This classroom research, following the principles of Exploratory Practice (Allwright, 2003), is conceptualized as work for understanding. It is a collective work of a teacher-researcher and her students in an English as a foreign language class, looking for understandings about classroom interaction. The investigation was developed through the use of potentially exploitable pedagogic activities and discussions. The discursive material generated was analysed with the help of theories that deal with the characteristics presented in each topic. For the analysis, the following concepts were used: a) discourse and dialogism (Bakhtin, 2003); b)beliefs and reflexive thinking (Dewey, 1959; 1979); and c) belief systems (Richards, 1998; Richards & Lockhart, 1994; Barcelos, 2004). The work for understanding intended to reach participants` deeper understandings about their beliefs, discourses and actions related to the teaching-learning process, aiming at the group`s quality of life. The understandings reached by the teacher-researcher show that the students` discourse reflects the principles of knowledgetransmission instruction, whereas their actions are related to the constructivist approach. It was also noted that the students` discourse was more compatible with their actions when it was based on their own experiences as students. The reflection generated in this research, oriented by the principles of Exploratory Practice, enhanced the teacher and her learners` awareness of the complexity of classroom interaction and of their responsibilities in the teaching-learning process.