Can the subaltern learn-teach English? Afro-Referenced practices in English teaching in São Paulo

Abstract

This article derives from the master’s dissertation Can the Subaltern Speak English? Escrevivências with Black English Teachers (Lima, 2025), developed within the field of Education and grounded in decolonial studies, Critical Racial Literacy, and the methodology of escrevivência (Duarte; Nunes, 2020). The study investigates Afro-referenced pedagogical practices developed by Black English teachers working in public and private schools in São Paulo, Brazil. The qualitative research was conducted through semi-structured interviews and the production of escrevivências based on the teachers’ narratives, analyzed in light of discussions on coloniality, language, race, and education. The study aims to understand how experiences of racialization and confronting racism influence pedagogical choices and reshape English language teaching. The findings reveal that Afro-referenced practices transform English teaching into a space of identity recognition, political resistance, and belonging. In addition to strengthening Black students’ self-esteem, such practices contribute to democratizing access to the English language and to building a critical and anti-racist education. The study concludes that escrevivência operates simultaneously as a research methodology and a political act of (re)existence, capable of challenging coloniality and affirming historically marginalized forms of knowledge.