ABSTRACT The aim of this article is to explore issues related to the theoretical and critical formation of foreign language teachers, linked with the teacher's reflection about his work in class and the search of information, as well as the colaborative work among teachers and researchers. First, we delineate a profile of a foreign language teacher in the Centro de Enseñanza de Lenguas Extranjeras at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (CELE-UNAM). Then, we study the way the notion of teacher's training was built in Mexico, in the social context where the educational programs in our country began, aiming at encouraging academic actualization. Finally, we talk briefly about our experience in the project "Interaction in the classroom of Portuguese as a Foreign Language, Action Research (PIA-PLE)", developed in the same University.