O ingresso na língua estrangeira: vínculos linguístico-culturais e identitários de professores de língua inglesa

Abstract

The foreign language teacher, in the process of taking part in the target language, tends to constitute the linguistic, cultural and identity bindings in this language. The present study aims to investigate how and to what extent three English professors establish the linguistic, cultural and identity bindings with the target language. The research is qualitative and counts on the participation of three English professors in the municipality of Santa Maria, RS, Brazil. The professors participated in an individual semi-structured interview in mother tongue about the entry into a foreign language and the establishment of bindings in the English language. The interview was recorded on audio and, after, transcribed. For the analysis, interpretation and discussion of data, were used the theoretical assumptions about Bakhtin’s dialogism (Bakhtin, 2004); identity studies (Hall, 2004); cultural studies (Kramsch, 2013); the entry into a foreign language (Revuz, 1998) and studies on bindings, based on Psychoanalysis (ZIMERMAN, 2010, 2008). The results suggest that the participants constituted the linguistic, cultural and identity bindings with the English language because they feel embedded in the culture of the foreign language and in the new language code. Moreover, the entry of these professors into the English language was marked by pleasurable and conflictual moments. The pleasurable moments refer to the satisfaction of interacting in another language and culture. On the other hand, the linguistic and cultural conflicts also made part of the entry into the target language. However, despite these conflicts, the participants showed a strong desire to participate in the identity belonging to the foreign language, that is, to approximate to this language and integrate it into their lives. Finally, the professors also claim that they act differently in the world due to the entry into a foreign language, allowing them to renegotiate their identities with the new language and culture. In this perspective, they seem to be aware of the hybridization process of their identities and cultures.