PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS WORKING WITH DEPRIVED COMMUNITIES IN BRAZIL Fernanda Coelho Liberali Sonia Zyngier Federal University of Rio de Janeiro Abstract: This paper aims at presenting a project of critical teaching with pre- service teachers from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. It discusses the basis for critical teaching and presents a project of language teaching developed in a slum area of Rio de Janeiro. It also presents the evaluation and the results achieved by both students and pre-service teachers. Introduction At present most language teaching university courses in Brazil have been concentrating on aspects of language and literature. Based on traditional models, they emphasize aspects that prepare pre-service teachers in technical perspectives, but do not help future teachers face the problems of practice in a critical way (Kincheloe, 1997; Gómez, 1992; and Celani, 1984). This situation results in failure to bring reality to the center of classroom discussion and prevents students from being exposed to the real world they will face after graduation. Sensitive to this problem, the Faculdade de Letras of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) have launched a programme of extra mural activities for pre- service teaching as a means to promote the professional and scientific development of its students. These activities include teaching foreign languages at a Non-Governmental Organization, the Centro de Estudos e Ações Solidárias da Maré (CEASM), in a slum area in Rio de Janeiro.