English Language Teaching in Chile: Research and Findings

The Dad in the Che Guevara T-shirt: Narratives of Chilean English Teachers

2008

Julia Menard-Warwick

Student resistance to English Language Teaching based on the connection between ELT and global capitalism.

1. Researcher observed many classes of different teachers in some universities in Chile.

2. The researcher interviewed many teachers but focused on two stories:

• The dad in the Che Guevara t-shirt.
• Rage against the machine.

English teachers

1. Students connect English with economic and military policies of the United States.

2. Resistance to capitalism and imperialism.

3. Teachers should be ideologically flexible.

Language Ideologies of Chilean English Teachers

2013

Menard-Warwick

The juxtaposition of teachers’ views shows how contradictory and untidy the enactment of (dominant) ideologies can be.

1. Qualitative research.

2. Author recorded 25 hours of English language classrooms where they discussed cultural and ideological issues, videos of master classes, analysis of essays written by teachers, and interviews with 18 teachers that talked about how English is seen in Chilean schools.

English teachers and Masters at a Chilean university.

1. Learning English has been associated with upper classes in Chile. In addition, it has been found that there are three reasons for learning English in ELT teachers: The economic, the cultural, and the intercultural reason.

2. People who have access to learning English are able to have more job opportunities.

Struggling for Change in Chilean EFL Teacher Education

2010

Mary Jane Abrahams and Miguel Farias

The process of design and implementation of curricular innovations in the initial training of English teachers.

1. Created a consortium around the shared idea of monitoring and assuring the quality of teacher education.

2. Diagnosis

Teachers of English

Three axes for the profile of a newly qualified teacher of English:

a. Level of the language and culture, the Chilean curriculum, students’ learning processes, and personal learning process.

b. Skills

c. Personality traits and attitudes an ideal teacher should have.

English Language Teaching and Education in Chile: Can English Really Open Doors for All?

2008

Ann Matear

Economic power structures.

a. Quantitative Research: Documents from Ministerio de Educación. (Curriculum and activities).

b. Qualitative research: An estimate done by seeing the services from CORFO and Private Bills for services.

c. Objective: Finding about: Do English language open doors for anyone?

Teachers and Students from different realities in Chile.

Students have a good level of English if they are in a private school, whereas other realities will have a lack of level of English since their life conditions or schools use traditional material and a simple base about language.