From Transnational Language Policy Transfer to Local Appropriation: The Case of the National Bilingual Program in Medellin

156 Pages·2015·1.59 MB·English

by  Jaime Usma

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FROM TRANSNATIONAL LANGUAGE
POLICY TRANSFER TO LOCAL
APPROPRIATION

The case of the National Bilingual
Program in Medellín, Colombia

Dr. Jaime Usma Wilches
University of Antioquia

Deep University Press
Blue Mounds, Wisconsin, USA
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Copyright © 2015 by Poiesis Creations Ltd - Deep University Press
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ISBN 978-1-939755- (hb)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

1. Language Policy Studies. 2. Second Language Acquisition—Study
and teaching. 3. Language Education. 4. Colombia. 5. Jaime Usma

Keywords: Language Education Policy, linguistic human rights, minority
languages, official languages, language discrimination, lingua franca

Target audience: Collegiate language instructors – English education
instructors – second language acquisition – field researchers – cultural
studies students –graduate students - university researchers

Topics: assimilation, linguistic pluralism, determinism, international
education, national identity, multi-literacies

Version 2

Cover photos: Poiesis Creations LLC, Wisconsin
Dedication

To my mother.
Acknowledgements

I express my deepest gratitude to all those beautiful people in Madison
and Medellín who helped me when I needed them the most: Francois
Victor Tochon and Ken Zeichner in the C&I Department at UW, Marilyn
Fearn who helped so much in the whole process, and Cristina Frodden
and Mercedes Vallejo at UdeA. Thanks a lot!
I also want to thank the professors who decided to read my dissertation
and be part of the final defense.
I cannot forget all my family, friends and colleagues in Colombia and
abroad. They all suffered these years with me and supported me until the
end.
I want to thank Eduard Emiro Rodriguez at Vicedocencia and John Jairo
Giraldo, the Director of the School of Languages at UdeA who always
believed in me and provided me with all the support, even when I seemed
to quit.
Sandrita, now you can relax. I am sorry for all the suffering. Thanks for
your support! I will never forget your sacrifices and patience.
Table of Contents

Abstract 10
1. Introduction 11
A Starting Point for this Study 11
An Introduction to the Economic and Political System in
Colombia 13
The Educational System in Colombia 17
Languages in Colombia 19
This Study 21
2. A Comparative, Critical and Sociocultural Framework
for the Study of Foreign Language and Education
Policy in Colombia 23
Rational Views of Policy Analysis 23
A Comparative, Critical and Sociocultural Framework for
the Study of Language Policy in Colombia 25
A comparative and critical lens for the study of policy 26
A comparative, critical and sociocultural approach 31
Advantages of using a comparative, critical and
sociocultural approach 35
3. Theorizing on Globalization and its Connection
with Education and Language Reform Processes 39
Economic Globalization, Education and Linguistic Policies 41
Political Globalization & the Current Reforms in Colombia 44
Cultural Globalization and its Connection with Education
and Language Policy in Colombia 49
4. Research Methodology 53
Data Gathering 55
Data Analysis 60
Ethical Considerations and Conventions 62
5. Education and Language Policy in Colombia: From
Language Policy Texts to Processes of Inclusion,
Exclusion & Stratification in Times of Global Reform 63
Foreign Language Education Policies in Colombia:
A Historic Overview 64
The National Bilingual Program, 2004-2019 69
Linguistic and Education Policy in Colombia and Intern-
ational Reform: Exploring Processes of Inclusion,
Exclusion, and Stratification 77
The Externalization and Internalization of Education
and Language Discourses 78
The Instrumentalization of Foreign Language Teaching
and Learning 79
The Stratification of Languages and Cultures through
Policymaking Processes in Colombia 81
The Standardization and Marketization of Foreign
Language Teaching and Learning 84
6. Education and Foreign Language Policymaking in
Medellín: Moving from National Discourses to the
City and School Level 87
The Evolution of the City in the Last Two Decades and the
Promotion of Education and Foreign Language Policies 87
The Appalling Contrasts between Policies and Realities 98
7. Appropriation of Language Policies inside Schools
and Classrooms in Medellín: What Happens when
Written Policies Bite the Dust 101
The School Structural Conditions that Shape Local
Appropriation 102
The Lack of English Teachers in the Country 104
Students’ Conditions and English Learning inside Schools
8. A Breach within the System 123
9. Teachers’ appropriating foreign language education
policies inside schools 127
New Foreign Language Policies as the Need to Nurture
Students´ Soul 127
Policy Appropriation as Fostering Academic Development
and Language Learning 128
English as Part of Academic Life 131
10. On the Move from Foreign Language Education
Transfer to its Actual Appropriation at the City and
School Level: What we Learn from this Case 135
References
Deep University Press Scientific Board 147
Guide to Authors 150
Abstract

Embracing a critical and sociocultural perspective for the study of policy,
this vertical case study investigates foreign language education policies
being adopted by the national government in Colombia, and how they are
reinterpreted and appropriated by local official and public school
teachers in the city of Medellín. Based on a systematic analysis of policy
documents, semi-structured interviews, participant observations and
field notes, the author elaborates on how English is being emphasized as
synonym of education quality and competitiveness in the country, how
these language and education reforms are being adopted for the whole
country, in which manner these models of reform are connected to
transnational policymaking, what role is being played by different
educational actors and organizations at the macro and micro level, and
how, according to the multiple contextual factors that interplay in the
continuous reinterpretation and final enactment of policy, teachers
reinterpret these discourses and agendas by adopting a nurturing or an
academic approach in their final appropriation of the initial policy texts.
Additionally, this study highlights the unpredictable nature of
policymaking processes, even when transnational organizations such as
the British Council act as policy lenders and guarantors of success and
credibility, and policy mandates are accompanied by standards, tests,
frameworks, and timelines that do not necessarily respond to the local
needs and expectations of local educational actors and communities.
Finally, the author illustrates the multiple difficulties experienced by
different schools communities across the city of Medellín, and how a
breach between public and private institutions is created and fed as a
consequence of the uneven conditions in which English as a foreign
language is taught in Colombia and Medellín, which ends up creating a
gap between the official discourse of innovation, competitiveness,
education and bilingualism, and actual reality. In this manner, the study
alerts about the multiple challenges faced by countries such as Colombia
and cities like Medellín adopting imported discourse around education
quality, competitiveness and bilingualism, and how these policy
discourses may become simple slogans as educational communities lack
the required conditions to successfully achieve the expected goals.