Concepções de docentes de língua portuguesa sobre o uso de tecnologias digitais no IFNMG antes, durante e após o Ensino Remoto Emergencial

Abstract

In this study, I address the context of Portuguese language teaching practices mediated by digital information and communication technologies (DICT). To this end, my general objective is to investigate Portuguese language teachers' conceptions regarding the use of digital technologies at IFNMG, before, during, and after Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT). The specific objectives are: a) to identify and analyze the digital tools used in Portuguese language courses during ERT and determine which ones remained in use afterward; b) to map the challenges Portuguese language teachers faced in adapting their pedagogical practices for ERT during the COVID-19 pandemic; c) to understand the extent to which the teachers' reported experiences allow for a critical examination of whether their pedagogical practices align with or diverge from Restricted CALL, Open CALL, and Integrated CALL approaches; d) to analyze whether teachers’ conceptions regarding digital technology use, before, during, and after ERT, demonstrate a stage of "normalization" or "non-normalization" of digital technologies within the IFNMG educational context; and e) to critically examine the implications of using digital technologies during ERT for teaching practice. The research adopts an exploratory, qualitative, and interpretivist methodological approach, comprising the following stages: literature review; development of the interview protocol; submission of the project to the UFU Ethics Committee; data collection; and data analysis. This work is grounded in Applied Linguistics (AL) studies, which view language as a social practice. The theoretical framework draws on authors such as Bax (2003), Moran (2015), Coscarelli (2021), Ribeiro (2022), Monte Mór (2020), and Paiva (2013, 2015, 2019, 2020), who discuss technology-mediated teaching, digital literacy, teacher education, and the COVID-19 pandemic. The analyzed data revealed that, although teachers used many digital technologies in the classroom prior to the pandemic, this usage still reflected instrumental practices and methodologies; there was a collective effort by teachers to seek training in the use of digital technologies, a process driven not by choice, but by urgency. The intense experience with ICTs during Emergency Remote Teaching (ERE) brought about a shift in the teaching staff: even though their practices were not yet fully integrated with ICTs, there was a distinct movement toward inclusion, adoption, reduced fear and insecurity, and greater autonomy. Teacher accounts pointed to a process of transformation, signaling progress toward the technological normalization discussed by Bax (2003). Thus, I believe there was a shift in teachers' habits regarding lesson planning and pedagogical practices, as well as a reconfiguration of their perceptions of autonomy, competence, and professional identity within the digital landscape. Although the process of normalizing technologies in education is typically gradual, traversing cycles of resistance, introduction, and integration, the COVID-19 pandemic forced a rupture in this gradual progression, as digital technologies were introduced into education urgently, forcibly, and abruptly due to circumstances. While this revealed the potential of digital technologies, it also highlighted issues such as the inequalities and precarious conditions that have long plagued the school environment. Consequently, I consider that the use of digital technologies remains largely within the realm Bax (2003) termed "Open CALL", a stage where technological tools are not yet fully integrated into the daily life of schools. Normalization, as proposed by the author, requires the institutionalization and systematization of ICT-based practices, rather than relying solely on the isolated, individual efforts of specific teachers.