Teaching English as an International Language: the Chilean context Sandra McKay In this paper, the author argues that when teaching English as an international language, educators should recognize the value of including topics that deal with the local culture, support the selection of a methodology that is appropriate to the local educational context, and recognize the strengths of bilingual teachers of English. Based on the results of a questionnaire given to Chilean teachers of English, the author maintains that in Chile there is growing support for such practices and attitudes. Nowadays many countries where English is a required subject are confronting similar questions regarding the use of the local culture in ELT .

Background

Today, many contend that English is an international language (Crystal 1997; Graddol 1997). This is not because it is the most widely spoken native language in the world, since by most estimates Mandarin has three times as many native speakers as English, but rather because of the growing number of speakers who are acquiring some familiarity with English as their second or third language. In fact, Graddol (1999) contends that in the not too distant future, second language speakers of English will surpass the number of native speakers. The increasing number of bilingual speakers of English means that many speakers of English will be using English alongside one or more other languages that they speak, and hence their uses of English may be more specific and limited than monolingual speakers of English. Because of this fact, Cook (1999) argues for the need to avoid comparing bilingual speakers of English to native speakers, and rather to recognize the many strengths of bilingual users of English who have a rich linguistic repertoire to serve their communication needs. This emphasis on the strengths of bilingual speakers of English is also being heard in reference to bilingual teachers of English. Many bilingual teachers of English themselves are pointing to the pedagogical advantages they have in knowing their students’ culture and first language, and in being models of successful language learners. (See Braine 1999; Medgyes 1992; and Seidlhofer 1999 for an elaboration of these advantages.) The growing number of bilingual speakers of English, however, is not the only important characteristic of English as an international language (EIL ). Equally significant is the relationship that exists ELT Journal Volume 57/2 April 2003 © Oxford University Press

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between EIL and the local culture. In defining an international language, Smith (1976) maintains that in the acquisition of an international language: a learners do not need to internalize the cultural norms of native speakers of the language, b the ownership of an international language becomes ‘denationalized’, and c the educational goal of learning the language is to enable learners to communicate their ideas and culture to others. Smith’s early call for a need to denationalize the use of English has more recently been emphasized by Kachru (1992), who argues that English must now be dissociated from the colonial past, and not necessarily be linked to ‘westernization’. In a similar manner, Widdowson (1994) maintains that the time has now come for bilingual speakers of English to assume ownership of English, using it for their specific purposes, and modifying it to meet their needs. The separation of EIL from any one culture has, I believe, important implications for the teaching of EIL , among them the following: π First, the cultural content of EIL materials should not be limited to native English-speaking cultures. If one of the central educational goals of an international language is to enable learners to communicate their culture to others, then EIL materials should provide students with the vocabulary and information to do this by including local cultural content. π Second, an appropriate pedagogy of EIL needs to be informed by local expectations regarding the role of the teacher and learner. Presently, in many countries where English is being learned as a second language, educators look to countries where English is a native language for appropriate methods. In the process of doing so, many Ministries of Education have advocated the adoption of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT ) because it is widely used by native English-speaking teachers in their own countries. However, I would argue that just as the content of EIL materials must be separated from native-speaker models, so too must EIL methodology, by allowing a locally appropriate pedagogy to be implemented. π Third, the strengths of bilingual teachers of English need to be recognized. Those who see English as belonging to native speakers and native English-speaking cultures frequently contend that first language speakers of English are the most e¤ective teachers of English. Yet if EIL has become ‘de-nationalized’, then it is time to recognize the many strengths of bilingual teachers of English, particularly their familiarity with the local culture. Recently I received a Fulbright research grant to examine the teaching of English in Chile. There, like many countries around the world, the global status of English has resulted in English being a required subject in the school curriculum, beginning in grade 7 through the end of high school in grade 12. In view of my belief that the teaching of EIL should be 140

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informed by the assumptions listed above, I decided to investigate the following questions: 1 What is the cultural content of widely used ELT textbooks in Chilean primary and secondary schools? What cultural content do teachers believe is appropriate for the teaching of English? 2 What ELT methodology is being advocated in Chilean schools? What methodology do teachers believe is most appropriate for the teaching of English? 3 How do Chilean English teachers view their own strengths and weaknesses in relation to native English-speaking teachers? Having been involved in teacher education programs in many countries, I assumed that Chilean educators, like educators in many countries in which I have worked, would support the use of native English-speaker cultural content in ELT materials, would advocate the use of CLT methods¡, and would express a lack of self-confidence in their own teaching in relation to native English speakers. In general, this is not what I found. Before discussing my findings, however, I will outline the current Chilean Ministry of Education guidelines on the teaching of English.

The Chilean English teaching context

In 1998 the Ministry of Education presented an overall Chilean school curriculum reform that specified teaching objectives for various fields of study for primary and secondary schools (i.e. grades 1–12). These objectives were incorporated in a national bill, making them the legally binding basis for school reform in the public schools. The revised English curriculum lists fundamental objectives for each year that English is a required subject—from the last two years of primary school (i.e. grades 7 and 8) to the final year of high school (i.e. grade 12). In terms of the English curriculum, the Ministry maintains that the design of the curriculum should reflect the role of English in the world today, the scope of worldwide communication networks, the geographical and regional characteristics of Chile, and the demands of the Chilean labor market. The major change in the curriculum is the emphasis given to receptive skills (reading and listening) as opposed to productive skills (speaking and writing). The program of study outlined by the Ministry specifies that 40 percent of the English curriculum is to be devoted to developing reading comprehension, 40 percent to listening comprehension, and 20 percent to speaking and writing. The rationale given for this division is that, for most Chileans, English will be used to access the growing amount of information available in that language, which will often be of a technical nature, rather than for speaking or writing. The Ministry believes that an emphasis on receptive skills reflects the local English needs of Chilean youngsters, who will need English to partake in a global economy and information network. There is some evidence that in-service teachers of English are generally pleased with the overall design of the reform. Farías (2000), for example, in a survey of 64 high school teachers in the Santiago area, found that 78 Teaching English as an International Language

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percent of the teachers he surveyed support the objectives and content outlined in the English reform. 85 percent of the teachers believe that the changes are positive because the reform has encouraged them to change their methodology and teaching objectives. Perhaps one of the main reasons for many teachers’ satisfaction with the reform is that all students in the public schools are given a textbook and cassette, called Go for Chile (Mugglestone, Elsworth, and Rose 1999, 2000), which implements the objectives specified by the Ministry of Education reform. Go for Chile features a group of students from various countries who are on board a ship sailing along the coast of Chile. The students on the ship were selected by their countries to join this educational sea voyage because of their academic ability. The scenario of the sea voyage enables the textbook writers to deal with local places and concerns, as well as to present information about the various countries represented by the students on board the ship. The books introduce academic topics by including texts and lectures on topics such as climate conditions in various parts of Chile, and deals with learning skills such as classification, brainstorming, and analysis. Hence, the textbooks, in keeping with the Ministry guidelines, strive to develop students’ English language skills primarily in reference to their need to use English to process technical written texts, academic lectures, and presentations.

The teacher questionnaire

My research involved visiting numerous public and private primary and secondary English classes in various parts of Chile, interviewing in-service and pre-service teachers of English, talking with teacher educators at a variety of teacher education institutions, gathering Ministry of Education documents related to English teaching, collecting copies of widely-used textbooks, and surveying in-service teachers in public and private schools. The overall purpose of my Fulbright investigation was to examine the questions noted above regarding the role of culture in Chilean ELT materials, the prevalent methodology used in ELT , and attitudes toward native and non-native English-speaking teachers. In this paper I will focus primarily on the results of a limited questionnaire of Chilean English teachers regarding their opinions on these topics. In order to get a representative sample of in-service teachers, questionnaires dealing with their opinions on these topics were distributed to teachers in Santiago, as well as to teachers in smaller, outlying communities (i.e. Copiapó and La Serena). The questionnaires were given to teachers in public, semi-public, and private schools. Semipublic schools in Chile are schools that receive public funds but are allowed more diversity in their curriculum. For example, one semi-public Chilean school devotes a good deal of its curriculum to music. The questionnaire was given in Spanish to 50 English teachers: 29 teachers from public schools, 10 from semi-public schools, and 11 from private schools. The majority of these teachers (34) had been teaching English for 5 years or more.

The cultural content of ELT materials

In order to determine Chilean teachers’ views on the role of culture in ELT materials, the following question were asked:

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1 Which type of cultural content would you prefer to use in your class? A Content that deals with local Chilean places and people? B Content that deals primarily with aspects of United States or British life and culture? C Content that deals with the life and culture of various countries around the world? WHY? The majority of teachers preferred content that deals with the life and culture of various countries around the world, although there was support for the inclusion of local Chilean places and people. This was especially true of the teachers in the public schools where Go for Chile was being used. The following table illustrates the breakdown of responses. (In some instances teachers selected more than one option.) Teachers Public

Semi-public

Private

Option A

7

1

2

Option B

9

1

1

Option C

14

8

10

Those who supported the use of Chilean cultural content gave reasons such as ‘it is important to keep alive the Chilean culture in young people’, and ‘to reinforce the values of our culture’. Those who supported the use of content from native English-speaking countries cited the need to know ‘the origin of the language’. Finally, those who preferred the use of various cultures o¤ered reasons like ‘This may help students feel that they can use English everywhere and in any situation’, and ‘Students have a global vision of the world in which they live.’

The use of communicative language teaching methods

Before the educational reform in 1998, teachers were encouraged by the Ministry of Education to use CLT methods. More specifically, they were encouraged to make regular use of group work. In view of this situation, several of the items on the questionnaire dealt with the topic of communicative classrooms and group work. When asked how often they use group work in their classes (‘every class’, ‘sometimes’, ‘rarely’, or ‘never’), the majority of teachers in the survey (40) indicated they use it ‘sometimes’. When asked whether or not they believe a class must use group work to be considered a communicative classroom, the majority (33) felt that it was not necessary to have group work. Teachers gave answers like the following: ‘Not necessarily because you have communication between teachers and students or through a video or tape. You can have the written part too’, and ‘The concept communicative implies a sender, a message, and a receiver. For this, a minimum of two people is needed. This can be the teacher with the class in general. Therefore, to be communicative, the class does not have to be participating in group work.’ Teaching in a public or private school made little di¤erence in the response to these questions. Teaching English as an International Language

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In general the teachers supported the social benefits of using group work, but they also felt that using group work involves a number of problems. When asked what they saw as the major advantages of using group work, teachers responded with comments like ‘Students learn respect and learn to listen’, ‘Students put social rules into practice’, and ‘It reinforces values such as respect, responsibility and teamwork.’ When asked about the disadvantages of using group work, most teachers referred to the problem of the large number of students in the classes, the lack of physical space, the lack of time, discipline problems, and the tendency of students to go o¤-task. Teachers wrote comments like ‘Each group needs to be controlled so that all students work’, and ‘Generally only a couple of students work while the students who don’t participate get a grade that they don’t deserve.’ In my various one-to-one interviews with teachers, there was often a sense of relief that under the new Ministry of Education guidelines there was less pressure to use CLT , and specifically to use group work. As one teacher from a large urban high school in Santiago put it, ‘Before the reform, we were encouraged to use the communicative approach, but how are you going to do this with 45 students and evaluate them? Students don’t like to speak English.’ In general, I found that both the Ministry of Education and the teachers are de-emphasizing the use of CLT on the grounds that it is not appropriate to the local Chilean context for the reasons noted above.

The role of Chilean teachers of English

In many countries, native speakers of English are frequently given preference in ELT job openings. In private language institutes, in particular, administrators often believe that having native English speakers as teachers makes their program more desirable. One repercussion of this situation is that local bilingual English teachers may feel they are not as competent. Fortunately, some bilingual teachers of English (see, for example, Medgyes 1992) are challenging this notion. By and large, Chilean teachers of English appear to recognize their strengths as teachers. When asked who they would hire if they were a director of a private English language institute in Chile—native English speakers or Chileans—over half supported the hiring of Chileans, though teachers in semi-public and private schools were more likely to prefer native speakers, as shown in the following table. Public

Semi-public

Private

Native speaker

14

7

10

Chileans

20

6

6

Those who would prefer to hire native English-speaking teachers gave reasons like ‘My institution would be more prestigious and would have teachers who teach pronunciation correctly’, and ‘Being private, it is more attractive to my clients having native speakers.’ On the other hand, those who supported the hiring of Chileans gave reasons like ‘Chilean teachers know grammar better’, and ‘Chilean teachers know the sociocultural reality.’ 144

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When asked what they believe are the greatest strengths of native English-speaking teachers, most of the teachers referred to native speakers’ accurate pronunciation and fluency in the language, with comments like ‘Native speakers’ pronunciation is correct, they are more natural when they respond, and they know their own culture well.’ When asked what they saw as the weaknesses of native English-speaking teachers, many Chilean teachers referred to native English speakers’ unfamiliarity with the Chilean culture, and their lack of fluency in Spanish. Teachers o¤ered comments like ‘They don’t know the culture very well, and therefore do not understand their students’, and ‘They don’t know the socioeconomic reality of Chile and the problems that are present in the Chilean education system.’ When asked what they believe are the greatest strengths of Chilean English teachers, the majority responded that Chilean teachers know the culture and language of their students. Comments like the following were typical: Chilean teachers have ‘knowledge of the education system and culture’; they are ‘culturally connected with students’, and ‘closer to the students because Chilean teachers know who the students are, and how they behave’. Interestingly, in response to assessing their greatest weaknesses, many teachers responded that the most serious weakness they have is a limited opportunity for continuing education. In general, Chilean English teachers view themselves as professionals who have many strengths, but realize the importance of continued professional development.

Conclusion

I began this paper by arguing that English is an international language, and because of this fact, English can no longer be linked exclusively to native English-speaking cultures. Hence, there is no need, in the teaching of EIL , to base the content of teaching materials, the choice of teaching methodology, or the ideal teacher on native-speaker models. Instead, each country in which EIL is being taught must take ownership of the language, selecting teaching content and methods that are appropriate to the local context. As Kramsch and Sullivan (1996) point out, an appropriate pedagogy for the teaching of EIL depends upon local ELT professionals thinking globally but acting locally. Chile seems to be one country in which this is happening. Many currently-used textbooks, especially the Ministry of Education approved Go for Chile series, do not give primary emphasis to cultural content from native English-speaking countries. In addition, although Chile has in the past advocated the use of CLT , in the belief that it is a modern method widely used in ELT in English-speaking countries, many Chilean teachers, as well as the Ministry of Education, have concluded that some aspects of the method, particularly its emphasis on group work, are not e¤ective in the Chilean context. Finally, my interactions with Chilean English teachers suggest that Chilean teachers recognize the strengths they have as teachers because of their bilingualism, and their familiarity with the local cultural context. In this way, Chile can provide a model for the teaching of English as an international language. In general, Chilean educators have taken responsibility for developing a pedagogy that is appropriate to the local context, realizing that they are the ones who can Teaching English as an International Language

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best develop a locally sensitive pedagogy that can help students learn an international language. Revised version received November 2001 Notes 1 I am using ‘method’ here in the sense that this term is used by Richards and Rodgers (1985), as involving three interrelated levels: approach, design, and procedure. References Braine, G. (ed.) 1999. Non-native Educators in English Language Teaching. Mahwah, NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum. Cook, V. 1999. ‘Going beyond the native speaker in language teaching’. TESOL Quarterly 33: 185–209. Crystal, D. 1997. English as a Global Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Farías, M. 2000. ‘EFL teachers’ reception of the school reform’. Paper presented at the 6th International Conference of IATEFL -Chile, Santiago, Chile. Graddol, D. 1997. The Future of English. London: The British Council. Graddol, D. 1999. ‘The decline of the native speaker’. AILA Review 13: 57–68. Kachru, B. B. 1992. ‘Models for non-native Englishes’ in B. B. Kachru (ed.). The Other Tongue Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Kramsch, C. and P. Sullivan. 1996. ‘Appropriate pedagogy’. ELT Journal 50: 199–212. Medgyes, P. 1992. ‘Native or non-native: Who’s worth more?’ ELT Journal 46/4: 340–49.

Mugglestone, P., S. Elsworth, and J. Rose. 1999, 2000. Go for Chile, Books 1 and 2. Santiago, Chile: Addison Wesley Longman. Richards, J. and T. Rodgers. 1985. ‘Method: approach, design, and procedure’ in J. Richards (ed.). The Context of Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seidlhofer, B. 1999. ‘Double standards: teacher education in the expanding circle’. World Englishes 18/2: 233–45. Smith, L. 1976. ‘English as an international auxiliary language’. RELC Journal 7/2: 38–43. Widdowson, H. G. 1994. ‘The ownership of English’. TESOL Quarterly 28: 377–88. The author Sandra McKay is Professor of English at San Francisco State University, where she regularly o¤ers a course on the teaching of EIL . She has been involved in teacher education programs in a great variety of countries, including Hong Kong, Hungary, Japan, Morocco, Singapore, and Thailand, both as a Fulbright scholar and as an academic specialist for the United States Information Service. Her most recent book is Teaching English as an International Language: Rethinking Goals and Approaches (Oxford: Oxford University Press). Email: [email protected]

Appendix Survey questions 11 How long have you been teaching English? A 1 – 2 years B 3 – 5 years C 5 or more years 12 In what kind of school are you presently teaching? A public B semi-public C private 13 Where did you teach before this? A public B semi-public C private 146

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14 What grades are you presently teaching? A 1–4 B 5–8 C secondary 15 Which type of cultural content would you prefer to use in your class? A Content that deals with local Chilean places and people. B Content that deals primarily with aspects of United States or British life and culture. C Content that deals with the life and culture of various countries around the world. WHY? 16 Which type of cultural content do you feel that your students like best? A Content that deals with local places and people in Chile. B Content that deals primarily with aspects of United States or British life and culture. C Content that deals with the life and culture of various countries around the world. WHY? 17 Have you ever been asked questions about cultural information in a textbook that you could not answer? A Yes. B No. If yes, what did you do? A I ignored the question. B I quickly invented an answer. C I told the students that I didn’t know but that I would try to find out. D Other: _____________________________________ 18 How frequently do you use group work in your class? A Every class. B Sometimes. C Rarely. D Never. 19 What do you see as the major advantages of using group work in your classes? 10 What do you see as the major disadvantages of using group work in your class? 11 Do you believe students like using group work? A Yes. B No.

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WHY? 12 Do you think a class must use group work to be considered a communicative classroom? A Yes. B No. WHY? 13 Are you encouraged to use group work in your class by colleagues or supervisors? A Yes. B No. EXPLAIN: 14 In terms of the Chilean context, what do you think are the greatest strengths of native English-speaking teachers of English? What are the greatest weaknesses? 15 What do you think are the greatest strengths of Chilean teachers of English? What are their greatest weaknesses? 16 What do you believe are your greatest strengths and weaknesses? 17 If you were the director of a private language institute of English, who would you try to hire primarily? A Native English speakers. B Chileans. WHY? 18 Have you ever felt that you were discriminated against in hiring because you were or were not a native speaker of English? A Yes. B No. EXPLAIN: 19 Do you think native and non-native speakers of English are treated di¤erently at your institution? A Yes. B No. EXPLAIN:

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