Pathways on the making: a sociocultural view on becoming an English language teacher

Abstract

This study is part of a major research about language teacher education from a sociocultural perspective. The research design comprises a longitudinal study based on narrative inquiry. Data are generated from oral narratives and written accounts. The participants are three undergraduates attending a language teacher education program at a public university in Brazil. The longitudinal study aims at reconstructing the narrative trajectory of the process of becoming a foreign language teacher throughout three of their four years in college. Theoretically, the transformations and changes within this process are conceived in relation to Vygotsky's cultural-historical psychology as well as its contemporary interpretations in sociocultural theory in fields such as Applied Linguistics and Education. This internship, in particular, aims at fostering academic exchanges and studying at length the Vygotskian legacy to research based on teaching and learning processes. It entails the expansion of the literature review by adding the English translations of Vygotsky's manuscripts unavailable in Brazil. Also, it comprises the analysis of the longitudinal data from a sociocultural perspective establishing a dialogue with other fields such as Psychology. (AU)