Relações com o aprender : um estudo sobre a aprendizagem de língua inglesa no ensino fundamental.

Abstract

The English language has been considered an international language nowadays. As the most widely taught foreign language in the world, it has made possible the access to other kinds of knowledge. However, some studies have shown that there are problems with its teaching. Considering those aspects, this research has the purpose of analyzing the senses that elementary school students give to English language learning, based, mainly, on Relation to Knowledge theory developed by Bernard Charlot. As theoretical references, besides Charlot (2000; 2005), the studies developed by Develay (1996) and Almeida Filho (2005) were used. In order to contextualize the English language in the world scenery, the authors considered were Rajagopalan (2005; 2009), Crystal (2003) and Brown (2000). Concerning the effective conditions of English language teaching in Brazilian schools, the researches carried out by Leffa (2009), Almeida Filho (2005; 2003), Perin (2005) and Walker (2003) were taken into consideration. This is a qualitative research whose instruments were questionnaires and interviews with students from public and private schools. The results show good receptivity by the students to this language and an apparent willingness to its learning, due to the fact that it is a different and world language. The data also point out the elements which may negatively affect the students‟ relation to this language. The senses they attribute to the English language are mostly related to its future importance and usefulness in their lives.