Language, interaction and teaching work

Abstract

This article proposes a reflection upon the conceptual triad language – interaction – teaching work. Therefore, we assume teaching as a work. Although it seems an obvious statement, researches that analyze representations of teaching work show how difficult it is to define this profession, and, particularly, to understand it as a work. In this article we present an overview of actions taken from the project Representações do agir docente. Then we discuss the foundations of Socio-discursive Interactionism, which is the theoretical framework we used to analyze teaching work. This choice comes from the importance the theory gives to the study of the role of language practice in work situations, in this case, teaching work. Finally, we present some data from one of the actions of the project Representações do agir docente, which aims to analyze the representations of the teaching act in texts produced by Language Course students during their graduation.