“Na tentativa de chegar o mais próximo possível da outra pessoa”: textualizações afetivas de docentes da FALE/UFAL

Abstract

In the field of Applied Linguistics (AL), Barcelos (2015, 2022) and Maia and Dantas (2023) highlight that, despite growing attention toward the study of affects and emotions within AL, a certain academic reluctance regarding this topic still persists. In this context, the present research seeks to investigate how faculty members in the English Language and Literature program at the Federal University of Alagoas (UFAL) understand and represent the role of affects and emotions in their pedagogical practice. To this end, data were generated through questionnaires and interviews with faculty from the aforementioned program. The discussions were grounded in the theoretical frameworks of Sociodiscursive Interactionism (SDI) and the Clinic of Activity (Bronckart, 2006; Clot, 2017), as well as in studies on affectivity and emotional literacy (Barcelos, 2015, 2022; Clot, 2010; Spinoza, 1677 [2009]) and research on higher education and affectivity (Anjos, Oliveira, & Souza, 2021; Rieger & Dantas, 2023). A qualitative analysis of the data reveals a teaching practice permeated by affects and emotions—such as happiness, empathy, fatigue, anger, and frustration—which, at different moments, either enhance or diminish the instructors' capacity to act. Furthermore, the faculty members report employing strategies for emotional management, such as engaging in dialogue with colleagues and writing reflective texts.