A Digital Shift: The Use of New Technologies for Language (Teacher) Education in Brazil

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Abstract Summary

The objective of this presentation is to describe the process of transition of academic activities from face-to-face to online and remote mode in two Brazilian universities during the Covid-19 world pandemic. Additionally, this presentation aims at igniting the discussion about the pivotal and positive role that digital technologies have played in language teacher education during these dramatic times. In first academic semester of 2020, as the virus hit Brazilian grounds, educational institutions were obliged to shut down offices and to keep operating online and remotely. The data for this presentation derived from a bibliographical review of studies carried out at the Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo (UFES) and the Universidade de São Paulo (USP) that help us understand better the transition between one mode of interaction to another. A bibliographical review of studies about the use of digital technologies in language teacher education also provides ground for discussion. Results show that the shift impacted teachers and students both positively and negatively, but as educators became more familiar with the digital tools, they gained confidence and expertise. The access to technology and learner autonomy are challenges to be addressed in language teacher education.

Submission ID :

AILA783

Submission Type

Oral Presentation

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[SYMP93] English as a medium of education, multilingualism and the sdgs: equity, diversity and inclusion ?

Argument :

In 2020, during the outburst of the world pandemic of Covid-19, people, businesses and organizations relied on digital technologies in order to be able to carry on with their lives and tasks. That was not different for educational institutions. Teachers and students had to rapidly adapt their activities to digital platforms and started to make use of digital tools. Two years into the pandemic and, as Covid-19 cases seem to lower, things are getting back to (a new?) normal (Castells, 2020). A question, then, rises: Looking back, when it comes to digital technologies that have been exhaustively explored during the past two years, what are the lessons to take and challenges to face? Researchers from the Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo administered online questionnaires and virtual group interviews to capture teachers' and students' perceptions on the university's shift to using digital technologies for academic and professional interactions (Có, Amorim & Finardi, 2020; Amorim, Có & Finardi, 2021). Similarly, experts from the Universidade de São Paulo delved into hybrid methodologies in order to explore different types of interaction mediated through digital technologies (Mayrink, Albuquerque-Costa & Ferraz, 2021). Despite the long-held claim researchers have made about the pivotal role of technology in (language) (teacher) education, only recently, especially motivated by the pandemic, digital technologies have taken the center of debates in (language) (teacher) (education) (for example Gomes Jr. & Puccini, 2019; Gomes Jr., 2020; Paiva & Gomes Jr., 2020). The studies that have been carried out in Brazil and elsewhere can certainly contribute to construct knowledges about technologies and language teacher education in Brazil and worldwide for a more inclusive and diverse society of the present.

Amorim, G.; Có, E. P. & Finardi, K. R. (2021). Percepções de Alunos sobre os Impactos da Pandemia na Educação: Foco no aprendizado de inglês. Revista Prâksis, v. 3, p. 4-31.

Castells, Manuel. (2020). O digital é o novo normal. Disponível em: https://www.fronteiras.com/artigos/o-digital-e-o-novo-normal?fbclid=IwAR1iTxx5DuuO-wpo4CFM3a6IeCsfgk5GLOZ6CpGxbL6gjZSaicpLLvI0Hng, acesso em 01/06/2020 , Acesso em 26 de Julho de 2020.

Có, E. P.; Amorim, G. B. & Finardi, K. R. (2020). Ensino de línguas em tempos de pandemia: experiências com tecnologia em ambientes virtuais. Revista Docência e Cibercultura, v. 4, p. 112-140.

Gomes Jr., R. C. (2020). Instanarratives: stories of foreign language learning on Instagram, System, v. 94, p. 1-18.

Gomes Jr., R. C. & Puccini, B. (2019). Tecnologias móveis e aprendizagem de línguas: um estudo sobre o desenvolvimento de habilidades orais em inglês. Revista da Abralin, v. 18, n. 1, p. 01-33.

Mayrink, M. F.; Alburquerque-Costa, H. & Ferraz, D. (2021). Remote language teaching in the pandemic context at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. In N. Radić, А. ATABEKOVA, M.; FREDDI; J. SCHMIED (Eds), The world universities' response to COVID-19: remote online language teaching (pp. 125-137).

Paiva, V. L. M. O. & Gomes Jr., R. C. (2020). Digital Tools for the Development of Oral Skills in English. Iranian Distance Education, v. 2, n. 1, p. 09-22.