References
Graddol, D. (2006): English Next. British Council.
Krashen, S. (1985): The Input Hypothesis. London: Longman
Singleton, D. (2001): Age And Second Language Acquisition. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics (21 2001). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Singleton, D and L. Ryan (2004): Language Acquisition: The Age Factor. London: Multilingual Matters.
Voices from teachers and young learners in Latin America and the
diversity. Each country made a presentation which concentrated on
?the assets of the teaching of English in the primary sector,
?the difficulties perceived and
?courses of action, if any, that schools/individual teachers/trainers are taking to surmount difficulties and make the most of the assets.
The teaching and learning contexts were analysed from four perspectives:
social, pedagogical, political and economic. Of particular interest were the sessions on literacy, minorities in the classroom and the voice of the learners. The topic of CLIL was also discussed in the School, raising interesting questions.
The School has several objectives, from which I would like to highlight the following:
?To allow participants to feel part of a learning community
?To create opportunities for sharing experiences and perspectives
?To provide spaces for collective reflection on new ideas, on professional challenges and their implications for teachers and learners
?To enable participants to start thinking about how to adapt/apply these ideas to their professional contexts
The School was particularly successful in achieving these objectives since, quoting one of the participants and using her voice, “…this was a unique learning and personal experience, an experience which has made me aware of the power of group synergy, the intercultural dimension of education and the butterfly-effect power which an individual's vision can have in changing the world, which reveals our human interdependence.
Hornby Regional School – Argentina: English for young learners in Latin America and the Caribbean
Following a global trend, the teaching of English in Latin America and the Caribbean is increasingly regarded as a basic skill. Governments face considerable challenges as they invest heavily in young learners' programmes. The Hornby Summer School provided a forum for showcasing specific innovation in this sector, analysing the links between policy and practice, identifying the main issues and trends, and creating opportunities for further collaboration across Latin America and the Caribbean. The participants work in the state and private sector, in primary and secondary schools, at teacher training level, and a few at policy making level.
This combination of areas of interest and expertise contributed towards richness
and diversity.
The School had various objectives, from which I would like to highlight the following
?To allow participants to feel part of a learning community
?To create opportunities for sharing experiences and perspectives
?To provide spaces for collective reflection on new ideas, on professional challenges and their implications for teachers and learners
?To enable participants to start thinking about how to adapt/apply these ideas to their professional contexts
In order to meet the objectives, and in keeping with the actors of the teaching scenario, the topics to be discussed were divided into three strands: the teacher and teacher education, the learner and materials. In order to start the discussion with a clear background of the trends in the region, each country made a presentation which focused on:
?the assets of the teaching of English in the primary sector,
?the difficulties perceived and
?courses of action, if any, that schools/individual teachers/trainers are taking to surmount difficulties and make the most of the assets.
The following chart is a summary of the state of TEYL in the region:
MEXICO COLOMBIA CHILE VENEZUELA BRAZIL CUBA ARGENTINA
Students in gr
oups 45-46 30-50 40 13-16 40 15-20 25-40
Teacher in char
ge Classroom teacher
Classroom teacher
Teacher of English
Licenciado en lenguas modernas (no pedagogy
or methodology)
English teacher
English teacher
English teacher
Starting at age
6
(1st grade) 6 5th grade
(10)
not mandatory in primary school
11 (6th form)
9 (4th grade)
depending on province,
9
Coverage
Local National National Local Local National Local
MEXICO COLOMBIA CHILE VENEZUELA BRAZIL CUBA ARGENTINA
Materials created by
teachers
created by teachers,
no textbooks
books distributed
by the government
created by teachers
no coursebook (though there's a national programme of
book distribution)
videos and software
no distribution
of books (exception Tucuman)
Evaluation
No
Pruebas SABER (5th, 9th)
National
(2010) No No No No
Aims
Each teacher decides on the aims in coordination with the head of the school
Included in the school's
institutional Project in keeping with
national standards
Develop the 4 language skills,
development of vocabulary and openness to diversity
Develop 4 language
skills
Construct knowledge
of text organization
and raise awareness of different culturess
Develop communicative
competence into professional communication
Local aims
Periods a week 2 1-3 2-3 2-4 1-51+2
Curriculum
No Yes
Depends on the province
Yes No No Yes
There are assets and drawbacks in each of the countries, the most serious one being that English is not taught by a specialised teacher and that in the cases in which there are specialists, they are usually left alone. In this respect, so as to be able to analyse different policies on teacher training, in particular for the primary sector, each country also made a presentation, synthesised in the following chart:
BACKGROUND ASSETS DIFFICULTIES
C O L O M B I A TTE: University level, normalistas teach at
primary school. 5 years Language and methodology No specific orientation for YL Licenciatura programme: some subjects related to TEYL (1-3 subjects): approaches and methods, materials, resources, management, skills
Pruebas de estado: state universities only, no level of English required though it is a component of the test.
All the subjects dealing with English are taught in English (around 60%) Ratio: 120 /20-25
Diploma courses (in service, language and methodology) Acceptable level gained after completing career.
Offer of tailor made courses according to teachers' needs or needs assessment.
6 ELT conferences all along (BC, English institutes or universities) Optional process of accreditation, active participation of universities
No specific level of English required
Not enough teachers to cover needs at primary level.
Mixed ability groups Not all universities offer what is needed
C H I L E University entrance test (English not required
for TT)
4-5 year programmes geared towards high school very few for TEYL
Language subjects are taught in English, first years intense practice in language use Private and public universities (private not as good as public) process of accreditation
Process of accreditation to ensure quality. Universities invited to participate in quality improvement processes (MECESUP)
Initiative to improve the students' oral skills (one semester in the UK) Mentoring programme
Not good competence in all cases (weak oral skills) Lack of practice in classrooms University teachers with no classroom experience Outdated curriculum
B R A Z I L University level (licenciatura in modern
languages) 4 years (language, literature, methodology)
No YL orientation
National entrance exam but not the same for all the regions (independent reader level of English)
TEYL: only normalistas can teach K-5, no English in the curriculum
All English related classes are in English (public universities), classes in Portuguese (private universities)
If level is OK only methodology subjects (CAE,CPE) taught in Portuguese
Supervised training in classrooms (204 hrs) year 4 Post graduate courses Groups of study (Saturdays, 10 meetings a year)
Connection between university and classroom reality Accreditation process
Some teachers can't speak English
English literature in Portuguese No MOE supervision
A R G E N T I N A University or tertiary level (4-5 years). Different
focus (research or practice)
Completely different organisation of courses of studies (university and tertiary level institutions) City of BA doesn't have teacher training at state university level, only in the private sector, courses of study for primary school level and for secondary school level.
Entrance examination exam (FC level or PET level) in most provinces
Mandatory entrance course in some cases Practicum (about 25 teaching periods) TEYL different course of studies Subjects in English and Spanish (70-80%) Ratio: about 10% graduate
State TT and universities much better than private
Plenty of practice in CABA.
Solid background
New mentoring programme in Chubut but not part of teacher training programmes
Students feel they lack some training or do the same thing in different subjects Sometimes no connection between teacher training requirements and the reality of the classroom
Graduates don't tend to go into state/private regular schools.
In Tucuman, there are teacher training colleges and universities only in the capital city
M E X I C O State and private universities. Autonomy.
Escuelas normales 2 kinds: general (primary, pre school or special education) and specialised (secondary school subjects). No autonomy. 8 to 12 semesters (student choice) English is included here (secondary school).
No entrance requirements Better level in the public sector
More opportunity to practise in schools but only in secondary schools
Mentor/tutor in the schools
Very little opportunity to teach English
The teaching of English is done in Spanish
Quality is not considered when hiring teachers (public schools)
V E N E Z U E L A TT colleges, 5 years. EFL teaching. No special
focus on primary or secondary.
Majors: licenciados in ML. Two languages over the 5 years (5-6 languages to choose from).
Entry test. Research orientation.
High level of drop outs.
Some universities offer applied methodology for primary and secondary levels. Year 1 in Spanish. Then English is introduced. Last semester students choose to do methodology or French.
No entrance examination in some universities.
Autonomous universities
Students do the subjects in the two languages and some in Spanish.
Practice in schools with tutors or mentors (depending on university)
4 instances of practice
Mentors are not paid in public universities for their mentoring Very few English teachers Summer courses: methodology, skills in
English (two months only). 25% of subjects in English. Part of the secondary school orientation.
Different system in universities. No teacher training in English in most universities.
C U B A Teacher training: 5 years, university level
Over 70% of the subjects in English Covers primary and secondary, not separate careers.
Entrance examination (English and Spanish) Supervised practice as from year 2.
Offer for students finishing 12th grade, dropouts and students from technical schools.
Theory and practice Tutoring system
Universities in students' own towns.
Beyond English into education.
Teachers take responsibility for their students' learning
Not many candidates No special training for primary school teachers.
What is evident after analysing the data is that universities and teacher training colleges do not offer orientation for the primary school, with very few exceptions.
It can be concluded that there exists a big disparity between the global trend of considering English a basic skill which has to be taught at primary level and what the region is doing so as to meet these needs.
From the three strands of the school, this paper will focus on two: the teacher and the learner. The first strand to be dealt with is the teacher strand. When comparing the contexts in which teachers are immersed, what was found was that the teaching profession is not at the top in the social scale, with many teachers taking up this career for two reasons: many positions available and the prospect of getting a pension. Even though salaries tend to be low, the guarantee of a job can be enticing enough for quite a number of candidates to the teaching profession.
This, in turn, results in teachers not being motivated to face the challenges of teaching.
From the point of view of the pedagogical context, the most important aspect emphasised during the sessions was the divorce there exists between theory and practice, between training colleges or universities and schools, which may be one of the results of the lack of orientation to the primary level. It was our conclusion that though it is the ministry of education's mission to make provision for updated curricula in keeping with 21st century demands, there is a lot that teachers can do to bridge the gap between theory and practice, between English and other subjects in the primary curriculum. Teachers have to know the curriculum for the primary school so as to be able to make connections which they can present to learners. Knowing it implies an effort, but teaching is about investing. It is in this spirit that a CLIL approach can be implemented.
Related to the learner strand was the session on minorities in the classroom, which sprang from a question raised during one of the discussions: If education is a middle class construct, can it be inferred that belonging in the lower classes is something to be overcome? The debate constituted a unique opportunity for all participants in that we concluded that some minorities are considered to be positive whereas some others tend to be socially or educationally unaccepted.
Some minorities hold the power and exercise some type of pressure on others, whether they are part of a minority or not. It is our moral obligation, therefore, to listen to the all the voices in our classrooms and to stand up for them since, as teachers, we form part of a minority who is in control.
When discussing the learning context, we all reached a consensus: what learners need to fulfil their role of citizens is not provided for by the school. In many cases, schools have become the providers of what children lack at home. Children do not get the tools they need to participate actively in the academic world:
academic language, literacy skills, learner training and critical thinking. The projects and initiatives implemented by governments cater for more basic needs of a social nature, and in those cases in which there is an educational policy aiming at improving education, the tendency in the region is for these projects to come to an end following changes in the government.
It is then teachers that can make a difference and lead learners into the academic world by aiming at and helping them develop critical literacy. The first
move towards this aim is to present English to young learners in a way that is meaningful for them. In order for this to be feasible, the teaching of English should be approached so that students should able to use the language. Knowing about the language cannot be equated with being able to use it. This implies a shift from a more traditional grammar based approach, still favoured by many teachers, to a meaning oriented, fluency approach in which grammar will be taught but from the perspective of awareness. English should be taught as a means towards awareness: strategy awareness, cognitive and metacognitive awareness and cultural awareness.
Teachers in turn need to be made aware of their role in the process of education. In our session on what it means to educate, it was not clear to everybody what was meant by this. Some had only thought that teaching English was all they were supposed to do, while some others had never considered that their role is that of an educator. Many participants felt empowered after this discussion for they realised how much power and how much responsibility we have in our hands. The following are thoughts gathered during the session on the role of education:
We need to work towards the pride of being a teacher.
Education is necessary for the development of a country.
Teachers have to empower students and if students can defend their rights, things will change in the future.
We need to educate for change, we need to prepare for change.
Many projects came up as a result of this school, some of which were individual while others were collaborative, some were local while others were interregional.
The first one to see the light was the project on Story Telling, which included materials and ideas for teachers on how to exploit a story. Another project was the Flat Stanley Project: a partnership between schools in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba and Mexico. This is an interdisciplinary and intercultural project involving students and teachers from these six countries. All the projects were created in an attempt to apply ideas and findings to our professional contexts.
Participants did feel part of a learning community with plenty of spaces for collective and individual reflection.
The School was particularly successful in achieving its objectives since, quoting one of the participants and using her voice, “…this was a unique learning and
personal experience, an experience which has made me aware of the power of group synergy, the intercultural dimension of education and the butterfly-effect power which an individual's vision can have in changing the world, which reveals our human interdependence.