ENEM and the Language Policy for English in the Brazilian Context

ABSTRACT In this article I discuss the results of a doctoral research that focused on the language policy for English in Brazil, specifically the effects of the English questions of ENEM in the representations and practices related to this language. According to the theoretical conception in which the study was based, the comprehension of language policy goes beyond the analysis of what is manifested in laws and official programs, since the real policy, called de facto policy, is put into practice through mechanisms, namely implicit resources, such as exams, traffic signs, among others (SHOHAMY, 2006). Thus, in addition to the analysis of legislation dealing with English, interviews were conducted with students from a preparatory course to enter university, teachers, and English coordinators from public schools. The initial assumption that the presence of English in the ENEM would place the exam as a language policy mechanism was not confirmed, since there was not a significant impact of ENEM on the representations and practices reported by the participants of this study.