VEIGA DE ALMEIDA UNIVERSITY

LANGUAGE COURSE
 

AMANDA FERREIRA DE OLIVEIRA

FINAL REPORT
ENGLISH LANGUAGE PRACTICUM

RIO DE JANEIRO
2019
AMANDA FERREIRA DE OLIVEIRA

Report presented as an evaluation requirement

for the subject Estágio Supervisionado em
Língua Inglesa, at Universidade Veiga de
Almeida, taught by Professor Cláudia Giesel,
PhD.

RIO DE JANEIRO
2019
 EXAMINER

________________________________________________________
Professor Cláudia Cristina Mendes Giesel – UVA

Approved: _________

RIO DE JANEIRO
2019
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First, I would like to thank God, whose name is Jehovah, for always helping me and
endowing humans with the incredible capacity for communication through language. I thank
my parents, Neusa Maria de Oliveira and Marcos Henrique de Oliveira, for supporting me in
various ways throughout graduation, and my family as a whole, my sister Fernanda, my
grandmother, my cousins ​and my uncles for being always by my side.
To the students of Herbert de Souza State School, through their participation,
experiences and comments during the classes, could help me to understand the role of an
educator. Thanks also to all the teachers of the UVA Language course who contributed
significantly to my academic background. To teacher Hélio Luiz Ribeiro and my friends from
Pedagogical Residence program, for the good company and support given during my
initiation to teaching at school.
To my professor, Cláudia Cristina Mendes Giesel, for the classes that made me
understand the importance of a teacher and especially for the motivation she gave and by
opportunity to start doing research and attending educational and academic events.
 ABSTRACT

This work is an internship report that goes in Rio de Janeiro, at the state School Herbert de
Souza. The experiences of the internship will be based on the theoretical lines found in BNCC
(2017), PCN (1998) and Freire (1996) these report a series of theories related to the practice
of teaching / learning that offer the student access to a language education of quality in
addition to promoting the inclusion of their own. Other authors and theorists, served as
theoretical references in preparing this report. The work done in school made up the
methodological observations here inserted into the theoretical contexts, too, in the approach
to teaching/learning of english Language by students and teachers. The main focus o f this
work is to enhance and develop the teaching and learning of english language in this
institution.

KEYWORDS: english language; supervised internship; teaching/learning of english

language; public school
 SUMMARY

1.INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................8

2.MEMORIAL..........................................................................................................................9

3. THEORETICAL FOUNDATION………………………………………………………...10

4.CHARACTERIZATION OF THE INSTITUTION ............................................................14

5. DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTIVITIES DEVELOPED IN THE PRACTICUM.....…….16

6. PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS ………….………………...16

7. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS..............................................................................................17

8. REFERENCES....................................................................................................................18
 1. INTRODUCTION
The present report aims to reflect on the practicum of a supervised internship in the
english language teaching during the language course - Portuguese/English. By reflecting on
the teaching of english in Brazil, it is not a surprise that many brazilian people thinks about
english language. One of the factors that leads to this, is the phenomenon of globalization. For
example, economic relations between Brazil and the U.S.A, the spread of American foreign
culture through the internet and many other aspects throughout history, have led the English
language to become the main language taught in public and private education in Brazil.
However, focus on grammatical rules, decontextualized lessons and unprepared teachers led
many students to reject english lessons. Through the subject Applied Linguistics taught in the
course of Languages- Portuguese / English, I realized the importance, even before starting the
internship, of reflecting on the context of the student in order to make him more autonomous
in their learning process.
Through the observations made in the classroom, it is possible to notice problems
concerning the teaching of English in basic education, which generates a distance from the
students in relation to the foreign language. I used the internship experience to observe
pedagogical practices applied in the school context by the English teacher. Recently, research
in the field of ELT has pointed out that an approach limited to purely grammatical aspects and
written exercises has proved to be ineffective. However, educators in the area of ​education
propose the strengthening of teaching other important skills, such as critical thinking. Since
the English language can serve as an instrument of social transformation, it is necessary to
reflect how English classes can contribute into this process, and the practicum is an excellent
space for this reflection.
This report seeks to describe the experiences lived in Herbert de Souza State School
between February 2019 to June 2019. The school is located at Barão de Itapagibe street, Rio
Comprido, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. I believe, as a future English teacher, that developing
student's communicative competence and their relationship with the social environment is
objective.
Therefore, initially, I will introduce what motivated me to study Languages. Next, I
will discuss the main theories studied during the graduation that guided and will guide me my
teaching practice. Finally, I will describe the school environment in which I was inserted and
the practices I have undertaken.
2. MEMORIAL
Looking back becomes rewarding when I see how I grew up. My name is Amanda
Ferreira de Oliveira, I'm 21 years old and I am finishing my last semester of the degree in
Languages. In 2015, I finished high school at Pedro II School, where I learned a lot and
developed myself as an individual. After graduating, I decided to study Languages at
university. A lot of people asked me, "Really, do you want to be a teacher?" Well, let me
explain why I made that decision. When I was 12 I started a free English course at my
municipal school, which was fundamental to me. By the time I was studying I was
discovering my love to languages. So I decided to study Languages - Portuguese / English.
But at the beginning of graduation, I did not know what was involved in being an educator.

Already in the second semester, I studied the subject Pedagogical Practice I in which I
was able to understand the real role of the teacher and the size of the responsibility to teach.
During this subject, I had the opportunity to visit two schools, one public and one private.
This experience allowed me to return to the school environment with another vision, this
moment prepared me for what I would experience on my future practicum. Observing those
students, who were just a few years younger than me, made me reflect on the challenges I
would face. Another subject that highlighted my academic background was Applied
linguistics. Reflecting critically on our language made me see the beauty of language and
their speakers. Learning about standard and non-standard variant made me reflect on the
social and educational issues in Brazil. In addition, I was able to recognize that I have an
important mission as a language teacher: combating linguistic prejudice.

I started the graduation still with a high school student mentality, and it was very
interesting, realize, over time the change of my point of view, and start seeing me with a
professional. I have always aim to work as foreign language teacher. At the moment, finally,
I realize that my Language course has allowed my personal and professional growth. At this
moment, I have a new vision of the world. With my heart full of a great feeling of gratitude, I
thank my teachers who have dedicated themselves to improve my professional growth. So I
thank everyone who contributed to my professional training.
3. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

The present report aims to reflect on the practicum of a supervised internship in the
english language teaching during the language course - Portuguese/English. By reflecting on
the teaching of english in Brazil, it is not a surprise that many brazilian people thinks about
english language. One of the factors that leads to this, is the phenomenon of globalization. For
example, economic relations between Brazil and the U.S.A, the spread of American foreign
culture through the internet and many other aspects throughout history, have led the English
language to become the main language taught in public and private education in Brazil.
However, focus on grammatical rules, decontextualized lessons and unprepared teachers led
many students to reject english lessons. I emphasize, therefore, the importance of working in
classroom in a different way. In order to do this, I will base my practicum on the National
Curricular Parameters, PCNs (1998), National Common Curriculum Base, the BNCC (2017)
and Freire (1996), which engage a different approach from the traditional one.
According to Tílio (2012), learning languages means learning knowledge and its use.
According to this perspective, language and learning are understood from a sociointerational
perspective, which means that, languages are socially situated and constructed through
interaction. Learning is a social way to participate in the construction of knowledge.
This vision dialogues with the conception of language defended by Margarida Petter
(2002). The doctor in linguistics reveals that still there is a difficulty in recognizing that the
spoken language differs from the written language, which means that, writing plays a
different role of language expression. Although normative grammar is fundamental to
structure language, using it alone in teaching can generate prejudice. As argued by
Margarida, linguistics "does not speculate or make statements about what language should be"
(PETTER, 2002). However, language, above all, is an instrument of social communication,
which allows man to interact with the world around him, that is, it can allow greater social
inclusion of the individual.

Based on the theoretical-methodological assumptions pointed out in the PCNs (1998),

the use of the textual genre theory has contributed considerably to a language teaching that
awakens critical thinking. As well as the BNCC (2017), which highlights the importance of
developing skills that are essential to read and understand the reality in which students are
inserted. The proposal of the PCNs (1998) and the BNCC (2017) is to provide a better
knowledge of the workings of textual genres, both oral and written textual genres, in relation
to the theory of textual genres and english language teaching. However, students should be
taught to identify the characteristics of each gender. Therefore, the use of different textual
genres is an excellent opportunity to teach the mother tongue in its most diverse uses.

As english teacher, we should pay attention to what material we are using in our class.
According to Tilio (2010), the course book plays an important role in the construction of
knowledge in the classroom. However, it has been overlapping students and teacher’s voice,
becoming a dominant voice during the teaching and learning process.

Taking into account the relevant role of the course book in English classroom,
Rogério Casanovas Tilio investigates how the discourse of these didactic books can affect the
construction of the students's social identities. According to the author, these books “produce
speeches, construct social identities and portray cultural components by teaching a foreign
language, especially English, one of the languages most used in the globalized world. In
addition, we need to understand the function of the course book as a facilitator in the learning
and teaching process…” (TILIO, 2010, p. 169).

Tilio (2010) points out that our society is characterized by its fragmentation and
diversity. “We are all heterogeneous subjects with fragmented identities, contradictory and
fluid coexisting with the phenomenon of globalization, at which point, more than ever before,
cultural plurality is present.” (TILIO, 2010, p. 169). According to the author, the choices of
the cultural contexts presented by the books and the activities proposed by the authors may
allow, or not, that certain identities are constructed, or, at least, manifested at any given time.
Tilio (2010) highlights that the topics discussed in the books “may induce students to adopt
certain identities that may seem right, the socially accepted, and often leading them to repress
their true identities, which may not seem to them legitimate by the book.”( TILIO, 2010, p.
170). For instance, the exposure to certain prejudiced discourses can suppress student's
freedom.
 Tilio (2010) defines identity as the feeling of belonging to a group. Identity is also
"what you have in common with some people and what makes it different from others." (p.
171). According to Sarup, as mentioned by Tilio "Identity is not something that find, or have,
once and for all. Identity is a process "(p. 171). Then, as speech is built by their participants,
are also social identities. It is through the discourse that people construct their social identities
and position themselves in the world. Consequently, the way we see ourselves in the social
world it also depends on how we see the other and how the other sees us.

The author emphasizes that each society has its cultural standards for gender, sexuality,
race, age, social class, and other social identities. Due to this, a socio-constructivist view of
the discourse should be implemented in textbooks and in classrooms. As well as other
members of society, students also have multiple identities: gender, race, class, position in the
family, etc.

Another important point highlighted by the author is the relationship between social
identity and power. According to Sarup, as mentioned by Tilio, "the individual, with his
identity and characteristics, is the product of the power relations to which is subject " (p.173).
Thus, every social and discursive practice involves relations of power, determining "who has
power and who is excluded."

The subjects that accept the social identities imposed on them and submit to their
power may be passive and subjects that choose their position, regardless of the discursive
practices and relations of power imposed by society, may be active, what is called "Political
identity". "Only those who have legitimate authority, that is, of authority conferred by power,
can impose their own definitions of themselves and others” (p.174). The author emphasizes
that the right to identity in English course books must be respected.

Tilio (2010 )verified that course books avoid discussing about problems and conflicts
of the real world, making it a "pedagogical Disneyland". Besides that, it has been observed
that some books, when discuss about culture, deal with cultural issues in a non-critical way,
without problematizations, often ethnocentrically and even folkloric. Moreover, it is possible
to notice that there is a tendency to reduce the world to the United States and Europe.
 It is undeniable that english language teaching focused purely on grammar teaching
and written exercises has not been effective. Neglecting other important skills such as critical
reflection on language has consequently alienated the student and discouraged the teacher.
Therefore, as english language can serve as an instrument of social transformation, seeking a
critical and reflexive approach to teaching becomes more and more necessary.
Aim a new look at the teaching / learning of languages ​in Brazil in order to face the
challenges. Kumaravadivelu (2006 apud ARATO, 2011, p. 41) suggests a paradigm shift in
the area of ​language teaching, which seeks to understand language as ideology rather than a
system and to extend the pedagogical boundaries of exclusively linguistic questions to
encompass social dimensions , cultural and political aspects of this practice.
As Kumaravadivelu (ibid.) and Pennycook (2006, p.9 apud ARATO, 2011, p.42)
suggests, a critical direction , which involves reflection on issues of power and inequality,
may lead to the creation of more meaningful policies for local language practices rather than
generalizing approaches. Starting from the context of each school and addressing issues such
as identity, beliefs of those involved and local knowledge, it can have a transforming effect on
teaching, since such questions are not so often worked on in the language classes of Brazilian
schools. Thus, in view of this panorama, rethinking the teaching pedagogical practice from a
critical approach can be an effective way.
According to Kumaravadivelu (1994), the teacher must know the theory and, from its
practice, be able to reflect on its context, developing a coherent, enlightened approach that is
capable of rebuilding and adapting situations, contexts and specific objectives of that
community. This is not an easy task, because it requires an investment of time, energy,
reflection and mainly self-criticism, but it will certainly contribute to decision making that
positively impacts ELT. Consequently, this teacher may be able to implement changes in his
pedagogical practice that can collaborate in the construction of active and transforming
individuals.
4. CHARACTERIZATION OF THE INSTITUTION

Herbert de Souza state school has a medium to large structure. It has as school director
Rosileida Lopes and as assistant director Lia do Nascimento Montiel de Melo, graduated in
History from the State University of Rio de Janeiro and post-graduate in Brazil post-30 by the
Euclides da Cunha Foundation - UFF. As a guidance counselor , Deuscélia Alves Silva
Rocha.
The physical area of the institution is configured in an extensive space, with two sports
courts, one indoor and one outdoor. The school building has 6 floors, with a total of 38 rooms,
a library, a computer lab, a science laboratory, a boardroom. In addition, the school has two
areas dedicated to pedagogical subjects, such as the pedagogical coordination room and
instructor's room. Another difference is the Portuguese language classroom, where classes are
taught exclusively by Portuguese teachers.
The school also has a teacher’s room, kitchen, a large cafeteria, outdoor patio, toilets
and a school canteen. However, the school does not present access ramps for disabled
students, which compromise accessibility. Since it is a public school, it depends on State
initiatives for adaptation. It was observed that the school has a well-equipped library, with a
diverse book collection. Because it is a building, the school environment was a bit dark.
However, it was a very clean school, with security, inspector and doorman. In addition, there
is informational murals as communication space.

Modalities of education the school offers:

Regular high school in the morning, afternoon and evening;

Professional technical course in Administration with emphasis on Entrepreneurship in an
full-time modality.

The school has approximately 1,450 students

3. DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTIVITIES DEVELOPED IN THE PRACTIUM

My supervised internship allowed me to improve my training as a teacher through

practice, allowed me to immerse myself in the basic education school In this immersion,
among other activities, I should give one lesson. I will describe my main activities in the
English language practicum.
From February 2019 to June 2019, I was able to observe what a foreign language class
in a public school. One lesson that caught my attention was when the teacher worked with
Shakespeare. According to the teacher, the purpose of the lesson was to work student's ability
to work in groups. Therefore, the teacher divided the class into 6 groups. Each group should
found in a printed text answers, using skimming and scanning techniques, to some questions
about the text, each group had a different text. However, the text was applied in Portuguese. I
would say that it would be better to be in English, because it would be another opportunity for
students to have contact with english language.
Another activity that marked me was the interview conducted by the students. The
teacher was working with them the interview genre. The students should interview someone
who speaks English, and many of them wanted to interview me. I was interviewed by 4
students. It was a very interesting activity because the students should record a video speaking
in english, so it gave to them the opportunity to use language in practice. The students asked
me questions like: ​Why did I want to be a teacher? How did I learn English? What advice
would I give to anyone who wants to be a teacher?
Finally, another remarkable project was the application of the lesson plan developed
by me. This lesson was given by me on 06/07/19. In this lesson, I was able to practice some
pedagogical practices that I learned. The purpose of the lesson bringing students everyday
themes into the classroom, to work on vocabulary, and to interpret text. The theme of the class
was social medias. I decided to use the book from the school because they are used to use it
and the book offers good texts. I selected a text that I thought was interesting to students.
However, before going straight into the text, I conduct a brainstorm on the theme in order to
prepare them for the next activities. Before reading the text, I check with them the meaning of
some vocabulary from the title of the text, so they could read the text already with a
direction. Finally, they performed an activity in which they should position themselves for or
against some sentences related to the text. The book adopted by the school was Learn and
share in english.
As can be seen below a part of this lesson plan:

4. PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS

With my experience on the supervised internship, I was able to confirm that

observation practice is a fundamental stage to understand the reality of the school and,
especially, the difficulties that teachers may face when teaching in large classes, considering
that the students have different social realities, cultural and economic background. So, the
challenge of the teacher is be able to prepare classes that take into account these differences.
 Inside the school context, I was able not only to observe, but, act more actively
together with the teacher. The situations that I observed help my professional preparation,
mainly in relation to methodologies used by the teacher and also with specific students who
presented some learning difficulties.
It is undeniable that linking the theory learned in the undergraduate with the reality of
the school and with the teaching practice is not an easy task. However, being a teacher means
overcoming challenges, because dealing with students who are so different from each other is
certainly a difficulty task. First of all, we need a lot of dedication to overcome difficulties.

5. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
The reflections raised during the supervised internship taught me that EL teaching
should be seen as a teaching-learning process of language much more comprehensively than
grammatical rules alone. Teachers must increasingly be motivated and encouraged to teach
the english language in a critical and contextualized way. From an active approach, teach a
foreign language could work as an instrument of action on the world, making the students not
only able do exams on that language, but that they can use it to transform. To sum up,
teachers has an important role in the classroom. As Freire (1996, 1987) suggests, teachers
should do research, should be reflexive and should articulate theories and practice.
Therefore, I conclude, my internship experience was striking in my professional and personal
development. quality education in public schools needs critical-reflective educators I reinstate
the importance of the role of teachers in this training process. In this way, thinking about
language learning, without thinking about the context in which students are inserted, is to
limit their reading of the world, their communicative competence and their relationship with
the social environment. Therefore, it is urgent to rethink an approach that seeks the autonomy
of the student in his / her process of learning a foreign language.
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