Collaborative research: Reflections on learning as a social practice process of a preservice English teacher

Abstract

This article discusses the reflections of a preservice English teacher on her own actions in classroom, focusing mainly on her efforts to develop pedagogical and evaluative activities which are based on the perspective of learning as a social process. These reflections were triggered through a collaborative research study, duringthe preservice teacher practicum in a State school in Santa Maria (RS, Brazil), in 2007. The results indicate that the teacher was capable ofdeveloping a pedagogical and evaluative practice which focused on language not only as a product but also as a social process. Furthermore,this participant discussed the unequal power relations established in that school context, calling attention to the disempowerment of preserviceteachers in relation to other community members (teachers, supervisor and coordinators) in the development of their professional activitieswithin that social context.Key words: collaborative research, sociocultural learning perspective, English as a Foreign Language.