Being a public school English language teacher in pandemic times in Sergipe, Brazil

Abstract

Learning how to face the COVID-19 pandemic was a challenge to the Brazilian population, especially in public educational contexts. Due to the difficulties imposed by such a hard moment, while conducting a research on new literacies in English teachers’ practices, new data emerged and helped researchers to understand what it meant to be public school English teachers in pandemic times in Sergipe, Brazil. This article is a result of a qualitative interpretive research that draws on data generated through interviews and a focal group. The main results suggest that being a public school English teacher this time meant recognizing the differences between on-site and remote teaching, having a burden to carry, getting prepared for the unexpected, reinventing themselves as teachers, and understanding education as opposed to training is necessary.