Memory and History in English Teaching:

testimonials from a teacher

Abstract

This study is part of a master's thesis about the memories of the teacher Nilza Fernandes de Souza exposing the difficulties in teaching foreign languages in the 1960, weaving a parallel with the present time. It shows that the process of learning English is a difficult and slow procedure in Brazil because there are no public policies to encourage the knowledge of a foreign language in the country. This neglect by the government is reflected most strongly in low-income children, youngsters, and adults due to the lack of opportunities, accentuating social inequalities. The study is justified by the importance and greater demand for knowledge of English in the current globalized world scenario and also by the difficulties of access to the domain and use of this foreign language by Brazilians, an adversity that has been presented throughout the history of education in the country without significant changes in this scenario. It is, in fact, another process of social exclusion, of discrimination against the lower socioeconomic classes that do not have access to language schools because they cannot pay for them.