"THE MORE CONTACT WITH ENGLISH, THE BETTER": ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS' PERCEPTIONS ABOUT THEIR EDUCATION AND TEACHING IN THE PLURES PROJECT IN THE MUNICIPAL PUBLIC EDUCATION NETWORK OF BLUMENAU

This article aims to investigate the teacher education of English language (EL) teachers and their perceptions about the pedagogical practices developed by teachers who work in Basic Education Schools of the Municipal Public Teaching Network of Blumenau, state of Santa Catarina, Brazil, in the curriculum organization called Plures. In this organization, schools offer German and English language classes to the 4th and 5th years. This qualitative study employed an online questionnaire, answered by five teachers, and a semi-structured interview with three of these teachers. Results demonstrate that it is necessary to strengthen initial and continuing education to teach EL to children, as well as to work with the concept of English as a lingua franca in contrast to teaching it as a foreign language. In relation to Plures, the teachers' discourses indicate that a weekly class is not enough for the necessary exposure to the language and the necessary interactions in the language for the development of children's language proficiency.