This paper analyses narratives of students and teachers from the Faculdade de Letras at the Universidade Federal de Goiás concerning the time and the reasons why they gave up studying English as a foreign language. It is aimed at understanding the college cultural meanings and identity practices with respect to the hegemonic role of English as a foreign language in Brazil. The research shows that the participants gave up studying English in different educational contexts and that the difficulty with English is seen as an individual limitation, reinforcing the notion of learning focused on the individual, in this case narrated as unsuccessful. Besides, it indicates that they disapprove of English and produce apparently contradictory narratives about the English language construction in the world today. Based on the notion of habitus, it is claimed that the narratives about English legitimize the place of authority of this language.
students of Letras; English language; hegemony; resistance