PEDAGOGIA DE PROJETOS: Práticas Bem-Sucedidas em Aulas de Inglês

Abstract

In the past, it was believed that when finishing graduation the professional would be able to work in his or her area for life. Today this is not the reality, especially for those in the teaching career. Teachers need to be aware that their training is permanent and also occurs in their day to day classroom. Reflection on successful projects in teaching and learning English is a way of contributing to the formation of critical and reflective teachers who are updated, instrumentalize themselves, and continually evolve as professionals and as people. The renovation and daily reinvention of the teaching practice through project work is the focus of this article, which aims to present projects developed at FATEC units. These projects aim at expanding the vocabulary and improving students' skills, seeking to make the students’ learning increasingly autonomous and real. The proposals of the developed projects are related to: expansion of vocabulary and grammar, oral skill development and writing improvement, integrated and always developing the potential of ICT. This research finds its theoretical support on the project pedagogy as discussed by John Dewey (1910), Fernando Hernandez (2000), Nilbo Nogueira (2001), Richards (2006), Vygotsky (2006), Simões (2008), as well as Abeysekera & Dawson (2015). The results show that an integrated view of education in the current context strengthens the self-esteem of the students and helps them develop awareness of their own learning process, being involved in social interaction activities that approach topics and real situations. This research has allowed to note that students who participate in such projects have become more autonomous and responsible for their own learning, improving their vocabulary and their oral and written skills in English.