Research Projects – Applied Linguistics: Teacher training and language teaching and learning

ADRIANA DA SILVA
Fake News and COVID-19: Linguistic Indicators of Brazilian Portuguese Texts During the Pandemic
Identify linguistic aspects of fake news about COVID-19 in Portuguese presented in government and non-governmental sources. Specific: a) Identify linguistic aspects such as word frequency, selected lexicon, grammatical classes, modal verbs, source citations, and categorization into subtopics; b) Compare the linguistic aspects of fake news with those of scientific articles.
Fake News About the Vaccine: The Grammar of Visual Design and Meanings
The main objective of this project is to describe the interaction between verbal and nonverbal aspects in fake news about the COVID-19 vaccine, analyzing the meanings constructed based on the categories offered by the GVD. 2.2 Specific a) Describe the representational meanings of fake news according to the GVD; b) Interpret the characteristics in light of the socio-historical context; c) Analyze the meanings of the information disseminated in the news and, when possible, describe the interpersonal and compositional meanings of the GVD.
Linguistic, Textual, and Discursive Aspects of Social Media Interaction
The project’s objective is to evaluate linguistic, textual, and discursive aspects of social media conversations. Specific objectives: a) Collect corpora from social media; b) Identify linguistic and morphosyntactic aspects of posts and comments; c) Describe aspects of the textuality of interactions; d) Examine the use of metadiscursive elements in texts; e) Develop descriptive and discursive analyses of these interactions.
Extreme Discourses on Social Media: An Analysis of Comments on Newspaper Accounts in Brazil and Argentina
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ANA LUISA BORBA GEDIEL
Libras and Teacher Training from a Decolonial Perspective: A Proposal for Analyzing CELIB Syllabuses
This research aims to map and analyze the syllabuses of CELIB’s regular basic, intermediate, and advanced level courses to understand the contributions, gaps, and challenges in teacher training, taking into account the decolonial perspective. To achieve this objective, the research will be conducted using a qualitative, documentary approach, leveraging CELIB’s online collection, which will be made available for reviewing syllabuses and content. Furthermore, we recognize and adapt this CNPq Scientific Initiation research proposal to the research line entitled “Applied Linguistics: Teacher Training and Language Teaching,” which involves discussions on decolonial studies, teacher training, and the teaching and learning of Libras, linked to the field of Applied Linguistics.
Teaching and Learning Libras as a Second Language in Undergraduate Programs: Understanding the Strategies Adopted in Remote Learning
The impacts of the pandemic on education and the emergency remote learning format in higher education have necessitated the development of didactic and methodological initiatives for teaching all courses offered at universities. However, this model still requires research that seeks greater participation between teachers and students (individually and/or collectively) through digital inclusion. Therefore, this research sought to (re)think teaching strategies and methodological initiatives involving student interaction in the Libras course, using dynamics and teaching resources that leverage digital tools to equalize teaching conditions at a higher education institution in the Zona da Mata region of Minas Gerais during the Special Remote Learning Period. This research is linked to the field of Applied Linguistics, focused on teacher training and language teaching.
An analysis of public policies and deaf education through the “Se Liga na Educação” platform
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Libras, teacher training, and teaching strategies: investigating the inclusion of Basic Education into Higher Education
This research encompasses a set of studies to be conducted throughout the four-year period of the Graduate Program in Languages, in the area of Linguistics, in the Applied Linguistics Track: teacher training and language teaching. Thus, this project encompasses several research initiatives aimed at understanding the inclusive processes of Libras courses and disciplines, teacher training methodologies, the use of developed assistive technologies, and teaching strategies, considering both basic education and higher education. Considering the breadth of the topics we aim to investigate, we suggest a broad objective that used qualitative methods and techniques, where courses, disciplines, teacher training initiatives, and technologies involving Libras and deaf individuals in the educational context will be mapped, cataloged, and investigated. Given the complexity of the educational context that includes deaf students from basic education to higher education, this project encompasses a set of scientific initiation research, course completion papers, and master’s dissertations that seek to understand how inclusive processes occur and what actions are being developed in the areas of teacher training, teaching strategies, and the development of technologies for accessibility for this group of subjects.

ANA MARIA FERREIRA BARCELOS
Teacher Training, Language Teaching/Learning, and Loving Pedagogy: The Role of Emotions, Beliefs, Actions, and Identities within Critical Applied Linguistics
The overall objective of this project is to understand how language teacher training (both initial and continuing) takes place and what actions, beliefs, emotions, and identities (and their interrelationships) characterize a loving pedagogy within a critical language teaching approach that seeks to situate the actors in this process as whole people (with their bodies and emotions). Some authors suggest that passion and pedagogical love are essential to teaching (DAY, 2004; ZEMBYLAS, 2003). Although there are works on Loving Pedagogy (BARCELOS and COELHO, 2016; BARCELOS, 2020) in language teaching, as well as other themes within Critical Applied Linguistics (CAL), there are still few works that investigate how this pedagogy is constructed and how studies on gender and sexualities, feminism and/or gender violence in language teaching are constructed in terms of the beliefs, emotions and identities of teachers, students and teacher educators in the classroom. Thus, this project aims to: a) identify, describe, and analyze beliefs, identities, actions, and emotions of teachers and students, as well as the relationship between these concepts, in the initial (and continuing) training of language teachers, regarding genders, sexualities, and Loving Pedagogy through classroom observation, interviews, narratives, and other qualitative research collection methods, using different theoretical frameworks within Language Learning Psychology and LAC (MOITA LOPES, 2006; URZÊDA FREITAS E PESSOA, 2012; LANAS E ZEMBYLAS, 2014). This project encompasses Scientific Initiation research, Course Completion Papers, Monographs, and Master’s dissertations.

BIANCA SENA GOMES
Bibliographic Studies of Libras Linguistics: Building a Corpus of Academic Texts Produced Between 2004 and 2015
This research is a bibliographic study that aims to build a corpus of printed or electronically edited research materials in the field of Libras linguistics, published between 2004 and 2015, to understand the results of Brazilian research on the phonological, morphological, and syntactic levels of Libras during the aforementioned period. To this end, we will map academic texts in the field of Libras linguistics published during this period and analyze the texts found, summarizing them and categorizing them by linguistic level. Furthermore, we will organize the data in an online database for other researchers in the field to access. Regarding the period covered by the publications investigated here, we decided to focus on the years 2004 and 2015. This is justified by the fact that, in 2004, a seminal work in the field of Brazilian Sign Language linguistics was published—the book “Brazilian Sign Language: Linguistic Studies,” by Ronice Quadros and Lodenir Karnopp. We are interested in learning about the contributions of authors in this field to this topic after those of Quadros and Karnopp (2004). The year 2015 was chosen as the cutoff year for the searches because it is the year before the period in which this research will begin, that is, 2016. This research topic is justified by the fact that linguistic studies of sign languages are recent in Brazil and require a state-of-the-art survey that will contribute to researchers in the field. Furthermore, Libras has gained significant visibility in Brazil following the enactment of Law 10,436 in 2002 and Decree 5,626, which regulates it, in 2005. The Libras Language program was created at UFSC, and subsequently, these programs expanded throughout Brazil, as well as graduate programs that investigate sign language. These facts corroborate the importance of this proposed bibliographic study, given that numerous studies have been produced, and it is important to catalog them and make them more accessible to students and researchers in the field.

ELISA MATTOS DE SÁ
Menstrual Poverty and Dignity, Environment, and Science: Entangling the Kaleidoscope in Schools in the Federal District
The multidimensional problem of menstrual poverty and dignity in Brazilian contexts guides this proposal, which aims to produce evidence and knowledge identified in discourses about this reality, in order to generate support for proposing innovative actions to address the problems triggered by the lack of rights of menstruating bodies in schools in the Federal District. Through discursive-critical ethnographic research, scientific evidence will be generated for proposing actions on menstrual education in schools, based on critical literacy practices. The objectives are: (i) to identify and discursively analyze the narratives about menstrual poverty and dignity produced by students who menstruate to support the transfer of knowledge about menstrual health in that school context; (ii) develop a multidisciplinary project on emancipatory and inclusive menstrual education through activities coordinated with STEM, Humanities, Biological Sciences, and Earth Sciences disciplines, so that students can learn about and discuss the relationships between menstrual poverty, the environment/sanitation, and school dropout and productivity; (iv) produce a literacy practice on menstrual education – a PODCAST on the importance of Menstrual Education, to inform, for example, about the different types of menstrual supplies and how this can impact the environment; (v) hold a Panel – Inspiring Stories from Students in STEAM, Humanities, Earth Sciences, and Biological Sciences – on how menstrual poverty can interfere with development and school productivity, even hindering access to university.
Twisting the kaleidoscope in the debate on the relationships between discourse, menstrual poverty, the environment, and science in Brazilian high schools
Since 2014, the United Nations (UN) has considered access to menstrual health a public health and human rights issue. May 28th is declared International Menstrual Dignity Day. Period poverty has a dense complexity that relates to many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined in the UN 2030 Agenda. The 17 goals emerged at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 2012 and seek to eliminate poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people have their rights protected in peace and justice. Of these 17 goals, period poverty directly affects at least eight of them. The proposal is in line with the 2030 Agenda (SDGs), the National Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation (ENCTI), and the strategic area for Sustainable Development and Quality of Life (CNPq). The proposal is also aligned with Brazilian legal provisions: (ECA; BRAZIL, 1990), (LDB; BRAZIL, 1996), (PNEDH), (PNDH-3; BRAZIL, 2009), and the National Education Plan (PNE). The proposal aims to encourage the participation of women and girls, preferably from the Brazilian public education system, in the areas of Earth Sciences, Languages, and Technologies, in an interdisciplinary manner, since menstrual poverty occupies a prominent place and crosses several areas of knowledge: Gender, Sexualities, Race, Ethnicity, and Intersectionalities; Education; Technology and Production; Human Rights, Citizenship and Justice; and Health and Quality of Life. This proposal is linked to three ongoing projects: (i) INCT Kaleidoscope Institute for Advanced Studies on Gender and Sexual Inequities, Inequalities, and Violence and Their Multiple Insurgencies, CNPq 406771/2022-7, based at UnB; (ii) Research Network Project on Discourse and Gender: cartography for integration between Brazil and Latin America – Project 409194/2021-2, CNPq, #8239; and also the research projects: Discourses on menstrual poverty in Brazil and Latin America and Menstrual Poverty/Dignity, environment, and science: entangling the Kaleidoscope in schools in the Federal District, approved by the Girls and Women in Science Program, of the UnB Extension Dean’s Office. Identifying and analyzing discourses on care practices for menstruating bodies in socio-school practices will have an impact on the development of research and studies in the area of discourse that currently seek to challenge the discourses produced by the colonial world-modern system (GOMES, 2022a, GOMES, 2022b; MACEDO, 2021; RESENDE, 2019; VIEIRA, 2019; 2022; PARDO, 2019; SANTOS, 2019; ACOSTA, 2019; LUGONES, 2020; CURIEL, 2020). Analyzing these discourses using intersectional methodology (AKOTIRENE, 2019; COLLINS, 2019; ALCOFF, 2006; NOGUEIRA, 2017; GONZALES, 2020) and critical-discursive ethnography (VIEIRA; RESENDE, 2016; MAGALHÃES, SILVA, ARGENTA, PEREIRA, 2022), through literacy events in health and schools, will help us identify and point to possible solutions for social transformation. It is a decolonial transdisciplinary proposal that can generate other potential meanings about menstruating bodies and their rights. For the field of discursive studies, the themes of gender, class, and race in the light of a decolonial analysis (MALDONADO-TORRES, 2016; 2018) have been very important to language teaching, literacy research, and our life in society. LICT: Language, Cognition, and Technology Language, Cognition, and Technology Research Group: http://dgp.cnpq.br/dgp/espelhogrupo/816426.

IDALENA OLIVEIRA CHAVES
Interculturality and the Training of Nigerian Teachers at the Federal University of Viçosa
This project seeks to investigate the daily lives of Nigerian teachers in training at the Federal University of Viçosa, at the master’s, doctoral, and postdoctoral levels, to identify the challenges related to learning the Portuguese language and its cultural and linguistic aspects.

JOZIANE FERRAZ DE ASSIS
Autoethnographic Research and the Study of Emotions in Language Teaching and Learning Processes and Teacher Training
This project proposes the development of autoethnographic research in Applied Linguistics studies, particularly from the perspective of the Sociology of Bodies/Emotions, expanding the possibilities of research strategies in the field. Its general objective is to investigate the relationship between emotions, understood as cognitively understood social constructs, and the teaching and learning processes experienced by language students and teachers during their classes and teacher training, both initial and continuing. This is qualitative research, using autoethnography as its predominant methodological strategy, through the writing of narratives, both subjective and theoretical, about emotions and the processes of learning and teaching languages. The research is part of the field of Linguistic Studies, in the Applied Linguistics: Teacher Training and Language Teaching and Learning research line. The researcher is part of the research groups International Network of Sociology of Sensibilities (UBA-Argentina) and Beliefs about Language Teaching and Learning (UFV).

MICHELLE NAVE VALADÃO
Deaf Education in Higher Education: From Brazilian Sign Language Acquisition to Academic Literacy
In Brazil, the history of deaf education is based on the struggle for recognition of their bilingual status, with Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) as their first language (L1) and Portuguese (L2) as their second language. Currently, despite legal guarantees for deaf students to develop as bilingual individuals, their linguistic rights are still not fully guaranteed, either due to the scarcity of environments and spaces conducive to early acquisition of Libras or due to difficulties in promoting a Portuguese language teaching and learning process appropriate to their linguistic and cultural specificities. Consequently, many deaf students carry significant linguistic gaps in both languages throughout their schooling, which hinder the entire educational process, especially when it is based on inclusive education. Understanding that education involves different stages, it is assumed that many deaf students, upon entering higher education, still bear the marks of these gaps in basic education, especially in written Portuguese, which can hinder their continued university career. Given this issue, this project aims to investigate the academic literacy process developed by and for deaf students. It seeks to analyze potential institutional projects aimed at fostering the linguistic and educational development of these students, considering inclusive educational policies that aim for the retention and quality education of deaf students. The methodology is based on a qualitative approach, using participant observations, field diaries, document analysis, and semi-structured interviews as data collection tools. The study will reflect on the acquisition of L1 and L2 by deaf students, addressing topics such as bilingual education, teacher training, language teaching and learning, and academic literacy.

SIMONE MARIA DANTAS LONGHI
E-laborar – Teacher Training for the Development of Teaching Materials on Cross-Cutting Themes of the BNCC: Multiculturalism and Environmental Education
The E-Laborar project is an initiative of the E-Labore research group, which brings together professors and students from four Brazilian universities—UFV, UFPR, UEL, and USP—and aims to analyze, develop, and experiment with teaching and teacher training tools for teaching cross-cutting themes (TT) covered by the BNCC. Supported by the CNPq 2023 call for proposals—Universal Call for Emerging Groups—the project focuses specifically on the TT of environmental education and multiculturalism and encompasses a set of research and outreach subprojects focused on analyzing teaching practices and developing teaching tools. Considering the importance of inter/transdisciplinary work for the civic development of students involving these two topics, and given the lack of teacher training and teaching materials for TT, the project seeks to respond to this demand by developing a solution together with teachers. Based on the Clinical Activity and the Ergonomics of Teaching Activity, the hypothesis is formulated that the development of teaching devices enables teacher development, as the task of redesigning prescriptions in the form of teaching materials allows teachers to engage in creative activity. More information can be found on the E-Labore research group website (elabore.ufv.br), on our Instagram @gp.elabore, and by email at elabore@ufv.br.