Emerging translingual praxiologies in three English teacher professional development contexts in the Brazilian Midwest

Abstract

ABSTRACT: In this article, we explore our attempts to infuse the classes we teach with our emergent translingual praxiologies. We describe this process in three educational contexts: an undergraduate English major course, a graduate course in Linguistics, and an in-service course for public school English teachers, all in the Midwest region of Brazil. To do so, we use qualitative, interpretive research through personal narratives. For us, translingual understandings emphasize language as fluid, negotiable, and creative, in contrast to monolingual orientations that hold languages to be discrete, fixed, and finite. Such ideas hold potential for developing (de)colonial approaches to linguistic education, which value diverse ways of knowing and being that potentially enhance life across the globe.

Keywords

• Translingual praxiologies
• (De)coloniality
• English teacher professional development
• Brazil