O professor de inglês e o livro didático: letramentos e representações sociais

Abstract

Although textbooks are said to be almost omnipresent in foreign language classrooms, studies which analyze and problematize them have just begun to develop in Brazil. This article aims at contributing to this area of study by approaching teachers’ social representations through the analysis of a textbook which is part of the book collection Alive!, accredited by the National Program of Textbooks and Didactic Material of Brazil in the year 2017. In this analysis, we intend to investigate how this material may contribute to the social representation of educators as literacy agents (agentes de letramento) (KLEIMAN, 2006). Based on the idea of literacies as social practices, we approach issues related to the space set for the subjects involved in the educational process by the material we analyze. Findings suggest that the activities proposed by the textbook are based on the socio-discursive view of language, which may enable teachers to act as literacy agents.