Becoming an English Teacher: A Historical-Cultural Study of the Interrelationship between Emotions and Pedagogical Practices inside the Classroom

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the inter-relationship between the emotions experienced by a novice English teacher and her actions during a period of one semester of observed activities. The emotions are understood as higher mental functions that emerge in sociocultural contexts. As cultural products, they can develop and transform. Emotions also work as an internal organizer of our actions. In order to achieve the goal proposed it is used as data generation instruments: (i) experience narrative; (ii) oral life history interview; (iii) class recording followed by viewing sessions; (iv) interview on emotions. The results suggest that the participant’s emotions can be organized into four categories, related to her students, her practice, the pedagogical coordination, and to her own profession. The emotions experienced lead the teacher to do certain things that may or may not contribute to her professional development. The connotation of certain emotions in negative or positive depends on the context in which they emerge.