http://dx.doi.org/10.15446/profile.v18n1.

51996

Unanswered Questions in Colombia’s Foreign Language

Education Policy

Preguntas por responder en la política educativa de lenguas extranjeras en Colombia

Camilo Andrés Bonilla Carvajal * 1

University of Delaware, Newark, USA

Isabel Tejada-Sánchez ** 2

Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia

Following the trend of much of the Western, non-English speaking world, Colombia has tirelessly
strived for spreading English education in an effort to augment economic benefits. This paper aims at
providing a critical account of foreign language education policy in Colombia, with special attention to
English. It outlines the impact of its multiple transitions over the past decades through a historical des-
cription that overviews all previous policies, the critical reception by scholars, and present-day initia-
tives. We then move on to analysing the choice of English as a synonym for bilingualism and conclude
with emerging questions that are to be considered for future debates and reassessments of Colombia’s
English-Spanish bilingual education policy.

Key words: Bilingual education in Colombia, Common European Framework of Reference, language
policy, linguistic colonialism.

Siguiendo una tendencia general en el Occidente no anglófono, Colombia ha intentado incansablemente

difundir la educación en lengua inglesa en aras de alcanzar beneficios económicos. Este artículo busca
ofrecer una descripción crítica de la política de enseñanza de lengua extranjera: inglés. Se considera
el impacto de las múltiples transiciones que ha sufrido la misma a lo largo de los años mediante una
descripción histórica de las anteriores iniciativas, la recepción de parte de los académicos y la propuesta
actual del gobierno. Finalmente, se analiza la elección del inglés como sinónimo de bilingüismo para
concluir con las dudas que suscita la política actual a fin de abrir un futuro debate y revaloración sobre
la educación bilingüe español-inglés.

Palabras clave: colonialismo lingüístico, educación bilingüe en Colombia; Marco Común Europeo de
Referencia, política lingüística.

* E-mail: [email protected]
** E-mail: [email protected]
How to cite this article (APA, 6th ed.): Bonilla Carvajal, C. A., & Tejada-Sánchez, I. (2016). Unanswered questions in Colombia’s language
education policy. PROFILE Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 18(1), 185-201. http://dx.doi.org/10.15446/profile.v18n1.51996.

This article was received on July 21, 2015, and accepted on October 1, 2015.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons license Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
4.0 International License. Consultation is possible at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

PROFILE Vol. 18, No.1, January-June 2016. ISSN 1657-0790 (printed) 2256-5760 (online). Bogotá, Colombia. Pages 185-201 185
Bonilla Carvajal & Tejada-Sánchez

Introduction Case Background

Foreign language education has become a
common core subject in the Colombian school and Previous Attempts of a
university system since it contributes—up to now, National Foreign Language
indirectly—to meet the criteria of standardised Teaching Programme2
measurements,1 but also because of the outstanding Each administration has attempted repeatedly
role of English to achieve global communication in to implement a nation-scale English teaching plan.
today’s world. Our intention as scholars is to discuss Gómez Delgado (1971) summarises some milestones
the implications, advantages, and disadvantages of in the national history up to 1970. The ever-growing
hegemonising language policies, as in Colombian governmental interest is observable and shared
programmes for bilingualism and English education. by different institutions to make the teaching and
Most particularly, this paper will address the issue that learning of foreign languages a more technical,
language policy has constantly been altered due to scientific, and efficient process.
political transitions disregarding education’s ultimate In 1826 there was a national official policy to
goal, namely, to produce critical and resourceful establish compulsory subjects across all national
citizens who might contribute to a global society. public schools such as Spanish, Latin, Greek, French,
After ten years of designing and implementing English, and an indigenous language, the one with
an explicit English-dominant foreign language the most speakers depending on the region where
education policy (Programa Nacional de Bilinguismo the school was located (Rivas Sacconi, 1993). This
in 2004 [National Bilingualism Program]), we deem well-intended law did not have any practical effects
it necessary to uphold the existing debate in two ways: and it was followed by a series of reforms that would
1. By outlining the initiatives preceding that inevitably lead to the progressive suppression of Latin,
enterprise as well as the current ones. until its total extinction at the end of 1970. French, on
2. By providing open questions about the future and the other hand, was adopted as a subject for secondary
development of English-Spanish bilingualism school (compulsory for grades 10 and 11) at the end of
in Colombia. the same decade after a visit of Colombia’s president to
This paper begins with a background review of all France. This did not spark any practical improvement
Colombian linguistic educational policies, since their in the students’ development of bilingualism either,
inception in the 19th century until now. Next, it discusses and ten years later, in a report issued by the British
Colombia’s transitions in its policies, as well as draws Council, the conclusion was that the Ministry of
open-ended questions that emerge from introducing Education had no firm foreign language policy for
English as a foreign language for Colombian citizens. students, and its decisions were a result of political
It is therefore our intention to address these reflections pressures rather than educational considerations
to all stakeholders in a persistent national education (British Council as cited in de Mejía, 2012b).
policy whose conversation urges to be expanded. It was not long before Colombia signed a
political constitutional reform in 1991 that expressly
1 PISA being one of them: OECD’s Programme for Interna-
provided (for the first time in Colombia’s history) an
tional Student Assessment. Although PISA does not address language
testing per se, it includes language-related skills such as reading, criti-
cal thinking as well as problem-solving (Ministerio de Educación Na- 2 For a historical overview with special attention to other for-
cional [MEN], 2008). eign languages, see Cárdenas (2010).

186 Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Ciencias Humanas, Departamento de Lenguas Extranjeras
 Unanswered Questions in Colombia’s Foreign Language Education Policy

open recognition of all indigenous languages, and parties, that again CVW was not the right path, hence,
of the country’s multilingual and cultural richness; after only five months from the implementation date
furthermore, there was an economic policy expansion (January, 2015), the Ministry of Education changed its
and massive admission of imports (USA and Europe), mind and goals. The new programme is now called
which called for a need to improve the English level of Colombia Bilingüe 2014-2018 (CB). Figure 1 summarises
students, and specially of their teachers. the stages described up to present day.
In February 1991 the Colombian Framework for
English (COFE) project was created to be carried out Transitions: Programa Nacional
in four years (it would not be concluded until 1997) de Bilingüismo, Colombia Very
between the Government of the United Kingdom, via Well! and Colombia Bilingüe
the British Council, and Colombia, for an improvement The NBP was the direct predecessor to CVW and
in the teaching of English. The COFE project had a CB. It remains a matter of debate whether NBP was
grass-roots approach to propose changes in Bachelor a planned previous stage to CVW (as stated by its
programmes for teachers (Licenciaturas) suggesting documentation: Documento de socialización) or if it
an increase in the number of hours of English, as well was an amendment to itself, with a larger budget and
as the inclusion of a research component (Rubiano, a new name deleting the word bilingualism in the face
Frodden, & Cardona, 2000). Later on, in 1994 the of prior harsh criticism by national scholars (Correa
General Education Law was enacted which stated, very & Usma Wilches, 2013; García León & García León,
broadly, a necessity for the acquisition of conversation 2012; Guerrero Nieto, 2008; inter alia) for its deliberate
and reading elements in at least one foreign language focus on English, and ensuing contradiction for not
(Congreso de Colombia, 1994). addressing bilingualism in the academic sense (Baker,
Ten years later, the Government—once again, 2006; Romaine, 1995), let alone in its etymological
under the supervision of the British Council— root (the use of two languages).
launched the Programa Nacional de Bilingüismo. The common denominator of both NBP and CVW
Colombia 2004-2019. Inglés como lengua extranjera: is the claim that language learning is a means to social
una estrategia para la competitividad [short: National development specifically because it brings forth more
Bilingualism Programme, NBP henceforth]: A job opportunities (MEN, 2006). This seems to be the
national programme spanning 15 years to propel the sole driving force behind all political agendas and
learning of English in both schools and universities election campaigns in terms of educational goals in
all across Colombia. This programme was boosted Colombia: the access to employment (MEN, 2015).
in 2013 when the Ley de bilingüismo [Bilingualism On July 10 th, 2014, Colombian President Juan
Law] (Congreso de Colombia, 2013) was enacted to Manuel Santos, and former Minister of Education
modify 1994’s General Education Law (see discussion María Fernanda Campo, presented CVW. What
below). The programme however was not meeting stood out the most was not the fact that the official
its own standards and as a result, the government document was entirely designed by a consulting
decided to stop and start afresh with a new budget (1.3 agency (McKinsey & Co.) without apparent assistance
billion Colombian pesos) for ten years in a flagship from university departments of education, or experts
endeavour: Colombia Very Well! Programa Nacional de in bilingualism, with the minor exception of some
Inglés 2015-2025 (CVW). It seems, much to the surprise telephone interviews of a few chosen professors (as
of teachers, researchers, students, and interested it is printed on the CVW document, p. 110). Nor is it

PROFILE Vol. 18, No.1, January-June 2016. ISSN 1657-0790 (printed) 2256-5760 (online). Bogotá, Colombia. Pages 185-201 187
 Figure 1. Timeline: Bilingual Educational Policies in Colombia3

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1826 1970 1979 1989 1991 1994 1997 2004 2013 2014 2015 2026
Compulsory Ending Decision to A Survey of Open political Ley 115 de Licenciaturas Programa Various articles Programa Some traits of Only time
subjects across decade for adopt French English recognition of Febrero 8 de were modified Nacional de from the Nacional de CVW are kept will tell…
all national Latin as a as a Language all indigenous 1994. Por la thanks to the Bilingüismo. previous General Inglés Colombia (textbook
public schools subject in compulsory Teaching languages, cual se expide la initiative but Colombia Education Law Very Well materials such
Spanish, Latin, Colombian subject for and Learning and of the ley general de no major 2004-2019. in 1994 were 2015-2025. 1.3 as English
Greek, French, schools secondary in Colombia: Colombia’s educación, changes were Inglés como modified to billion Please, and the
English and an school A Guide to multilingual broadly states perceived in lengua reflect the Colombian Common
indigenous (grades 10 the Market. and cultural the acquisition national extranjera: Una horizon of pesos for ten European
language, the and 11). richness. of conversation students' estrategia para English as a years in a Framework)
one with most and reading proficiency. la competitivi- technical tool for flagship but ample and
speakers elements at dad. Intended employment. endeavour. clear infor-
depending on least in a foreign to last up to mation of its
the region language as a 2019. First overall scope
where the desirable goal. inclusion of the and strategies
school was Common for implemen-
located. European tation have not
Framework. been released.

3 For a description concentrating on the phases for policies in bilingualism spanning 2001 through 2016, see Fandiño-Parra (2014); for other descriptions addressing the status of Co-

Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Ciencias Humanas, Departamento de Lenguas Extranjeras

lombia’s Islander English, see González (2010).
 Unanswered Questions in Colombia’s Foreign Language Education Policy

the fact that the CVW presentation was precisely held exclusive use of materials from inner circle countries
at a technical institution for the training of a labour (Vélez-Rendón, 2003). “The British Council is clearly
workforce (Instituto Técnico Central La Salle), or that an institution supportive of British commercial
the colours of the programme matched those of the and political interests. It has always had the goal of
UK, USA, or Australian/New Zealand flag;4 what is spreading the English language as far as possible
more salient is the unhesitating treatment of language and this has been for clear political and commercial
learning as a response to the needs of the captains reasons” (Pennycook, 2013, p. 150). Thus, what leads
of industry to supply factories and businesses with the programme is not the treatment of learning as a
a workforce in English (Reyes, 2015). A literacy and tool for social and personal empowerment, aiming
proficiency measured by external, transcontinental, to emancipate school and college graduates for social
and de-contextualised criteria (Ayala Zárate & advancement, but to stock call centre franchises
Álvarez, 2005) in need of modifications to work (Santos, 2014).
effectively in the Colombian context (de Mejía, 2012a;
Fandiño-Parra, Bermúdez-Jiménez, & Lugo-Vásquez, Scholars’ Reception to Programa
2012), adopting (without adapting) textbooks and Nacional de Bilingüismo 2004-2019
materials made abroad for the benefit and ease of Out of the three modern governmental projects
expansion of major publishing houses (Álvarez, for bilingualism English-Spanish (NBP, CVW, CB), the
2008); a trend imported from abroad that conforms NBP has been the longest in duration (ten years, from
to the standards of an idealised English native speaker 2004 through 2014). It has been likewise the one more
as the ultimate goal of learning (Vélez-Rendón, fiercely criticised of all.
2003) enshrining such as a symbol of prestige over A common trend across all references to the
the local English varieties (González, 2010), and programme is that its foundations are rooted in the
the reality of those who are already bilingual (and misconception that English is the only language that
indisputably alienated): Raizals and indigenous might open the doorway to success and economic
peoples (Torres-Martínez, 2009). In so doing, the empowerment (Fandiño-Parra et al., 2012). From
only benefit goes for an institution intended to spread the official documentation, the NBP states that
British cultural propaganda in the form of learning English communicative competence is the road to
materials, teaching training, assessment, proficiency opportunities for citizens, social mobility, and people’s
evaluation as well as books (González, 2007), creating development (Programa Nacional de Bilingüismo,
dependency upon an inner circle model via the n.d.). In sheer opposition Valencia (2013) criticises
the willingness to introduce English as the foreign
4 An additional thought emerges: Should educators accept language of choice, as though it was a natural solution.
uncritically a governmental programme that spreads and consolidates
the acceptance of a norm-providing inner circle of English (Kachru,
Colombia’s governmental decisions are therefore
2006) whose rhetoric only serves to perpetuate the exo-normative based on economic grounds, linked to concepts
native speaker model? (Kirkpatrick, 2006). Careful consideration of
Santos’s (2014, pp. 48-51) public statement evidences such bias towards
such as productivity and competitiveness, teachers’
a colonial view of the language: “Among other actions we will also voices are not taken into account and the government
create an incentive package [for teachers] to improve their teach-
ing practice with language immersion trips to San Andrés, and also
representatives’ attitude is managerial and authoritarian
abroad. And I want to thank the ambassador and his government in instead of participative (Quintero Polo, 2009).
that regard, since they have shown so much interest in helping us with
this programme, with that remarkable English that they speak in the
In the same vein, according to the NBP’s logic, the
United Kingdom” (Our translation). concept of bilingualism is tantamount to speaking

PROFILE Vol. 18, No.1, January-June 2016. ISSN 1657-0790 (printed) 2256-5760 (online). Bogotá, Colombia. Pages 185-201 189
Bonilla Carvajal & Tejada-Sánchez

English exclusively (Bermúdez Jiménez & Fandiño- certainly obscures its scope, reliability, and validity,
Parra, 2012; de Mejía, 2011). Bilingualism is thus because these should be based on national, informed
presented as a rigid conceptualisation fostered by perspectives and methodologies (Ayala Zárate &
myths (Guerrero Nieto, 2008), at the expense of the Álvarez, 2005). The extant conditions are unsuitable
full recognition of all other indigenous languages and for the desired governmental purposes; likewise,
the multilingual nature of the country. It is a source there is an absolute absence of clear policies to attain
of concern that the government refers to bilingualism the goals set in a bilingualism programme (Cárdenas,
in Colombia as a concept that can be detached from 2006), bringing forth an undesirable mismatch
Spanish (Vargas, Tejada, & Colmenares, 2008). Plus, between the government’s intentions and the actual
in the design, planning, and implementation, none of social conditions (Guerrero Nieto, 2010). For instance,
the voices from English teachers, scholars, principals, even though the NBP initially presented a baseline
secretaries of education, or indigenous community for intervention, as of June 2009, with only 10% of
representatives have been heard thus far (Correa & assessed teachers reaching a B2 level or above5, the
Usma Wilches, 2013), all framed as a panacea against objective was to train the remaining 90% to help
poverty, creating in this fashion the image of an them to better their proficiency. Some years into the
apolitical, homogenous nation, without regions, or programme all evaluations were unfavourable, even
ethnic groups; neglecting the traditions of Raizals and from official statements (Sánchez Jabba, 2013). The
Afro Americans (Torres-Martínez, 2009). following year, Colombia’s Minister of Education,
Another criticism is that peculiar contextual María Fernanda Campo Saavedra, publicly accepted
features were outright disregarded when the NBP was the programme’s failure, precisely due to unawareness
put into effect. In this respect De Zubiría Samper (n.d.) and a bad diagnosis of the real national proficiency
highlights the major drawback of imposing a nation- levels (Diario LR, 2014).
wide bilingual programme without first attending to The programme did not consider the external
the priorities in education: students’ deduction and variables such as the huge social and economic
induction skills, argumentation and critical reading; it differences among the various strata in Colombia
is meaningless to aim at foreign language proficiency (Valencia, 2006). The monolingual and mono-
without Spanish fluency in the first place. At the higher cultural dominant context in the country also hinders
education level the NBP is not influential either. López the opportunity to perform as expected; the goals
(2009) argues that it does not shape any perceivable were then unrealistic and envisaged an idyllic, non-
change in foreign language programmes because its existent group of students (Guerrero Nieto, 2008).
implications are not clearly understood; he focuses on The Ministry’s original assumption that only a
the NBP’s presence in the Exámenes de la Calidad de scarce 10% of all language teachers were capable of
la Educación Superior [ECAES] whose English section reaching the imposed B2 level aids in building the
is based on reading excerpts from the Cambridge perception of national underachievement, which
publishing house. His findings suggest that ECAES is a called for immediate action in the form of adopting
low-stakes test given that no influence is found in those
programmes, which leads one to believe that the policy- 5 The levels adopted by the Ministry of Education were those
driven tests cannot have the consequences intended. of the Common European Framework of Reference (Council of Eu-
rope, 2001). The levels are comparable to the traditional distinction of
In general, NBP does not consider the differences basic, intermediate, and advanced proficiency, where the letters A, B,
in context of application of assessment criteria which and C represent each level accordingly.

190 Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Ciencias Humanas, Departamento de Lenguas Extranjeras
 Unanswered Questions in Colombia’s Foreign Language Education Policy

foreign standards with little attention to the actual (see also Sánchez Solarte & Obando Guerrero, 2012;
conditions of teachers and students (Cárdenas, Torres-Martínez, 2009). For González (2007) the NBP
2006; Sánchez Solarte & Obando Guerrero, 2012; did not consider the previous COFE project carried out
Valencia, 2013). This adoption came in the form of in the 1990’s where major local universities were brought
externalisation of policy discourses, stratification of together to foment action research and professional
groups, and marketisation of language teaching (Usma autonomy; as a result, Álvarez (2008) stressed the
Wilches, 2009), at the risk of embracing globalisation importance of adopting a postcolonial approach to
through an unthinking exploitation reducing foreign evaluate the standards, with a critical stance towards
language teaching to sheer formal instruction (Torres- the deployment of merchandising coming from the
Martínez, 2009); this adoption was chiefly driven by publishing houses that are interested in the NBP. Finally,
the need to respond to the changes associated with de Mejía (2011) forewarned that taking the European
economic globalisation (Peña Dix & de Mejía, 2012) perspective without modification to the local setting
regarding the absence of national, all-encompassing may end up as a distortion of the intended aim.
assessment criteria for foreign language proficiency. Finally, not only does the NBP contradict
The decision to integrate The Common European other Colombian linguistic policies promoting
Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) bilingualism—on account of its limiting focus on
on account of the “soundness of its proposal, and English (de Mejía, 2011)—but it is also the doorway to
applicability to the educative field” (Programa Nacional a market where only a few high-class, well-off citizens
de Bilingüismo, n.d., para. 6, our translation) forced can afford the textbooks, materials, preparation
scholars to insist that externalisation of language courses, and international exams (García León &
discourse in education is a mechanism through which García León, 2012). In that regard, it is Correa and
foreign standards are adopted as an indisputable Usma Wilches’ (2013) proposal to adopt a critical
external authority (Usma Wilches, 2009), taking sociocultural model that can set out better actions.
advantage of the absence of information in the local They provide a detailed account of the bureaucratic,
communities to impose a hegemonic discourse traditional model of policy-making in order to assert
(Cárdenas, 2010). As a consequence such adoption that the NBP is indeed the embodiment of a top-
was soon met with a barrage of criticism: Ayala Zárate down philosophy that dictates rules of teaching and
and Álvarez (2005) confronted such de-contextualised assessment without previous consideration of the
implementation of overseas assessment standards, and Colombian context. Likewise, for Vargas et al. (2008)
called for the construction of context-based foreign the standards’ assessment criteria are oblivious to the
language education principles while preparing students variety in regional features and local cultures.
to be globally competent. Vargas et al. (2008) also There is, then, a socio-cultural, economic, and
remarked on the out-of-context adoption in the Basic political dimension in the teaching and learning practice
Competence Standards (BCS) in Foreign Languages: that cannot be overlooked (Ayala Zárate & Álvarez,
English (Estándares básicos de competencias en lenguas 2005). The NBP either neglects it or openly accepts it but
extranjeras: inglés, MEN, 2006), where the CEFR is not in the form of education as a subservient device for job-
adopted along with all its rich theoretical analyses but skill technical training, not integral education (Vargas et
rather a mere usage of its competence grids and can-do al., 2008). Goals were clear for the NBP in aiming at the
statements overlooking Colombia’s socio-economic, same objective as India in training low-tier, blue-collar
geographic, political, historical, and educative reality workers proficient in English (MEN, 2005). Tools as the

PROFILE Vol. 18, No.1, January-June 2016. ISSN 1657-0790 (printed) 2256-5760 (online). Bogotá, Colombia. Pages 185-201 191
Bonilla Carvajal & Tejada-Sánchez

BCS are simply “a vehicle used to spread a hegemonic and administration and thus in the aforementioned
ideological influence and to alienate teachers’ beliefs and policy, which re-emerged under the name of
practices within English language education” (Guerrero Colombia Bilingüe (MEN, 2014b). This denomination
Nieto & Quintero Polo, 2009, p. 135). intends to recover the use of the term bilingual as
This unease with CB 2014-2018 lies in forgetting a distinctive characteristic of the programme and
such previous faux pas (from both NBP 2004-2019 and erase the previous title and logo with no official
CVW 2015-2025), and the continuation of a massive, justification. CB was officially introduced in early 2015
billionaire, and pervasive project whose goal is opposite as part of a “relevance project”6 —no longer regarded
to that of a humanistic and social-empowering type of as a quality issue—and as a compendium of more
education. Researchers, teachers, language instructors, realistic and adapted strategies concerning three main
professors, policy makers, pre-service teachers, and lines of action: teacher education, use of materials,
parents all agree on sharing the same objective; a and pedagogical design. Albeit this recent initiative
conflicting point for discussion is whether we all are has been seldom presented in public, and the official
on the same page, with the same goals in mind and, information in its website remains scarce, we can
with the same definition of education: training to summarise some of its main aspects as of today.
provide international call centres franchises with The most salient feature about CB is that it has
a low cost workforce, or the humanistic, social- reduced its geographic scope to a fewer number
empowering, and liberating education that starts with of target institutions, partially covering 36 cities. 7
a different philosophy of action to that promoted by The reason why the government has chosen these
this government, that is, complying with international focal cities and not others remains officially unclear.
standards (Torres-Martínez, 2009). Another important yet controversial strategy
The governmental standpoint towards education, involves the arrival of more than 300 foreigners to
however, should not come as a surprise for it has been the focal cities. This group, referred to as Formadores
perceived since mid-2013 when the Ley de bilingüismo Nativos Extranjeros (Foreign Native Trainers), would
[Bilingualism Law] (Congreso de Colombia, 2013) provide opportunities to communicate in English
was enacted to modify the General Education Law authentically with the students outside regular class
(Congreso de Colombia, 1994) to reflect the new time. It includes professionals ranging across different
frame of English as a means to employment. For disciplines who have some teaching experience, but
instance, one of the articles states as one of its purposes not necessarily enough background in Spanish, let
the development of competences and skills to foster alone in language teaching and didactics.
citizens’ access to higher education and opportunities Moreover, CB intends to allocate most of its
in the corporative and labour fields (Congreso de task-force to ensuring that 100% of the teachers
Colombia, 2013). And Law 1651, 2013, was appended are assessed and “diagnosed” so that they can be
so that English would be prioritised. accompanied by the MEN in improving their language

The Current Policy: Colombia

6 Information about CB, as well as the Ministry’s lines of ac-
Bilingüe 2014-2018 tion can be found here: http://www.colombiaaprende.edu.co/html/
Shortly after the presentation of a strategic plan micrositios/1752/w3-article-315515.html, and on the Ministry’s official
website: http://www.mineducacion.gov.co/
for CVW, the re-election of President Juan Manuel 7 Information about the focal regions: http://www.mineduca
Santos in late 2014 brought several changes in his cion.gov.co/cvn/1665/w3-article-351513.html

192 Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Ciencias Humanas, Departamento de Lenguas Extranjeras
 Unanswered Questions in Colombia’s Foreign Language Education Policy

level through training sessions and feedback, short Quintero Polo, 2009), a royal road to include the country
local or international immersion programmes, as in a global economy (García León & García León, 2012),
well as the provision of the materials they need for since it is deemed as the language of the new world, the
classes. Interestingly enough, CB sets as one of its goals sole language worth promoting and the one that opens
the creation of a national syllabus for the English scientific and technological progress with the exclusion
language—as a step further ahead of the BCS—and yet of indigenous languages (Guerrero Nieto, 2008).
it did not turn down the use of materials previously English is enthroned as the par excellence
developed for CVW: the textbook English Please! for language of choice for all matters pertaining to
secondary school, and Bunny Bonita for elementary. development, progress, richness, and prosperity; its
In this respect, studies such as Cano-Morante (2014) choice over other languages is embedded in a history
discuss the impact of these materials’ underlying of colonialism, economic and political unrest, free-
dominant discourse. Thought-provoking conclusions trade agreements, and the urge to solve even deeper
arise from Cano-Morante’s epistemic critical discourse societal issues by means of training skilled workers.
analysis of the teacher training sessions of Bunny Several countries aiming at their economic and
Bonita. Following van Dijk’s (2010) model which scientific growth, like Colombia, have chosen English
states the NBP is not a solution to the inequities stirring as the official foreign language, standing as a subject
Colombian society, it is instead a way to comply with alone with no evident linkage with the rest of the
the elites’ necessities in providing a long-term trained curriculum that is taught in the L1. In some other cases,
workforce. In the same way, the NBP’s discourse is English is set as the official second language and thus
designed in such a way that its direct users accept it the medium of instruction at school, as it is the case of
and support its implementation. For the government, Rwanda where, since 2008, English replaced French
when it comes to English everything might change, as the schools’ language (Samuelson & Freedman,
that is, the method, teacher training, the regions to 2010). In their thorough analysis of the inclusion of
implement the programme, but never the materials, English as a post-conflict plan, these authors refer
and thus the CEFR and the British Council. to the “drastic shifts” in language policy taking place
In sum, this reformed policy seems to perpetuate in different parts of post-colonial Africa, benefiting
much of the former criticism and observations English over other languages. The rationale behind
especially regarding the concept of bilingualism as an these changes is rooted in the social imaginary of what
instrumental characteristic of the students, and not the English language has come to represent: power,
a skill which carries much more than the linguistic along with the understatement of being powerless
code. This assumption leaves again the foreign where it is not in the official agenda. In this way,
language as a separate component from the students’ Rassool’s parallel with Bourdieu’s “colonial habitus”
native language (L1) dimension, their multi-literacies, proves to be particularly relevant to Colombia’s case
and intercultural awareness. meaning that people “often make linguistic choices
that reinforce existing social, political, and economic
Discussion and Conclusions inequalities; and, in doing so, they collude in their own
Conclusions emerging from this reflection are collective disempowerment and/or dispossession” (as
manifold. For starters, English is anew presented as a cited in Samuelson & Freedman, 2010, p. 203).
neutral, nuance-less, apolitical system to codify reality The question of language as a window to the
detached from all ties to its real bases (Guerrero Nieto & human mind, as well as a means of codifying reality

PROFILE Vol. 18, No.1, January-June 2016. ISSN 1657-0790 (printed) 2256-5760 (online). Bogotá, Colombia. Pages 185-201 193
Bonilla Carvajal & Tejada-Sánchez

and exchanging existential experience amongst two country. This attitude has been dubbed as language
or more speakers, needs to be differentiated from “genocide,” particularly regarding dominant groups’
the codes stated in a forthcoming national syllabus, empowerment at the expense of diversity:
in this case Spanish and English. In Colombia’s Through glorification, the non-material resources of the
particular case, it is intriguing that the government dominant groups, including the dominant languages and
takes “language” as a subject that covers the mother cultures, . . . specifically English, are presented as better adapted
tongue and English as an instrumental code then to meet the needs of “modern,” technologically developed,
contend that together they mean bilingualism. democratic post-industrial information-driven societies—and
Reference to the implications of this notion call on this is what a substantial part of ESL ideology is about. . . . The
the necessity to be revisited by the government, “free-market” ideology, more a political dogma than an economic
especially for it to consider two main aspects: (1) a system, erodes democracy by shifting power from states and
bilingual programme, even at its preliminary stage, democratically elected bodies to transnational corporations and
must entail bi- and multi-literacy as an educational banks, while “demanding” homogenisation and killing diversity.
mission; this has beenstated for decades as an Ibero- (Skutnabb-Kangas, 2000, p. xi)
American priority in the sense of how essential
reading and writing are; and (2) in such an endeavour, It should be a feasible alternative for any
educators must promote students’ development of government to set forth a national, overarching
BICS: Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills, and bilingualism (or, better yet, multilingualism)
CALP: Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency programme, led by national, democratically appointed
(Cummins, 2008) so that these skills can permeate parties of scholars, teachers, and researchers that
their linguistic repertoire.8 can propose a more suitable implementation of
Mastering a target language entitles the the Ministry’s initiative without accepting overseas
speaker to a membership to the economic, cultural, domination from institutions whose main goal
geographical, and socio political benefits held by is cultural display in the form of books, learning
the verbal community of native speakers. This goal materials, teaching training and assessment, as well
however may ultimately become twofold: on the one as proficiency evaluation (see Pennycook, 2013).
hand, governments might make the best effort for Likewise, the goal needs to be set in the willingness
providing their citizens with a linguistic passport to to educate bilingual human beings, rather than
access the literary, scientific, sporting, academic, and to shape bi-literate, low-tier, minimum-wage
commercial benefits of the cultural products from workers. Countries striving for giving its citizens
the target verbal community; whereas on the other, the opportunities of accessing a better quality of life
governments might simply make an effort to have should also guarantee the means to hold linguistic
their citizens become literate in the target language membership to as many cultures and views of the
so as to sell them as a skilled labour force that can world as possible.
understand the orders of new foreign employers, Also, it is important to highlight the current
namely: multinational corporations investing in the administration’s intention in reformulating the CVW
programme. It remains unclear though to what
extent they acknowledge its flaws and implications.
8 The national reading plan “Leer es mi cuento” encourages
bi-literacy in regions where English is widely spoken such as the San The document “Colombia Very Well! Documento de
Andrés and Providencia archipelago, but not as part of the overall bi- socialización julio 2014” outlined the general structure
lingualism programme (men, 2013).

194 Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Ciencias Humanas, Departamento de Lenguas Extranjeras
 Unanswered Questions in Colombia’s Foreign Language Education Policy

of the Plan Nacional de Inglés: Colombia Very Well for more modest in its aspirations than CVW, by setting
the next 10 years. This plan, as a nation-wide initiative, goals only for 2018, CB goes on to measure quality in
with the united sources of other departments and language teaching through the exo-normative illusion
ministries (ICT and employment) clearly suggested an of the monolingual native speaker (see Abouchaar,
innate philosophy of employability and job-training 2012; Torres-Martínez, 2009), and it is pre-supposed
as the sole drive for education. that only native or near-nativeness is a prerequisite to
CVW was mainly crafted by a foreign company quality and success in teaching. Furthermore, it keeps
whose field of expertise is financial consulting and using the yardstick of alien models and discourses as
no signs of contribution by educators, researchers, or it is intended by 2018 to diagnose the 100% of English
scholars in the field were given. We could establish a teachers in their proficiency level according to the
link with these two facts to the emerging concern CEFR, to upgrade English teachers’ CEFR level one
of the graphics and rationale given by the Ministry or two letters (i.e., A1 → A2), to include 1,400 foreign
of Education to boost the teaching of English. The native speakers to teach English in a number of focus
pivotal reasons are based on the need to supply the group schools. Their role derives from a co-teaching
business process outsourcing sector (BPO), tourism and and complementary strategy where the main outcome
technical-level employment vacancies, unlike other will be to help students communicate effectively in
initiatives for bilingualism, where the focus is set on the the L2.10 In higher education the overview is not less
preparation of graduate students to achieve academic colonial: teachers nation-wide aiming at promotion or
mobility, internationally-competitive scientific incentives ought to reach a minimum B2 level. English
production, or upgrade the ranking of universities. will be included as a compulsory requirement for all
It has also been underscored that the name technical and professional university programmes
of the overall plan has changed several times: striving for accreditation. Alumni from Bachelor
from Programa Nacional de Bilingüismo (National programmes in education, major in English, will need
Bilingualism Programme) to Plan Nacional de Inglés to reach a B2+ in order for the programme to receive
(National English Plan), where the latter excludes official accreditation. More worryingly, all Bachelor
the co-existence of the L1 (not that it was present in programmes in English will also need to have native
the former), and CB. There are no clear distinctions English speakers, as well as provide their students
between the NBP, CVW, and CB either. The latter holds with internships abroad.
itself accountable for only a portion of the country’s CB’s aspirations af fect the str uc ture of
institutions. This brings up numerous issues for undergraduate-level teacher training programmes
students and teachers who would not benefit from the and the general evaluation system. If this new layout
same resources as the focal areas.9 By the same token, comes from the previous CVW unaltered, then doubts
these transitions evoke unsteadiness in the deliverables and concerns should remain since CVW was obscure
as well as in the approaches to language in education. in much of its recommendations (when a web-based
As a consequence, CB resumes the prescription of methodological support was announced, which
foreign standards that were fruitless for the NBP in the method would be followed? [MEN, 2014a]). It is also
past (Diario LR, 2014; Radio Santa Fe, 2015). Although clear that the intended goal is to place English amongst

9 For a study regarding the constraints that yield the infra- 10 The latest public information retrieved on this matter (July,
structure and resources of private schools and the implementation of 2015): http://www.eltiempo.com/estilo-de-vida/educacion/bilinguis
the NBP, see Miranda & Echeverry (2010). mo-llegan-200-profesores-extranjeros-a-colegios-publicos/16033796

PROFILE Vol. 18, No.1, January-June 2016. ISSN 1657-0790 (printed) 2256-5760 (online). Bogotá, Colombia. Pages 185-201 195
Bonilla Carvajal & Tejada-Sánchez

other technical skills to shape the incoming generations of these technicians, as well as the highly complex issues of
of blue-collar wage-earners in the lower steps of the general management and the rule of society, according to the
BPO and tourism sectors, rather than amongst the main principles of the philosophy of life and political sciences.
productive, entrepreneurial freethinkers of tomorrow. Reducing the education of the young to the training of specialised
Until now, all previous Colombian initiatives for technicians would be a suicidal objective for any country. There is
bilingualism have been a cog in the gear of a utilitarian no need to reach this state to assess the damage that some nations
logic where the linguistic product is determined by all are doing to themselves through iconoclast reforms, as is attested
the tenets of an investment-profit mindset (language almost everywhere on our continent. This is but a regrettable
= product) (Fandiño-Parra, 2014; Torres-Martínez, pedagogical naiveté on the part of its leaders when failing to
2009), in short, government linguistic planning realise the cultural decay that comes with the abandonment of
resembles the pattern of the Spanish colonisation the disciplines for the selfless education of the spirit. (Espinosa
to value the language of the powerful stretching the Pólit, 1981, pp. XVII-XVIII, our translation)
asymmetry of social strata (Guerrero Nieto, 2009).
Back in the 19th century, Venezuelan diplomat, Unanswered Questions
grammarian, legislator, philosopher, and educator, In keeping with the previous literature review,
Andrés Bello, defended with equal verve the the actions undertaken by the Ministry, and the
maintenance of the human sciences in secondary current perspectives of CB, several questions emerge.
education. His legacy echoes from centuries ago— We will attempt to briefly discuss them as a whole
from the very days of the failed multilingual Law of with the hopes of stirring conversation between
March 1826—and in the words of one of the experts the government officials, schools, universities,
in his life and works, Aurelio Espinosa Pólit, these technical institutions, teachers, professors, scholars,
final thoughts remain in full force, now more than administrative staff, parents, and, importantly,
ever, to make sense of the present-day state of South undergraduate students in Licenciaturas.
American Education: 1. Why does the government continue replicating
It is, on the one hand, the invading growth of pan-economist previous flaws that have already received criticism
theories that reduce everything to the material concerns of thereby plainly ignoring the extensive body of
existence; it is the narrow view of an immediate profit of those literature that stands against those flaws?
studies that are directly linked with earnings; it is the urgency of 2. Why was CB a clean slate after CVW was launched?
so many youngsters for earning a livelihood as soon as possible; 3. What is the notion of education that the
it is, on the other hand, the real need for technical scientists and government truly seeks, and especially of
business people that every country carries out research for the English teaching? Training for minimum-wage
exploitation of the national resources; it is the reduction of the workforce? English as a skill for technical literacy
advancement of science and its applications to the household in an inner-circle dominated world?
needs which makes it essential for the modern man to be initiated 4. Why has Colombia Bilingüe 2014-2018 (until the
in the experimental sciences... Nobody denies the immediate revision of this paper) decided to implement this
necessity of technical workers at all production levels, and in policy in what they called “focus areas” and not
the modern mechanised life; nonetheless nobody should deny the rest of the country as stated before? What will
either the need (as essential as that of the technicians) of men it happen to the rest of the country?
with a higher mental training—more agile and more universal— 5. Why is an English-only policy tantamount to
men capable of coordinating the partial and unbound tasks “bilingualism” for the government and why are

196 Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Ciencias Humanas, Departamento de Lenguas Extranjeras
 Unanswered Questions in Colombia’s Foreign Language Education Policy

other types of bilingualism with other relevant it is the language of problem-solving, technology,
or official languages such as Spanish-Mhuysqa, and global communication. It is counterintuitive to
Spanish-Ticuna, or even multilingualism Spanish, educate people to be automatised in an era where
English, Portuguese not part of the bilingual milieu? machines have taken over many of human beings’
6. Will the forthcoming curriculum consider bi- traditional duties and where critical thinking has
and multi-literacy dimensions as part of bilingual become essential to survive.
students’ language development? This brings us to Question 4 which addresses why
7. How does Colombia Bilingüe plan to articulate the CB program plans to implement its strategies in
itself with current pre-service and in-service several focus areas or institutions, excluding Bogotá. It
English teachers’ agenda for all levels, especially is worth noting that these areas are given an advantage
with licenciatura programmes that others consider regarding other institutions; however, the reasons
foreign languages in addition to English? behind this decision need to be clarified. It is likely
The answers to Questions 1-3 could be associated that this justification could imply the recognition
with several conversations and fields. Therefore, that the previous programs were too ambitious to
it could be argued that CB and precedent policies ensure significant outcomes in the entire country or
defend a specific education paradigm. It is true that CB intends to ensure a considerable percentage
that having a sound educational philosophy is a of significant outcomes (increased number of hours
key component in curriculum development and in English, incorporation of technological support,
therefore in governmental mandates; however, this enhanced levels of the language, covered training
policy does not necessarily mean it is beneficial for sessions and immersions, observations by the MEN,
its users. In the current policy, it is apparent that etc.) over a selected population. Whichever the case,
foreign language learning is regarded as separate it is necessary to have these justifications stated
from other disciplines. Even more disconcerting publicly since there are many cities, rural villages,
is that the policy predominantly configures itself and communities whose education agenda will not
around a linguistic fashion: the erroneous idea change as a result of the policy and this fact has many
that language principally consists of grammar problematic implications.
memorization and metalinguistic knowledge. As of Finally, Questions 5-7 lead us to two of the most
yet, there is little evidence on how this policy would resonating topics in the recent literature on language
go beyond this basic conception of language learning teacher education: empowerment and multi-literacies
to include current trans-disciplinary approaches that pedagogy (Cummins, 2009). A key element of today’s
entail content-based methodologies in the English education goals is to be leadership-oriented. This
classroom such as CLIL (a phenomenon which has means that students and teachers are enabled to make
timidly emerged in the Bogotá region in the past few autonomous decisions, solve problems that affect their
years [McDougald, 2015]), an intercultural dimension, community, and put their strongest intuitions into
and even a pragmatic competence. Having said this, practice in order to engender change for a better world.
this paper argues that CB and precedent policies are All of these skills can only be achieved through the
evidently including English in the curriculum to critical literacy perspective that fosters understanding
attain a mechanical level of the language. The problem our role in society and that of the others around us.
behind such a goal lies in a contradiction: Nowadays It also entails collaboration, mastering technologies
a high competence in English is strongly needed as as well as reading and thinking in multiple formats.

PROFILE Vol. 18, No.1, January-June 2016. ISSN 1657-0790 (printed) 2256-5760 (online). Bogotá, Colombia. Pages 185-201 197
Bonilla Carvajal & Tejada-Sánchez

It is our hope that Colombia will rather pursue this Cárdenas, M. L. (2010). Encuentros y desencuentros en
educational paradigm through teacher training la formación de profesores de inglés en Colombia:
programs that should necessarily go beyond a linguistic una mirada a las políticas del “Programa Nacional de
understanding of language acquisition; it is our belief Bilingüismo” [Encounters and evasions in the devel-
that a paradigm incorporating the aforementioned opment of teachers of English in Colombia: A look
additional characteristics would provide the necessary at the policies from “The National Bilingual Pro-
ingredients to reach our most important goals as gramme”]. In
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T. Gimenez & M. C. De Góes Mon-
a country: eradication of poverty, the reduction of teiro (Eds.), Formação de Professores de Línguas na
inequalities, and the termination of the war. América Latina e Transformação Social (pp. 19-44).
Campinas, BR: Pontes.
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About the Authors

Camilo Andrés Bonilla Carvajal holds a PhD in applied linguistics from Universidad Antonio Nebrija.
He is a researcher in experimental psycholinguistics, idiolect re-encoding, and non-invasive neuromodula-
tion. Fulbright scholar and researcher assistant at the University of Delaware. He is currently a member of
the research group Educación para el Bilingüismo y el Multilingüismo.
Isabel Tejada-Sánchez holds a PhD in language sciences and linguistic communication from Univer-
sité Paris VIII and Universitat Pompeu Fabra. She is an assistant professor at Universidad de Los Andes,
Colombia. Her interests include second language acquisition and teachers’ training. She is a member of the
research group Educación para el Bilingüismo y el Multilingüismo.

Acknowledgments
We are particularly indebted to Nicole Bruskewitz, who offered helpful commentaries to the final draft,
Anne-Marie Truscott De Mejía, Harvey Tejada, Germán Triana Santamaría, and Alexandra López Ruiz. We
would also like to extend our gratitude to three anonymous reviewers for their helpful suggestions on improving
an earlier draft.

PROFILE Vol. 18, No.1, January-June 2016. ISSN 1657-0790 (printed) 2256-5760 (online). Bogotá, Colombia. Pages 185-201 201