On alternative and additional certifications in English language teaching: The case of Colombian EFL teachers’ professional development. (original) (raw)
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Professional Development of EFL Teachers in Colombia: Between Colonial and Local Practices
2007
The professional development of EFL teachers represents a challenge for teachers, teacher educators and policy makers in the accomplishment of better standards in education. Literature reviews on the area reveal the need for new models of professional growth for Colombian teachers. Within the framework of “Colombia Bilingüe”, the Ministry of Education proposes a professional development model that aims to reach a signifi cant number of teachers. This paper presents a critical review of this program in the light of national and international literature on teacher education. Conclusions suggest the need for more post-method approaches, for locally produced knowledge to be recognized, and for the collaborative work of policy makers and national scholars to generate teacher development programs more adequate to our reality. Key words: professional development, language policies, EFL, research
HOW Journal, 2021
The professional development of English teachers is a significant area in language teaching and learning, as well as in teacher education. On the one hand, at least in theory, professional development initiatives respond to the teachers' changing needs. On the other hand, it reflects the beliefs that different educational authorities and stakeholders have about English uses and education. In this self-study, I consider the professional development of English teachers in Colombia and its tight connection to the language education policies of the country. Following a chronological approach, I present the findings as landmarks that have contributed to my reflections and research around professional development and language education policies. Discussing the findings, I show how the discourses and decisions about teachers' continuing learning represent certain views of language, second language acquisition, English language teaching and learning, and teachers as professionals. This self-study addresses some of the concepts that illuminate the discourses that have shaped English teachers' professional development. Focusing primarily on the development of the National Program of Bilingualism, I underscore the power of these concepts over the major decisions made at the local and school levels. In the analysis of the past and present of teachers' professional development in Colombia, I conclude on the necessity 1 She holds a doctoral degree in Linguistics from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She is a professor at the Universidad de Antioquia in the undergraduate and graduate foreign language teacher education programs. Her areas of academic work include teacher professional development, language policies, World Englishes, and ELF.
The Professional Development of English Language Teachers in Colombia: A Review of the Literature
Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal, 2019
This article offers a review of 25 empirical studies to identify the areas and findings of professional development initiatives for in-service English teachers in Colombia. The reviewed studies suggest that language teacher professional development has focused on six major areas: language proficiency, research skills and reflective practice, teachers' beliefs and identities, an integrated approach to teacher professional development, pedagogical skills and teaching approaches, and emerging technologies. Results suggest that there is a need to move from traditional masterapprentice, content-oriented, teacher-centered models of professional development towards initiatives that allow teachers to critically analyze their particular context and needs, and devise their own local alternatives so that they can become more active agents of their own process of change. Issues that constitute possible alternatives for future research in the professional development of English language teachers are discussed.
2010
During the past twenty years, the paradigm of professional development in U.S. education has shifted from an analyitco-incremental model to an integrative-systematic model. The integrative-systematic model focuses on the whole-scale improvement of general student performance through the articulation, implementation, and assessment of standards that apply to teachers and teacher preparation institutions as well as to students. This article addresses the basis for this paradigm shift in the U.S. and the global expansion of the professional development mandate. The authors describe the first phase of a three-year, cross-cultural professional development program involving English-as-a-Foreign Language (EFL) teachers at a private school in Mexico.
Knowledge Base And EFL Teacher Education Programs: A Colombian Perspective
IKALA Revista de Lenguaje y Cultura, 2013
In the 21st century, Colombian pre-service EFL Teacher Education Programs (TEPs) should study what constitutes the core knowledge base for language teachers to be effective in their profession. These programs must refrain from simply conceptualizing knowledge base as the acquisition of the basic skills required for teaching, the competency of educators in their subject matter area, and the use of pedagogical skills. Instead, they should strive to reflect on what Colombian language teachers need to know about teaching and learning, and study how their knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes inform their practices. A starting point to do so is to interpret the variety of proposals that have been generated through the years in the field. This paper offers a review of what teacher knowledge base is, presents an overview of how Colombian EFL TEPs are working on teacher knowledge,and suggests some strategies to envision a more complete framework of reference for teacher formation in Colombia.
Taking Stock of Research about Initial English Language Teacher Education in Colombia
Enletawa Journal, 2021
This article presents a literature review based on research related to pre-service English language teachers (PELT) in Colombia that have been published in specialized Colombian journals during 2010-2020. The result was a corpus of 41 articles, of which I analyzed who wrote them, the research design used in each one, and the main topics covered in the research or pedagogical experiences. The results show a growing interest in research on PELTs from different epistemologies and research areas. Furthermore, researchers are increasingly conducting their research from narrative research under a critical or decolonial position. Finally, although many of the central themes revolve around teachers’ linguistic competencies and abilities in training, other issues have increased in recent years, such as teacher identity from different angles, critical pedagogies, and reflection of teaching processes.
This article aims to encourage reflection on an alternative in the education and training of English language teachers in Colombia. The author claims that a balance should be promoted between micro and macro approaches to English language teacher education so as to provide teachers with opportunities for the training of discrete teaching classroom skills (e.g. checking understanding, giving instructions) together with chances to develop high inference, reflective and reasoning skills derived from theoretical foundations and from teachers' personal experiences. Initially, an overview of some predominant strategies to teacher education is presented, followed by a more detailed description of the views of teaching and approaches to teacher education. Finally, implications are discussed and suggestions are offered to find the balance approach and making it explicit in the design and implementation of training and development courses and programs offered to foreign language teachers.
Colombian English Teachers’ Professional Development: The Case of Master Programs
Master degree programs have rapidly increased in Colombia to the point where they are one of the most favored options for English teachers seeking to bolster their professional development. This survey study characterizes eighty participants, their five master programs, and their perceptions concerning the influence these graduate courses exerted on their teaching. While participants' pedagogical and research work seemed to have benefited the most from their studies, their practices involving language policy and administration were regarded as distant from what they learnt. Findings suggest that innovation, reflection, and collaboration permeated participants' overarching categories of development. Challenges to respondents' integration of their newly acquired education with their teaching included competing ideologies and agendas exhibited by stakeholders in school communities.