In the field of English language teaching materials, a fundamental part of their development is the study of the contexts in which these materials are used. For this reason, this paper investigates the notion of "students' realities" informing the English language teaching materials designed for public municipal schools in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
In the field of English language materials, a fundamental part of their development is the study of the contexts in which these materials are used (HARWOOD, 2010; 2014; TOMLINSON & MASUHARA 2013; KULLMAN, 2013), which, in turn, result from the awareness of how diverse sociocultural spaces can be. Such aspects have led teachers to expect materials to be responsive to students' realities (HARWOOD, 2014). In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Material Didático Carioca (Carioca English Teaching Material) was developed by English language teachers, in partnership between the Municipal Education Office and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, so as to account for the needs of first to sixth graders at public municipal elementary schools. In this scenario, this paper aims at investigating the notion of "students' realities" informing such materials, with a focus on the resources aimed at first graders. Our analysis will be oriented by a dialogic perspective of language (BAKHTIN, 1979 [1997]; 2002a; 2002b; VOLÓCHINOV, 1929 [2017]; BRAIT, 2015; 2018) and a critical understanding (PENNYCOOK, 2004; TILIO; 2017b) of English language teaching and learning. We expect to construct a critical interpretation of how the materials developed work in (re)shaping what is understood as "students' realities" by means of the themes and activities brought into the classroom.
