In this paper I discuss principles of ethnographic approaches that guide studies carried out on language practices in school contexts by the research group Linguistic Education and Post-Colonialism. In the context of global politics, critical thinking about language practices in schools has become of paramount importance. This text highlights how research in schools needs to be thought from epistemological paradigms that address the demands of contemporaneity. Based on research results from investigations in language classrooms, examples of language practices that evidence translanguaging and creative linguistic performance are presented. These linguistic manifestations, often considered marginal from the perspective of rationalist canons, can be considered legitimate when addressed by epistemological paradigms that give sense to those practices.
Ethnographic research; epistemology; language practices; school contexts