Collaborative learning in the context of EJA:

some reflections in the light of Bakhtinian theories

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This article presents the outcomes of a qualitative and interpretive oriented- case study, which was carried out with eight students from the Youth and Adult Education Program, offered by the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Goiás, located in the countryside. The theoretical basis lies on general concepts of Collaborative Learning, such as the importance of social interactions for language learning in classroom contexts, as well as on basic concepts from the Bakhtin Circle, e.g. the utterance and the dialogical subject. The study data come from an evaluative activity of English for Specific Purposes (focus on reading), held in trios, and from an interview. The data reveal that the study participants did not respond collaboratively to the assigned activity. However, they emphasized the importance of group work to reach better results. Despite the controversies found in the students’ discourse in relation to their classroom actions, this study points out the importance of promoting a foreign language teaching-learning process that highlights decentralized and collaborative educational practices in the Youth and Adult Education Program.