HOW IS A MYTH CONSTRUCTED?

A dialogic analysis of the advertisement “fale inglês com a Cambly”

Abstract

This article aims to analyze, from the Dialogic Discourse Analysis (DDA) perspective, how the digital English learning platform Cambly discursively constructs the native speaker myth in an advertisement published on Instagram. To this end, we present a brief historical overview regarding the tensions and challenges of learning and teaching English in Brazil, along with the growing demand for English courses among the Brazilian population. Considering the naturalized idea that English teaching in regular Brazilian schools is not enough to achieve language proficiency, the supply and demand for language courses in the country have been steadily increasing, even for children in early childhood. This contributes to a neoliberal context that emphasizes the privatization of education and favors more privileged social classes. The analytical methodology is grounded in the theoretical and methodological framework of Bakhtin’s Circle (2018), which understands language as a social practice shaped by ideological, historical, and social values. Additionally, the concepts of ideological sign, utterance, and word are discussed. The analysis of the verbal-visual utterances in the advertisement indicates that ideological signs are mobilized through their relationship with neoliberal, utilitarian, and neocolonial discourses, which reinforces the native speaker idealization as the legitimate model of English proficiency. By discussing the pedagogical and ideological implications of these discourses, this study reaffirms the importance of a critical teacher education in order to deconstruct myths associated with the English language, and for the promotion of more ethical and responsible practices.