Leitura, identidade e crenças no aprendizado de língua inglesa : um estudo comparativo entre estudantes brasileiros e portugueses.

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to investigate and analyze identity factors involved in the study of English as a foreign language through a survey on the beliefs of students about learning and its repercussion in the reading comprehension process by comparing two groups in different contexts where Portuguese is the first language, in Brazil and in Portugal. The mother tongue is understood as an element the individual identity constitution and that learning a foreign language requires the students a reconstruction of the world conceptions. Regarding to reading, the study assumes that not all textual information is explicit, therefore, in order to understand the reader needs to use inferential processes, arising from their previous knowledge which is linked to their identity and beliefs about several issues. There were 20 participants in the study, 10 students of English from the Language Center at the University of Santa Cruz do Sul in Brazil and other 10 from the Language Centre at the University of Lisbon in Portugal. The data collection instruments were: the beliefs inventory BALLI, three texts for reading and interpretation associated with a written verbal protocol activity and a semi-structured interview. The results showed the reflections of beliefs over the participants reading Interpretation/comprehension and revealed similarities and differences between the two groups, evidencing the potential to contribute for studies on the English teaching-learning process, as well as researches on reading interpretation/comprehension which consider the context and the readers‘ subjectivity.