As pesquisas sobre o professor de língua estrangeira, especialmente nas questões de identidade, têm crescido nos últimos anos, seja no âmbito de ensino-aprendizagem do idioma ou na esfera das formações de professores. Contudo, no ensino de língua japonesa como língua estrangeira, não há um estudo específico nessa área, apenas dados de cunho estatístico. Por essa razão, este projeto visa estabelecer uma leitura sobre a identidade do docente de língua japonesa envolvendo professores nativos brasileiros, descendentes e não-descendentes, que ministram aulas nos centros de línguas do Estado de São Paulo, onde se ensina o japonês como língua estrangeira. Para entender a construção da identidade do professor foi necessário realizar uma reflexão sobre o ensino da língua japonesa no Brasil e a forma pela qual foi introduzido o ensino de japonês como língua estrangeira, a fim de considerar questões históricas e sociais aí envolvidas. Também se utilizou o arcabouço teórico que tem sido aplicado nas pesquisas sobre identidade que tratam, nas concepções gerais, a identidade como instável, dinâmica, fluida e mutável. Para analisar o universo da docência em língua japonesa, fizemos um panorama histórico sobre o curso de língua japonesa dos centros de línguas e usamos como metodologia a pesquisa narrativa, pois consideramos que a progressão da história de vida de cada participante está intimamente ligada à sua forma de agir e criar representações de si, do aluno e da sala de aula em seu discurso. A partir das experiências vividas por esses docentes, fizemos o cruzamento de discursos, reunindo as recorrências em núcleo de significações e fizemos uma reflexão sobre o perfil desses professores bem como suas representações sobre a profissão, as impressões estabelecidas ao longo da carreira e suas expectativas para o futuro. Nos núcleos encontramos professores com a identidade profissional de grande pertencimento ao centro de línguas, multifacetada, contraditória e engajada. / Researches about the foreign language teacher, especially regarding identity, have grown in the latest years, whether in the teaching-learning of the language scope or in the area of teacher formation. However, in the teaching of the Japanese language as a foreign language, there is not a specific study in this field, only statistical data. For this reason, this project aims to establish a lection about the identity of the Japanese language teacher involving native Brazilian teachers, descendants and non-descendants that teach classes inside the language centers in the state of São Paulo, where the Japanese is taught as a foreign language. In order to understand the construction of the teachers identity, it was necessary to think deeply about the teaching of the Japanese language in Brazil and the way in which the teaching of the Japanese as a foreign language was introduced in order to consider historical and social issues involved. It has also been used the theoretical framework that has been applied to researches about identity that consider, in general conceptions, identity as unstable, dynamic, fluid and mutable. In furtherance of analyzing the universe of teaching in the Japanese language, a historical panorama was done about the Japanese language course of the language centers and the narrative research was used as methodology, because we considered that the progression of each one of the participants history of life is deeply connected to their way of acting and developing representations of themselves, the students and the classroom in their discourse. From the experience lived by these teachers, their speeches were crossed, bringing together the recurrences in meaning cores and made a reflection on the profile of these teachers as well as their representations about the profession, the impressions established throughout their career and their expectations for the future. In the meaning cores teachers with a professional identity of great belonging to the language center, multifaceted, contradictory and engaged were found.

As pesquisas sobre o professor de língua estrangeira, especialmente nas questões de identidade, têm crescido nos últimos anos, seja no âmbito de ensino-aprendizagem do idioma ou na esfera das formações de professores. Contudo, no ensino de língua japonesa como língua estrangeira, não há um estudo específico nessa área, apenas dados de cunho estatístico. Por essa razão, este projeto visa estabelecer uma leitura sobre a identidade do docente de língua japonesa envolvendo professores nativos brasileiros, descendentes e não-descendentes, que ministram aulas nos centros de línguas do Estado de São Paulo, onde se ensina o japonês como língua estrangeira. Para entender a construção da identidade do professor foi necessário realizar uma reflexão sobre o ensino da língua japonesa no Brasil e a forma pela qual foi introduzido o ensino de japonês como língua estrangeira, a fim de considerar questões históricas e sociais aí envolvidas. Também se utilizou o arcabouço teórico que tem sido aplicado nas pesquisas sobre identidade que tratam, nas concepções gerais, a identidade como instável, dinâmica, fluida e mutável. Para analisar o universo da docência em língua japonesa, fizemos um panorama histórico sobre o curso de língua japonesa dos centros de línguas e usamos como metodologia a pesquisa narrativa, pois consideramos que a progressão da história de vida de cada participante está intimamente ligada à sua forma de agir e criar representações de si, do aluno e da sala de aula em seu discurso. A partir das experiências vividas por esses docentes, fizemos o cruzamento de discursos, reunindo as recorrências em núcleo de significações e fizemos uma reflexão sobre o perfil desses professores bem como suas representações sobre a profissão, as impressões estabelecidas ao longo da carreira e suas expectativas para o futuro. Nos núcleos encontramos professores com a identidade profissional de grande pertencimento ao centro de línguas, multifacetada, contraditória e engajada. / Researches about the foreign language teacher, especially regarding identity, have grown in the latest years, whether in the teaching-learning of the language scope or in the area of teacher formation. However, in the teaching of the Japanese language as a foreign language, there is not a specific study in this field, only statistical data. For this reason, this project aims to establish a lection about the identity of the Japanese language teacher involving native Brazilian teachers, descendants and non-descendants that teach classes inside the language centers in the state of São Paulo, where the Japanese is taught as a foreign language. In order to understand the construction of the teachers identity, it was necessary to think deeply about the teaching of the Japanese language in Brazil and the way in which the teaching of the Japanese as a foreign language was introduced in order to consider historical and social issues involved. It has also been used the theoretical framework that has been applied to researches about identity that consider, in general conceptions, identity as unstable, dynamic, fluid and mutable. In furtherance of analyzing the universe of teaching in the Japanese language, a historical panorama was done about the Japanese language course of the language centers and the narrative research was used as methodology, because we considered that the progression of each one of the participants history of life is deeply connected to their way of acting and developing representations of themselves, the students and the classroom in their discourse. From the experience lived by these teachers, their speeches were crossed, bringing together the recurrences in meaning cores and made a reflection on the profile of these teachers as well as their representations about the profession, the impressions established throughout their career and their expectations for the future. In the meaning cores teachers with a professional identity of great belonging to the language center, multifaceted, contradictory and engaged were found.

This research seeks to develop further understandings of effectiveness of the  Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET)  Programme. The JET programme is an internationalisation programme of which employs primarily native English language speakers into the role of Assistant Language Teachers of whom aid in teaching English within school settings across Japan. Inspiration to undertake the project arose through an observation that previous research into the JET programme displays an overwhelmingly negative perspective of the programme’s effectiveness, not least due to the consistent reduction in Japan’s perceived foreign language attainment rates in recent years. This study seeks to develop a new angle of understanding regarding the JET programme, namely through analysing its Assistant Language Teacher’s and Japanese Teachers of English’s perceptions of their own experiences within the programme, and what they each determine effectiveness to be within their own roles. These perceptions were elicited through joint interviews with pairs of Assistant Language Teachers and Japanese Teachers of English of whom work or worked together. Four interviews took place harbouring two participants in each, totalling eight participants. Through utilisation of thematic and multimodal analytical methodologies in tandem, participant pairs’ individual and collaboratively created perspectives were attained. Results displayed the importance of individual relationships towards effectiveness within participants’ working lives. Effectiveness was primarily displayed through empathetic understanding and supporting one another, alongside actions of which allowed participants to challenge the JET programme together and empower their own relationships in the process. Further, theoretical frameworks of language teacher effectiveness are utilised and display intriguing results pertaining to how participants fulfil their working roles, and how these roles act in empowering potentially problematic norms of what a native speaker is.