admiration for the language, thus affirming their passions and affective bonds with it, that is, to a greater or lesser degree, this affectivity was present all the time in the participants' speech; and (iii) that social and/or ideological issues that permeate the identities of these professionals is a topic that is little reflected and relatively new for them, and which consequently has little impact on their pedagogical praxis, thus concluding that the process of identity construction of these teachers transit through different paths ranging from the technical aspects of their professions, such as the use of textbooks, as well as echoes of different voices that permeate their life trajectory inside and outside the profession.