Affectivity and agency in English teaching for Youth and Adult Education

Abstract

This research addresses some links between affectivity and the agency of English language teachers, in the context of Youth and Adult Education. The literature review includes studies on affectivity from the perspective of Paulo Freire and on the articulation between agency and emotions. The research is a collective case study, whose context is based on two municipal public schools, located on the outskirts of São Bernardo do Campo (in São Paulo, Brazil). Two English language teachers who work in two junior high schools take part in the study. The investigation revealed three main findings: (1) affectivity facilitates the teaching-learning process of the English language; (2) teachers’ agency is influenced by conflicting emotions; and (3) there are differences between affectivity in agency and affectivity as agency.