ALRJournal. Ahead of Print: ALRJ-94809 | DOI: 10.14744/alrj.2021.94809

Feelings, attitudes, beliefs about speaking English: a brief reflection focusing on nonnative speakers

Flávius Almeida Dos Anjos
Recôncavo of Bahia Federal University - Center of Language, Culture and Applied Technologies (UFRB/CECULT)

This paper is about English language learners’ feelings, attitudes and beliefs when they have to speak this language. It is also about the existence of the native speaker supremacy, what might bring unpleasant consequences, such as the inferiority feeling, fear, inadequacy and low self-esteem on the part of the learners. To corroborate these ideas, some data of ethnographic researche will be shared (JENKINS; 2007, AUTHOR; 2018). Under the light of Applied Linguistics, this reflection still revolves around identities, attitudes and beliefs learners might develop toward the use of English. The central argument of this paper is that the native speaker mythical creature still keeps on affecting the new learners of English, materialized in an irrational arbitrarian comparison. The conclusion, therefore, with this reflection is that it is possible to deconstruct the native speaker myth in order to avoid that learners develop negative feelings, beliefs and attitudes about themselves.

Keywords: Feelings, beliefs, Attitudes.

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