Virtual exchange as a third space to decolonise english language teaching

• Ano de defesa: 2024
• Autor(a) principal: Hildeblando Junior, Carlos Alberto
• Orientador(a): Finardi, Kyria Rebeca Neiva de Lima , Orsini-Jones, Marina
• Banca de defesa: Calvo, Luciana Cabrini Simões , Delboni, Tânia Mara Zanotti Guerra Frizzera , Wimpenny, Katherine, Sutton, Damian
• Tipo de documento: Tese
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: por
• Instituição de defesa: Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; Doutorado em Educação
• Programa de Pós-Graduação: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação
• Departamento: Centro de Educação
• País: BR
• Palavras-chave em Português: Intercâmbio educacional; Fusão cultural; Descolonização
• Área do conhecimento CNPq: Educação
• Link de acesso: http://repositorio.ufes.br/handle/10/19903

The focus of this PhD thesis is to investigate the potential of Virtual Exchange as a Third Space to decolonise English Language Teaching, particularly in the identification, interrogation, and interruption of biases associated with native-speakerism. The expansion of English is entangled with colonial discourses that constitute power relations, discrimination and ideologies. Despite efforts to decolonise English teacher education, the ‘native’ English speaker fallacy still prevails in English Language Teaching programmes and contexts. This thesis starts from the assumption that Virtual Exchange enables liminal spaces where (future) English teachers can critically engage, interrogate, and examine their beliefs through global perspectives. The study uses a mixed method approach (Dörnyei, 2007), mostly qualitative, with an interpretive perspective to observe and document the meanings given to experiences in the Third Space. More specifically, it employs a combination of three qualitative research methods (autoethnography, netnography, and action research) to answer four research questions, namely: (1) how can Virtual Exchange support the identification of native speakerism ideology within ELT, (2) in what ways do beliefs about English among pre-service and in-service teacher education students reflect coloniality, (3) what role can Virtual Exchange play in interrogating and reshaping these beliefs, and (4) how does the locus of enunciation influence emotion (specifically anxiety) and affect participation in Virtual Exchange. Pre-and post-surveys, Padlet walls, focus groups with semi-structured interviews, and Microsoft Forms were used to collect data. The data were analysed using SPSS software and Thematic Analysis and interpreted through the lens of a decolonial perspective. The results of this study show that Virtual Exchange can indeed be a transformational Third Space for English Language Teacher Education and has the potential to decolonise dominant narratives and ideologies in English Language Teaching, even if it does not completely interrupt deep-seated beliefs/coloniality. In other words, Virtual Exchange affords Third Space for the purpose of taking a decolonial stand to curricular implementation and, as suggested by Souza and Duboc (2021) Identify-Interrogate-Interrupt coloniality. However, the recognition of the locus of enunciation and colonial legacies are fundamental for Virtual Exchange to become a Third Space.