Comunidade de Prática Exploratória como instrumento de reflexões sobre práticas e processos formativos de docentes de língua inglesa: um encontro multicultural

Abstract

The present research has its configuration based on the ethical and inclusive proposal of Exploratory Practice (ALLWRIGHT, 2005; MORAES BEZERRA 2003; MILLER et al., 2008) that encourages the mutual development and agency of the participants to build understandings about issues that concern them – whether they are about learning, teaching or any issue that affects the quality of life in the school context. It is also based on the practices of sharing experiences and experiences as proposed in the concept of Community of Practice by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger, created in 1987 at the Institute for Research on Learning. This concept has its roots in the conception that learning has a social character, which means that it involves social relationships and weaves branches of knowledge production from these relationships (WENGER, 2010). The research has its methodological bases in the qualitative paradigm, whose character allows considering the plurality of scientific content, the various possibilities of paths to be followed during the search for understanding human issues (MORAES BEZERRA, 2007). Exploratory Practice has a relevant role in the development of my research, because, although it is not a methodology in the strict sense, as pointed out by Moraes Bezerra (2007), it can be considered as a research approach that leads to the reflection generated from of a work that prioritizes the understanding of our professional practices, of the issues that can arise in interactions in the classroom, instead of seeking solutions or answers without reflection or even absolute truths, as if this were possible, considering the complexity of life in classroom, according to Allwright (2005). From these conceptions, an international virtual reflexive community was created with participants from Jamaica and Brazil, which I called Community of Exploratory Practice, inspired by the construct proposed by Lave and Wenger (1987). Because there are people who live in Jamaica and because we are experiencing the pandemic moment, interactions were possible through the virtual platform with fortnightly meetings. This was a way of involving research participants who were in training and post-training for language teaching in interactions and sharing of experiences. In this intercultural collective, which interacted for 2 months during the pandemic caused by Covid-19, reflections were generated on the pedagogical practices of the English teacher, especially involving issues of affection brought up by those who were working remotely with their students.