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We are a group of students, teachers and researchers who cares about how people learn and teach a second language (especially English), in the digital environment.

domingo, 19 de setembro de 2010

Brazilian Public School System...




  
    Vilson José Leffa (2009, p.116-117), writing about the Second Language Learning Brazilian system, expresses that here, in our country, “o professor é incentivado a fazer de conta que ensina e os alunos a fazer de conta que aprendem. O que interessa, do ponto de vista político, é afirmar a inserção e não realizá-la”. The same problem is also emphasized, when Leffa points out that we don`t have guaranties about the minimum amount of time and the basic infrastructure in order to the effective second language learning.
       The Brazilian educational law, according to Leffa, is also “incapaz de romper o cerco que a própria sociedade, extremamente competente na criação de mecanismos de exclusão, monta para impedir o acesso do aluno pobre ao clube fechado dos falantes de uma língua estrangeira.
        Another educational researcher, Soares (1986, p.20) describes the public Brazilian school like “a school against the people, instead of school to the people”

         What’s your opinion about the current situation of the Brazilian public school system? 

    Is it possible to achieve an effective Second Language learning process in such situation?

    If your answer is affirmative, how does it occur?


LEFFA, Vilson (2009). “Por um ensino de idiomas mais includente no contexto social atual”. In: Diógenes Cândido de Lima (org.). Ensino Aprendizagem de língua inglesa: conversas com especialistas. São Paulo: Parábola Editorial, p. 113-124.

17 comentários:

  1. Dear colleagues, this is not an easy subject to discuss about, but even so let me express what I think: First of all, how can I answer a question related to the current situation of the Brazilian public school system if I have just an idea about that. So, I prefer not to mention anything about the other states to avoid a wrong interpretation. In the state where I live, Paraná, the government has made some investments both in the physical and human aspects, so that we can get a better quality in this area. Teachers can stay out of class (100%) for a year just to study, for example. Secondly, to answer about the possibility of achieving an effective Foreing/Second Language learning process in such situation I can say that it will depend of our goals and possible means to achieve them. Unfortunately the current framework has not been so favorable for us. In fact, I suggest we think about what we really want to mean with "an effective foreign learning process". Who can point some ideas?

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  2. Hi, people!
    I believe the problem is instate society, school and government. Society thinks is unnecessary state school students know a second language because probably they will never use it. Some teachers think is impossible to teach languages at state school. The government invests the minimum possible in education. It's hard to do a system works when everything seems is against it. That's my honest opinion.

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  3. Hello everybody!
    In my opinion, state schools in general are not really interested in teaching a second language in Brazil. As Leffa says, most part of the teachers pretend they are teaching English, and they know students are not learning anything. Unfortunately, this lack of interest is growing day by day, and the students are already used to pretend they are having English classes at school. They have constructed in their minds the idea that it's only possible to learn English at English Schools. I think that, even with all the dificulties state schools have, it is possible to really teach English. The problem is that there aren't many English teachers that are capable of teaching without a good material. I think the government should improve the quality of teacher training, and provide more material and support for state schools. Another point I'd like to say is the lack of family presence at school. Children don't have a stimulus at home to study, and this retards their learning. Parents should be part of the school community, talk to the teachers and accompany their kids' studies more closely. That's all.

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  4. Hi, there!!!

    In my opinion, public education in Brasil is a serious problem.The indix of illitera (tongue mother) is big,so you can imagine the Brazilian people that know we can have a opportunity to learn a second language. I think that the education in Brasil is a problem the all; of the governament because they have condition to better the situation but nothing do, of the students, because do not value the shools and also a problem of the parents, because many time they do not encourage their children, they do not observe the shool life of the children.
    We "Brazilian" need to change our concept about public education, we need left to be accommodate and to required a quality teach to our children, incluing a quality teach in relation to language English in public shool.

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  5. It’s a very hard discussion… Why don’t we have a good public school that can effective teach students a second language??
    First of all, I agree with Mari (from de 1st post)… we have a sort of realities in our huge country. In some cases the political power has shown to be more conscious about this situation than other… But, we have to agree that in Brazil the Educational Law is the same for everybody and the differences are not that far… We have almost the same situation if we think about the time of exposure to the second language, materials, the teacher’s formation, etc.
    The explanation to these little differences from place to place, in my point of view, is just one: the economical need.
    In my opinion we are just going to have a government worried about Second Language learning in the Public School when it becomes important to our economic growth. When you do need a large number of people (from different social status) speaking, reading, listening and writing in English, or Spanish, the government is going to pay attention to this gap in public school.
    It’s hard to accept, but school is, most of the time, behind the society needs… You have to face it!

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  6. Hello dear friends, I would like to say that I agree with everybody, especially with Mari when she says that it is important to think about what we really want to mean with "an effective foreign learning process". Because, as we already know, Brazilian public school system is much more complex than we think and learning a foreign language as English language, for example, can be difficult within this context. However, I believe it is possible to teach and learn English language at production context. But, it is necessary to consider the production conditions otherwise it is impossible to understand the implications of this teaching and learning process. Do you agree with me? What do you think about that? I would like to know your opinion about these and other aspects which can be problems in Brazilian public school system. Thanks, anyway.

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  7. the reality of Brazilian education today requires a profound transformation. learning is very low in many cases. is difficult for many students to learn the Portuguese language and much harder still to learn a second language. believe that it is impossible to better this situation but it sure is an extremely difficult task and requires an intense political and social mobilization.

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  8. Este comentário foi removido pelo autor.

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  9. I believe that it is possible to teach English in public school but, first we need teachers that want to do it.

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  10. The public school sistem are a lot of defecient because there are very little time each class.Besides many teachers just copy on board and do not make use of others recourses,for example, simple songs,small films in english...therefore is important a animate class and the participation of the studants.

    About the private school sistem, when I did do a course of english It was only three hours for week. Very little time! Moreover just some people have opportunity to pay , because the courses are expensive and spend a lot of time to learn.
    Bianca Magalhães Wolff

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  11. learning English here in Brazil is so hard and also public schools. Students don't know the English importance for their lives, so they don't know why they need to study it.

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  12. "What’s your opinion about the current situation of the Brazilian public school system?

    Is it possible to achieve an effective Second Language learning process in such situation?
    "

    In Brazilian public school, most Teachers do not teach and the students do not attend the classes.

    So... if they barely can speak their own "native" language, they probably won't learn a second language.

    Laurenci.

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  13. I believe that if there is a deficiency in the teaching of the mother tongue this deficit ira manifest also in learning a second language.
    Camilla Nobre Santana.

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  14. Currently there are more children and young people in school, but the quality is very bad. This deficiency is clearly the teaching of English. I believe it is the lack of preparation of teachers and little encouragement of educational entities (public school).
    These factors are perpetuating a vicious cycle of teaching and learning, teacher / student, which makes the acquisition of a second language a difficult goal to achieve, in terms of public education, except a few exceptions.

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  15. First: to learn a second language we need to want; Second: we need a good method.
    In Brazil, we dont't have a good learn of second language in public school. Many students search learn themselves or in a private course. Unfortunately,some teachers think only in cash!!

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  16. I agree with Meri when she says the problem is instate society, school and government. In Brazilian public school system there’s a lack of infrastructure and many students are not interested in learning a second language because they don’t believe that school is capable to teach it.

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  17. I think there would be a solution if there was a greater involvement by teachers and students.

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Some research findings!!!

This blog was a virtual space where a group of students worked collaboratively in order to discuss about lots of interesting questions related to English learning and teaching process. It was also part of a Master Degree research project from the Applied Linguistics Department of UFMT (Federal University of Mato Grosso- Brazil). Here you can download and read a dissertation text written by Ana Regina Bresolin, oriented by Dr. Danie Marcelo de Jesus, in 2011.