In a survey of literacy of young people and adults, the topic of self-esteem emerged as an investigation category. When confronting the concept of self-esteem versus the concept of faces, the latter seemed more pertinent than the former, considering literacy contexts. Those investigated, teachers and students of literacy, related self-esteem to writing in both interviews and life stories, respectively. Teachers emphasized the increase of self-esteem as a facilitator of learning strategies for writing. Students, however, did not always manifest low self-esteem for not knowing how to write. The results suggest more investment in research on how the literacy students’ éthos regulates their faces and the teachers’ view of it.
literacy of young people and adults; self-esteem; éthos; faces