I - Bilingual teacher? a study about the representations of the bilingual subject

Abstract

Bilingual education of prestige has gained significant evidence in the Brazilian
educational scenario since the 20th century. However, the identities of bilingual teachers,
which is an integral part of this evolution, is still searching for a definition. Therefore, we soughtto analyse the reasons why the teachers who work in a prestigious Brazilian bilingual
private school in the city of Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, used to call themselves
bilingual. In order to do so, we used the concepts of bilingual subject and heteroglossia by
García (2009), linguistic repertoire by Busch (2012) and Gumperz (1964) and, finally, culture
by Kramsch (2001). This study, based on the previously mentioned authors, questions
bilingualism as the simple fact of speaking two languages and, consequently, understands it
as a multidimensional phenomenon, which interferes in the sociocultural, psychological, and
linguistic fields of the individual. Data were collected through a semi-structured interview and
a questionnaire by means of descriptive-exploratory research. Findings suggest that all the
participants consider themselves bilingual despite having divergent views of what a bilingual
subject is.