Ensino de línguas e acolhimento na escola: práticas dos professores de línguas no contexto migratório de Roraima

Abstract

This research is part of the dynamics of recent migration processes in Brazil, specifically in the context of the migration crisis in Boa Vista, Roraima. A state located in the far north of the country, which, due to the political, economic and social crisis in Venezuela, a neighboring country, has received a significant number of migrants. This immigration has caused significant local changes, especially in the sectors of health, public safety and education. The presence of immigrant students in schools raises questions that require a more critical and sensitive look at the specificities of this new scenario. Based on this context, the general objective of this research is to analyze how teachers in state schools are teaching Portuguese and foreign languages/Spanish in classrooms with Venezuelan immigrant students. To achieve this objective, the following specific objectives were defined: a) to identify the difficulties encountered and strategies adopted by Portuguese and foreign language (Spanish) teachers in classrooms with immigrant students; b) to understand how the linguistic-cultural aspects of migrant students influence the dynamics of the classroom and the teacher's practice; c) identify the actions developed by the school to collaborate with the practice developed by the teacher. This research is anchored in the theoretical assumptions of Indisciplinary Applied Linguistics (Moita Lopes, 2006) and Transgressive Linguistics (Pennycook, 2004, 2006), studies on migration, refuge and teaching-learning of PLAc (Amado, 2013, Grosso, 2021) and studies on interculturality, intercultural education and teacher training (Candau, 2011; Walsh, 2012). Regarding the methodology, interpretative qualitative research of an ethnographic and autoethnographic nature was carried out (Moita Lopes, 1994; Cavalcantti, 2006), with participant observation, field diary, semi-structured interview, as instruments for generating records. The research was conducted in a state school, with 3 teachers, 2 of whom spoke Portuguese - including this teacher-researcher - and 1 spoke Spanish. The school manager and coordinator were also interviewed. The data analysis, interpretative and based on representative data, was based on the categories (analytical dimensions) created from the research questions and the data presented to us in the field, seeking cultural and communicative patterns. Based on the listening space (Leroy, 2021) created for these teachers, the partial results of this study indicate that the teachers' feelings and emotions take on new contours when working with migrant and refugee students in situations of social vulnerability; the Spanish spoken by migrant students, at first, represents a linguistic barrier in the teaching-learning process; discriminatory and xenophobic practices that arise in the school context are combated by teachers through actions to welcome migrant students; Teachers promote pedagogical practices of integration and linguistic-cultural welcome to migrant refugee students, even without specific training for this purpose. Through these notes, specific public linguistic policies can be designed and implemented in this context, aiming at a more inclusive, respectful, intercultural and truly welcoming language teaching and learning for Venezuelan immigrant students.