A. Medida del candidato presidencial Sebastián Piñera: Traer 2000 profesores de inglés extranjeros (hablantes nativos) para mejorar el aprendizaje del inglés en el país.
La medida Piñera aparece como una solución atractiva para elevar el nivel de inglés en el país, sin embargo consideremos:
1. Saber inglés no significa saber enseñarlo. ¿No es ésta otra medida que descalifica a los profesores chilenos? ¿Adonde se irían los profesionales chilenos? ¿Qué sucede con la auto-estima y dignidad de los profesionales chilenos? ¿Qué efecto multiplicador tiene esta medida?
2. Pagar a estos profesores con dineros públicos ¿Es ésta la mayor prioridad? ¿A esto debemos destinar los recursos? ¿Recibirán sueldos chilenos?
3. ¿Por cuánto tiempo permanecerán en el país para que puedan producir efectos perdurables? ¿4, 6, 8 años? ¿Qué efecto produciría en la escuela la irrupción de profesionales absolutamente desconocedores del contexto educativo nacional?
4. ¿Estarán dispuestos 2000 profesores foráneos con preparación en la enseñanza de una lengua extranjera a trabajar horarios de 40 horas frente a curso y con aulas de 40 o más alumnos?
5. ¿Qué reacción tienen nuestras universidades e institutos formadores al desconocerse la preparación otorgada a los docentes chilenos?
B. A cambio proponemos una medida país: el desarrollo profesional de todos los docentes chilenos con respecto al idioma y a la actualización metodológica para mejorar en forma progresiva la práctica en aula y así elevar el nivel de inglés.
Mary Jane Abrahams
President -TESOLChile
Asociación de Profesores de Inglés-CHILE
Filial de TESOL International
Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages
www.tesolchile.cl
The following statement has been released this morning through www.tesolchile.cl
Please do participate in this discussion if you wish to have a say, raise further issues or comment on our public statement. We do encourage RESPECTFUL participation: let us respect different viewpoints and watch our language. As this forum is moderate, we reserve the right not to publish offending comments containing inappropriate language.
Greetings to TESOLers and the teaching community at large.
TESOL CHILE
Jan 11th, 2009.
Hi everybody. Bringing 2000 native speakers as English teachers won't provide a successful change for improving English teaching and learning in Chile. As it was mentioned in the statement, who will make sure that all these teachers are really language teachers? USA has suffered a shortage of teachers in the last 15 years that has made the government look for bilingual and subject teachers all over the world (VIF and Amity are some of the programs that recruit teachers worldwide). Therefore, I'm not sure who these coming teachers will be if there aren't even enough educators to export from USA! We are more prepared than anyone to teach the language in Chile. We have the methodology and have acquired the language at a proper level for our students. Besides, we know the culture and how to deal with a 40-hour working load and 40 students per class. That makes us better candidates to teach the language here. What is going wrong in Chile is forcing elementary teachers to become English teachers over summer vacations because there are not enough English teachers to hire or the budget is too tight. This happens in the countryside where sometimes one teacher has to teach all subjects and become a "Jack of all trades, master of none". Native speakers are always necessary and provides direct contact for cultural learning and linguistic informal register that non-native speakers can't learn in an artificial environment. Therefore, native speakers are useful in terms of listening, speaking, and cultural activities to increase the students' interest in the language, but bringing foreign teachers to fill up our working positions will be detrimental at all educational levels. Universities will lose students, students will lose working opportunities before even graduating, current teachers might be forced to an early retirement or teach another subject, and the public money will go directly to foreigners who might only be looking for traveling opportunities. Piñera's idea of improving the teaching of English is valid, but the way to do it reflects no further analysis and abrupt conclusions on what must be done. Constant effective training and changing our view on the importance of a foreign language, especially in our students' minds, are only some of the things that can improve our current system. Being a politician involves promises to everybody in order to get votes. We will never know for sure if what they promise will be really done or if it is the best choice to make. Let's hope for the best decisions that will really make a difference in the learning and teaching of EFL in Chile.
ReplyDeleteK.S. COncepcion
Me parece inaceptable, que pasa con la capacitación y el perfeccionamiento de nuestros profesores en el extranjero????
ReplyDeletesoy estudiante de pedagogía en Inglés aquí en chile y en los próximos meses me iré al extranjero a perfeccionarme gracias Becas Chile!!! para dar un verdadero aporte a la Educación Chilena, pero que pasará si cuando regrese no tenga trabajo porque estará lleno de hablantes nativos que no han estudiado por 5 años técnicas pedagogícas y estrategias de enseñanza!!!!
con estas nuevas iniciativas seguiremos decepcionado a Chile y despreciar a los compatriotas que sí han estudiado por vocación y que sí queremos hacer cambios significativos en la Educación Chilena. No cierren las puertas a nuestros sueños!!!!
PRISCILA MENDOZA
UNIVERSIDAD DE PLAYA ANCHA
VALPARAISO
I'm completely upset about the issue, I'm about to finish my degree and just before I start my career I know that probably I won't have a job! I'm scared of a president that can't see the difference between a native speaker and an English teacher. I'm very dissapointed of the chilean ignorance!
ReplyDeleteJesmarina Rivas Lagos
English Teaching Student
Universidad Cátolica de la Ssma Concepción.
I don't think we need to be scared. There's no need at all. Instead, we need to be proactive, excel as professionals and / or students and LET OUR VOICES BE HEARD. Luckily, TESOLCHILE is giving us this space though blogger and other media (Facebook and Twitter). Visit tesolchile.cl and find ways to contribute to the discussion going on.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on every single posting here.
TESOL CHILE
Hello people. I am about to finish my studies to become a Teacher of English and I will certainly begin my career in March. I have recently heard about Mr. Piñera's measure to increase the quality of the English Language in Chilean schools. First of all, I am completely agree that it is not an effective measure; yet, we should not be afraid of Mr. Piñera's uneffective measures or wahtever to imporve English Language in Chile. We have to be united as Teachers of English and Students who are studying to become Teachers. I know we will not rest until chilean Teachers of English can be finally recognized. There is still too much work to do and I know Mr. Piñera will do hear us and will have consider our ideas, methods and measures to improve English in Chilean schools.
ReplyDeleteKeep in touch people, I will be reading every post on this page.