Journal of Education and Human Development

Adolescents’ Beliefs about Learning English as a Foreign Language: An Intervention Study
Fernando Silvério de Lima

Abstract
Research on language learning beliefs has considered for a long time the resistance to change once beliefs become part of people’s lives, identity and experiences. This paper focuses on an intervention study carried out with Brazilian state school adolescents learning English as a foreign language. Due to several contextual factors, pupils suggested a disbelief in the possibility of learning English as a foreign language. The study tried to perceive whether after some changes in their classroom routine their beliefs remained the same. Insights are provided to reinforce the argument that as a transitional age, since adolescence is already a common time for change, signs of change in language learning beliefs are perceived as a result of novel and positive experiences in the classroom.

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