The Wisdom of Teachers' Personal Theories: Creative ELT Practices From Colombian Rural Schools (original) (raw)
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This article reports a study done with five English language teachers in Colombian rural areas. Questionnaires and interviews were used to see how these teachers understand their professional practice considering the contextual features of their regional workplaces. Amongst the findings, we noticed that these teachers have to mediate between local and global tensions and also deal with socio-cultural matches and mismatches in their labours. It is hoped this work raises awareness of critical sociocultural factors involved in the teaching of English in rural settings and of the complexity of its intercultural dimension.
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Drawing on a larger study of the current state of affairs of English language teaching (ELT) in rural Colombia, this paper interrogates the social impact which education policies promoting English have been associated with. Informed mainly by Nancy Fraser's theory of social justice, I analyse teachers' narratives (obtained through interviews and teaching biographies) in an attempt to point at specific issues that need to be considered, in order to more truthfully account for social development through education policy. In doing so, from the angle of ELT in rural contexts, the paper examines where it is that rural regions stand in terms of cultural and socioeconomic arrangements operating in the country. It is suggested that in order to really make ELT policy socially impactful, these wider cultural and socioeconomic arrangements need to be examined, questioned and indeed integrated into policy making.
English Language Teaching in Rural Areas: A New Challenge for English Language Teachers in Colombia
Most English teachers in Colombia are reluctant to work in rural schools due to several challenges that they may encounter. The purpose of this article, which is based on the results of research studies conducted in Boyacá and Santander (Colombia) about English teaching in rural areas, is to show some of the reasons why teachers do not select a job in rural zones. It also suggests some strategies to overcome these issues. Finally, the authors discuss some of the implications for teachers and stakeholders. Key words: Colombian rural education, English language teaching, English teachers.
Profile: Issues in Teachers' Professional Development, 2024
A growing interest in teacher identity and decision-making has emerged in language teaching; however, studies where English language teaching (ELT) educators reflect on their own practice are limited. We engaged in a self-study to understand how our experiences influenced our ELT educator identity at a public university in Colombia. A constructivist paradigm enabled us to focus on intra and interpersonal reflection as we created artifacts and met to discuss our teaching experiences. Using collaborative analysis, we developed our main themes represented by a red poppy. Based on the findings, our teaching identity is shaped by our families and teachers (roots), teaching misconceptions (leaves), new teaching experiences (new blossoms), other identities (petals), world views about education (cotton soul), and social justice agenda (seeds of change).
This text aims at reporting a sociocultural vision of English as a foreign language in Colombia context. Through this paper we can see how some programs and projects from the government are looking for improve the acquisition and use of EFL to get more competitiveness citizens. A big challenge in a country where no at all has the same conditions to acquire a foreign language and to use it effectively. Teachers and students come from different context, but in any way they put in contact which each other and acquire knowledge activating their ZPD. In this way a theoretical review of sociocultural theory and about what is the future of English and the government policies around teaching English leads to analyze how to achieve the government's goal for the next years. Keywords: ELT, EFL, environment, Colombia government policies, global language.
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This article examined two English teachers’ professional identities based on a series of interviews conducted in two universities in Bogotá, Colombia. This paper examined their experiences and discourses regarding language pedagogy. Accordingly, the study adopted a narrative methodology from a decolonial lens to put some tension on the normative conception of the traditional/hegemonic notions of pedagogy and teacher identities configured in the Colombian English Language Teaching (ELT) context. Findings revealed that teachers enact their language pedagogies by merging their personal selves with their professional ones. As a result, identities and ways of knowing are validated in negotiation between doing and being. This posture towards teaching exposes their ontological and epistemic struggles for humanizing their pedagogy.