[Dialogue between students]
Paulo: Fernanda, look how I can speak in English: We are Carnaval / We are, we are folia / We are, we are the world of Carnaval / We are Bahia.
Fernanda: That’s not English, it does not make sense. Nobody would say: We are Carnival. An American would say: I like Carnival or I don’t like Carnival.
Paulo: Well, I am Brazilian and my English is Brazilian. I speak Brazilian English, my friend!
Considering this scenario, the English teacher decided to widen the debate and involve the rest of the class. She said that language is more than just a means of verbal communication: it is a social construct shaped by cultural, historical and social context. She emphasized that language reflects the norms, values and identities of a language community, which is constituted through the interactions between its members. In addition to grammatical skills, language also involves the interpretation and production of meaning in different social and cultural contexts and is subject to change both during its use and in its influence on us. Finally, echoing Leffa (2002), the teacher also said that, when learning a new language, we negotiate the code without denying who we are, because a Brazilian who speaks English is not an American, a British or an Australian who speaks English: s/he is a Brazilian who speaks English. She concluded by saying that the language you learn is not foreign; it is not from others — it can also belong to you and be part of your identity.
That situation shows that the teacher recognized the relationship between language and identity as