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Catering for the needs of A Nova Classe C

The economic boom that lifted millions of Brazilians out of lower class and into middle class in
the past years has had a great impact on ELT as with all other educational realms in our country. For
a long time, only the more affluent had access to English learning. More recently, however, a
reasonable amount of discretionary income, and the possibility to enhance employability has made
more Brazilians enrol in English language courses.
According to a study published by the British Council in Brazil in 2014, only 5% of Brazilians
state that they speak English, nevertheless, this percentage doubles among young people between
18 and 24 years old. The study showed that 47% of respondents believe they have a basic level of
proficiency, 32% said that their level is intermediate, 16% consider their English advanced, and 5%
did not know how to answer the question. The study also revealed that there has been an
educational leap in Brazil. In 2013, 18% of the population had progressed beyond secondary
education. This corresponds to the profile of the students who have been filling the classrooms, i.e. a
young adult who leads a professional life, attends university in the evening or aspires to enter
university, has a basic level of English, and sees English as a way to climb up the ladder of
professional success.
After reading this study and pondering over lessons I have observed, I started to wonder if this
new profile has really had any sway over the learning and behaviour of the students, and I felt
compelled to understand what special abilities, if any, I needed to develop to be kitted out to teach,
and also to better equip my trainee teachers. My curiosity was even more piqued due to the fact that
although more and more students are studying English, drop out rates have been higher and higher
in language institutes. Much as I do not have solidified numbers, colleagues from different schools
keep voicing the same complaint. Thus, the conclusion I came to is that although the profile of our
student has changed, we keep offering them the same old solutions that were once effective, but are
not so far-reaching anymore.
The student from the Nova Classe C I am describing here is a young adult who has never
studied English, but who now sees it as a means of passing muster. This student can afford
education, but has had limited life experiences. They have to juggle their studies, work and personal
life, and do not have much free time. They want to have quick results to better cope with market
demands. According to Ricci (2009), the emerging middle class in Brazil is the most remarkable
social phenomenon that ever occurred in the country. The study indicates that the values the Nova
Classe C cherish are different to the values cherished by the traditional middle class. Whereas the
traditional middle class values achievements like house ownership, job security, social status and
circle of friends, the emerging middle class values achievements like material goods, the possibility of
displaying wealth (ostentation), and they take pride in their origins and cultural heritage, and I also
considered this in my cogitations.

As far as learning and behaviour are concerned, Sanchez (2011) explains that some of the
major characteristics of emerging middle class students are:

education has become a commodity;

(which means that) young professionals need to have English, and not to speak English;

English is needed quickly it is a means of climbing up the career ladder;

there has been a shift of paradigm: learners are customers;

todays emerging middle class young adult students, in general, have had low quality basic
education;

students usually lack learning strategies;

students do not usually perceive the practical application of the language;

todays emerging middle class has had little exposure to English;

there is no time to waste; there is a different perception of priorities;

students usually have low self-esteem;

fewer students had a negative learning experience in the past because this is the first time
they are learning a second language formally;

students have a smaller sense of belonging;

learning a foreign language is one more activity they have to do;

learning a foreign language grants social status.

Taking all these characteristics into consideration, it is my firm belief that in order to better cater
for the needs of this modern student, teachers needs to be able to develop seven core abilities:
1. valuing personhood;
2. helping students develop self-esteem;
3. helping students understand cultural differences;
4. teaching students learning strategies;
5. confronting students beliefs about learning;
6. developing coaching abilities to help students cope with their workload and their process of
learning;
7. developing affective teaching skills.
Valuing personhood
We need to give students the opportunity to talk about their own story, voice their opinions,
thoughts, feelings and aspirations. Here, the use of personalised activities is of the essence if we
want to give learners the possibility to boost their self-esteem and foster their sense of belonging.
This approach is what Head and Taylor (1997) call a person-centred approach, and it helps, among
other things, establish trust, accept resistance, raise awareness and solve problems. We also need to
understand that off-the-shelf materials might not always be the best option, and that oftentimes we

need to tailor activities so students can perceive their relevance more clearly. Cunningsworth (1995)
explain that when selecting materials, we need to consider the learning and teaching situation,
understanding the status and role of the learner. This, from my point of view, is a way to value
personhood.
Helping students develop self-esteem
Self-esteem may seem intangible when we think of is an abstract concept, however, there is
more to it than just having confidence in ones own worth and abilities. According to Williams and
Burden (1997) low self-esteem translates as a deficiency need in the classroom, and students have
low self-esteem they tend to become high-maintenance. When this is the case, students are unable
to give their full attention in class, and learning and behaviour problems start to compound. In order
to help students develop their self-esteem, there are simple actions teachers can follow regularly, like
defining the procedures and routines of the lesson clearly, involving learners in defining classroom
rules and norms, promoting individual responsibility, and praising students meaningfully. Williams and
Burden (1997) explain that possible spin-offs of these actions are an increased sense of competence,
control of behaviour, and a belief in positive outcomes.
Helping students understand cultural differences
Bearing in mind that Nova Classe C students we are talking about have had little exposure to
English and have had limited life experiences, it is important to help them build cultural awareness,
understand what qualities they need to deal with other cultures successfully, and how to operate
successfully with people from other cultures. Tomalin and Stempleski (1993) say that students need
to be helped to understand cultural knowledge, and that they need to be given the chance to
observe cultural behaviour. This is a way to develop intercultural sensitivity and awareness. I
personally believe that giving students the opportunity to show and discuss their own cultural
knowledge and behavior is equally important in this setting, given that we are talking about students
who take pride in and value their origins and cultural heritage.
Teaching students learning strategies
In this case, rather than a recipe, I believe we need to help students understand what factors
affect their learning, in a progressive, systematic, piecemeal manner. Ellis and Sinclair (1989)
suggest that students need to discover the strategies that suit them best, and that they should take
responsibility for their learning. If we consider the students we are talking about, however, it is evident
that there should be a preliminary step before that. We need to remember that these students have
had low quality basic education, and lack learning strategies. The teacher needs to pave the way for
the students to discover what strategies best becomes them the teacher needs to present the
strategies, let students experiment, discuss the strategies and assess the results with the students.

Only after that will they become better able to make informed decisions about the strategies that are
more helpful, and will they be able to become accountable for their learning.
Confronting students beliefs about learning
According to the same study published by British Council Brazil which motivated me to write
this article, among the people who do not study English, 72% said they lack time, 65% said it was
very expensive, 27% said their present job does not require it, 18% said schools do not suit their
needs, and 22% said that results take too long too appear. These data are totally compatible with the
profile shown by students. Teachers need to be able to confront these beliefs by showing students
results and by raising awareness of their progress.
Developing coaching abilities to help students cope with their workload and their process of
learning
This ability is directly connected to the first reason why students abandon or do not even start
their English courses. According to Megginson and Clutterbuck (2009), teachers can help students
manage their time by teaching them how to create and prioritise to-do lists, and also how to beat
procrastination. At the beginning of the course or at the beginning of each unit of work, the teacher
can help students plan their schedule so they can do all the tasks and activities they have to do. Also,
from the beginning of the course the teacher can show students how to break major goals into
smaller goals, e.g. speaking English fluently and finding a high-powered, top job might be a bit too
ambitions, but being able to participate in a conference call and answering an e-mail in English are
more easily attainable goals. The teacher needs to show students that they have to be held
accountable for what they compromise to do, and the teacher needs to keep showing students shortterm and long-term results, which will also have an impact on their motivation.
Developing affective teaching skills
Arnold (1999) explains that the key abilities teachers need to develop in order to offer affective
teaching are:
1. focus on critical thinking/thinking skills;
2. show students the importance of working collaboratively;
3. help students identify situations of anxiety and the reason why this feeling is generated;
4. encourage students to take risks and make them aware of them importance of making mistakes;
5. understand what motivates this student to learn so that you can focus on this (these) aspect(s);
6. empathise with the students reality.
It is clear that these suggestions tally with the other ones, and at times they even overlap.
We have had more and more students who have access to language learning, but need to
learn how to deal with it and how to use strategies to better learn it, understand its relevance, and

use it to their own benefit. Teachers must understand exactly what these students need in order to
cater for their needs. Teachers need to develop both hard and soft skills.

References:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Arnold, J. (1999). Affect in language learning. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.
British Council Brazil (2014). Learning English in Brazil. So Paulo: British Council.
Cunningsworth, A. (1995). Choosing your coursebook. Oxford, England: Heinemann.
Ellis, G. and Sinclair, B. (1989). Learning to learn English. Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press.
5. Head, K. and Taylor, P. (1997). Readings in teacher development. Oxford: Heinemann English
Language Teaching.
6. Megginson, D., Clutterbuck, D. and Megginson, D. (2009). Further techniques for coaching
and mentoring. Amsterdam: Butterworth-Heinemann.
7. Ricci, R. (2009). O maior fenmeno sociolgico do Brasil: A nova classe mdia. So Paulo:
Escola de Governo.
8. Sanchez, L. (2011). A escalada da classe C. So Paulo. Revista Educao.
9. Tomalin, B. and Stempleski, S. (1993). Cultural awareness. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
10. Williams, M. and Burden, R. (1997). Psychology for language teachers. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.

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