Professional Documents
Culture Documents
ISBN 978-84-680-0791-5
9 788468 007915
examines the social, economic and political impact
of Spanish and English in the world today. The book explores a broad range of
issues, from language policy and its inuence on the state of language learning
in schools, and the language dimensions of student mobility in Europe and
2011 Santillana
Torrelaguna, 60. 28043 Madrid
www.santillana.es
Instituto Cervantes
Carmen Caffarel Serra, Directora del Instituto Cervantes
Carmen Prez-Fragero Rodrguez de Tembleque, Secretaria General del Instituto Cervantes
Raquel Galn Segu, Directora del Gabinete de Direccin del Instituto Cervantes
Francisco Moreno Fernndez, Director Acadmico del Instituto Cervantes
British Council
Martin Davidson, Chief Executive
Rod Pryde, Director British Council Spain
Mark Baumfield, Assistant Director British Council Spain
Raquel Fernndez-Montes, Project Manager British Council Spain
Agradecimientos 11
Prembulo 12
Carmen Caffarel Serra (Instituto Cervantes)
Dame Mary Richardson (English-Speaking Union)
Prefacio 21
Philip Powell-Davies
PaRtE Uno:
La lengua y la comunicacin intercultural
Competencia intercultural y competencia comunicativa intercultural:
un reto para la enseanza de lenguas 35
Michael Byram
PaRtE DoS:
La lengua en el sistema educativo
Por qu el espaol? 107
teresa tinsley
Acknowledgements 11
Foreword 16
Dame Mary Richardson (English-Speaking Union)
Carmen Caffarel Serra (Instituto Cervantes)
Preface 27
Philip Powell-Davies
PaRt onE:
Language and intercultural communication
Intercultural competence and intercultural communicative
competence: a challenge for language education 41
Michael Byram
PaRt tWo:
Language in the education system
Why Spanish? 113
teresa tinsley
PaRtE CUatRo:
El ingls y el espaol en las Amricas
El ingls y el espaol en los Estados Unidos: lengua e inmigracin 245
John M. Lipski
PaRtE CInCo:
La lengua y el desarrollo social y econmico
El espaol y el ingls como elementos determinantes en el comercio
internacional 293
arnzazu narbona
Eplogo 380
Francisco Moreno Fernndez (Instituto Cervantes)
Rod Pryde (British Council Espaa)
Colaboradores 389
PaRt FoUR:
English and Spanish in the Americas
English and Spanish in the United States: Language and immigration 251
John M. Lipski
PaRt FIVE:
Language and social and economic development
Spanish and English as determinants in patterns of world trade 301
arnzazu narbona
Postscript 384
Rod Pryde (British Council Spain)
Francisco Moreno Fernndez (Instituto Cervantes)
Contributors 394
acknowledgements
Both the British Council and Instituto Cervantes would like to acknowledge the contributions of the
many authors who wrote for Word for Word / Palabra por palabra. Special thanks are due to several
people who were involved in the production of this book over many months: Raquel Fernndez-
Montes, who acted as project manager for the British Council; Rebeca Gutirrez Rivilla of the Insti-
tuto Cervantes; Dr Philip Powell-Davies, who led the editing of the book, including commissioning
papers and shaping the final contents of the book; and to Dr Mara Jos Ferrari and Jaime otero,
for their work in commissioning and editing the Spanish papers for Word for Word / Palabra por
palabra.
11
Instituto Cervantes
Los institutos culturales europeos llevan dcadas realizando labores internacionales para facilitar
las relaciones entre sus pases de origen y el resto del mundo. Estas instituciones son tal vez la
manifestacin ms evidente de lo que se ha denominado diplomacia blanda y diplomacia cultu-
ral de los pases occidentales. algunos institutos culturales europeos cuentan ya con una trayec-
toria de ms de medio siglo, como el British Council (1934) o el Goethe Institut (1951); otros son
ms jvenes, como el Instituto Cames (1992) o el Instituto Cervantes (1991), que acaba de cumplir
sus dos primeras dcadas de existencia. todos, sin embargo, cuentan entre sus objetivos el de la
difusin de las lenguas y las culturas de sus respectivos pases, labor por la que recibieron de man-
comn el Premio Prncipe de asturias de Comunicacin y Humanidades en 2005. La coincidencia
parcial de objetivos entre estas instituciones europeas es un argumento excelente para justificar el
desarrollo de proyectos conjuntos. En algunas ciudades, nuestras instituciones comparten insta-
laciones o coordinan sus ofertas culturales. En ocasiones, los proyectos son bilaterales, como las
colaboraciones que mantienen el Instituto Cames y el Instituto Cervantes para la enseanza del
portugus y el espaol en territorios de Espaa y de Portugal, o como la obra que estas pginas
inician, fruto de un trabajo bilateral conjunto entre el propio Cervantes y el British Council.
Pero por qu el British Council y el Instituto Cervantes deciden coordinar sus esfuerzos para
elaborar este Word for Word / Palabra por palabra? Probablemente el proyecto provoque sorpresa
en ms de un lector porque nos estamos acostumbrando a or hablar de las lenguas en trminos
de disputas y rivalidades, de ataques y defensas, de invasiones y barreras. En relacin con las
lenguas inglesa y espaola, parece ponerse todo el inters en que el espaol persiga denodada-
mente al ingls para superarlo y vencerlo, no se sabe en qu campo de batalla, de quin sabe qu
dcada. no. La perspectiva de nuestras instituciones es diferente. Simplemente intentamos dar
respuesta a una cuestin que se plantea a modo de pregunta de investigacin: qu supone hoy
da la presencia de las lenguas espaola e inglesa en el mundo? a partir de aqu, una pregunta
lleva a otra y un inters al siguiente: qu ocurre en los dominios anglohablante e hispanohablante
respectivamente y qu diferencias existen entre ellos?, cmo se comportan estas comunidades
idiomticas cuando ambas comparten unos mismos territorios?, cmo es la convivencia de estas
lenguas con otras lenguas de sus propios dominios o de dominios contiguos?; y finalmente, qu
supone para un ciudadano del mundo conocer y usar el ingls y el espaol?
Las respuestas a tanta duda son difciles de obtener de un modo directo y simple, pero todo pasa
necesariamente por alcanzar un adecuado conocimiento del estado de la cuestin, de los datos
fundamentales sobre las lenguas, sus hablantes, sus usos y sus dominios. Para el Instituto Cer-
vantes, el panorama internacional de nuestras dos grandes lenguas de cultura resulta del mayor
inters y no es nuevo nuestro seguimiento del desarrollo de los acontecimientos sociolingsticos
12
antes de dar paso a los datos y los anlisis sobre la situacin social, econmica y cultural del in-
gls y el espaol en el mundo, justo es agradecer el buen trabajo y el mucho conocimiento de las
personas que han hecho posible esta obra, comenzando por los responsables del British Council
en el Reino Unido y en Espaa, que han demostrado una fe inquebrantable en el proyecto y una
elegante amabilidad en su ejecucin. Y nuestro agradecimiento se dirige tambin a los coordi-
nadores tcnicos de la obra Philip Powell-Davies, Mara Jos Ferrari y Jaime otero y a todos
los autores que con sus prestigiosas firmas han contribuido a dar solidez, brillo y credibilidad al
conjunto del proyecto.
13
English-Speaking Union
Las lenguas son centrales para la globalizacin. Vivimos en un mundo que cambia muy rpida-
mente, en el que las naciones y las personas necesitan lenguas globales para la comunicacin y el
entendimiento a travs de las fronteras, y para formar parte de la economa global.
Dos resultados de la difusin del ingls como lengua global estn bien documentados: primero, el
efecto que este proceso causa sobre el ingls mismo y sobre las lenguas con las que interacta;
y segundo, el hecho de que los gobiernos de todo el mundo necesiten ensear lenguas a sus
jvenes de manera rpida y efectiva tiene implicaciones significativas sobre la forma en que estas
se ensean.
Word for Word / Palabra por palabra examina la dimensin social, econmica y poltica del papel y
el impacto del espaol y el ingls en el mundo actual. El libro explora una amplia gama de temas,
desde el estado del aprendizaje de lenguas en la escuela y la dimensin lingstica de la movilidad
estudiantil europea, al papel del espaol y el ingls en los negocios y el crecimiento econmico, as
como los cambios y variaciones en estas dos lenguas globales. Cada lengua es considerada tanto
de manera independiente como en contacto con la otra y ambas son ubicadas en un contexto
socioeconmico ms amplio.
Como hemos mencionado anteriormente, sabemos que el ingls es la lengua dominante de los
negocios internacionales, de la investigacin cientfica y tecnolgica y de la comunicacin global.
Est menos estudiado el papel del espaol en la economa global y su creciente importancia en
Estados Unidos a medida que la poblacin de habla hispana crece. La naturaleza, funcin y esta-
tus del ingls y el espaol estn causando un fuerte impacto en las polticas educativas de todos
los continentes y estn provocando reformas en los currculos, en las metodologas docentes, en
las polticas sobre el acceso al mercado de trabajo y en los resultados acadmicos.
14
Espero que esta publicacin sea leda por una gran variedad de usuarios de ingls y de espaol,
y que ayude a los jvenes a apreciar el significado de las formas en que se comunican y el poder
de la comunicacin efectiva.
15
English-Speaking Union
the issue of language is central to globalisation. We live in a fast-changing world where nations and
people require global languages for communication and understanding across borders and to be
part of the global economy.
English has become a global language; it is the language of diplomacy, sport, science, conflict
negotiation and online communication. all across the world the English language is the medium
through which people are able to make themselves understood and come together, when their own
first languages sometimes divide them. there are countries that have actively chosen to change
their first or second languages of education to English in recognition of its growing importance in
business and trade.
two major outcomes of the widespread use of English as a global language are well documented:
firstly, this development affects English itself and the languages with which it interacts and,
secondly, the fact that governments across the world need to help their young people learn
languages quickly and effectively has significant implications for the way in which they are taught.
Word for Word / Palabra por palabra examines the social, economic and political dimensions of
the role and impact of Spanish and English in the world today. the book explores a broad range
of issues, from the state of language learning in schools, and the language dimensions of student
mobility in Europe and beyond, to the role of Spanish and English in business and economic
growth, as well as the shifts and changes in both of these global languages. Each language is
considered separately, in contact with each other, and then set in a broader socio-economic and
political context.
as mentioned earlier, we know that English is the dominant language of international business,
scientific and technological research, and global communications. What is less well-studied is the
role that Spanish plays in global business and its increasing significance in the United States as the
Spanish-speaking population grows rapidly. the nature, function and status of English and Spanish
are exercising a major impact on education policy across all continents and influencing reforms in
curriculum, teaching methodology, labour market policy and educational outcomes.
For many governments, this has meant a radical re-thinking of education and language policy
and planning. there is pressure for improved levels of language fluency and in many cases this
has prompted a move towards more integrative methods of teaching and learning, as well as the
exploration of the use of English to teach subjects such as science and maths. Many countries in
asia, Europe and Latin america have already experimented with teaching one or more subjects
16
the inter-dependence of national identity, language policy, the needs of the workplace, and the
interests and concerns of parents and communities is clearly delineated in Word for Word / Palabra
por palabra. the cognitive, linguistic and cultural impacts on the individual and the community
are also potentially immense, as several of the papers in this collection make clear. Educational
innovation of any kind is not without political, cultural and educational challenges and risks. It is
clear that the rise of dominant global languages does not easily encourage consensus about their
potential benefits, and Word for Word / Palabra por palabra does not shy away from exploring these.
at the English-Speaking Union, while we do not directly promote the English language, we do
equip young people across the world with the skills to speak confidently in public using English.
We believe that giving young people the skills of persuasive spoken English is incredibly important
because it provides them with access to the world outside their community and country, and it
enables them to express their own opinions confidently to a wide range of audiences; essentially
it gives them a global voice. the ESU is delighted to support the publication of Word for Word /
Palabra por palabra because it highlights the importance of the social, economic and political
dimensions of the role and impact of two of the worlds modern global languages. organisations
like our own, the British Council and the Instituto Cervantes, all play a role in helping young people
to access the world through these two global languages.
I hope that this publication will be read by a wide range of users of English and Spanish and that it
will help young people to appreciate the significance of the ways in which they communicate, and
the power of effective communication.
17
Instituto Cervantes
For decades, European cultural institutes have been striving globally to facilitate relations between
their countries of origin and the rest of the world. these institutions are perhaps the most visible
expression of what has been called soft diplomacy and cultural diplomacy. Some European
cultural institutes, such as the British Council (1934) and the Goethe Institut (1951), have already
built up a history of more than half a century. others, such as the Instituto Cames (1992) or the
Instituto Cervantes (1991), which has just marked its first two decades of existence, are younger. all,
however, share the objective of spreading the languages and cultures of their respective countries,
work for which they received, as a group, the Prince of asturias Communication and Humanities
award in 2005. the partial coincidence of objectives among these European institutions is an
excellent argument to justify the development of joint projects. In some cities, our institutions share
premises or coordinate their cultural offerings. on some occasions, their projects are bilateral, such
as the cooperative efforts pursued by the Instituto Cames and the Instituto Cervantes for teaching
Portuguese and Spanish in Spain and Portugal, or the work begun in these pages, which is the fruit
of a joint bilateral undertaking by the Instituto Cervantes and the British Council.
But, the reader may ask, why have the British Council and the Instituto Cervantes decided to
coordinate their efforts to produce Word for Word / Palabra por palabra? the project will probably
surprise more than one reader because we are accustomed to hearing languages discussed in
terms of disputes and rivalries, attacks and defences, invasions and barriers. With regard to the
English and Spanish languages, all the interest seems to be focused on the fact that Spanish
tirelessly pursues English to overcome and conquer it on who knows what battlefield in who knows
what decade. no. the view our institutions take is different. We are simply trying to respond to a
matter that is set out like a research question: what does the presence in the world of the Spanish
and English tongues imply? From this point forward, one question leads to another and the interest
aroused brings on the next: what goes on in the English-speaking and Spanish-speaking domains,
and what differences are there between them? How do these language communities behave
when they share the same territories? How do these languages coexist with others of their own or
contiguous domains? and finally, what does a world citizens knowledge and use of English and
Spanish imply?
the answers to so many queries are difficult to obtain simply and directly. Finding them necessitates
obtaining an adequate knowledge of the state of the question, of the fundamental facts regarding
the languages, their speakers, their uses and their domains. to the Instituto Cervantes, the
international outlook for our two great languages of culture is of the greatest interest. Moreover,
our monitoring of the development of the sociolinguistic events taking place in the United States
or the Philippines is by no means new. Both of these territories have known Hispanic history, and
18
Before turning these pages over to the data and analyses of the social, economic and cultural
situation of English and Spanish in the world, it seems just to express gratitude for the good work
and extensive knowledge that have made this book possible. our thanks go first to the officers of
the British Council in both the United Kingdom and Spain, who have given proof of an unshakable
faith in the project and an elegant kindness in its execution. and we also thank the technical
coordinators and editors of the book Dr Philip Powell-Davies, Dr Mara Jos Ferrari and Jaime
otero and to all the authors whose prestigious signatures have contributed to the solidity, brilliance
and credibility of the project.
19
La idea original de reunir a un variado grupo de colaboradores para explorar el impacto y el pa-
pel del ingls y el espaol en el mundo actual, que ha dado lugar a Word for Word / Palabra por
palabra, surge de la coincidencia de intereses y la asociacin del Instituto Cervantes y del British
Council en la promocin de la enseanza, el aprendizaje y el uso del ingls y el espaol en todo el
mundo. Es, a su vez, un reconocimiento del alcance, el atractivo y la utilidad de estas dos lenguas,
que se encuentran respectivamente en el segundo y tercer puesto mundial (despus del chino) en
nmero de hablantes.
Esta compilacin de artculos trata de muchos temas: trata del estado de estas lenguas en el siglo XXI
quines las hablan, quines las estn aprendiendo y qu uso estn haciendo de ellas. tambin
se ocupa de la forma en que estn evolucionando, y de cmo diferentes comunidades las hacen
suyas. algunos de los artculos consideran ambas lenguas en contacto y relacin mutua; otros se
concentran ms especficamente en una de ellas con el fin de comprender un tema particular con
mayor claridad. Una preocupacin comn de todos los colaboradores es poner a la persona en
el centro de sus argumentos y examinar el impacto de estas dos lenguas globales en el contexto
econmico, para apreciar cmo este afecta a las opciones individuales, las oportunidades y las
decisiones sobre polticas pblicas. La relacin entre el individuo y la sociedad tambin se explora
a travs del libro en relacin con el plurilingismo (en el nivel del individuo) y con el multilingismo
(en el nivel de la sociedad), y se desafa al lector para que evale si nos encontramos ante un mayor
uso de diferentes lenguas en la interaccin diaria o si, de hecho, simplemente ms personas usan
el ingls como lengua franca.
Word for Word / Palabra por palabra explora las evidencias histricas, sociales y econmicas que
ayudan a explicar por qu el ingls y el espaol son lenguas globales y por qu las personas se
muestran cada vez ms interesadas en aprenderlas y usarlas. Vemos que hay fuertes razones
econmicas para estudiar ingls, en particular en relacin con futuras oportunidades de empleo.
al mismo tiempo, se puede observar que para llevar a cabo negocios con xito en el gran mercado
de los pases latinoamericanos, es un factor importante ser capaz de comunicarse en espaol. Y
esto se cumple especialmente en el mayor mercado hispnico, los Estados Unidos. Word for Word /
Palabra por palabra atrae la atencin tambin sobre cuestiones clave relativas a la educacin de los
jvenes y al valor del aprendizaje de idiomas como forma de promover el dilogo intercultural. Esto
fue destacado en un informe del antiguo Departamento de Educacin y Habilidades (Department
for Education and Skills) britnico, que afirmaba que debemos reconocer que las habilidades
lingsticas son centrales a la hora de romper barreras tanto dentro de este pas, como entre
nuestra nacin y otras (Baronesa Catherine ashton, en el prlogo a Languages for All: Languages
for Life - A Strategy for England. DfES, 2002). Declaraciones de polticas lingsticas y de reformas
21
educativas de gobiernos de todo el mundo inciden en este mismo punto casi con la misma veloci-
dad con que afirman los beneficios econmicos que conlleva ser capaces de comunicarnos en
una lengua global (predominantemente el ingls pero, tal como demuestran diversos artculos de
esta coleccin, tambin el espaol).
Las ventajas de tener la habilidad de comunicarse en lenguas extranjeras van ms all del desarrollo
de la competencia lingstica. aprender un idioma es un componente esencial en la preparacin de
los jvenes para la vida y en la formacin de ciudadanos responsables y bien informados. La Comi-
sin Europea se hace eco de este parecer cuando habla de que cuantas ms lenguas se conocen,
ms persona se es (Comisin Europea, nota de prensa aparecida en su pgina web, 5/10/05, dis-
ponible: en http://www.europa.eu.int/comm./culture/portal/index_en.htm). a esto se puede aadir el
imperativo econmico de aprender lenguas globales a medida que la internacionalizacin e interco-
nexin de las economas deja de ser una posibilidad lejana y se convierte en una realidad diaria. Esto
tiene numerosas implicaciones en las oportunidades a que se enfrentan los jvenes y en la eleccin
de carreras profesionales. no hay duda de que los patrones de la competitividad mundial se desa-
rrollarn y cambiarn rpidamente solo hay que ver la reciente aparicin de Brasil, la India y China
como centros neurlgicos de la economa, y de que los conocimientos de idiomas se convertirn
en una parte importante de la preparacin de la poblacin para los mercados laborales naciona-
les, regionales y globales. Varios investigadores subrayan tambin el potencial de la enseanza de
idiomas en el desarrollo de habilidades interculturales entre los jvenes. El aprendizaje de idiomas
puede promover actitudes que fomenten la curiosidad sobre otras culturas, del mismo modo que lo
hacen otras asignaturas en su plan de estudios, como Historia o Geografa.
Los colaboradores de Word for Word / Palabra por palabra habitan una gran variedad de culturas
y representan diferentes horizontes de pensamiento. ocupan una amplia gama de posiciones
sociales: hay acadmicos, filsofos, profesores, economistas, investigadores, reguladores. Se
les ha pedido que presenten sus opiniones y que expandan nuestra comprensin de una serie de
ideas por la calidad de su experiencia y su particular perspicacia. Los artculos que aqu se presen-
tan tienen al menos tres cualidades en comn. La primera es que las perspectivas que exploran
son de algn modo subversivas, en el sentido de que dan un giro a la situacin y la observan desde
otro ngulo para comprobar el efecto que tiene en las personas. Como resultado, los artculos
comparten una segunda inquietud al examinar el modo en que los individuos utilizan las lenguas
y los propsitos con que lo hacen. Varios de los colaboradores consideran el impacto negativo
que las decisiones normativas sobre la enseanza y el aprendizaje de lenguas pueden tener sobre
individuos y comunidades, especialmente en el contexto de una economa mundial cada vez ms
globalizada. Por lo tanto, la intencin de muchos de los autores no es trazar un paisaje tranquilo
y sin falla del progreso econmico y las posibilidades de participacin y de desarrollo que se
abren ante nosotros una vez que nos convertimos en usuarios desenvueltos de estas dos lenguas
globales, sino examinar cmo las personas se pueden ver afectadas tanto positiva como nega-
tivamente por ellas y cmo este hecho se relaciona con el tejido social en que viven. Y en este
contexto podemos plantear qu papel desempea una mayor comprensin del espaol y el ingls
en la mejora de la competitividad de individuos y economas; en la lucha contra la exclusin social;
22
La Parte Uno trata sobre las dimensiones interculturales de la comunicacin en y entre el espaol
y el ingls. Desde enfoques diversos, se consideran algunas de las consecuencias del dominio
global del ingls y la transformacin de esta lengua a travs de fronteras y culturas; del mismo
modo, se asoma a la diversidad y unidad del espaol entre la vasta poblacin que lo usa en el
mundo. ngel Lpez Garca trata la forma en que estos dos idiomas gigantescos interactan con
lenguas minoritarias, con algunas consecuencias provocadoras. Michael Byram y Michael Carrier
examinan la competencia intercultural y comunicativa, y la incorporacin de la toma de conciencia
cultural al aprendizaje de idiomas; concluyen que la interaccin de las habilidades lingsticas y las
competencias culturales ayudar a los estudiantes a alcanzar una comunicacin internacional
ms efectiva. Humberto Lpez Morales contempla la difusin global del espaol tanto en sus
formas divergentes a travs de pases y regiones, como en la significativa interpretacin comn
dentro de la Hispanidad. David Crystal examina los cambios que ha sufrido el ingls, ofreciendo
un modelo para comprender cmo cambian las lenguas en general a lo largo del tiempo y el de-
sarrollo de nuevas variantes al entrar en contacto con otras lenguas (pinsese en el spanglish o
en el japongls). Concluye que el desarrollo de una lengua en el tiempo y el espacio no debe ser
temido, sino aceptado con gusto.
La Parte Dos trata diferentes aspectos referentes al espaol y el ingls en el sistema educativo.
Mara Jos Ferrari proporciona un amplio informe del estado relativo del espaol y el ingls en
pases de habla inglesa y de habla hispana en cuanto a su enseanza, aprendizaje y uso. teresa
tinsley intenta comprender por qu el espaol es cada vez ms popular cuando a los alumnos se
les da a elegir aprender un idioma extranjero y se pregunta si es debido a la percepcin de que el
espaol es una lengua fcil o a factores culturales y econmicos que se asocian a la lengua. Una
perspectiva diferente es la que explora el artculo de John Clegg, que trata el polmico desarrollo
de la educacin por medio de una segunda lengua. Presenta pruebas que sugieren que dicho
enfoque podra no conducir a la obtencin de buenos resultados de aprendizaje y tener efectos
negativos en los estudiantes. El ncleo del artculo de arlene Gilpin es la educacin superior y el
fenmeno de la movilidad estudiantil internacional, facilitado o no por la competencia lingstica
especialmente en ingls, pero tambin en espaol. Su artculo examina cuestiones de calidad y
uso de lenguas en la universidad, y su impacto en el nivel de la educacin de los estudiantes.
La Parte tres examina la diversidad lingstica de la Unin Europea y la influencia que esta tiene
sobre las prcticas y polticas lingsticas. El artculo de Janet Enever seala que el fomento de
la introduccin de lenguas extranjeras desde el comienzo de la escolarizacin ha dado como
23
resultado, de forma abrumadora, la eleccin del ingls como primera lengua extranjera, con otras
lenguas minoritarias como elecciones alternativas a excepcin del espaol, que se ve cada vez
ms como la opcin de moda a la hora de estudiar un idioma. Los artculos de Maria Stoicheva y
Steve Green discuten aspectos relativos a las lenguas en la Unin Europea, incluyendo la iniciativa
Language Rich Europe, que busca crear una red interdisciplinar de decisores procedentes de
veinte pases de Europa para poner de manifiesto la importancia del multilingismo en la creacin
de sociedades ms prsperas y estables, y promover la enseanza, el aprendizaje, la literatura y
la traduccin. Green destaca el trabajo de los Institutos nacionales de Cultura de la Unin Euro-
pea (EUnIC), cuyos miembros funcionan a la vez de red de aprendizaje y de ncleo de defensa y
promocin de la importancia de las relaciones culturales internacionales. El artculo de Stoicheva
subraya algunas de las tensiones que surgen en tan ambiciosos proyectos, especialmente cuando
la primera y la segunda lengua se enfrentan cara a cara.
En la Parte Cuatro examinamos la lengua en las amricas con un enfoque especial en los Estados
Unidos y Brasil, las fuerzas econmicas dominantes en los extremos norte y sur del continente.
Lipski se ocupa de la integridad lingstica del espaol en los Estados Unidos, promovida por el
rpido crecimiento de la poblacin hispana. Rechaza la tesis de que el spanglish es un tercer idio-
ma hbrido causado por la interaccin del espaol y del ingls y, en cambio, concentra su atencin
en el continuo reabastecimiento del espaol a travs de la inmigracin y de los medios de comu-
nicacin. Jaime Malet analiza el mercado hispano en los Estados Unidos desde una perspectiva
empresarial y expone que Espaa necesita desarrollar las habilidades de sus emprendedores y
mejorar su perfil para competir en uno de los mercados globales hispanoparlantes ms impor-
tantes. La aparicin del espaol y del ingls en Brasil es abordada por lvaro Martnez-Cachero
Laseca, que valora sus fuerzas y coberturas relativas en una de las potencias emergentes del
mundo. El autor considera que la economa brasilea necesita ambos idiomas, pero no por las
mismas razones. El artculo de Lourdes Casanova desarrolla de manera ms especfica un tema
trazado por Malet y esboza de qu manera el espaol ha llegado a ser una ventaja competitiva
para muchas compaas internacionales. Examina, en especial, cmo la iniciativa de multinacio-
nales hispanas por mantener el espaol como lengua de comunicacin refleja la confianza crecien-
te en el valor de la lengua y la conciencia de la ventaja que esta supone.
La ltima seccin del libro, la Parte Cinco, ampla la discusin en torno a la lengua y la dirige hacia
el terreno del desarrollo social y econmico. arnzazu narbona considera algunas de las fuerzas
motrices de los patrones del comercio mundial, haciendo especial referencia a la influencia de
la lengua. Seala el dominio ya establecido de los Estados Unidos y el creciente de China como
mercados de exportacin para pases tanto hispanoparlantes como angloparlantes y contempla la
importancia del idioma a la hora de medir la direccin y el enfoque de los intercambios econmi-
cos. Concluye diciendo que la lengua es clave para fomentar el conocimiento de un mercado y
para reducir la distancia psicolgica entre los socios comerciales. Ignacio ahumada estudia la
incidencia y prevalencia del espaol en las publicaciones cientficas internacionales y en Internet.
aunque el nmero de publicaciones cientficas espaolas se ha duplicado en los ltimos diez aos,
el noventa por ciento de los investigadores espaoles todava utilizan el ingls para conseguir que
24
sus publicaciones se conozcan en el mbito internacional. El autor destaca como dato interesante
que las revistas acadmicas espaolas, especialmente las de medicina, empiezan a producir re-
vistas bilinges en espaol e ingls para alcanzar a una audiencia internacional ms amplia. Hywel
Coleman y David Hayes examinan la relacin entre las polticas educativas y el desarrollo social, y
ambos concluyen con un llamamiento a la precaucin sobre las barreras potenciales en los resulta-
dos educativos y en las oportunidades econmicas que puede generar la imposicin del ingls.
tanto Coleman como Hayes examinan las consecuencias sociales y educativas de la desatencin
de las lenguas autctonas en la educacin y la restriccin que implica el uso del ingls como me-
dio de enseanza en la escolarizacin de grupos desfavorecidos. La controversia sobre si el ingls
ha de considerarse en el sistema educativo de forma holstica, junto con la lengua nacional y otros
idiomas autctonos, as como la necesidad de un acceso equitativo al aprendizaje de lenguas ex-
tranjeras son tratadas en el artculo conclusivo de Susy ndaruhutse y Jelena Plantak. Las autoras
sostienen que la lengua no es un asunto limitado a unas cuantas comunidades, grupos o pases.
La lengua afecta a todos los aspectos de los sistemas educativos en todo el mundo y ejerce una
influencia directa en los resultados del aprendizaje. Se seala el papel capacitador de la educacin
en la lengua madre al ayudar a alcanzar una educacin de calidad y oportunidades para una vida
mejor. Se anima al lector a que sopese estos argumentos en contraste con otros planteados en
este libro en relacin al impacto beneficioso del aprendizaje de lenguas globales. El artculo de
ndaruhutse y Plantak concluye con un mensaje positivo sobre la importancia del contexto, la equi-
dad y la accesibilidad para obtener una educacin de calidad para todos.
Esperamos que los lectores encuentren Word for Word / Palabra por palabra provocador y estimu-
lante, y que la obra sirva de punto de partida para el debate. Son necesarias mucha ms investi-
gacin y discusin para comprender los matices de los temas examinados en el libro, por lo que
tanto el British Council como el Instituto Cervantes dan la bienvenida a sus reacciones y respuestas
a Word for Word / Palabra por palabra.
Philip Powell-Davies
25
the original idea to bring together a group of diverse contributors to explore the impact and role
of English and Spanish in the world today, which became Word for Word / Palabra por palabra,
stems from the shared interests and partnerships of the Instituto Cervantes and British Council
in promoting the teaching, learning and use of English and Spanish worldwide. this in turn is a
recognition of the power, spread, attractiveness and usefulness of these two languages, which
rank second and third respectively (after Chinese) by the number of speakers worldwide.
this collection of papers is about many things: it is about the state of both languages in the 21st
century who is speaking it, who is learning it, and what are they doing with it. It also deals with
the way in which both languages are evolving and the ways in which different communities make
language(s) their own. Some of the articles consider both languages in contact and in relation to
each other; others focus more specifically on one of the languages to understand a particular
theme more clearly. a common concern of all the contributors is to put the person at the centre of
their arguments and examine the impact of these two global languages in the wider economy and
how this affects individual choice, opportunities, and policy decisions. the relationship between
the individual and society is also explored throughout the book in relation to plurilingualism (at the
level of the individual) and multilingualism (at the societal level), and challenges the reader to assess
whether we are seeing a greater use of diverse languages by people in their everyday interactions
or, in fact, simply more people using English as their lingua franca.
Word for Word / Palabra por palabra explores the historical, social and economic evidence, which
helps to explain why English and Spanish are global languages and why people are increasingly
keen to learn and use these languages. We can see that there are strong economic arguments
for learning English, in particular, linked to future employment opportunities. at the same time, we
can see that in order to do business effectively with the huge market of Latin american countries,
being able to communicate in Spanish is an enormous asset. and this is especially so for the
largest Hispanic market of them all, the U.S.a. Word for Word / Palabra por palabra also draws
attention to the some of the wider issues around educating young people and the value of learning
languages to promote intercultural dialogue. this was pointed out in a report commissioned by
the UKs then Department for Education and Skills which stated, we must recognise language
skills as central to breaking down barriers within this country and between our nation and others,
(Baroness Catherine ashton in Foreword to Languages for all: Languages for Life a Strategy
for England, DfES 2002). Language policy statements and education reform agendas produced
by governments the world over make the same point, almost as quickly as stating the economic
benefits of being able to communicate in a global language (predominantly English, but, as papers
in this collection make clear, also in Spanish).
27
the benefits then of being able to communicate in foreign languages go far beyond the development
of linguistic competence. Language learning is an essential component in preparing young people
for life and in developing responsible and informed citizens. this is a view echoed by the European
Commission when it talks about, the more languages you know, the more of a person you are,
(European Commission web press release, 5/10/05, http://www.europa.eu.int/comm./culture/
portal/index_en.htm). to this can be added the economic imperative for learning global languages,
as the internationalisation of interconnected economies is no more a distant possibility but a daily
reality. this has a huge range of implications for young peoples career choices and opportunities.
one thing that can be guaranteed is that patterns of global competitiveness will develop and shift
rapidly we have only to look at the recent emergence of Brazil, India and China as global economic
powerhouses and the acquisition of languages will become an important part of a populations
readiness for national, regional and global labour markets. Several researchers also highlight the
potential for language teaching to develop inter-cultural skills in young people. Language learning
can promote attitudes which encourage curiosity about other cultures, alongside other subjects in
the curriculum such as history or geography.
the contributors to Word for Word / Palabra por palabra inhabit a spectrum of cultures and represent
different horizons of thought. they occupy a wide range of social positions academics, philosophers,
teachers, economists, researchers, policy makers. they have been requested to present their views
and expand our understanding of a range of areas because of the quality of their experience and the
insights they can bring to bear. the articles presented here have at least three qualities in common.
First of all, the perspectives they explore are in some ways subversive, in the sense that they turn a
situation around and look at it from another angle, and assess what effect it has on people. as a result
of this, the articles share a second concern with the exploration of how individuals use languages
and for what purposes. Several of the contributors consider the negative impact that policy decisions
around the teaching and learning of language can have on individuals and communities, particularly
in the context of an increasingly globalised world economy. as such the intention of many of the
contributors is not to outline a smooth, faultless landscape of economic progress, participation and
development which opens up to us once we are confident users of these two global languages, but
to examine how individuals can be both positively and negatively affected and how this relates to the
fabric of the society in which they live. and in this context, we can consider the disputed role that
a wider understanding and use of Spanish and English can play in enhancing the competitiveness
of individuals and economies; combating or exacerbating social exclusion; opening up cultural and
generational gaps in societies; creating jobs; facilitating international connections; and in repositioning
(positively and negatively) other minority languages. Finally, the ideas presented in Word for Word /
Palabra por palabra are in many ways radical, not in the polemical sense, but in the sense that the
contributors go to the root of the questions they are exploring.
the contributions to Word for Word / Palabra por palabra have been classified into five parts.
Part one deals with the intercultural dimensions of communication in and between Spanish and
English, and considers variously some of the consequences of the global dominance of English
28
and its mutation across boundaries and cultures, as well as the diversity and unity of Spanish
across a huge sweep of the planets population. How these two juggernaut languages interact with
minority languages is treated by ngel Lpez Garca, with some thought-provoking consequences.
Michael Byram and Michael Carrier look at intercultural and communicative competence and the
incorporation of cultural awareness in language education and conclude that it is the interplay of
linguistic skills and awareness of cultural competences that will help learners achieve more effective
international communication. Humberto Lpez Morales considers the global spread of Spanish
both in terms of its divergent forms across countries and regions but also in terms of the significant
common understanding within the Hispanidad. David Crystal examines how English has changed,
as a way of understanding how languages in general change through time and when they come
into contact with one another, and develop new variants in the process (think of Spanglish or
Japlish). He concludes that the development of language over time and space is not something to
be feared and resisted but rather to be embraced.
Part two discusses different aspects of Spanish and English in the education system. Mara Jos
Ferrari provides a broad survey of the relative status of Spanish and English in English-speaking
and Spanish-speaking countries in terms of how they are taught, learnt and used. teresa tinsley
aims to understand why Spanish is increasingly popular when students are given the choice
of which foreign language to learn, and considers whether this is because of a perception that
Spanish is an easier language to learn, or whether it is due to cultural and economic factors which
draw people towards it. a different perspective is explored by John Cleggs paper, which deals
with the controversial development of education through the medium of a second language. He
presents evidence to suggest that such an approach may not support good learning outcomes
and could have a negative effect on students. Higher education is the focus of arlene Gilpins
paper, and the phenomenon of student mobility across countries, facilitated (or not) by linguistic
competence especially in English but also in Spanish. Her paper explores issues of language
quality and use in universities as well as how this has impacted on education provision for
students.
Part three explores both the linguistic diversity of the EU as well as the influence the EU brings to
bear on language policy and practice. Janet Enevers paper indicates that the encouragement to
introduce languages from the start of schooling has overwhelmingly resulted in English first, with
other languages as minor alternative choices, with the exception of Spanish which is increasingly
viewed as the cool option to study. Maria Stoichevas and Steve Greens papers discuss aspects
of language in the European Union, including the Language Rich Europe initiative, which seeks to
create an interdisciplinary network of decision makers from 20 countries across Europe to highlight
the importance of multilingualism in achieving more prosperous and stable societies, and facilitate
language teaching and learning, literature and translation. Green outlines the work of the European
Union national Institutes of Culture (EUnIC), whose members serve as both a learning network
and an advocacy network to promote the importance of international cultural relations. Stoichevas
paper highlights some of the tensions involved in such complex aspirational projects, especially
where major and minor languages come face to face.
29
It is in Part Four that we examine language in the americas with a special focus on the United States
and Brazil, the dominant economic forces at the northern and southern extremes of the continent.
Lipski deals with the linguistic integrity of Spanish in the U.S.a., promoted by the rapid growth in
the Hispanic population. He rejects the thesis that Spanglish is a hybrid third language caused by
the interplay of Spanish and English and focuses attention instead on the continual replenishment
of Spanish through immigration and the media. Jaime Malet looks at the business dimension for
Spanish companies and speakers in the U.S.a. and argues that Spain needs to develop the skills of
its young entrepreneurs and raise its profile in what is a major global Spanish-speaking market. the
emergence of Spanish and English in Brazil is treated by lvaro Martnez-Cachero Laseca, and an
assessment of their relative strengths and coverage across one of the developing worlds emergent
power finds that both languages are needed by the Brazilian economy but not necessarily for
the same reasons. Lourdes Casanovas article develops a theme from Malets and outlines how
Spanish has become a competitive advantage for many international companies. She examines,
in particular, how the initiative of Hispanic multinationals to maintain Spanish as the language of
communication reflects both growing confidence and an awareness of what constitutes competitive
advantage.
the last section of the book, Part Five, broadens out the discussion of language into the domain
of social and economic development. arnzazu narbona considers some of the determinants of
patterns of world trade with special reference to the influence of language. She notes the established
and growing dominance of the U.S.a. and China respectively as export markets for both the
Spanish-speaking and English-speaking countries, and considers the importance of language in
determining the direction and focus of economic exchanges. She concludes that language is key
to enhancing knowledge about a market and to reducing the psychological distance between
trade partners. Ignacio ahumada looks at the incidence and prevalence of Spanish in international
scientific publications and on the Internet. although the number of Spanish scientific publications
has doubled in the last 10 years, 90% of Spanish researchers still use English in order to get their
publications international exposure. He notes an interesting development where Spanish journals
(particularly those in medicine) are producing bilingual journals, Spanish and English, in order to
reach a wider international audience. Hywel Coleman and David Hayes explore the relationship
between education policy and social development and both raise a note of caution in their analyses
of the potential barriers that the imposition of English can have on educational outcomes and, further
down the line, economic opportunities. they examine the social and educational consequences
of neglecting indigenous languages, marginalising national languages and restricting access to
English-medium education to privileged minorities. the contention that the role of English in the
education system must be considered holistically, together with the national language and other
indigenous languages, and that access to the foreign language needs to be equitable is mirrored in
Susy ndaruhutse and Jelena Plantaks concluding paper. they argue that language is not an issue
limited to a few communities, groups, or countries. It affects every aspect of education systems
worldwide and directly influences learning outcomes. the enabling role of mother-tongue education
is outlined in helping to achieve quality education and opportunities for a better life. the reader is
encouraged to balance this against arguments elsewhere in the book about the beneficial impact
30
of learning global languages. ndaruhutse and Plantaks article concludes the book with a salutary
message about the importance of context, equity and access in achieving quality education for all.
We hope that readers will find Word for Word / Palabra por palabra provocative, stimulating and
a spur to continue the debates raised in the papers contained here. there is a need for more
research and discussion to understand the nuances of the topics explored in the book and both
the British Council and Instituto Cervantes very much welcome your responses to Word for Word /
Palabra por palabra.
Philip Powell-Davies
31
La lengua
y la comunicacin
intercultural
part one
Language and
intercultural
communication
Competencia intercultural
y competencia comunicativa
intercultural: un reto para
la enseanza de lenguas
Michael Byram
35
36 parte uno
(Van ek, 1986), esto es, el conocimiento de un formacin precisaban de una preparacin r-
modo de vida en el cual se apoyan los hablan- pida para su tarea internacional.
tes de la lengua usada en una sociedad dada
con el fin de interactuar con otros miembros esta tradicin tambin recurra a la disciplina de
de esta; o su conocimiento de la cultura de la psicologa social, que analizaba las respues-
esa sociedad, esto es, los valores, creencias y tas de las personas en formacin a su nuevo
conocimientos que comparten sus miembros. entorno de vida y trabajo respuestas a me-
Y de nuevo, esto presupona de manera a me- nudo negativas, con el fin de anticiparlas y
nudo tcita que quienes desearan aprender ponerles remedio. esta perspectiva se encap-
una lengua deban tratar de adquirir la misma sulaba en el concepto de choque cultural y se
competencia que los hablantes nativos. De este complementaba con el anlisis de la psicologa
modo, la competencia sociocultural se aadi nacional, esto es, de los rasgos psicolgicos
al concepto de comunicacin y competencia de los X (siendo X un grupo nacional). el
comunicativa, aun cuando no existiera una anlisis realizado por Hofstede (1994) domina-
buena comprensin de la manera en que deba ba este campo, a pesar de las crticas recibidas
ensearse y aprenderse. por su base cientfica y su tendencia reductora
a presentar estereotipos lo que haca suponer
a las personas en formacin que todos los X
2. Formacin transcultural1 compartan ciertos rasgos psicolgicos que, en
un entorno de negocios, podan anticiparse y,
en paralelo con los progresos en la educa- de ser necesario, neutralizarse (por ejemplo,
cin, se desarrollaron mtodos para formar Gerhart y Fan, 2005; McSweeney, 2002).
a un creciente nmero de personas con mo-
vilidad geogrfica pertenecientes a una lite De nuevo, los especialistas de este campo pres-
profesional, proporcionndoles la informacin taban una atencin escasa o nula a la compe-
y formacin conductual necesarias para que tencia lingstica, y confiaban en el conocimien-
participaran satisfactoriamente en entornos to de los rasgos psicolgicos y en la capacidad
de negocios internacionales, organizaciones para comportarse adecuadamente al enfrentar-
gubernamentales o no gubernamentales y se a esos rasgos. no obstante, a medida que
otras actividades similares. Los inicios de este creci la demanda de una mayor atencin ha-
fenmeno datan de la dcada de 1950 (Hart, cia el mundo real y empez a popularizarse
1966), y derivan del reconocimiento de la an- la idea de que la educacin se deba utilizar y
tropologa como disciplina de base que se ha- aplicar lo que, en algunos aspectos, equivale
ba dado ya en la educacin y la enseanza a subordinar en el mundo de los negocios,
de lenguas. por otra parte, esta tradicin no los servicios y la industria, se hizo evidente la
prestaba mucha atencin al aprendizaje de la ventaja de esta tradicin de formacin transcul-
lengua, principalmente por la razn pragmti- tural: empezaba y acababa en el mundo real,
ca de que exige una gran inversin de tiempo al que hoy da nos referimos con el trmino de
y esfuerzo, y las personas que reciban esta economa global.
3. retos para los docentes cada vez mayor de hablantes que claramente
de lenguas no son nativos, definamos este concepto como
lo definamos una presencia que, en muchos
as pues, el reto que se presenta ante los do- pases, se debe de nuevo a la movilidad de ca-
centes de lenguas extranjeras en instituciones rcter econmico y al impacto de la economa
educativas es triple. Ven que el estudio de la global. en particular, el dominio del ingls
lengua/cultura y las lenguas/culturas no solo como lengua franca usada, a menudo, en au-
ha perdido partidarios entre los alumnos y sus sencia de hablantes nativos ha minado los argu-
progenitores, para quienes la razn lgica de mentos a favor de la necesidad de comportarse
aprender una lengua extranjera es obtener ha- como uno, ya que, al fin y al cabo, los no nativos
bilidades comunicativas. en realidad, el estudio parecen ser tambin comunicadores eficientes.
de estos temas ha perdido prcticamente todos
sus partidarios entre los especialistas en educa- Con respecto a la competencia cultural, la idea
cin, tanto los que disean las polticas educa- de no imitar a los hablantes nativos ha lleva-
tivas como quienes determinan los currculos, do a la introduccin de un nuevo concepto: el
los asesores y los evaluadores. La mayor par- de hablante intercultural (Byram, 2009). esto
te de los docentes de lenguas extranjeras han encapsula la nocin de que no es posible ni
aceptado el nuevo nfasis en el aprendizaje de deseable imitar la competencia cultural de los
habilidades, que prima sobre el estudio. hablantes nativos, incluso aunque esta pudie-
ra describirse de manera tan precisa como su
La segunda parte del reto deriva del hecho de competencia lingstica. no es posible porque
que los especialistas en educacin reconocen resulta tan complejo, por lo menos, como lograr
hoy la importancia de la competencia cultural, la competencia lingstica, una meta que rara-
que se ve reforzada por la realidad de la eco- mente consiguen en la prctica los estudiantes
noma global y la formacin de las lites con de una lengua por largo que sea su aprendiza-
movilidad internacional. prueba de esto es la je o por mucha facilidad que tengan. Y no es
aparicin de referencias a la cultura en las de- deseable porque, aun en mayor medida que el
claraciones sobre polticas de enseanza de aprendizaje y uso de otra lengua, que influye
idiomas, as como su creciente frecuencia en el en la percepcin de uno mismo, la imitacin de
discurso de los propios docentes. la competencia cultural de un hablante nativo
presenta consecuencias potencialmente nega-
estos retos se combinan con una contestacin tivas para la propia imagen e identidad social.
cada vez mayor a la idea de que el modelo ideal Quienes aprenden una lengua pueden perder
para los alumnos debe ser un hablante mono- su sentimiento de identificacin con su propio
linge idealizado. esto modifica de manera muy grupo lingstico y los grupos sociales a los que
significativa el estndar para evaluar la com- pertenecen. estos son, pues, argumentos en
petencia lingstica que se ha utilizado duran- contra del cambio a la competencia intercultural.
te dcadas esto es, la comparacin entre la Los argumentos a favor residen en que, en cual-
produccin lingstica de los alumnos y la que quier interaccin entre personas pertenecientes
tendra un hablante nativo. esta contestacin a grupos lingsticos y culturales diferentes, el
se origina tanto en las reflexiones ms profun- objetivo lgico suele ser hallar una manera de
das que realizan los lingistas al analizar el con- trabajar y convivir sin que un grupo imponga
cepto de hablante nativo, como en la presencia sus normas culturales y lingsticas al otro. esto
38 parte uno
puede aplicarse tanto a las relaciones de nego- existencia de una tradicin pragmtica de for-
cios como a la coexistencia armoniosa entre los macin transcultural que no considera a la cul-
vecinos de una misma calle, bloque de pisos u tura y la lengua como un todo integrado.
otros marcos de convivencia.
el mayor apoyo de esta suposicin deriva de
as pues, la competencia del hablante intercul- diversos estudios sobre la comunicacin que
tural reside, ante todo, en descentrar, en ver demuestran el papel crucial del lenguaje, a me-
la perspectiva del interlocutor y, ms especfi- nudo mediante el anlisis de malentendidos
camente, en detectar la manera en que puede (vase el trabajo de agar), o de la reflexin so-
estar determinada por la cultura de los grupos bre el papel que la eleccin de idioma juega en
lingsticos y sociales a los que esa persona las relaciones interpersonales (vase el trabajo
pertenece. al mismo tiempo, el hablante inter- de Kramsch). al mismo tiempo, otros estudios
cultural es capaz de reflexionar sobre la manera describen la manera en que los hablantes, de
en que los dems perciben su propia perspecti- hecho, se ayudan mutuamente a solucionar los
va y de mediar donde se detecten diferencias y problemas lingsticos, siempre y cuando sean
aprovechar las similitudes. conscientes de que estos suceden. esto puede
no ocurrir cuando algn interlocutor tpica-
mente, aquellos originarios de un pas anglo-
4. La lengua en la comunicacin sajn, que gozan de la desventaja de hablar la
intercultural lengua franca dominante nunca haya apren-
dido otra lengua y, por tanto, no sea consciente
todo esto indica que, entre los propsitos de los de las dificultades que sus interlocutores pue-
profesores de lenguas de las instituciones edu- dan estar experimentando. Incluso los nativos
cativas, debera hoy encontrarse el de desarrollar de un pas anglfono deben aprender otra len-
la competencia intercultural de los alumnos en la gua para ser capaces de entender, al menos, la
misma medida que su competencia lingstica. importancia que tiene el lenguaje en la comuni-
para esos docentes, esto supone un aadido cacin intercultural.
enriquecedor en su empeo por ensear a los
alumnos otra lengua. Los profesionales de la en- en otras palabras, existe el riesgo de que la com-
seanza no suelen cuestionar la importancia de petencia intercultural se presente como un fin en
la competencia lingstica, a pesar del desafo s misma olvidando la competencia comunicativa.
que supone la tradicin de formacin transcul- al mismo tiempo, la importancia cada vez mayor
tural. el acuamiento del trmino competencia que se da a las variaciones en la sociedad y el
comunicativa intercultural trata de describir la su- rechazo del reduccionismo o esencialismo que
posicin de la que estamos tratando: que el nue- presupone que todos los X poseen los mis-
vo objetivo de la competencia intercultural debe mos rasgos psicolgicos y socioculturales nos
considerarse parte integrante de la tradicin de hacen a todos ms conscientes de los muchos
formar a los alumnos en competencia comunica- grupos y culturas que forman parte, transitoria o
tiva, como una condicin sine qua non de la en- permanentemente, de cualquier sociedad. esto
seanza de la comunicacin en el mundo real. nos lleva a afirmar que se requiere ejercitar dia-
riamente la competencia intercultural dentro de
no obstante, todas las suposiciones deben la propia sociedad, aun sin entrar en contacto
cuestionarse, especialmente si consideramos la con sociedades diferentes. Cada vez que los
miembros de un grupo ya sea este de carcter Intercultural Competence. Los ngeles: Sage,
profesional o regional, de aficionados a un mismo pp.321-332.
deporte o actividad de ocio, de asistentes a un Canale, m. y Swain, m. (1980). theoretical bases of
mitin poltico, etc. deseen comunicarse con los communicative approaches to second language
miembros de otros grupos, necesitarn ejercitar teaching and testing. Applied Linguistics, 1, 1,
la descentralizacin, la reflexin sobre la propia pp. 1-47.
perspectiva y la bsqueda de un modo negocia- ConSejo de europa (2001). Marco comn europeo de
do de coexistencia; habilidades, todas ellas, que referencia para las lenguas. Madrid: Secretara
definen la competencia intercultural aplicada al General tcnica del MeCD, Instituto Cervantes y
encuentro entre personas de sociedades y cul- anaya.
turas diferentes.
Hart, w. B. (1996). a Brief History of Intercultural
Communication: a paradigmatic approach.
el problema de este punto de vista es que con-
ponencia pronunciada en la Conferencia de la
vierte la competencia intercultural en algo tan ge-
Speech Communication association, noviembre
neral que pierde significado, y carece de la preci-
de 1996 en San Diego, ee.uu.
sin que permitira a los docentes disear un plan
H ofStede , G. (1994). Cultures and Organisations.
para que sus alumnos alcancen objetivos espe-
Intercultural Co-operation and Importance to
cficos. Desde esta perspectiva, es importante
Survival. Software of the Mind. Londres: Harper
que el concepto de competencia intercultural
Collins publishers.
siga siendo parte integrante de la competencia
comunicativa intercultural, sin abandonar por ello GerHart, B. y fan, m. (2005). national culture and
su aplicacin ms amplia a la enseanza y apren- human resource management: assumptions
dizaje de la comunicacin en general. and evidence. International Journal of Human
Resource Management, 16, 6, pp. 971-986.
mCSweeney, B. (2002). Hofstedes model of national
cultural differences and their consequences: a
Referencias bibliogrficas citadas
triumph of faith a failure of analysis. Human
Relations, 55, 1, pp. 89-118.
B yram , m. (2009). Intercultural competence in
foreign languages the intercultural speaker and Van ek, j. a. (1986). Objectives for Foreign Language
the pedagogy of foreign language education, en Learning, Volume 1: Scope. estrasburgo: Consejo
Darla K. Deardorff (ed.). The Sage Handbook of de europa.
40 parte uno
41
42 part one
2. Cross-cultural training more attention to the real world and the use
and application of education in some respects
In parallel with developments in education, there the subordination of education to the world of
existed a tradition of training the increasing business, service and industry, the advantages of
numbers of mobile people the managerial elite this tradition of cross-cultural training were that it
only, however by giving them information and started and finished in the real world, which by
behaviour training which would allow them to now is referred to as the global economy.
be successful in international business, non-
governmental and governmental organisations and
similar activities. this is traceable to beginnings in 3. Challenges for language
the 1950s (Hart, 1996) and an earlier recognition educators
of the value of anthropology as a base discipline
than took place in education and language the challenge to teachers of foreign languages
teaching. on the other hand, this tradition paid in educational institutions is thus threefold. they
little attention to language learning, mainly for the see that the study of language/culture and
pragmatic reasons that the latter takes much time languages/cultures has lost support not only
and effort and the people under training needed among learners and their parents for whom
rapid preparation for their international experience. the common-sense reason for foreign language
teaching must be that it leads to skills in
this tradition also took succour from another communication. they see that it has lost support
discipline, of social psychology, in which the among most if not all education specialists:
responses of those being trained to their new policy-makers, curriculum designers, assessors
working and living environment were analysed, and evaluators. Most language teachers have
with the hope that the, often negative, responses now accepted the new emphasis on learning of
could be anticipated and remedied. this skills rather than study.
perspective is encapsulated in the notion of
culture shock and is complemented by analysis the second challenge comes from the
of national psychology, i.e. of the psychological recognition among education specialists of
traits of the Xs where X refers to a national the significance of cultural competence, which
group. the analysis carried out by Hofstede is reinforced by the experience of the global
(1994) dominated this field despite its much economy and the trainers of mobile elites.
criticised scientific basis and reductive tendency the presence of references to culture in policy
to stereotyping which led trainees to assume statements about language teaching is witness
that the Xs all had certain traits which could be to this as is the increasing frequency of it in the
anticipated and where necessary neutralised in discourse of teachers themselves.
business negotiation (e.g. Gerhart and Fan, 2005;
McSweeney, 2002). this is compounded by a challenge to the idea
that the idealised monolingual speaker should
again the specialists in this field paid little or be the model to be imitated by learners. this has
no attention to language competence, putting significant effects on the standards which can
their faith in knowledge of psychological traits be used for assessing the linguistic competence
and skills in appropriate behaviour when faced of learners which has been the approach taken
by these traits. However, as demand grew for for many decades, i.e. whether what learners
produce is what a native speaker would in harmony with ones neighbours in the same
produce. the sources of this challenge are to street, block of flats or other living arrangement.
be found both in the more refined reflections of
linguists analysing the notion of native speaker the competence of the intercultural speaker
and from the increasing presence of those who is thus above all to de-centre, to see the other
are clearly not native speakers however this may persons perspective and in particular how it might
be defined a presence in many countries due be determined by the culture of the language and
again to economic mobility and the impact of the social groups to which they belong. at the same
global economy. In particular the dominance of time, the intercultural speaker is able to reflect
english as a lingua franca often used without on how their own perspective might appear to
a native speaker present has challenged the other people, and thirdly be able to find a way of
rationale of attempting to be a native speaker mediating difference and profiting from similarity.
when lingua franca speakers seem to be efficient
communicators.
4. Language in intercultural
With respect to cultural competence the idea of communication
not trying to imitate the native speaker has led to
the introduction of the concept of the intercultural all this means that the purposes of language
speaker (Byram, 2009). this encapsulates the teachers in educational institutions should
idea that it is neither possible nor desirable to now include the development of learners
imitate the native speakers cultural competence intercultural competence as well as their
even if this could be as accurately described linguistic competence. For language teachers
as their linguistic competence. It is not possible this is an addition and an enrichment of what
because it is at least as complex as linguistic they do as they try to teach learners to learn
competence and the latter is very seldom attained language. they do not usually question the
by learners in practice however long they learn importance of language competence, despite
and however gifted they are. It is not desirable the challenge from the tradition of cross-cultural
because, even more than learning and using training. the coining of the phrase intercultural
another language, which has an impact on ones communicative competence attempts to
perception of self, the imitation of native speaker embody this assumption, i.e. that to the tradition
cultural competence has significant potentially of teaching communicative competence the new
negative consequences for self-concept and aims of teaching intercultural competence should
social identity. Learners might lose their sense be seen as an integral part, a sine qua non of
of identification with their own language group teaching for communication in the real world.
and the social groups to which they belong.
these are negative reasons for the change to However, all assumptions must be questioned
intercultural competence. the positive ones are particularly when we know that there is a
that in any interaction among people of different pragmatic tradition of cross-cultural training
language and culture groups, the purpose is which does not see culture and language as an
usually, and should be, to find a way of working integrated whole.
and living together without one imposing linguistic
and cultural norms on the other. this applies as the strongest support for the assumption
much to business negotiation as it does to living comes from studies of communication which
44 part one
demonstrate the crucial role of language, often the difficulty with this view is that intercultural
in the form of analysis of misunderstandings (cf. competence becomes so general that it loses
the work of agar), or in the form of awareness significance and the precision which allows
of the role language choice is playing in the teachers to plan their teaching to achieve
relationships among people (cf. the work of specific goals with their learners. From this
Kramsch). at the same time, there are studies perspective it is important to maintain the
which show how people in fact help each use of intercultural competence as integral to
other over language problems provided they intercultural communicative competence whilst
are aware of what is happening. this may not not denying the wider application in teaching
and learning communication more generally.
be the case when people, typically those in
anglophone countries with the disadvantage
of speaking the dominant lingua franca, have References
no experience of language learning and what Byram, m. (2009) Intercultural competence in foreign
their interlocutors may be experiencing. It is languages the intercultural speaker and the
necessary even for anglophone people to pedagogy of foreign language education. In Darla K.
Deardorff (ed.). The Sage Handbook of Intercultural
learn a foreign language so that they can at
Competence. Los angeles: Sage, pp. 321-332.
least understand the significance of language in
Canale, M. and Swain, M. (1980) theoretical bases of
intercultural communication.
communicative approaches to second language
teaching and testing. Applied Linguistics 1/1, pp.
there is a danger, in other words, that intercultural 1-47.
competence might be presented as sufficient
Council of europe. (2001) Common European
without communicative competence. at the Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning,
same time, an increasing awareness of the teaching, assessment. Cambridge: Cambridge
significance of variations in societies, a rejection university press.
of the reductionism or essentialism which Hart, W.B. (1996) A Brief History of Intercultural
assumes that all Xs are the same psychologically Communication: A Paradigmatic Approach. paper
and socio-culturally, makes us more aware of the presented at the Speech Communication association
many groups and their cultures both permanent Conference, november, 1996 in San Diego, u.S.a.
and transitory within any single society. this Hofstede, G. (1994) Cultures and Organisations.
can then lead to the assertion that intercultural Intercultural Co-operation and Importance to
competence is required everyday within ones Survival. Software of the Mind. London: Harper
Collins.
own society without any contact with other
societies. If those who are a professional group, Gerhart, B. and Fan, M. (2005) national culture and
human resource management: assumptions and
a regional group, a group of people pursuing
evidence. International Journal of Human Resource
the same sport or pastime, a temporary group
Management 16, 6, pp. 971-986.
of participants in a political meeting etc., wish to
McSweeney, B. (2002) Hofstedes model of national
communicate with other such groups, then they
cultural differences and their consequences: a
need the same skills of decentring, reflecting on triumph of faith - a failure of analysis. Human
their own perspectives and finding a mediated Relations 55, 1, pp. 89-118.
mode of being together that is the definition of van ek, J.a. (1986) Objectives for Foreign Language
intercultural competence applied to meeting Learning, Volume 1: Scope. Strasbourg: Council of
people from another society and language. europe.
47
el espaol es una lengua hablada por muchas se dispone; la onda corta difunde ms y ms
gentes en diversos pases del mundo. estamos programas, incluso aquellos que haban sido
ante una amplia dispersin que abarca diecio- creados para consumo nacional. La televisin
cho estados que la tienen como lengua oficial se internacionaliza y cada vez llega a ms sitios:
nica aunque en algunos casos, como el de en Hispanoamrica, algo ms del 90 % de los
Mxico, este hecho no tenga constatacin en hogares dispone de al menos un televisor, que
el texto de sus constituciones ms otros tres permanece encendido unas tres horas al da por
(paraguay, puerto rico y Guinea ecuatorial) en cada usuario. en amrica Latina y el Caribe el
que es lengua cooficial. para completar el pa- nmero de usuarios de Internet podra rondar
norama, hay que aadir los ncleos de inmi- los 200 millones de personas: aunque la tasa de
grantes en otros pases donde el espaol ca- penetracin no alcanza la de europa o amrica
rece de reconocimiento oficial: estados unidos, del norte, el crecimiento en la ltima dcada ha
hoy el segundo pas del mundo hispnico por sido mayor que el de frica y Medio oriente.
el nmero de sus hablantes, y ya, con cifras in-
feriores, Francia, las islas aBC (aruba, Bonaire Mxico, espaa, argentina y Colombia son los
y Curaao), Canad, alemania, Suiza, austra- pases hispanohablantes con mayor nmero de
lia, Belice, Suecia, Blgica, Israel, andorra, tur- usuarios de Internet, aunque si nos referimos a
qua, Islas Vrgenes, Luxemburgo y Marruecos. la tasa de Internet, Chile y uruguay adelantan a
adanse Filipinas, Gibraltar y Guam, donde la Mxico y Colombia. en espaa, los usuarios de
lengua fue llevada desde antiguo y posee cierto Internet han experimentado un crecimiento de
grado de conservacin. un 400 % en la ltima dcada, alcanzando una
penetracin del 62,6 %. tomada en conjunto la
entre los hablantes de todo el mundo hispnico comunidad hispanohablante, las mediciones de
y, en general, entre los que manejan un espa- lenguas en Internet calculan que el espaol es la
ol aprendido, la comunicacin suele ser muy tercera lengua de la red por nmero de usua-
transparente, sobre todo si pertenecen a niveles rios, tras el ingls y el chino, pero cede posicio-
altos y medio altos del espectro sociocultural. nes a otras lenguas como el alemn en nmero
no debe causar sorpresa, sin embargo, que una de pginas web. entre los pases emisores de
lengua tan extendida por muy diferentes partes pginas web en espaol destaca en cuarto lu-
del mundo y con tal cantidad de hablantes pre- gar estados unidos, donde la tasa de penetra-
sente divergencias entre sus mltiples varieda- cin de Internet entre los hispanos es cercana a
des regionales. una rpida mirada a la historia la media nacional.
y a la geografa nos explica sobradamente el
porqu de esta situacin. todos estos avances nos permiten estar co-
nectados con Cnnenespaol.com, Cnn m-
Cualquier hombre que no viva en lo ms intrin- vil, univisin, la novsima telefutura, Galavisin,
cado de una selva agreste o en medio de un telemundo ahora impulsada por la nBC,
dilatado desierto est hoy (y mucho ms, ma- telemundo Internacional, dirigida especialmente
ana) potencialmente rodeado de un sinfn de a Hispanoamrica, Mund2, de carcter bilinge
instrumentos de comunicacin masiva, que pu- y dirigido a los jvenes; la televisin por satlite
dieran hacerle llegar cantidades ingentes de in- multiplica las posibilidades: DirecttV tiene vein-
formacin. Solo en el mundo hispnico, es enor- te canales en espaol, Dish Latino otros veinte,
me el nmero de aparatos radiofnicos de que adems de las versiones espaolas de canales
48 parte uno
como Discovery Channel, Music television es- La mayora de los medios utilizan la variedad
paol, Fox SportsWorld espaol, espnDepor- del espaol de sus lugares de origen. televisin
tes, ms el Servicio Sap, donde aparecen tBS espaola Internacional y antena 3, por citar dos
Superstation, Braves, Cartoonnetwork y Boo- emisoras nacionales con proyeccin internacio-
merang Cartoon network. no hay que olvidar la nal, apenas producen programas especiales para
rica gama de posibilidades que ofrece la radio enviar al resto del mundo, sino que, por el contra-
digital y, dentro del mismo mundo hispnico, te- rio, suelen seleccionar de entre su programacin
levisin espaola Internacional y antena 3. regular, concebida originalmente para espaoles,
los que creen de mayor inters para un pblico
en este diverso panorama, no todo lo que se internacional, incluyendo pelculas espaolas,
lee y, sobre todo, se escucha, viene en un su- hispanoamericanas y extranjeras (dobladas),
puesto espaol neutro. es cierto que algunos obras teatrales y telenovelas de la otra orilla del
medios buscan premeditadamente el entendi- atlntico.
miento general de sus productos; es el caso
de Cnnenespaol, eCo y Discovery Channel, en puerto rico, donde el acceso a televisin
entre otros, en los que nunca faltan las contro- espaola Internacional (que llega a travs de
versias y las discusiones sobre aspectos lings- Hispasat 1C) cuesta apenas unos pocos dla-
ticos, especialmente lxicos, a la hora de tradu- res, existe una porcin de telespectadores que
cir al espaol materiales escritos originalmente prefiere enterarse de lo que pasa en el mundo a
en ingls o de producir los propios textos en travs de los telediarios de este canal extran-
espaol, conscientes como estn de que tras jero, pues piensan que las noticias no estn ni
cada decisin idiomtica subyacen intereses sesgadas ni influidas por las agencias de noti-
econmicos. para todos los que intervienen en cias norteamericanas y porque se ocupan de los
estas operaciones, su dialecto es mejor que el asuntos ocurridos en todo el mundo. un fen-
de los dems, y son sus palabras, por tanto, meno parecido ocurre con un reducido nmero
las que deben primar. pero lo verdaderamente de diarios que mantienen una seccin estable y
importante es que la comprensin internacional solvente de noticias internacionales, sea El Pas
sea fcil. de espaa, La Nacin de Buenos aires o la ver-
sin en espaol del Wall Street Journal. oca-
a este respecto abel Dimant, jefe de redaccin sionalmente, un programa no informativo supera
de Cnnenespaol, comentaba a ral vila en xito a los canales locales: durante casi un
(1998), en un mensaje en Internet, lo siguiente: ao, el programa de mayor audiencia en la isla
fue Quin sabe dnde?, de tVe Internacional,
Debo admitir que una de las partes ms difciles el espacio creado, dirigido y presentado por
de mi trabajo es decidir qu palabras y expre- paco Lobatn, que se encargaba de encontrar
siones usar o no, considerando la gran variedad
a personas desaparecidas para total felicidad de
en cuanto al empleo del espaol en los distintos
sus seres queridos.
pases latinoamericanos no pasa un da en que
algn vocablo no sea motivo de debate interno,
particularmente porque en nuestra redaccin hay
Los estudios lxico-estadsticos muestran que
representantes de numerosos pases latinoameri- existe una unidad sobresaliente entre las diver-
canos, lo cual ayuda a nuestro propsito de en- sas variedades del espaol. Juan Miguel Lope
contrar un lenguaje uniforme, claro, coherente y Blanch (2000), en un recuento de 133.000
expresivo. vocablos seleccionados del habla de Madrid,
descubri que el 99,9 % era vocabulario comn to de unos consejos dados por la ministra del
a Mxico; las palabras que disonaran en ese ramo en la poca de las vacas locas): eso
pas hispanoamericano alcanzaran apenas un es muy chvere, como dicen en las telenove-
0,1 % del total. ral vila (1994), que analiz un las. no siempre, desde luego, las palabras
total de 430.000 palabras utilizadas en la radio extraas pasan a la competencia activa de
y en la televisin mexicanas, concluy que el los usuarios, pero todos los programas radio-
lxico general hispano que se encontraba en fnicos o televisivos, y la lectura de textos en
ese corpus corresponda al 98,4 % del total; es papel o en Internet, terminan por ampliar la
decir, que el vocabulario diferencial obtena un nmina pasiva de oyentes, telespectadores y
porcentaje residual: 1,6 %. lectores.
as pues, parece que al menos el vocabula- Hace tan solo unos diez aos era rarsimo en-
rio de la norma culta del espaol general est contrar en Hispanoamrica un conocimiento
razonablemente unificado. ngel rosenblat, pasivo de la palabra grifo, por ejemplo, en el
tan temprano para estas discusiones como sentido de espita de agua. Con este signi-
en 1967, afirmaba sin ambages: Frente a ficado haba entrado en el caudal comn de
la diversidad inevitable del habla popular, el nuestra lengua en el siglo xVii, pero solo en la
habla culta de Hispanoamrica presenta una variedad espaola. en los pases de aquellas
asombrosa unidad con la de espaa, y no latitudes se manejaba y se maneja una amplia
tena a la mano las estadsticas de que hoy variedad de formas: cao, canilla, chorro, lla-
disponemos. Cabe preguntarse, con ramn ve, pluma, etc. pero los programas de televi-
Lodares, si estas coincidencias lxicas son sin procedentes de Madrid, originales o do-
un invento de las grandes cadenas de tele- blados, iban presentando grifo con disciplina
visin; si televisa, por ejemplo, crea un espa- casi militar (aunque sin proponrselo), puesto
ol especial para que todos sus televidentes que en esta variedad grifo es la palabra. no
entiendan sus programas, o si se trata ms dir que ahora se usa grifo en ciertas zonas
bien de todo lo contrario. no ser ms bien americanas, porque no es cierto, pero s lo
que la variedad culta del espaol que se ha- es el hecho de que cuando alguien dice gri-
bla en Mxico (y en todas partes) es imitada fo, ya hay muchas personas que entienden
por la televisin hispnica internacional? no de qu se trata. es algo que he podido com-
ocurrir que los medios utilizan una variedad probar en diversos viajes a Centroamrica y
general que saben que sirve para que todos a Mxico.
nos comuniquemos sin obstculos mayores?
Quin imita a quin? Qu indica este dato aislado? Que la expo-
sicin que hacen los medios de una zona en
Lo que est claro es que no resulta necesario, otra(s) no se limita a cuestiones de informacin,
no ya viajar, sino tan siquiera moverse uno de sino que llega tambin a asuntos idiomticos.
su casa para tener acceso no como anta- Salta a la vista del viajero ms distrado que al-
o a textos orales o escritos procedentes de gunos camareros de Guatemala, el Salvador y
todo el mundo hispnico y aun de fuera de l. Honduras, por ejemplo, poseen unos saberes
en un programa radiofnico espaol de los de asombrosos sobre el ftbol espaol, las ligas,
micrfono abierto, una seora de un pequeo los cambios, los despidos y las compras de ju-
pueblo de la sierra de Huelva dijo (a propsi- gadores, los triunfos de cada equipo y el estado
50 parte uno
lxico de un hablante de espaol es un signo CanCela, j. (2007). The Power of Business en Espa-
muy positivo. ese hablante conservar en su ol. nueva York: Harper Collins publishers.
habla habitual sus propios trminos y, salvo lodareS, j. r. (2005). El porvenir del espaol. Madrid:
que hable con un espaol, la actualizar de con- taurus.
tinuo; pero si alguien le habla de grifos, deco- lope BlanCH, j. (2000). Diversidad lxica y uniformi-
ches, de habitaciones, entender sin la menor dad gramatical. en torno al porvenir de la lengua
dificultad de qu se trata. Y al revs. La comuni- espaola. Revista de Filologa Espaola, 80 (1-2),
cacin est salvada, que es, sin la menor duda, pp. 201-214.
lo importante. entender al otro, entendernos roSenBlat, a. (1967). el futuro de la lengua. Revista
entre todos. de Occidente, 56-57, pp. 155-191.
53
Spanish stands out because it is spoken by so finds himself surrounded by countless mass
many people in a diverse array of countries all communication tools that afford access to huge
around the world. If all Spanish speakers fell amounts of information. In the Spanish-speaking
under a single national political entity, their sheer world alone, radio sets abound and shortwave
number would not be as noteworthy, but the radio broadcasts more and more programmes
languages vast spread includes 18 countries everyday, including shows originally conceived
with Spanish as their sole official language for specific national markets. television is being
(although in some cases, such as Mexico, internationalised and reaching an increasingly
among others, this status is not laid down wider audience: about 90 % of Latin american
constitutionally) plus 3 countries paraguay, households have at least one television set
puerto rico and equatorial Guinea with turned on for the length of a typical work day,
Spanish as a co-official language. which comes to about three hours per day for
each user. there are currently around 150 million
these facts convey but a slice of the languages Spanish speaking Internet users, although the
full scope. add to it the immigrant communities Internet penetration rate in Latin america and
in other countries where Spanish is not officially the antilles is well behind the average in europe
recognised: the u.S., which currently has the or north america.
second-most speakers in the Spanish-speaking
world, and in lesser numbers, France, the aBC Mexico, Spain, argentina and Colombia are
Islands (aruba, Bonaire and Curaao), Canada, the countries where most Internet users are
Germany, Switzerland, australia, Belize, concentrated; Chile and uruguay have better
Sweden, Belgium, Israel, andorra, turkey, the penetration rates, though, than Mexico and
Virgin Islands, Luxembourg and Morocco. not Colombia. In Spain, Internet users have risen by
to mention the philippines, Gibraltar and Guam, 400 % in the last decade, reaching a penetration
where Spanish first landed centuries ago and of 62.6 %. In size, the Spanish-speaking Internet
still enjoys a certain degree of vigour. community is third after english and Chinese,
but Spanish comes after other languages like
Speakers throughout the Spanish-speaking German when the number of web pages is
world, as well as those who count Spanish considered. among the countries producing
among their secondary languages, tend to be Internet pages in Spanish, the united States
able to communicate with each other easily, is fourth, with penetration rates in the Hispanic
especially when they come from upper and community being close to the national average.
upper-middle educational backgrounds. not
surprisingly, however, given that Spanish is all these technologies at our fingertips give
spoken in such diverse regions of the world access to Cnnenespaol.com, Cnn Mvil,
and in such great numbers, some differences univisin, the highly innovative telefutura,
can be found in its numerous regional varieties. Galavisin, telemundo, now run by nBC,
a brief overview of the languages history telemundo Internacional, geared specifically to
and geography makes the reasons for these Latin american audiences, and Mund2, which
divergences abundantly clear. is bilingual and designed for younger audiences.
thanks to direct satellite there are also: DirecttV,
today, anyone not living in the farthest with 20 channels in Spanish; Dish Latino, with
reaches of the jungle or the vastest of deserts about 20 more; and Spanish versions of other
54 part one
channels such as the Discovery Channel, Music televisin espaola Internacional and antena
television espaol, Fox SportsWorld espaol 3, for example, hardly produce any special
and eSpnDeportes, not to mention the Sap programming for the rest of the world. on the
Service, which includes tBS Superstation, contrary, they tend to select from their regular
Braves, Cartoonnetwork and the Boomerang Spain-geared programming those shows they
Cartoon network. Digital radio offers a wealth think will be most appealing to an international
of other options as well, notably, within the audience, including Spanish, Latin american and
Spanish-speaking world, televisin espaola foreign films (with dubbing), theatrical productions
Internacional and antena 3. and soap operas from across the atlantic.
not everything that we read and, above all, that In puerto rico, where access to Televisin
we listen to, comes in the form of so-called Espaola Internacional (through Hispasat
neutral Spanish. nevertheless, some media 1C) costs just a few dollars, an astonishing
outlets decidedly aim for their products to be number of television viewers prefer to find out
intelligible to all, such as Cnnenespaol, eCo what is going on in the world from this foreign
and the Discovery Channel, among others. channels news programmes (and not from local
these enterprises are fully aware that economic ones) because, on the one hand, they believe
interests underlie every idiomatic decision, so them to be free of the biases and influence of
when it comes to translating english material into north american news agencies, and on the
Spanish or producing original texts in Spanish other hand, they cover news occurring around
itself, linguistic controversies and discussions the world, no matter how far Spain may be from
constantly arise, especially concerning the the region at hand. an even more telling fact is
lexicon. participants in such debates tend to that for the span of one year, the islands most-
consider their own dialects better than the rest, watched show belonged not to a local channel,
vying for their words to take precedence. the but to Televisin Espaola Internacional: Who
most important aim, however, is for the language Knows Where? (Quin sabe dnde?), a tear-
to be easily intelligible on an international scale. jerker that aims to spread joy by finding missing
persons sought out by their loved ones, created,
along these lines, abel Dimant, Chief Writer for designed and presented by paco Lobatn.
Cnnenespaol, told ral vila via email (1998):
time and again, reliable lexical statistics show
I have to admit that one of the most difficult there to be extraordinary concordance across
aspects of my job is deciding which words and Spanishs different strands. Juan Miguel Lope
expressions to use or not in light of the many
Blanch (2000) found that out of a group of
different types of Spanish spoken across Latin
133,000 words selected from the Spanish
America Not a day goes by when some word
spoken in Madrid, 99.9 % were also used in
doesnt incite internal debate, especially because
multiple Latin American countries are represented Mexico; that is, the terms unfamiliar to Mexicans
on our writing team [sic], and this diversity aids us barely reached 0.1 % of the total. In short, the
in our goal of finding a uniform, clear, coherent and study found that the average educated Spanish
expressive discourse. spoken by the general public in Madrid and
Mexico coincided almost one hundred percent
Most media outlets, however, employ the variety of the time. on the other hand, ral vila (1994),
of Spanish spoken in their places of origin. whose work has been widely cited, analysed a
total of 430,000 words employed on Mexican of course, foreign words do not always end
television and radio and concluded that 98.4 % up being integrated into users active speech,
matched the lexicon of the general Spanish- but the reception of radio and television
speaking public; in other words, the slight programming and texts in print and online
difference in vocabulary amounted to 1.6 %. do end up expanding the passive linguistic
inventory of listeners, viewers and readers.
In this regard, the great scholar ngel rosenblat
proved himself ahead of his time when he Just 10 years ago, for example, very few Latin
asserted in 1967: american speakers showed passive knowledge
of the word grifo in its meaning as tap or faucet.
Compared to the inevitable diversity found in the word had been commonly employed with
colloquial Spanish, the educated speech of Latin this connotation from the seventeenth century
America is strikingly similar to that of Spain. on, but only in Spain. on the other side of the
atlantic, tap came and still comes in a wide
and he reached this conclusion without the help variety of forms: cao, canilla, chorro, llave,
of the statistics readily available to us today. pluma, etc. But over the years, Madrid-based
television programming, either Spanish originals
Faced with this data, it is fitting to ask once or shows dubbed by Spaniards, have used
again as did Lodares (2005) if the Spanish grifo to mean tap with an almost military-like
speaking worlds common vocabulary is in discipline albeit without thinking twice
fact the invention of the big television stations. since for Spaniards grifo is the word for tap.
In other words, does televisa create a special With this I do not mean to suggest that grifo is
Spanish so that all its viewers can understand now used in certain american regions, because
its programmes, or the other way around? or is that is not the case; but it is true nonetheless
it the case that international Spanish language that if you say grifo in Latin america these days,
television imitates the educated variety of many will understand the connotation implied. I
Spanish spoken in Mexico (and everywhere have been able to verify this myself on several
else)? Wouldnt the media outlets use a general trips to Central america and Mexico.
variety sure to be understood across the board?
Whos imitating whom? What does this isolated example tell us? that
information is not the only matter at stake when
What is abundantly clear is that times have media outlets from one region present material
changed: we no longer need to travel or even in another: language is as well. even the least
leave our homes to enjoy access not only to observant traveller will immediately notice, for
local products, but also to oral and written example, that waiters in Guatemala, el Salvador
texts from all over the Spanish-speaking world and Honduras are incredibly knowledgeable
and even outside it. on one Spanish radio about Spanish soccer. they are fully abreast of
programme taking calls from listeners, a woman the make-up of the different leagues, who is on
from a tiny town in the mountains of Huelva said or off which team, who has been traded, specific
(responding to some words of advice about wins and losses and each teams standing in
Mad Cow Disease issued by the corresponding their respective categories. What is more, they
Ministry at the time), thats very chvere, as understand questions such as Is it safe here to
they say on the Latin american soaps. drink the water from the grifo? For Spaniards,
56 part one
to-day speech and, except when speaking Cancela, J. (2007) The Power of Business en Espaol.
with a Spaniard, will constantly update those. new York: Harper Collins publishers.
nonetheless, if the words grifo, coche or Lodares, J.r. (2005) El porvenir del espaol. Madrid:
habitacin come up in conversation with taurus.
someone from Spain, they will immediately Lope Blanch, J. (2000) Diversidad lxica y uniformidad
understand what is being said, and likewise gramatical. en torno al porvenir de la lengua
vice versa. Communication is guaranteed, espaola. Revista de Filologa Espaola, 80 (1-2),
and that, beyond a shadow of a doubt, is the pp. 201-214.
most important thing: to understand others and rosenblat, a. (1967) el futuro de la lengua. Revista de
achieve a common understanding. Occidente, 56-57, pp. 155-191.
Las consecuencias
del ingls global
David Crystal
59
Cules son las consecuencias de que el ingls eso supondra un desastre. ahora bien: es indu-
se haya convertido en una lengua global? Los dable que se producen cambios, pero es igual
principales efectos son dos: otras lenguas han de indudable que eso no conduce al desastre.
cambiado y el ingls mismo ha cambiado. La prueba de ello es, evidentemente, la propia
lengua inglesa. a lo largo de los siglos, el ingls
ha tomado palabras de cientos de otras len-
1. otras lenguas guas, lo cual ha modificado sustancialmente su
carcter. Hoy da, el ingls no se asemeja a la
La llegada de un nmero sin precedentes de lengua que se hablaba en tiempos de los an-
prstamos lingsticos del ingls a otras len- glosajones; de hecho, cuatro quintas partes del
guas fue una de las tendencias ms notables vocabulario ingls no tienen races germnicas,
en el siglo pasado y sigue sindolo en este. sino que provienen de lenguas romances, del
Las distintas culturas difieren enormemente en latn o del griego. Desde el punto de vista lxi-
su respuesta a esta influencia y en el seno de co, de hecho, el ingls es una lengua romance
cada cultura se dan reacciones distintas. algu- (no deja de ser irnico que los hispanohablan-
nas personas acogen de buen grado las nuevas tes, por ejemplo, se quejen de algunas de las
palabras, viendo en ellas una fuente de enrique- palabras inglesas que se estn introduciendo
cimiento lxico; otras dan ms importancia a la en su lengua, cuando, en muchos casos, esos
pureza lingstica, y condenan los prstamos trminos provienen del latn, por ejemplo, com-
por considerarlos un ataque a los valores tradi- putadora). a resultas de esto, el carcter del
cionales de la lengua. Se han fundado entidades ingls ha cambiado indudablemente. pero ha
diversas para combatir estos prstamos y, en sido esto negativo? Gran parte del impacto de
algunos casos, se han hecho intentos de pro- Shakespeare o Chaucer, por citar dos autores
hibirlos de los cuales tal vez el ms conocido entre otros muchos, es atribuible a su capaci-
sea la loi Tourbon francesa. estos intentos re- dad para manejar ese vocabulario multilinge.
velan una energa y emocin muy respetables; Y en un entorno enriquecido desde el punto de
sin embargo, la historia demuestra sin ambages vista lxico, todo el mundo sale beneficiado. el
que no estaban bien encaminados. Las len- ingls posee muchos dobletes o tripletes
guas siempre han estado en contacto con otras de palabras como, por ejemplo, kingly, royal y
lenguas: no existe ninguna lengua pura. Las regal (todos ellos sinnimos de regio o real), de
lenguas siempre han tomado palabras presta- origen germnico, francs y latino, respectiva-
das de otras lenguas, y ninguna comunidad lin- mente, fruto de la historia de prstamos de esta
gstica ha logrado jams detener este proceso. lengua. el que haya tres palabras para expresar
La nica manera de conseguirlo sera aislar la el mismo concepto bsico permite que se refleje
propia lengua de modo que no entrara en con- toda una gama de matices estilsticos que, de
tacto con otras, pero nadie desea el aislacio- otro modo, no habran sido posibles. Shakes-
nismo social y econmico que supondra una peare, por ejemplo, haca un gran uso de es-
poltica de este tipo. tos matices expresivos. Los prstamos lxicos
siempre aaden valor semntico a las lenguas,
Bajo la postura antiprstamos lingsticos sub- proporcionando a sus hablantes la posibilidad
yace una falacia: los puristas creen que tomar de expresar sus pensamientos de manera ms
prestadas palabras de otras lenguas har que matizada. esto es exactamente lo que est ocu-
cambie el carcter de su propia lengua y que rriendo con la influencia del ingls sobre otras
60 parte uno
lenguas en la actualidad: muchos jvenes, por este son un ejemplo excelente de la imposibi-
ejemplo, encuentran muy cool los prstamos lidad de controlar el lenguaje humano; cuanto
lxicos del ingls, a diferencia de gran parte de ms se extiende una lengua en el mbito nacio-
las generaciones mayores, y gracias a su uso nal, luego en el internacional, y ms tarde en el
refuerzan su capacidad expresiva. actualmen- global, ms escapa del control de sus hablantes
te, muchos mbitos sociales hacen uso activo originales. La propia lengua inglesa dej hace
y creativo de palabras inglesas; ejemplo de esto ya tiempo de pertenecer a ningn grupo huma-
es la publicidad, donde el uso del lxico ingls no concreto y est abierta en la actualidad a la
puede ayudar a promocionar los productos. por influencia de todos aquellos que decidan usarla.
supuesto, el mismo fenmeno, pero a la inversa, esa es la razn de que est cambiando tanto
ocurre en la lengua inglesa: por ejemplo, en el a medida que se extiende por el planeta y de
reino unido la publicidad hace uso de palabras que la perspectiva de una familia de lenguas
francesas para promocionar perfumes. inglesas se presente como su principal desa-
rrollo potencial durante el siglo xxi. Y algunas de
Cuando una lengua adopta palabras, as como estas lenguas mostrarn una clara influencia del
sonidos y construcciones gramaticales, los espaol.
adapta. esta historia se ha repetido una y otra
vez con la expansin mundial del ingls, que ha La razn de que el vocabulario atraiga tanto la
dado como fruto los nuevos ingleses. Lo mis- atencin de la gente es que el rea lingstica
mo ocurrir con los prstamos lxicos que se que refleja los cambios de manera ms rpi-
estn introduciendo tanto en el espaol como da y llamativa es el lxico. Los hablantes son
en otros idiomas. Cuando la palabra espaola conscientes de la aparicin de nuevas palabras
hacienda se introdujo en el ingls, su pronuncia- y nuevos significados para las palabras. Sin
cin cambi lentamente, aadiendo una hache embargo, no todos los prstamos resultan tan
aspirada al principio y sustituyendo el sonido z evidentes. Los prstamos lxicos suelen perte-
por s. Del mismo modo, la pronunciacin y, necer a dos tipos: palabras que describen con-
con el tiempo, el carcter ingls de las pala- ceptos que no han sido expresados nunca (es
bras inglesas se modifica al ser repronunciadas el caso de muchos trminos relacionados con
por hablantes de otras lenguas. La silabificacin Internet), y palabras que describen conceptos
que ha afectado a las palabras inglesas introdu- ya expresados de manera perfectamente sa-
cidas en el japons es un caso bien estudiado: tisfactoria por una palabra local. es el segundo
hoy da, muchas de ellas resultan ininteligibles caso el que atrae todas las crticas, ya que los
para un hablante nativo del ingls. esto explica hablantes temen que el nuevo trmino reem-
la aparicin de etiquetas como japlish (traduci- place al antiguo. Sin embargo, como hemos
ble como japongls) o, por supuesto, span- avanzado anteriormente, se trata de un temor
glish, unos trminos que implican la nocin de infundado, y ello por dos razones. en primer lu-
que estas variedades se estn convirtiendo en gar, como ilustra el ejemplo de kingly, los nuevos
nuevas lenguas. esas etiquetas no son humo- trminos no reemplazan a los antiguos, sino que
rsticas, aunque a menudo se utilicen con esta los complementan. a medida que la lengua es-
intencin: son intentos intuitivos de describir un paola adopta palabras inglesas y las adapta,
fenmeno lingstico que se est dando en todo los trminos recin llegados dejan de ser ingle-
el mundo, a medida que se incrementa el con- ses y se integran en el espaol, siempre con un
tacto entre distintas lenguas. Conceptos como nuevo matiz de significado que coexiste con el
62 parte uno
no hace falta mucho tiempo para que estos lxi- localismos, especialmente si son de carcter
cos alcancen varios miles de palabras. Cuan- enciclopdico (esto es, si se refieren a personas,
do los hablantes de un pas adoptan un idioma lugares, instituciones y otros elementos simila-
como medio de comunicacin alternativo den- res de carcter local).
tro de sus fronteras, comienzan de inmediato a
adaptarlo para satisfacer las necesidades co- todas las regiones anglfonas del mundo po-
municativas de la zona. enseguida se acumula seen usos similares, que convierten a su varie-
una panoplia de palabras referidas a elementos dad del ingls en algo distintivo que refleja la
locales la flora y fauna, las comidas y bebi- identidad local y refuerza la solidaridad entre ha-
das, las costumbres y hbitos, la poltica y la blantes. Desde este punto de vista, conceptos
religin, los juegos y deportes, as como otras como el del Spanish English o ingls hispano
muchas facetas de la vida cotidiana que son toman un nuevo realce, que trasciende de las
desconocidos fuera del entorno del pas. para nociones tradicionales que lo consideran sim-
comprender a un sudafricano que afirme: The plemente como un ingls hablado con acento
bakkie had to stop at a red robot (el bakkie espaol, o un ingls con interferencias del espa-
tuvo que parar ante un robot rojo), debemos ol. as, el ingls hispano sera el tipo de ingls
saber que bakkie es camin y que robot es que hace falta conocer cuando se visita un pas
semforo. podemos encontrar miles de trmi- de habla hispana, con el fin de conversar de
nos similares en el Dictionary of South African manera eficaz con los hablantes locales enin-
English de Jean y William Branford. Y otras par- gls. Sera de una utilidad enorme contar con
tes del mundo anglfono muestran un grado de glosarios de los equivalentes en ingls de las re-
creatividad paralelo a medida que el ingls se ferencias culturales usadas en espaa, Colom-
convierte en una lengua local alternativa. bia, Mxico y otros pases hispanohablantes; y,
sin embargo, no conocemos ninguno.
Cuando un grupo de habitantes de un pas (por
ejemplo, de estudiantes, docentes o ejecutivos) a esos hablantes del espaol les puede llevar
hablan en ingls por la razn que sea, el tema cierto tiempo caer en la cuenta de que hay pro-
de su conversacin incorpora inevitablemente blemas de comunicacin. Si los conocimientos
aspectos del entorno local. Los participantes en lingsticos del interlocutor son imperfectos, los
la conversacin hablan de asuntos locales como hablantes nativos lo notan de manera inmediata,
tiendas, calles, barrios, lneas de autobs, insti- y casi siempre se esfuerzan por solucionarlo ha-
tuciones, negocios, programas televisivos, pe- blando ms lentamente o empleando frases ms
ridicos, partidos polticos, grupos minoritarios simples. Sin embargo, no se suele ser tan eficaz
y otros muchos temas. Hacen bromas, citan en lo relativo a las disfunciones culturales. Los
refranes, reproducen recuerdos lingsticos de hablantes nativos suelen suponer que los extran-
su infancia (como, por ejemplo, juegos y rimas) jeros saben de qu les hablan; es muy frecuente
y repiten la letra de canciones conocidas. todo que se sobrestimen los conocimientos culturales
este acervo local se da por supuesto, y se usa de los interlocutores o lectores no nativos, sea
en la conversacin sin darle un realce especial. cual sea la lengua o el entorno. Las palabras y
pero los visitantes que oyen estas expresiones expresiones resultan tan familiares y rutinarias
o las leen en la prensa local necesitan que se las para el hablante que este no suele darse cuenta
expliquen. Los diccionarios convencionales no de que los extranjeros no las entienden; antes
sirven de ayuda porque no suelen incluir estos bien, dan por supuesto que lo hacen.
en la mayor parte de los casos, este comporta- Dominiquis advice, Mingo was wildly dancing a
miento lingstico no tiene mayores consecuen- rasca rasca in a dim corner of a verbena on a
cias comunicativas. Si alguien menciona de carnival Saturday1.
pasada que ha ido de compras a una zona de-
terminada de la ciudad (por ejemplo: esta ma- el autor explica en notas a pie de pgina dnde
ana fui en autobs hasta Islington y me compr se encuentra Barranquilla (una ciudad situada
este bolso), aunque su interlocutor ignore dn- en la costa caribea de Colombia) y quin es
de se encuentra ese barrio, no entra en la lgica anbal (un cantante muy popular en este tipo de
de la conversacin que interrumpa la narrativa fiestas). tambin aclara que Mingo es un hipo-
para inquirir dnde est Islington exactamente, corstico de Domingo, que rasca rasca es un
dado que el inters del hablante se concentra trmino onomatopyico originado por el sonido
en el bolso. el lugar donde se adquiri carece de la guaracha (un instrumento de percusin
de importancia, y el hablante podra haber omi- con el que se acompaan determinadas tona-
tido esa informacin sin perjuicio para la con- das de acorden de ritmo rpido, que las pa-
versacin. Sin embargo, la situacin sera muy rejas bailan pegadas) y lo que es una verbena.
distinta si la frase fuera algo as: en general,
nadie va de noche a x [un barrio] porque puede Y, sin embargo, desde el punto de vista cultural,
ser peligroso. en este caso, si el oyente ignora son suficientes estas explicaciones? a decir
dnde se encuentra x, seguramente le compen- verdad, algunos puntos siguen resultando os-
se averiguar este dato. curos. Los lectores poco familiarizados con el
ingls estadounidense, por ejemplo, no tienen
en algunas ocasiones, los escritores hacen por qu saber que cornstarch (harina de maz)
un esfuerzo por explicar las alusiones locales. es lo que un hablante de ingls britnico deno-
Marcelino torrecilla, autor de un cuento sobre minara cornflour. Los lectores tambin pueden
las fiestas de carnaval en una ciudad colombia- preguntarse por qu los juerguistas arrojan pu-
na, se toma la molestia de explicar gran parte ados de esa sustancia y si sus caras estn
de los trminos que pueden resultar ajenos al empolvadas por ese motivo o si cada uno se
lector: ha empolvado la suya previamente. no todos
los lectores tienen por qu saber lo que es el
Showers of cornstarch thrown by revellers flew in carnaval; y, aunque conozcan la definicin de
a warm wind of a Barranquilla carnival night while este trmino que aparece en los diccionarios, es
anibals music was heard in the distance. the posible que desconozcan la significacin cultu-
party goers laughed at each others powdered ral de esta fiesta en un pas determinado, de la
faces and drank greedily in anticipation of a night misma forma en que los oriundos de los pases
of partying and joy. occidentales de tradicin cristiana a menudo ig-
Just on a night like this a year ago, despite noran el significado cultural de las festividades
his age and against his doctors and father judas o islmicas. tambin puede surgir la duda
1 puados de harina de maz arrojados por los juerguistas flotaban en la clida brisa de una noche
de carnaval enBarranquilla, mientras la msica de anbal sonaba en la distancia. Los parranderos se rean
al ver las caras empolvadas de sus compaeros y beban con ansia preparndose para una noche de fiesta
y diversin. / en una noche justamente como esa, un ao atrs, a pesar de su edad y de los consejos
de su mdico y del padre Dominiqui, Mingo haba bailado como loco un rasca rasca en una esquina poco
iluminada de la verbena del sbado de carnaval. An Endless Carnival (2009).
64 parte uno
de si la expresin sbado de carnaval tiene un antes de estructurar y evaluar hacen falta des-
significado especial; y de hecho lo tiene, ya que cripciones; y esto, ya de entrada, requiere de
este sbado constituye el comienzo del periodo la integracin de los estudios lingsticos y los
carnavalesco que termina el mircoles de Ce- culturales, y de la elaboracin de diccionarios o
niza, y se caracteriza por ser una explosin de glosarios culturales de alcance regional. Se trata
msica y energa en la que todos los juerguistas de algo que cada una de las regiones puede
estn an frescos y expectantes ante la fiesta llevar a cabo, y en lo cual puede participar todo
que se avecina. aquel que est aprendiendo ingls. Cuando los
proyectos de este tipo se plasman por escrito
a medida que la lengua inglesa se expande por en forma de glosario, se da un efecto muy inte-
el mundo y sus hablantes alcanzan niveles de resante entre sus participantes: sienten que, de
fluidez inditos en situaciones de carcter local, algn modo, han hecho suya la lengua inglesa.
aumentan los desajustes interpretativos de este Sospechamos que estos proyectos contribuyen
tipo. el trasfondo cultural de los pases cuyos enormemente, adems, a incrementar la con-
naturales tienen el ingls como lengua mater- fianza y autoestima lingstica de sus participan-
na a menudo se transmite incorporndolo a los tes, ya que ningn otro grupo de hablantes del
libros de texto. as, por ejemplo, un ejercicio mundo conoce su variedad local del ingls en
sobre la forma de construir el pasado en ingls tanta profundidad como ellos. por otra parte,
puede ilustrarse mediante un texto sobre una tambin pueden enorgullecerse de haber con-
tarde de compras en la oxford Street londinen- tribuido con una pieza propia al puzle global que
se, de forma que el lector capte inconsciente- constituye la lengua inglesa hoy. Y todo lo que
mente los conceptos relevantes que se asocian se ha dicho acerca de la diversidad del ingls
a ese lugar. Sin embargo, se trata de un proce- en el presente artculo es igualmente aplicable
dimiento aleatorio, no de una gua sistemtica. a cualquier otra lengua de uso internacional, y
La informacin cultural no se evala en sus pro- especialmente al espaol, que solo es supera-
pios trminos ni se estructura. para solucionar do por la propia lengua inglesa en su expansin
esto se precisa algo ms ambicioso. internacional.
The consequences
of global English
David Crystal
67
What are the consequences of english becoming other languages. this has changed the character
a global language? there have been two chief of english dramatically. english today is not like
effects: other languages have changed; and the english of anglo-Saxon times. In fact, four-
english itself has changed. fifths of english vocabulary is not Germanic at all,
but romance, Latin, or Greek. english is actually
a romance language, from a lexical point of view.
1. other languages (I always find it ironic that when the Spanish, for
example, complain about some of the english
the arrival of unprecedented numbers of loan words currently entering their language, in many
words into other languages has been one of the cases these are words which have a Latin origin,
most notable trends in the past century, and one such as computador). as a result of all this,
that is going to continue. Cultures vary greatly english has changed its character, undoubtedly.
in their response to this influx, and within each But has this been a bad thing? Much of the
culture there are mixed attitudes. Some people impact of Chaucer and Shakespeare, to take
welcome the loan words, seeing them as a just two of many authors, is due to their ability
source of lexical enrichment; more puristically- to work with all that multilingual vocabulary.
minded people condemn them, seeing them and everyone benefits, in a lexically enriched
as an attack on traditional language values. language. In english we have many doublets
organisations have been set up to fight them. In and triplets, such as kingly, royal, and regal,
some famous cases, attempts have been made which stem from the borrowing history of the
to ban them the loi Toubon in France being language one Germanic, one French, one
perhaps the best-known instance. the energy Latin. three words for the same basic concept
and emotion generated has to be respected, but allows a whole range of stylistic nuances to be
at the same time history tells us very firmly that it expressed which would not otherwise have been
is misplaced. all languages have always been in possible. Shakespeare, for example, was always
contact with other languages. there is no such exploiting such nuances. Loan words always add
thing as a pure language. all languages have semantic value to a language, providing people
always borrowed words from other languages. with the opportunity to express their thoughts
and no language community has ever succeeded in a more nuanced way. this is exactly what is
in stopping this process taking place. the only happening with english in other languages at the
way to do so would be to take ones language moment: young people, for example, find many
away from contact with other languages. But english loan words cool, in a way that the older
no-one would want the social and economic generation does not, and their expressiveness
isolationism that such a policy would imply. is empowered as a consequence. Many social
domains now actively and creatively make use
there is a fallacy underlying the anti-borrowing of english words in advertising, for example,
position. purists believe that borrowing words where the use of an english lexicon can actually
from other languages will lead to their own help to sell goods. It is, of course, the same in
language changing its character and that this is a english, but the other way round. French words
disaster. Change there certainly will be. Disaster help to sell perfume in Britain, for example.
there certainly wont be. the evidence, of course,
comes from english itself. english over the When a language adopts words, and also
centuries has borrowed words from hundreds of sounds and grammatical constructions, it
68 part one
adapts them. this is the repeated history of be of two types: words for concepts which the
english, as it has spread around the world, language never expressed before (as in much
evolving new englishes. this will happen to Internet vocabulary); and words for concepts
the loan-words currently entering Spanish and which were already expressed by a perfectly
other languages too. When the Spanish word satisfactory local word. It is this second category
hacienda entered english it slowly changed its which attracts the criticism, because there is
pronunciation, adding the initial h and replacing a fear that the new word will replace the old
the medial th by s. Similarly, english words one. It is a misplaced fear, as I have said, for
change their pronunciation, and eventually their two reasons. Firstly, as the many examples like
english character, when they are re-pronounced kingly illustrate, the new word does not replace
in other languages. the syllabification which has the old one, but supplements it. as Spanish,
affected english words entering Japanese is a for example, adopts english words, and adapts
well-studied case: several are now unintelligible them, they cease to be english, and become
to a native-english listener which is one Spanish though conveying a different nuance
reason for the emergence of labels like Japlish alongside the traditional Spanish word. the
(and of course such labels as Spanglish), with process of integration is facilitated by many
the implication that these varieties are becoming people, such as poets, novelists, dramatists,
new languages. Such labels are not jocular satirists, comedians, advertisers, and journalists,
though they are often used so: they are intuitive who can make use of these nuances creatively.
attempts to characterise what is happening It usually takes a generation for loan-words to
linguistically around the world, as languages become integrated, though the Internet seems
come increasingly into contact with each other. to be speeding up this time-frame. Looking back
they are a prime example of the point that on previous generations loan-words, we value
human language cannot be controlled. the them, because we see the way that authors
more a language becomes a national, then an and others have made good use of them. It is
international, then a global language, the more it only the current generation of borrowings that
ceases to be in the ownership of its originators. attracts criticism.
english itself has long since ceased to be owned and secondly, even in cases where the new
by anyone, and is now open to the influence of all word does replace the old one (as often
who choose to use it. that is why it is changing happened in english too, with hundreds of
so much, as it moves around the globe, and why French words replacing anglo-Saxon ones in
the scenario of an english family of languages the early Middle ages) there is not very much
is likely to be the main development of the 21st that anyone can do about it. as I have said,
century. and some of them will show the clear human language cannot be controlled. a story
influence of Spanish. is told by the 12th-century historian Henry
of Huntingdon, that King Canute of england
the reason that vocabulary attracts all the rebuked his flatterers by showing that even he,
attention is because the lexicon is the area where as king, could not stop the incoming tide, nor,
change is most rapid and noticeable. people by implication, the might of God. the story has
are aware of new words, and new meanings great relevance when we think of individuals,
of words. But not all borrowings attract the societies, academies, or even parliaments
same amount of attention. Loan words tend to trying to stop the flow of loan-words from any
language. they have never managed it in the It does not take long before these lexicons
past. they never will in the future. Language is reach many thousands of words. When a
just too powerful, because too many speakers country adopts a language as a local alternative
are involved. apart from a few cases where means of communication, it immediately starts
the numbers of speakers are so few that their adapting it, to meet the communicative needs of
usage can be planned by a central body (as the region. Words for local plants and animals,
in the case of some endangered and minority food and drink, customs and practices, politics
languages), usage is beyond control. this is and religion, sports and games, and many
plainly the case with a strong language like other facets of everyday life soon accumulate
Spanish, used in so many countries today, and a local wordstock which is unknown outside
incorporating so many ethnic identities. the country and its environs. When someone in
South africa says, the bakkie had to stop at
Instead of attacking loan words, accordingly, it a red robot, we need to know that a bakkie is
makes much more sense to develop creative a truck and a robot is a traffic-light. there are
strategies to foster their integration, in literature, thousands of such words in Jean and William
school, and society at large. that, in my view, Branfords Dictionary of South African English.
would be time and energy better spent. Loan and other parts of the english-speaking world
words are the invisible exports of a world where display the same kind of creativity, as english
people talk to each other. as a citizen of the becomes a local alternative language.
world, I value every loan word I have in my
linguistic repertoire, and look forward to the day When a group of people in a country (such as
when others feel the same. students, teachers, or businessmen) switch into
english, for whatever reason, the subject-matter of
their conversation inevitably incorporates aspects
2. english changes of their local environment. they talk about the local
shops, streets, suburbs, bus-routes, institutions,
When people talk about global english they are businesses, television programmes, newspapers,
usually referring to the common features which political parties, minority groups, and a great deal
identify the variety we call standard english. more. they make jokes, quote proverbs, bring up
Increasingly, however, attention has been drawn childhood linguistic memories (such as nursery
to the regional features which differentiate rhymes), and recall lyrics of popular songs. all this
one part of the english-speaking world from local knowledge is taken for granted, and used in
another. So today we happily talk about British, sentences without gloss. Visitors who hear such
american, australian, South african, Indian, and sentences, or read them in local newspapers,
other englishes, and studies are accumulating need to have them explained. Conventional
of the way these varieties make distinctive dictionaries will not help, for they do not include
use of pronunciation, orthography, grammar, such localisms, especially if the expressions are
vocabulary, and discourse. Much of the encyclopaedic in character (referring to local
distinctiveness resides in the area of lexicology, people, places, institutions, and suchlike).
the linguistic domain which most closely reflects
cultural identity, and dictionaries have been every english-speaking location in the world has
compiled of the distinctive lexicons encountered similar usages which make the english used
in these regions. there distinctive, expressive of local identity, and
70 part one
a means of creating solidarity. From this point of different if the sentence had been, people dont
view, notions such as Spanish english take on go into X [part of town] in the evenings, as a rule;
a fresh relevance, going well beyond traditional it can be a bit risky. If you have no idea where X
conceptions of english spoken with a Spanish is, then it would pay you to find out.
accent, or english displaying interference from
Spanish. Spanish english I define as the kind of occasionally, writers make the effort to explain
english I need to know when I go to a Spanish- local allusions. the writer of a short story about
speaking country, otherwise I will be unable a Colombian carnival, Marcelino torrecilla, took
to converse efficiently with local speakers in the trouble to explain several of the unfamiliar
english. It would be amazingly useful to have a words. Here is the opening few lines of his story
glossary of the english equivalents of Spanish an endless Carnival, 2009:
cultural references in Spain, Colombia, Mexico,
Showers of cornstarch thrown by revellers flew in
and so on, but I know of none. a warm wind of a Barranquilla carnival night while
Anibals music was heard in the distance. The
It takes a while for Spanish speakers to party goers laughed at each others powdered
realise that there is a problem. people readily faces and drank greedily in anticipation of a night
sense when someones linguistic knowledge of partying and joy.
is imperfect, and may go out of their way to
Just on a night like this a year ago, despite his age
accommodate to the foreigner by speaking more and against his doctors and father Dominiquis
slowly or by simplifying sentences. But they are advice, Mingo was wildly dancing a rasca rasca in
not so good at cultural accommodation. there a dim corner of a verbena on a carnival Saturday.
is too ready an assumption that foreigners will
know what they are talking about. people always Footnotes explain where Barranquilla is (a
tend to overestimate the cultural knowledge of city on Colombias Caribbean coast) and who
their non-native listeners and readers, whatever anibal is (a popular carnival singer). We are also
the language and whatever the setting. Because told that Mingo is a short form of Domingo,
the words and phrases are so familiar and that rasca rasca is an onomatopoaeic sound
routine, people are usually not aware that they produced by a guacharaca (a scraping musical
are using something which foreigners will not instrument played in accordion songs, to which
understand. they take things for granted. couples dance fast and close), and a verbena is
a popular carnival location where people dance
For the most part, this behaviour has no serious and drink.
conversational consequence. If someone says
in passing that they did some shopping in a But do these explanations go far enough, from
certain part of town (e.g. I took the bus into a cultural point of view? Some uncertainties
Islington this morning and bought this bag), remain. For readers unfamiliar with u.S.
and I have no idea where that is, it would be english, you would also need to know that this
conversationally absurd to interrupt the narrative is the name of what British english would call
to enquire exactly where Islington is, given that cornflour. You might wonder why it is being
the speakers intention is to focus on the bag. thrown? and is it the cause of the powdered
the location is of no consequence, and the faces, or are they separately powdered? not all
speaker might have omitted this information readers will know what a carnival is, and even if
without conversational loss. But it would be very they know the dictionary definition of the word,
they may not know the cultural significance in its own terms or graded in any way. the
of it in a particular country, any more than solution requires something more ambitious.
Western Christians might not know the cultural
significance of various Jewish or Islamic feasts. Before we can grade and evaluate we need
and is there any significance in the phrase descriptions, and that means, in the first instance,
carnival Saturday? Indeed there is, for Saturday the integration of linguistic and cultural studies,
is the beginning of the carnival period, which and the production of regional cultural dictionaries
ends on ash Wednesday, and is known for its or glossaries. It is something every region can do,
outburst of musical energy, with all party-goers and something to which everyone who learns
fresh and looking forward to the next few days. english can contribute. When such projects are
written down, in the style of a glossary, it has an
as english spreads around the world, and interesting effect upon the participants. they feel
achieves unprecedented levels of fluency in local they have somehow made the english language
situations, interpretive issues of this kind are their own. I suspect such projects also add greatly
steadily growing. the cultural background of the to their linguistic confidence and self-esteem, for
mother-tongue english-speaking nations is often no-one else in the world knows their home-grown
handled by incorporating the cultural information variety of english as well as they do. and they can
into the practice texts in teaching books. an take pride in the fact that they have added their
exercise on past tenses, shall we say, may be own small piece to the global jigsaw-puzzle that
illustrated by a shopping visit to oxford Street in comprises the english language. and everything
London, and the reader will then unconsciously I have said about diversity in english applies
pick up the relevant associations for that name. equally to any internationally used language, and
But this is fortuitous. It isnt a systematic guide. especially Spanish second only to english in its
the cultural information has not been evaluated international reach.
72 part one
Lenguas mayores
y menores en la aldea global
ngel Lpez Garca
73
Cuando se habla de lenguas mayores y de len- rabe culto es el del Corn y no coincide con
guas menores, es inevitable que lo asociemos ninguna de las variedades de rabe habladas
a la diferencia que existe en la naturaleza en- en los distintos pases. Sin embargo, Fishman
tre depredadores y presas. De ese modo, es (1965) traslad el concepto de diglosia a las so-
habitual encontrar el smil de que las lenguas ciedades bilinges en las que habra una lengua
mayores devoran a las menores, algo que ha- empleada para usos formales y otra, subordi-
bra sucedido siempre pero que la moderni- nada a ella, usada en la conversacin informal.
dad ha incentivado. La razn es que el grado Desde entonces se han registrado abundantes
de diferenciacin lingstica de un territorio es situaciones diglsicas en todo el mundo y se
directamente proporcional a la variedad de es- concluye que siempre acarrean el debilitamiento
pacios ecolgicos que permiten la autosuficien- estructural del idioma minoritario (Dorian, 1989);
cia econmica de los pueblos que los habitan incluso hay quien explica el surgimiento y la ex-
(nettle, 1998, 1999). Como en la actualidad los pansin de las lenguas mundiales como una
espacios autrquicos se han tornado imposi- consecuencia del imperialismo lingstico y del
bles, parecera que la diversidad lingstica est lingicidio (phillipson, 1992).
condenada de antemano y con ella las lenguas
minoritarias que la sustentan, las cuales mueren Se podr decir que las lenguas grandes han
cada da ante nuestros ojos (Crystal, 2000; Ha- estado siempre devorando a las lenguas pe-
rrison, 2007; Dressler, 2009). Sin embargo, este queas, pero no es as. el latn necesit diez
argumento no puede trasladarse sin ms de la siglos para erradicar los idiomas nativos del sur
naturaleza a las sociedades humanas porque de europa (el ibero, el galo, el etrusco), y ni si-
los juicios morales forman parte de la realidad. quiera logr imponerse a los del norte (el sajn,
por eso, la idea de que unas lenguas engullan a el alamnico, el eslavo). Hace solo un par de
otras provoca en muchos una invencible repug- siglos, el ingls era la lengua del Imperio britni-
nancia (Hagge, 2000). co pero en la India o en Kenia solo la hablaban
los colonizadores y unos pocos individuos que
Conviene reconocer las cosas con toda su cru- se relacionaban con ellos. tampoco los habitan-
deza para no llamarnos a engao. Los hechos tes de amrica al oeste de los apalaches o de
son (a) que hay lenguas con muchos hablantes australia eran mayoritariamente anglohablantes.
(mayores) y lenguas con pocos hablantes (me- en ese mismo momento se estaba independi-
nores), (b) que unas y otras suelen coexistir de zando una veintena de repblicas americanas,
formas variadas y (c) que esta coexistencia se pero solo eran hispanohablantes un tercio de
traduce a menudo en el retroceso de las len- sus ciudadanos.
guas menores en beneficio de las mayores.
es posible la coexistencia armnica de las len- esta situacin empez a cambiar con la re-
guas, teniendo en cuenta que una misma per- volucin Industrial del siglo xix, pero lo hizo de
sona puede hablar ms de una lengua? en la manera limitada, tanto vertical como horizon-
bibliografa especializada este problema se ha talmente. en lo horizontal las lenguas vehicula-
encarado con los conceptos metodolgicos de res, imprescindibles para garantizar una forma-
bilingismo y diglosia. La palabra diglosia haba cin comn que permitiese la movilidad social
sido utilizada originariamente (Ferguson, 1959) (Gellner, 1983), solo alcanzaron al dominio de
para referirse a situaciones monolinges como los estados industrializados, es decir, a europa y
las que se dan en la lengua rabe, donde el a ee.uu. en lo vertical, la irradiacin se limit a
74 parte uno
esto es algo que ya se puede aplicar al ingls de habla espaola es una potencia econmica y
en todo el mundo, al espaol en el continente en su propio continente americano compite con
americano y al chino en el asitico (grfico 1). el ingls nativo de ee.uu. Se podra decir que
el espaol se presenta como espaol bsico sin
Como se advierte en el grfico 1, la expansin razones externas que lo justifiquen.
globalizadora de estos tres idiomas responde a
la distribucin de poisson. a comienzos del si- probablemente la moda del espaol (Lpez
glo xix el nmero de hablantes era modesto en Garca, 2007) tiene que ver con que su eleva-
todos ellos. Durante dicho siglo el que ms cre- do nmero de hablantes coexiste con el hecho
ci fue el ingls, ligado al desarrollo del Imperio de que no da internacionalmente la imagen de
britnico y al de los ee.uu. en el siglo xx el in- un idioma invasor o prepotente. esto es posi-
gls se ha convertido en Globish, al tiempo que ble porque, pese al normativismo decimonnico
los otros dos han experimentado un crecimiento tradicional, existen varios ncleos de irradiacin
vegetativo notable. el espaol, presumiblemen- normativa (como mnimo cuatro: Mxico, Bue-
te, llegar a ser global a escala americana a fi- nos aires, Bogot y Madrid), tales que ninguno
nales del xxi, mientras que el chino alcanzar la acaba de imponerse sobre los dems (Lpez
globalidad asitica en la centuria siguiente. Garca, 2010), y ello sin contar con el auge del
espaol como lengua aledaa en los ee.uu.
Cada idioma no lo logra de la misma manera. tampoco resulta ajena al boom del espaol su
La fuerza del ingls se debe a razones polticas cercana al portugus, una lengua que le permi-
y militares (Crystal, 1997), aunque luego se haya te completar su ubicacin global (se habla en
convertido en el idioma de los negocios y del Brasil, angola, Mozambique y timor oriental):
progreso cientfico-tecnolgico. el chino cimen- de hecho su mutua intercomprensibilidad est
ta su atractivo en el hecho de que China est propiciando un espacio de norma flexible para
llamada a ser el motor de la economa mundial, ambos idiomas.
algo que en asia sita a los dems pases en su
rea de influencia. La cuasiglobalidad del espa- Vimos arriba cmo se puede establecer un
ol resulta muy interesante porque ningn pas paralelismo entre el par depredador/presa y el
GRFICO 1
N.o de usuarios
Chino
Ingls
espaol
76 parte uno
381617p64
par lengua mayor/lengua menor. Sin embargo, cas tienden a basar su autoridad en el anoni-
aunque el depredador siempre se come a la mato. esta nocin es uno de los fundamentos
presa, en trminos de teora de la evolucin ideolgicos de la autoridad poltica.
no es as, pues cuando las presas escaseen,
la suerte de los depredadores tambin esta- La aldea electrnica global ha roto este esque-
r echada. en el caso del lenguaje existe una ma. Las redes sociales (MySpace, twitter, Face-
complementariedad entre la fortaleza comu- book, tuenti) son autnticas, pero suelen usar
nicativa de una lengua global y la de las len- lenguas mayoritarias, pues a lo que se aspira es
guas con las que coexiste. Si la lengua mayor a llegar al mayor nmero posible de personas.
va ahogando cada vez ms las posibilidades Y al contrario: en Internet lo que cuenta no es la
comunicativas de las lenguas menores, a la mera presencia, sino la visibilidad, y esta solo la
postre lo que se resentir es su condicin de aseguran el nmero y la calidad de los enlaces,
lengua global. el futuro del ingls consiste en ir por lo que a menudo un texto social (publicita-
ampliando su espacio de lengua auxiliar, no en rio, poltico, ensaystico) llega a muchas ms
convertirse en la lengua universal. Como des- personas si est escrito en una lengua minori-
taca Graddol (2006, 116): taria que si lo colgamos en ingls. el mundo de
la aldea global es otro y ha subvertido comple-
uno de los principales retos al que se enfrentan tamente la cuestin de las lenguas mayores y
muchos pases es cmo mantener su identidad
menores. el idioma global, el ingls, y los cua-
ante la globalizacin y el multilingismo crecien-
siglobales, como el espaol o el chino, debern
te. existen razones a favor de regular el estatus
acomodarse a nuevas reglas del juego regidas
del ingls, pero es necesario encontrar vas para
reinventar la identidad nacional alrededor de una por la alternancia de cdigos ms que por la
combinacin de varios elementos, en lugar de en exclusividad.
torno a una nica lengua que se mantiene pura.
una lengua global y con ms razn, una len- Referencias bibliogrficas citadas
gua cuasiglobal debera progresar como
lengua vehicular rehuyendo cuidadosamente Coupland, n. (2003). Introduction: Sociolinguistics
la tentacin de convertirse en lengua habitual and globalisation. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 7
(4), pp. 465-473.
de las personas que la utilizan con fines mera-
mente instrumentales. no se trata, empero, de CryStal, d. (1997). English as a Global Language.
la oposicin anonimato/autenticidad propuesta Cambridge: Cambridge university press.
por Woolard (2007, 132-133), la cual ideologiza . (2000). Language Death. Cambridge: Cambridge
la diferencia entre la lengua mayor y la lengua university press.
menor de la diglosia. dorian, n. C. (ed.) (1989). Investigating Obsolescence.
Studies in Language Contraction and Death.
La ideologa de la autenticidad se asocia hoy en Cambridge: Cambridge university press.
da con las lenguas minoritarias y las variedades dreSSler, w. u. (2009). Sprachverfall und Sprachtod,
no estndar. La autenticidad facilita la conserva- en C. Junyent (ed.). Transferences. The Expression
cin de estas lenguas al hacer de ellas valiosos of Extra-Linguistic Processes in the Worlds
recursos en redes sociales locales. en contraste Languages. Barcelona: eumo, pp. 75-106.
con las lenguas minoritarias, en las sociedades f erGuSon , C. a. (1959). Diglossia. Word, 15-2,
occidentales modernas, las lenguas hegemni- pp. 325-340.
fiSHman, j. a. (1965). Who speaks what language to Homenaje a Luis Fernando Lara. Mxico: el
whom and when. La Linguistique, 2, pp. 67-88. Colegio de Mxico.
Gellner, e. (1983). Nations and Nationalism. Ithaca, mCluHan, m. (1962). The Gutenberg Galaxy. Londres:
nY: Cornell university press. routledge & Kegan paul.
Graddol, d. (2006). English Next. Why global English . (1998). La galaxia Gutenberg. Gnesis del homo
may mean the end of English as a Foreign typographicus. Barcelona: Crculo de lectores.
Language. Londres: British Council. . (2009). Comprender los medios de comunicacin.
HaGGe, C. (2000). Halte la mort des langues. pars: Las extensiones del ser humano. Barcelona: paids.
odile Jacob. n ettle , d. (1998). explaining Global patterns of
H arriSon , d. (2007). When languages die: the Language Diversity. Journal of Anthropological
extinction of the worlds languages and the Archaeology, 17, pp.354-374.
erosion of human knowledge. oxford; nueva York: . (1999). Linguistic Diversity. oxford; nueva York:
oxford university press. oxford university press.
l pez G arCa , a. (2007). El boom de la lengua pHillipSon, r. (1992). Linguistic Imperialism. oxford;
espaola. Anlisis ideolgico de un proceso nueva York: oxford university press.
expansivo. Madrid: Biblioteca nueva. woolard, k. a. (2007). La autoridad lingstica del
. (2010). a vueltas con el policentrismo de la espaol y las ideologas de la autenticidad y el
lengua espaola y sus implicaciones polticas, anonimato, en Jos del Valle (ed.). La lengua,
en K.Zimmermann, M. e. Vzquez y F. Segovia patria comn? Ideas e ideologas del espaol.
(eds.). Lexicologa, norma e historia del espaol. Madrid: Iberoamericana; Frncfort: Vervuet.
78 parte uno
79
When we speak of major languages and minor for formal purposes and another subordinated
languages, we often associate them with the to it, used in informal conversation. Since then,
differentiation in nature between predator and many diglossic scenarios have been recorded
prey. It is a common metaphor that major worldwide with the conclusion that they always
languages devour minor ones, something that lead to structural weakening of the minority
has always happened but has been promoted language (Dorian, 1989); indeed, certain scholars
in modern times. the reason is that the degree explain the emergence and spreading of world
of linguistic diversity in a territory is directly languages in terms of linguistic imperialism and
proportional to the variety of ecological areas that linguicide (phillipson, 1992).
allow for economic self-sufficiency of the people
inhabiting them (nettle, 1998, 1999); however, one might argue that this has always been
nowadays autarkic spaces are not viable, the case, that big languages have devoured
thus it seems linguistic diversity is doomed, small languages throughout history. But this is
dragging with it the support provided to minority not so. Latin, a dominant language, took ten
languages, which dwindle before our eyes, day centuries to eradicate the native languages of
after day (Crystal, 2000; Harrison, 2007; Dressler, southern europe (Iberian, Gallic, etruscan) but
2009). nonetheless, this argument cannot be never managed to replace those in the north
transferred to human societies because moral (Celtic, Saxon, alamannic, Slavonic). Just a
judgments are part of reality; thus, the idea that couple of centuries ago, the two most currently
some languages swallow up others stirs up widespread world languages, english and
considerable distaste (Hagge, 2000). Spanish, were far less prevalent than thought:
english was the language of the British empire,
even so, this does not prevent us from failing but in India or in Kenya it was only spoken
to recognise that: a) there are languages with by the colonial settlers and a few people
many speakers (major) and languages with associated with them; neither was the majority
few speakers (minor); b) they tend to coexist of those inhabiting australia nor north america
in various forms; and c) this coexistence west of the appalachians english-speaking.
often leads to a decline in minor languages in With respect to Spanish, at that time over
favour of major languages. Is the harmonious twenty american republics were gaining their
coexistence of languages really possible, independence, but only a third of their citizens
considering that one person may speak more comprised Spanish-speakers.
than one language? Specialised literature has
dealt with this issue within the methodological this situation began to change with the industrial
concepts of bilingualism and diglossia. the word revolution in the nineteenth century, but did so to
diglossia was originally used (Ferguson, 1959) a limited extent, both vertically and horizontally.
to refer to monolingual situations such as the Horizontally speaking, bridge languages, which
one found in the arabic language, where high- were necessary to ensure common training that
prestige arabic, the so-called literary arabic, is would permit social mobility (Gellner, 1983), only
the one found in the Koran and does not match reached the domain of industrialised states,
any of the vernacular varieties of arabic spoken i.e., europe and the united States. Meanwhile,
in different countries. However, Fishman (1965) vertically speaking, expansion was limited to
transferred the concept of diglossia to bilingual the emerging bourgeoisie and urban proletariat,
societies in which one language would be used but not the country folk. In any event, during the
80 part one
nineteenth and much of the twentieth centuries languages, in principle one would have expected
the spread of a lingua franca was at the state the same to happen with global languages in
rather than the global level. When we speak of the twenty-first century. But, surprisingly, this
linguistic globalisation, we refer to a phenomenon does not seem so. according to Graddol (2006,
that took off at the end of the twentieth century, p.114), because global english (Globish) has now
becoming ubiquitous in the twenty-first become a prerequisite to education and work for
century. Furthermore, there cannot be linguistic people with different mother tongues worldwide,
globalisation without a global village, a situation its status as foreign language has been lost;
first recognised by the Canadian philosopher what happens now is that rather than the other
Marshall McLuhan, who assured that: languages becoming structurally impoverished,
this happens to the global language itself:
The new electronic interdependence reveals the
world in the image of a global village (McLuhan, Native speakers of English have enthusiastically
1962, p.31), and later added, Today, after more promoted the learning of their language abroad In
than a century of electric technology, we have the new, rapidly emerging climate, native speakers
extended our central nervous system in a global may increasingly be identified as part of the problem
embrace, abolishing space and time as far as our rather than the source of a solution. They may be
planet is concerned. (McLuhan, 1964, p.3) seen as bringing with them cultural baggage in
which learners wanting to use English primarily as
the expression global village is not synonymous an international language are not interested, or as
with empire. the roman empire or the arab gold plating the teaching process
empire, which included the entire known
world, were not global, likewise nor was the In a world where english has become the global
seventeenth-century Spanish empire or the language, purism is inappropriate. What prevails
nineteenth and twentieth-century British empire, is a simplified language basic English that
even though the sun never set on them and they each person pronounces as is their custom and
literally encompassed the whole globe. Global which is better understood by a Chinese and a
is something new, it has emerged from states, Colombian than by either of them with a native
and is not a simple sum of a number of states as speaker of english. But english is not the only
were the empires in the past. Global is a different global language. If global is defined as present in
reality, brought about not additively but rather via most of the globe and in a process of expansion
a leap. For a global village to exist, the human thanks to new technologies, it is clear that some
senses need to be able to reach the confines of other languages such as Spanish or Chinese
space in an instant, thanks to novel electronic are also global, or rather quasi-global. It is worth
technology, especially the Internet. and because highlighting that the reason they are considered
communication (economic, cultural, political, quasi-global languages does not concern the
scientific, personal) is made in a language, it number of speakers, even though Chinese is the
follows that the only languages to become global worlds first and Spanish the third after english
will be those whose communicative dimension (on an equal footing with Hindi). Coupland (2003)
potentially covers the world over. established the following criteria to define to
what extent a language is global: it allows the
as in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the interdependence of the communities that use
imperial or state languages seriously affected the it; it compresses time and space, thanks to its
sociolinguistic and structural survival of minor extensive use in the Web; is seen as a commodity;
it disembeds cultural concepts, placing them area of influence. the quasi-global status of
within a new framework. this is something that Spanish is very interesting because no Spanish-
can be applied to english worldwide, to Spanish speaking country is an economic power and in
in the americas and Chinese in asia (Figure 1). the american continent it competes with native
american english. one could say that Spanish
as shown in Figure 1, the global expansion is presented as basic Spanish without external
of these three languages reflects the poisson reasons to justify it.
distribution. In the early nineteenth century the
number of speakers was relatively modest in all probably, this fashionable nature of Spanish
cases. During the aforementioned century the (Lpez Garca, 2007) stems from the large
greatest growth corresponds to english, due to number of speakers who coexist; meanwhile,
the growth of the British empire and the u.S. it is not internationally projected as an invasive
In the twentieth century, english has become or arrogant language, something essential to
global and Globish, while the other two have its being accepted as a global language as we
undergone significant growth. presumably, have said. this is possible because, despite
Spanish will become global on an american traditional nineteenth-century normativism,
scale towards the end of the twenty-first century there are several nuclei of current norms (at
while Chinese will reach global proportions in least four: Mexico, Buenos aires, Bogota and
asia during the following century. Madrid), without one imposing itself on the
others (Lpez Garca, 2010), and this without
each language does not reach this status in the taking into account the growth of the Spanish
same way. political and military reasons underlie language in the u.S. setting. nor is the proximity
the strength of english (Crystal, 1997) though of portuguese unconnected to the boom in
it has since become the language of business Spanish, a language which enables it to reach
and of scientific and technological progress. the a global position (spoken in Brazil, angola,
appeal of Chinese rests on the fact that China is Mozambique and east timor): in fact their
destined to be the engine of the global economy, mutual comprehensibility is leading to a flexible
which puts all the other countries in asia in its standard norm for both languages.
FIGURE 1
Number of users
Chinese
english
Spanish
82 part one
381617p64
above, we saw how a parallel can be drawn the global electronic village has disrupted this
between the predator/prey metaphor and pattern. Social networks (MySpace, twitter,
major/minor languages. However, although Facebook, tuenti...) are real, but often use
the predator always eats the prey, in terms majority languages, as they aim to reach as
of evolutionary theory this is not always true, many people as possible. Conversely, on the
because when prey is in short supply, predators Internet, what counts is not mere presence
are also doomed. Concerning language, there but visibility, and this is only guaranteed by the
is obvious complementarity between the number and quality of links, so often a social
communicative strength of a global language text (advertising, political, essay...) reaches many
and of the languages with which it coexists. more people if written in a minority language
If the major language increasingly stifles the than if posted in english. the world of the global
communicative potential of minor languages, in village is different and has completely subverted
the end what will potentially suffer is its status the question of major and minor languages.
as a global language. the future of english Global languages like english, and quasi-global
involves expanding its space as an auxiliary ones such as Spanish or Chinese, should adapt
language, not becoming the universal language. to the new rules governed by code-switching
as highlighted by Graddol (2006, p.116): rather than exclusiveness.
Graddol, D. (2006) English Next. Why global English McLuhan, M. (1962) The Gutenberg Galaxy. London:
may mean the end of English as a Foreign routledge & Kegan paul.
Language. London: British Council.
. (1964) Understanding Media - The Extensions of
Hagge, C. (2000) Halte la mort des langues. paris:
Man. new York: McGraw-Hill.
odile Jacob.
nettle, D. (1998) explaining Global patterns of
Harrison, D. (2007) When languages die: the extinction
Language Diversity. Journal of Anthropological
of the worlds languages and the erosion of human
knowledge. oxford; new York: oxford university Archaeology 17, pp. 354-374.
press. . (1999) Linguistic Diversity. oxford; new York:
Lpez Garca, a. (2007) El boom de la lengua oxford university press.
espaola. Anlisis ideolgico de un proceso philippson, r. (1992) Linguistic Imperialism. oxford;
expansivo. Madrid: Biblioteca nueva.
new York, oxford university press.
. (2010) a vueltas con el policentrismo de la
Woolard, K.a. (2007) La autoridad lingstica del
lengua espaola y sus implicaciones polticas. In
espaol y las ideologas de la autenticidad y el
K. Zimmermann, M. e. Vzquez and F. Segovia
(eds.) Lexicologa, norma e historia del espaol. anonimato. In Jos del Valle (ed.) La lengua,
Homenaje a Luis Fernando Lara. Mxico D.F.: patria comn? Ideas e ideologas del espaol.
Colegio de Mxico. Madrid: Iberoamericana; Frankfurt: Vervuet.
84 part one
85
todas las personas son iguales. as pues, al ensear una lengua debemos ase-
Son sus costumbres las que difieren. gurarnos de que el desarrollo de la competencia
lingstica un requisito previo de la comunica-
Confucio
cin efectiva con hablantes de otras lenguas
se corresponda con un desarrollo de la com-
1. Introduccin
petencia cultural que haga posible la aplicacin
de esa competencia lingstica a las situaciones
Vivimos en un mundo globalizado en el que se
comunicativas del mundo real. esto nos lleva a
habla constantemente de la necesidad de herra-
examinar cmo puede ensearse y aprenderse
mientas lingsticas globalizadas y se seala el
la cultura, lo que tambin implica seleccionar y
ingls como lengua franca global, o el espaol,
sealar cul (y de quin) es la cultura o atribu-
el chino mandarn o el rabe como lenguas mun-
tos culturales que se han de ensear de forma
diales que las personas globalizadas necesitan
explcita.
tener al alcance de la mano. pero una lengua
franca (ya sea el ingls, el espaol, el rabe o el
por encima de todo, debemos recordar que la
chino mandarn) no mejora necesariamente la co-
cultura es un comportamiento aprendido y no
municacin global si los malentendidos culturales
innato o instintivo. Como afirma Margaret Mead
obstaculizan una comunicacin clara y abierta, y
(2002): La cultura es el comportamiento apren-
con ello la construccin de relaciones positivas.
dido de una sociedad o un subgrupo.
86 parte uno
tabla 1
Niveles de cultura
es parte de la narrativa de una comunidad, ya Narrativa: historias que nos contamos sobre
sea local o nacional; toda persona que crezca el grupo al que pertenecemos.
en una comunidad dada oir determinados rela-
tos acerca de la historia, los valores, los aconte-
cimientos o las tradiciones de esa comunidad, 3. La enseanza de lenguas
que pueden llegar a convertirse en parte de su y la cultura: la quinta habilidad
bagaje cultural.
Quienes nos dedicamos a la enseanza de len-
2. Cultura o cultura? guas nos esforzamos por proporcionar a los
alumnos contenidos y tareas que posean au-
En el ingls coloquial hablado en el Reino Unido tenticidad, con el fin de convertirlos en comu-
es normal diferenciar la Cultura con mayscu- nicadores efectivos antes que en recitadores de
la de la cultura con minscula. Se refiere este reglas gramaticales.
matiz a la diferencia entre la pera, el arte y la
literatura, por un lado, y la forma de vida, los Sin embargo, para que la comunicacin inter-
patrones de comportamiento o las tradiciones, nacional entre personas de diferentes comuni-
por otro. Tomalin y Stempleski (1993) diferen- dades (definamos estas como las definamos)
cian estos conceptos con los tiles trminos de se produzca, hace falta algo ms que la mera
cultura adquirida y cultura conductual. competencia lingstica. La comunicacin re-
quiere tambin de entendimiento competen-
As, los diferentes conceptos a los que solemos
cia-cultural.
referirnos con el trmino genrico de cultura
pueden distinguirse del siguiente modo:
Lo que podemos hacer es sensibilizar acerca de
Logros: las artes creativas (las obras de artis- los factores culturales. Al hacerlo, nos concentra-
tas como Mozart, por ejemplo). remos en aguzar la capacidad de observacin, en
fomentar el pensamiento crtico sobre los estereo-
Formas de vida: manera en la que vivimos,
tipos culturales y en desarrollar la tolerancia. Estos
creencia de que la vida debe vivirse de la
son temas culturales que exceden del mbito de
manera en que nosotros lo hacemos.
la enseanza de lenguas. La sensibilizacin cultu-
Identificacin: grupo del que nos sentimos ral es un aspecto de la educacin en valores []
parte (ya sea local, regional, nacional, tni- que trasciende los lmites, a menudo estrechos,
co, etc.). de la enseanza de lenguas. (Alan Maley, 1993)
esto nos conduce a la cuestin de la relevan- La cultura debera ser un aspecto motivador de
cia para el alumno: son los conocimientos una lengua y no una expresin de imperialismo
culturales un aspecto perifrico del aprendizaje cultural; as pues, no ha de ser impuesta, sino
de una lengua? Cuando una persona aprende explorada. La cultura puede convertirse en una
una lengua para viajar o trabajar en otro pas, relacin de poder, en la que una persona in-
necesita formarse en aspectos culturales? La mersa en su C1 trata de imponer sus valores a
respuesta parece ser afirmativa: el aprendizaje otra persona de una C2, o denigra los valores
de una lengua puede ser educativo, adems de de esa C2.
instrumental, y las habilidades culturales pueden
estar relacionadas con el desarrollo laboral. Las comparaciones culturales no deberan ba-
sarse en valoraciones ni constituir una oportu-
as pues, la formacin cultural en el contexto nidad para que la C1 se enaltezca a s misma.
de la enseanza de lenguas es valiosa para los esto puede suponer un problema en la ense-
alumnos, tanto en el nivel instrumental ya que anza de lenguas, en la que no es raro que un
les permite comunicarse de manera ms efecti- docente expatriado ensee a sus alumnos as-
va en el entorno laboral, como en el nivel edu- pectos de su C1 (como parte de la enseanza
cativo ya que les ayuda a construir un modelo de su L1) presentndolos como un modelo, o
ms rico del mundo en el que viven y a determi- como algo superior, en cierto modo, a la C2.
nar cul es su lugar en l.
88 parte uno
... la cultura alfabetizada se ha convertido en la cional enfoque de la enseanza del ingls ilus-
moneda comn de los intercambios sociales y trado por conceptos tpicos como los bobbies
econmicos de nuestra democracia, y es el ni- o las cabinas de telfono rojas), pero esto no
co medio disponible para acceder a la ciudadana
resta validez al concepto general. este enfoque
plena [] el ingreso como miembro es autom-
de la enseanza ha ayudado a promocionar el
tico si se aprende la informacin de contexto y
desarrollo de los British Studies en las universi-
las convenciones lingsticas que se precisan para
leer, escribir y hablar de manera efectiva. dades, como disciplina paralela e incluso como
alternativa a la propia enseanza de la lengua.
La alfabetizacin cultural constituye la nica va
de oportunidades segura para los nios menos
en cualquier caso, el concepto de un ncleo
favorecidos.
bsico de conocimientos es similar al mencio-
nado anteriormente, aunque se sita en un nivel
Hirsch ha establecido un Currculo de Conoci-
diferente de anlisis. Y el principio subyacente
mientos Bsicos (Core Knowledge Curriculum),
es el mismo: si no se comprenden los sistemas
un conjunto indispensable de referencias cultu-
factuales, la historia, los acontecimientos cultu-
rales que todos los nios deberan interiorizar
rales, los personajes, los lugares y las presupo-
para procesar los discursos y textos de la cul-
siciones de una cultura, es muy difcil llegar a
tura que los rodea. as, propone un conjunto de
comprender plenamente el lenguaje usado den-
hechos, personajes, acontecimientos, lugares,
etc., organizados bajo encabezamientos como tro de esta.
Historia, escritores, Msica, Vida Diaria, polti-
ca, Gastronoma o arte, que todo nio debera
aprender. referencia cultural
en la enseanza de lenguas, los alumnos pue-
den conseguir niveles considerables de com-
Landeskunde petencia lingstica sin dejar de experimentar
en tiempos recientes se ha dado un gran desa- dificultades para comprender el discurso y los
rrollo de los estudios especializados en la cul- textos producidos por los hablantes nativos. una
tura de diversas zonas geogrficas (como en el de las razones de este fenmeno es que estas
caso de los British Studies, por ejemplo), que formas lingsticas contienen numerosas refe-
tienen como objetivo instruir a los alumnos acer- rencias culturales que no requieren habilidades y
ca del trasfondo cultural del pas o pases cuya competencias lingsticas para ser descodifica-
lengua estn estudiando. das, sino un conocimiento del contexto cultural.
estas referencias se encuentran principalmente
en el sistema educativo de los pases de ha- en el nivel lxico y presuponen un conocimiento
bla germana existe una asignatura denomina- compartido (asumido) acerca de personas, lu-
da Landeskunde o conocimiento del pas, un gares, acontecimientos, chistes, etc.
trmino que carece de equivalente exacto en
ingls o castellano. el propsito de esta parte para que los alumnos adquieran habilidades en
del currculo es proveer a los alumnos de infor- esta rea, hay que exponerlos a textos con ri-
macin de fondo sobre la cultura cuya lengua queza cultural, y ayudarlos a desarrollar sus ha-
estudian. algunos de los contenidos de esta bilidades de lectura y comprensin oral mientras
asignatura pueden estar demasiado centrados aprenden a identificar de manera explcita las re-
en caractersticas estereotpicas (como el tradi- ferencias culturales que encuentran.
una de las maneras ms fciles de presentar presentamos estos dos fragmentos de discurso
estos conceptos a los alumnos es introducir (ficticios):
ejemplos de referencias culturales internaciona- referencias britnicas
les que sean conocidas por casi todo el mundo Geldof threatened to take his OBE back to the
lo que podramos denominar presupuestos Palace after Paxmans interview with Philip on
culturales. estas referencias pueden ser Newsnight.
simples marcas, personajes o artefactos cono- Geldof amenaz con devolver su oBe al palacio
cidos internacionalmente; por ejemplo, el tro tras la entrevista que paxman le hizo a philip en
Beckham, Britney y burgers constituye un Newsnight1.
modelo de referencia cultural que resulta familiar
referencias estadounidenses
para personas de muchsimas culturas. Did you hear Jays jokes about GE on the Tonite
Show on NBC?
un aspecto muy importante de este proceso Has odo los chistes de Jay sobre Ge en el
es sensibilizar a los alumnos acerca de qu es Tonite Show de la nBC?2
una referencia cultural, no solo con el fin de que
interioricen las de otras culturas, sino tambin pedir a un alumno de ingls, por elevado que
para que aprendan a comunicar la propia. Ser sea su nivel, que descifre estas dos frases de-
ms consciente de la cultura propia, o C1, fa- muestra lo compleja que puede ser esta tarea.
cilita la comunicacin en la misma medida en aquellos alumnos que posean competencia
que lo hace ser consciente de la C2, y permite lingstica pero no hayan visitado los pases
a los hablantes modificar o glosar sus mensa- en cuestin, o no hayan ledo numerosos pe-
jes. una tctica simple de trabajo en grupo que ridicos y revistas britnicas o estadouniden-
fomenta estas actitudes consiste en pedir a los ses, tendrn enormes dificultades para com-
estudiantes de algn idioma que formen equi- prenderlas, aunque son muy simples desde el
pos y dialoguen hasta determinar cules son punto de vista lingstico. esto ilustra la nece-
los cinco personajes, lugares, productos, etc., sidad de incorporar el anlisis de las referen-
que un extranjero que aprenda su idioma debe cias culturales, al menos, a los componentes
conocer para intervenir en una conversacin es- de comprensin lectora de la enseanza de
tndar como la que los propios alumnos podran lenguas.
mantener.
1 [el cantante Bob] Geldof amenaz con devolver su oBe [Order of the British Empire, una condecoracin]
alpalacio [de Buckingham] tras la entrevista que paxman [un presentador de televisin britnico conocido por sus
incisivas entrevistas] le hizo a philip [el consorte de Isabel II] en newsnight [el programa presentado por paxman].
2 Has odo los chistes de Jay [Leno, un famoso presentador y humorista televisivo estadounidense] sobre Ge
[laempresa General electric] en el programa The Tonite Show [Tonight Show, que Jay Leno presenta desde 1992]
de la nBC [cadena televisiva que, de hecho, pertenece al grupo empresarial de la General electric]?
90 parte uno
comentadas anteriormente). nos referimos con ficial, en el mejor de los casos. no es posible
esto a la capacidad de que alguien de una C1 que todos los ciudadanos del pas a sean ex-
entienda que su interlocutor de una C2 se gua tremadamente puntuales, ni que todos los del
por presupuestos, creencias, tradiciones, ex- pas B se comporten de acuerdo con modelos
pectativas e incluso rasgos de personalidad di- empresariales jerrquicos, por muchos ejemplos
ferentes de los suyos. de estos comportamientos que encontremos en
libros como los antes mencionados.
el objetivo de la sensibilizacin cultural es fa-
cilitar la comunicacin entre interlocutores no obstante, s que pueden observarse ten-
procedentes de distintos entornos culturales. dencias en los comportamientos determinados
esta formacin a menudo se basa en situacio- culturalmente. uno de los principales investiga-
nes frecuentes en el mundo profesional y de dores de este campo, Geert Hofstede (1991),
los negocios, y existen numerosos libros (por llev a cabo un conocido estudio sobre los va-
ejemplo, Mole, 1992, o Ferraro, 2002) que pre- lores culturales en el mundo de los negocios.
sentan estudios de caso y escenas extradas De 1967 a 1973, mientras trabajaba en IBM
de la vida real en las que se puede observar como psiclogo, Hofstede reuni y analiz da-
la influencia de las diferencias culturales en el tos de unos 100.000 individuos procedentes
marco laboral. de cuarenta pases distintos. a partir de esos
datos, el investigador desarroll un modelo
Hay docentes de lenguas que protestan ante el que identifica cuatro dimensiones primarias
contexto profesional y de negocios que supone mediante las que se pueden diferenciar las
esta formacin; no obstante, una reflexin ms culturas. el libro que expone esta teora est
profunda en el tema puede llevarlos a concluir hoy un tanto desfasado, ya que las culturas
que la mayor parte de las personas que apren- analizadas han cambiado en el tiempo trans-
den otra lengua no lo hacen por puro amor a la currido desde su publicacin; sin embargo, el
lengua, sino para mejorar su desempeo laboral concepto de dimensiones culturales que pre-
y su currculo. senta sigue siendo til.
esta sensibilizacin cultural ha de tener una entre las escalas de diferencia cultural desarro-
perspectiva neutra; debe presentar las diferen- lladas por Hofstede se incluye el ndice de dis-
cias entre las dos culturas comparadas, pero no tancia de poder (que muestra la horquilla desde
emitir juicios sobre ellas ni generalizar en exceso la igualdad a la desigualdad dentro de una so-
presentando esas diferencias como ubicuas. a ciedad dada) y el ndice de evitacin de la in-
pesar de sus buenas intenciones, este tipo de certidumbre (que mide el nivel de tolerancia a
formacin puede ser contraproducente y con- la incertidumbre y la ambigedad dentro de las
ducir a la insensibilizacin cultural o a la creacin distintas culturas, indicando hasta qu punto los
de estereotipos nacionales, debido a que des- individuos de cada una aceptan las situaciones
taca las diferencias, y no las similitudes, entre desestructuradas). tambin se presentan ndi-
distintos grupos culturales. ces que ilustran las actitudes culturales hacia la
orientacin temporal y los roles de gnero, y el
es importante resaltar que la asignacin de un ndice de individualismo, que sita a las culturas
atributo cultural a a una cultura nacional o re- en la escala que va de la orientacin individual a
gional no es ms que una generalizacin super- la orientacin grupal, esto es, del individualismo
tabLa 2
Individual Colectiva
Los objetivos personales priman sobre los de Los objetivos de grupo priman sobre los
grupo. personales.
pocas obligaciones hacia los dems. Muchas obligaciones hacia los dems.
al colectivismo. el esquema que ofrecemos (ta- es posible que la obra de Hofstede adolezca
bla 2) resume las caractersticas clave de este de sobreinterpretaciones y de generalizaciones
ndice. excesivas, y hay quien afirma que sus catego-
ras pueden utilizarse para definir y defender
este anlisis puede ayudarnos a estructurar y estereotipos culturales. por ello es importante
manejar las necesidades de la enseanza de ser cauteloso con estos temas, y usar sus pro-
lenguas, con el fin de asegurarnos de que lo que puestas para conseguir un objetivo ms positi-
se ensea y se aprende es autntico y aplicable vo y proactivo: el de incrementar la sensibilidad
a situaciones reales en las que la calidad de las hacia las diferencias culturales con el fin de
relaciones depende de la calidad de la comuni- amortiguar las dificultades y los malentendidos
cacin un aspecto que, a su vez, depende de comunicativos.
la comprensin cultural.
Hill (2009) ofrece un ejemplo de esto, extrado 5. Las cinco reas de la cultura
del contexto de la formacin en idiomas para
ejecutivos: tomalin y nicks (2007) adoptan un enfoque ms
pragmtico de la sensibilizacin cultural, y plan-
en rusia, la confianza es un valor cultural funda-
tean la existencia de cinco reas o categoras
mental, y es preciso construir las relaciones per-
diferentes dentro de cada cultura:
sonales antes de abordar las de negocios. Los ru-
sos necesitan comprender el alma y moralidad Conocimientocultural
de sus interlocutores antes de entrar en cualquier
Comportamientosculturales
relacin de trabajo productiva. as pues, aprender
los equivalentes rusos para palabras como vaca Actitudesyvaloresculturales
o mantequilla no sirve para nada. Sin embargo, Preferenciasculturales
dominar unas cincuenta palabras y expresiones
que sirvan para la inevitable conversacin mien- Adaptacincultural
tras se comparte una botella de vodka (Yo soy
Creo en Mis valores familiares consisten en) as, afirman que es importante obtener una
es de enorme utilidad. buena comprensin de las cinco para lograr
92 parte uno
una comunicacin satisfactoria entre personas parte del sistema educativo formal de cada una
de diferentes culturas, al tiempo que avisan del de nuestras culturas. es esencial hacer a los
riesgo de caer en estereotipos: nunca se debe alumnos conscientes de sus propias presupo-
olvidar que las personas somos individuos. no siciones y creencias, de forma que sean ms
nos adaptamos a los perfiles culturales en todos sensibles a los detentados por personas de
sus aspectos. otras culturas.
estos dos autores tambin resaltan algunas de en segundo lugar, habra que incluir las referen-
las competencias lingsticas generales que cias culturales como parte de las habilidades
subyacen a la comunicacin efectiva desde el lectoescritoras de los alumnos en su propia len-
punto de vista cultural, como controlar y filtrar gua (L1) as como en la L2 que aprendan, con
el propio uso de la lengua materna (o L1) con el el fin de sensibilizarlos hacia este aspecto de la
fin de simplificar contenidos para beneficio de comunicacin y hacerlos conscientes de qu
los hablantes de L2; evitar el lenguaje coloquial; aspectos del propio discurso pueden resultar
reducir la velocidad del habla; o hacer pausas oscuros para sus interlocutores.
que permitan seguir el discurso a los oyentes,
evitando los juegos de palabras y teniendo pre- en tercer lugar, debera propiciarse la sensibili-
sentes las referencias culturales. zacin intercultural de los alumnos como parte
de la enseanza de lenguas y de su preparacin
Si estas habilidades de autocontrol lingstico como profesionales inmersos en un mundo glo-
se ensean a los hablantes de L1, y se ponen balizado. esto no solo supondra hacerlos cons-
de relieve para los hablantes de L2 de modo cientes de las diferencias, sino tambin propiciar
que puedan solicitar a sus interlocutores de la tolerancia y respeto hacia estas y ensearles
L1 que ralenticen y simplifiquen su discurso a diluir las tensiones causadas por las diferen-
oral, se podr obtener una comunicacin ms cias culturales.
efectiva.
Con estas medidas, podremos asegurarnos
de que la enorme inversin de esfuerzo in-
6. Conclusiones dividual que se requiere para adquirir com-
petencia lingstica en otra lengua se ve co-
uno de los objetivos de la integracin europea rrespondida por un desarrollo paralelo de las
es reducir las barreras entre personas proce- competencias culturales, lo que permitir a los
dentes de distintos entornos, y no cabe duda alumnos lograr una comunicacin internacio-
de que sensibilizar y hacer conscientes a los nal ms efectiva.
alumnos de las diferencias culturales constitu-
ye un avance fundamental para la consecucin
de este objetivo. para contribuir a alcanzar esta El presente artculo es una adaptacin de una co-
meta pueden hacerse muchas cosas. municacin presentada en el evento Cultural Coo-
peration project results, celebrado en el marco de
en primer lugar, se debe considerar la inclusin las Acciones Descentralizadas del programa Grun-
de aspectos de alfabetizacin cultural como dtvig (Programa Europeo Scrates, Lituania, 2005).
94 parte uno
95
All people are the same. Its only their of effective communication with speakers of
habits that are so different. other languages is matched by a development
Confucius of the cultural competence that underpins the
application of that language proficiency to real-
world communication. this leads us to focus
1. Introduction on how culture can be taught and learned,
which implies also identifying or selecting which
We are living in a globalised world and we (whose) culture or which cultural attributes
talk constantly about the need for globalised should be taught explicitly.
language tools, and point to english as a
global lingua franca, or Spanish and Mandarin above all, it is important to remember that
or arabic as world languages that globalised culture is learned behaviour, not innate or
people need at their fingertips. But a lingua instinctive behaviour.
franca (whether english, Spanish, arabic or
Culture is the learned behaviour of a society or a
Mandarin) does not necessarily improve global
subgroup.
communication if cultural misunderstandings
Margaret Mead, 2002
impede open and clear communication and
positive relationship building.
a better word is probably acquired behaviour,
as conscious learning is not usually involved. a
In his BBC reith Lecture 2007 Jeffrey Sachs,
child acquires the culture of its parents, family,
former Director of the un Millennium project,
community, nation through its interactions with
claimed:
those social groups. It is important to emphasise
Our generations greatest challenge is learning that those cultures are therefore not necessarily
to live in a crowded and interconnected world that national in nature, but a complex layered mix of
is creating unprecedented pressures on human family, community, regional and national cultural
society. concepts and attributes.
effective and successful communication across Hofstede (1991) suggests there are different
borders is not just about language proficiency, levels of culture, each one deeper and less
but also cultural proficiency knowledge conscious than the others, and each requiring
and competence in the cultural aspects of different tools to be uncovered (table 1).
communication, and attitudes to dealing with
aspects of difference and diversity. Sociologist Clifford Geertz (1977) referred to
culture as, the ensemble of stories we tell
Learning or teaching a language always entails ourselves about ourselves.
some aspects, even if unspoken, of cultural
awareness and understanding of cultural beliefs, Culture is part of the narrative of a community
assumptions, and knowledge. (whether local or national), and people who grow
up in a certain community, hear certain stories
In providing language education, then, we about the communitys history, values, events,
need to ensure that the development of the traditions etc., which can become part of that
language proficiency that is a pre-requisite individuals cultural set.
96 part one
tabLE 1
Levels of Culture
Beliefs & values Beliefs about how the world should be.
can help them build a richer model of the world language education specifically, we can define
around them and how they fit into it. four different categories of cultural content:
Landeskunde
4. Cultural categories In recent years there has been a growth in
British and other area studies, which aim to
In determining what sort of cultural content teach students about the cultural background
may apply to adult education in general and to to a country whose language they are studying.
98 part one
In the German-speaking school system, there skills while learning to explicitly identify the
is a subject known as Landeskunde, or cultural references. an easy way to introduce the
knowledge about the country, for which a concept to the learners is to introduce examples
useful english equivalent is unavailable. the of international cultural references, known by
purpose of this part of the curriculum is to give most people, what we might call the cultural
learners some background knowledge to the givens. these can be simple references to global
culture whose language they are studying. brands or personalities or artefacts references
Some of the content can be too focused on such as Beckham, Britney and burgers are
stereotypical characteristics (what is known as examples of cultural reference items which are
the bobbies and red phone boxes approach familiar to people in many cultures.
to teaching english), but this does not invalidate
the approach in general. this approach has an important aspect here is sensitising learners
helped to support the development of British to what constitutes a cultural reference, not only
Studies in universities as a parallel or even so they can learn another culture but so they
an alternative to the teaching of the language can also communicate their own. Being more
itself. aware of ones own C1 supports communication
as much as being aware of C2, and allows us
In either case, the core approach is similar, to modify or gloss what we discuss. a simple
though at different levels of analysis. and the core workshop application here is to ask language
principle is the same: without an understanding learners to brainstorm in groups what five
of the factual systems, history, cultural events people, places, products etc. a foreigner learning
and people, places, assumptions, it is hard to their language would need to know about to
have a full understanding of the language which understand an average social conversation that
the culture uses. learners may have when conversing in their own
language.
complex a task it can be. Learners who are comparisons and refusing to over-generalise
linguistically proficient but have not visited the about the ubiquity of these differences. Despite
country or have not read a lot of newspapers the best of intentions, this sort of training can
and magazines in u.K. or u.S. english would be counter-productive, and lead to cultural
find it very hard to make sense of these insensitivity or national stereotyping, because of
utterances, even though linguistically they the focus on difference rather than similarity
are very simple. this highlights the need to between cultural groups.
incorporate cultural reference analysis into at
least the reading comprehension components It is important to stress that the assignment
of language education. of cultural attribute a to a national or regional
culture is only at best a superficial generalisation.
not all citizens of country a are extremely
Cross-cultural awareness punctual nor citizens of country B focused on
the other main area of cultural training required, hierarchical corporate models, despite the many
especially for the world of professional work examples in such business books.
and business, is cultural awareness (which
of course includes broadly aspects of the there are, however, trends that can be
previous categories). By this we mean an ability observed in culturally determined behaviour.
for someone from C1 to understand that their one of the leading researchers in this field,
interlocutor from C2 has different assumptions, Geert Hofstede (1991), carried out a now-
beliefs, traditions, expectations and even famous study of cultural values in the world of
personality traits. business. From 1967 to 1973, while working
at IBM as a psychologist, he collected and
the goal of cultural awareness training is to build analysed data from over 100,000 individuals
awareness in order to facilitate communication from 40 countries. From those results he
between interlocutors from different cultural developed a model that identifies four primary
backgrounds. training is often based around dimensions to differentiate cultures. this
business situations and several books book is now somewhat outdated in the time
(e.g.Mole, 1992, Ferraro, 2002) have proved elapsed (as cultures have changed), but his
popular by introducing case studies and real-life concept of cultural dimensions is still useful,
scenarios in which cultural differences can be however.
observed in work situations.
Hofstedes various measures of cultural
Some language teachers may object to the difference included the power Distance Index
business contexts of such training, though on (which shows the range from equality to
reflection will probably realise that most people inequality in a society) and the uncertainty
learn another language in order to improve their avoidance Index (which scores cultures on the
work and professional skills, not out of pure love level of tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity
for the language. within the society, indicating the level of comfort
with unstructured situations). Further measures
Cultural awareness training needs to be value- illustrate cultural attitudes to time orientation and
neutral, presenting differences that may exist, gender roles, and the Individualism Index which
but not judging two cultures through these measures cultures from individual-oriented to
tabLE 2
Individual-oriented Group-oriented
personal goals over group goals Group goals over personal goals
group-oriented, from the individualistic to the categories can be used to define and defend
collectivist. the key attributes of this Index are cultural stereotypes. It is important to guard
summarised in the chart (table 2). against this, and use his insights to achieve a
more positive and pro-active aim, namely to
What this can show us is how to structure increase awareness of cultural differences in
and arrange the needs of language education order to lessen communication difficulties and
to ensure that what is taught and learned is
misunderstandings.
authentic and applicable to real-world situations
where the quality of a relationship depends
on the quality of the communication which
5. the Five Cs of culture
in turns needs to be informed by cultural
understanding.
tomalin and nicks (2007) take a more pragmatic
approach to cultural awareness and posit the
Hill (2009) gives an example of this from
existence of 5 distinct areas or categories of
corporate language training contexts:
culture:
In Russia, trust is an important cultural value and culturalknowledge
relationships need to be built before any business
is conducted. Russians need to understand culturalbehaviours
their business counterparts soul and morality culturalvaluesandattitudes
before they can enjoy any productive working
relationship. Learning the words for cow or culturalpreferences
butter will therefore, get you nowhere. However, culturaladaptation
50 words and phrases for the inevitable vodka
conversation: I am I believe in my family and argue that an understanding of these is
values are will be invaluable. important for international communication while
Hill, 2009 warning against stereotyping:
Hofstedes work can be over-interpreted or Never forget that people are individuals. They
over-generalised, and it can be argued that his dont conform to the cultural profile in all respects.
they also highlight some of the broader linguistic this heading we should train students not only
competences that support culturally-effective in awareness of difference, but in respect and
communication, such as monitoring and filtering tolerance of difference and reconciliation of
your use of your own language (your L1) to tension between cultural differences.
simplify the content for L2 speakers; avoiding
slang; reducing speech speed, and adding In these ways we can ensure that the enormous
pauses to allow listeners to catch up, avoiding investment required of individuals in developing
jokes and being aware of cultural references. linguistic proficiency is matched by a similar
development of cultural competences that will
If these self-monitoring skills can be taught to help them achieve more effective international
L1 speakers, and made visible to L2 learners communication.
so that they can ask L1 speakers to slow down
and simplify, then more effective communication This article is adapted from a presentation included
can result. in the Cultural Cooperation Project Results of
the Grundtvig Decentralised Actions (EU Socrates
programme, Lithuania 2005).
6. Conclusion
(L2) that they learn, in order to build awareness Mole, J. (1992) Mind Your Manners. London: nicholas
of this aspect of communication, and build Brealey.
sensitivity towards what your conversation tomalin, B. and nicks, M. (2007) The Worlds Business
partners may not understand. Cultures and How to Unlock them. London:
thorogood.
thirdly, we should teach cross-cultural tomalin, B. and Stempleski, S. (1993) Cultural
awareness to students as part of language Awareness. oxford: oxford university press.
education and preparation of professional trompenaars, F. (2003) Business Across Cultures.
skills for working in a globalised world. under London: Capstone.
La lengua
en el sistema
educativo
part tWo
Language in the
education
system
por qu el espaol?
teresa tinsley
107
matriculados en 2000. Un tercio de los centros santander o Zara, con una presencia prominen-
de secundaria de Inglaterra afirman haber refor- te en las mejores calles de las ciudades euro-
zado la oferta de la asignatura de espaol en los peas, ha reforzado el gancho econmico del
ltimos tres aos. espaol como lengua til en el entorno laboral
y empresarial. No obstante, podran citarse em-
Cules son los factores que estn influyendo presas similares radicadas en Francia o alema-
en este cambio? tras las estadsticas hay una nia que no ejercen un efecto comparable en el
compleja mezcla de actitudes sociales, intere- aprendizaje del francs o el alemn de hecho,
ses acadmicos, limitaciones en los recursos, hay ms ofertas de trabajo que solicitan el domi-
hechos todava no asimilados completamente y nio de estas dos lenguas que el del espaol7,
percepciones (a veces errneas) de los alum- de modo que, claramente, los aspectos econ-
nos; y, por encima de todo, el innegable atrac- micos son solo parte de la historia.
tivo cultural que ejercen tanto espaa como
Latinoamrica. Como veremos, el atractivo de
la cultura hispanoamericana no solo llega desde 4. Viajes y turismo
estos pases, sino tambin desde ee.UU.
de acuerdo con la organizacin Mundial del tu-
rismo, un organismo de Naciones Unidas, es-
3. Factores econmicos paa es el tercer pas del mundo ms visitado
por los turistas, tras Francia y ee.UU.8 La acce-
el poder econmico del espaol reside en sus sibilidad y atractivo de este pas como destino
cifras. Como seala Franois Grin, el valor de turstico, especialmente para los jvenes, influye
mercado de una lengua es mayor cuanta ms indudablemente en la percepcin del espaol
gente la habla; el espaol tiene un total de 420 como lengua til y atractiva especialmente en
millones de hablantes en todo el mundo y, se- el reino Unido, donde espaa es, de lejos, el
gn el portal Ethnologue4, sus hablantes nativos primer destino turstico. pero aqu, de nuevo,
superan a los del ingls. tambin es la tercera podemos preguntarnos por qu el influjo del
lengua ms usada en Internet5 tras el ingls y el turismo no beneficia tambin al francs, sien-
chino mandarn, con un 8 % de los contenidos do Francia la principal receptora de turistas del
de la web (en 2000 este porcentaje era de un mundo; o por qu el atractivo de Berln, una ciu-
6 %). en europa, el espaol se beneficia tanto dad visitada por muchsimos jvenes, no propi-
de ser una lengua local necesaria para comer- cia que ms de ellos estudien alemn. Muchos
ciar con pases adyacentes o cercanos (a dife- ciudadanos britnicos poseen inmuebles en es-
rencia del chino mandarn) como de su papel de paa, y a menudo se alude a esto como acicate
lengua global necesaria para los negocios mul- para el estudio del espaol; pero una vez ms,
tinacionales6. el carcter cada vez ms interna- lo mismo puede decirse de Francia, de modo
cional de empresas espaolas como el Banco que tampoco este argumento parece vlido.
9 Consejera de educacin en el reino Unido e Irlanda (2006). percepciones de los alumnos de 9. curso acerca
de la lengua y cultura espaolas.
10 tinsley (2008).
6. La continuidad con la lengua estudiada en otra ms difcil aunque, en realidad, esta afirma-
primaria. cin no est respaldada por ningn estudio. Y,
7. Los trayectos formativos disponibles para dado que tanto los centros educativos como los
continuar estudiando la lengua. alumnos desean obtener buenos resultados en las
pruebas nacionales, prefieren elegir lenguas ms
Hasta ahora hemos tratado temas relacionados accesibles en apariencia. Una encuesta realizada
con los tres primeros puntos; los restantes son to- en el reino Unido sita al espaol como la len-
dos de carcter pragmtico, y pueden ser crucia- gua ms fcil de aprender de una lista de diez11,
les para determinar la utilidad prctica de ofrecer teniendo en cuenta factores como la pronuncia-
una u otra lengua. Mientras que el chino mandarn, cin, la gramtica, la ortografa, el vocabulario y la
el rabe o el urdu podran obtener puntuaciones lectura (el francs est en sexto lugar, empatado
altas en los tres primeros factores al menos en con el gals y el rabe). evidentemente, esto no
el reino Unido, no cumplen con los criterios res- responde solo a la intencin de ahorrar esfuerzos.
tantes. existen serios obstculos en la formacin si los estudiantes pueden alcanzar un nivel alto
disponible para los docentes, la evaluacin y los con rapidez, les resulta ms fcil mantener la mo-
recursos curriculares, que impiden establecer es- tivacin y podrn empezar antes a disfrutar de los
tas lenguas como opciones realistas a la misma beneficios de hablar otra lengua.
altura que las ofrecidas tradicionalmente. el espa-
ol, por su parte, satisface todos los criterios: es
tanto una lengua presente en la sociedad, hablada 7. Conclusiones
por colectivos extensos de espaoles y latinoame-
ricanos residentes en el reino Unido, como una el Foro empresarial sobre Multilingismo de la
lengua europea occidental de raz latina con una Ue lleg a la conclusin de que europa est
slida tradicin literaria y una larga trayectoria de desaprovechando su potencial lingstico para
enseanza como lengua extranjera de hecho, desarrollar todos los beneficios del mercado
junto al italiano, cuya popularidad est tambin en nico 12. a pesar de la retrica popular sobre
alza, es una de las escasas lenguas de inmigra-
el alcance de la inmigracin, solo el 2 % de los
cin que se ensean como lengua extranjera.
trabajadores europeos viven y trabajan en un
existe otro factor, tambin de carcter pragmtico, estado miembro del que no son originarios, y
que no se menciona en los documentos oficiales, la lengua constituye una gran barrera para esta
pero que tiene un indudable inters tanto para movilidad. el grupo Lenguas para el trabajo se
los alumnos como para los centros educativos: fund con la intencin de investigar cmo hacer
la facilidad de aprendizaje de la lengua. para los confluir la oferta y la demanda de capacidades
hablantes de las principales lenguas europeas, el lingsticas, y cmo aprovechar en mayor me-
espaol resulta ms fcil que otros idiomas que dida los beneficios que puede proporcionar la
usan alfabetos diferentes o que provienen de fa- movilidad tanto a las empresas como a los indi-
milias lingsticas distintas. es un lugar comn que viduos. No obstante, las necesidades lingsti-
los estudiantes deben aprender en primer lugar cas a menudo son transitorias e impredecibles.
una lengua similar a la propia antes de abordar Un problema de seguridad internacional, un
acontecimiento de alcance mundial o una opor- estos aspectos y se proporcionan a los adultos j-
tunidad de negocio excepcional pueden crear venes oportunidades reales de aprender nuevas
una demanda inmediata de hablantes de una lenguas durante sus carreras profesionales, tanto
lengua determinada, junto a otras capacidades el ingls como el espaol pueden contribuir a la
especializadas. Y sin embargo, es imposible causa del multilingismo en europa.
aprender una lengua de la noche a la maana;
requiere una inversin a largo plazo del sistema Referencias bibliogrficas citadas
educativo. el mercado laboral relacionado con
Comisin EuropEa (2008). Las lenguas facilitan los
las lenguas es extremadamente complejo, y la negocios: Las empresas con idiomas rinden ms.
alta movilidad de las personas multilinges en recomendaciones del Foro empresarial sobre
busca de empleo incrementa su complejidad. Multilingismo creado por la Comisin europea.
en pases como espaa o Irlanda, que estn DoylE, T. y mEara, p. (1991). Lingo! How to Learn a
sufriendo especialmente la crisis econmica, Language. Londres: BBC Books.
los jvenes muestran un inters renovado por el Elan (2006). Effects on the European Economy of
aprendizaje de lenguas extranjeras13. Hay quien Shortages of Foreign Language Skills in Enterprise.
afirma que los jvenes del presente tendrn que Informe preparado por CILt, the National Centre for
trabajar en oficios que an no existen, usando Languages, para la Comisin europea, diciembre de
tecnologas de las que todava no disponemos, 2006, pg. 76. disponible en: http://ec.europa.eu/
y compitiendo en un entorno global muy dife- education/policies/lang/doc/elan_final_report_en.pdf.
rente del actual14. Cmo deben responder a EuryDiCE nETwork (2008). Cifras clave para la ensean
esto quienes disean los planes educativos, o za de lenguas en los centros escolares de Euro
pa. Bruselas: eaCea. disponible en: http://eacea.
los padres que tratan de aconsejar a sus hijos?
ec.europa.eu/education/eurydice/documents/
entre tantas incertidumbres, se detectan al- key_data_series/095es.pdf.
gunas indicaciones claras a las que aferrar- Grin, F. (2003). Language planning and economics.
se. est claro que la cooperacin internacional Current issues in language planning, 4, 1, pp. 1-66.
en el comercio, la diplomacia, la seguridad y minisTErio DE EDuCaCin DE Espaa (2009). El mundo
el intercambio de conocimientos es vital para estudia espaol 2009. subdireccin General
nuestro futuro en este planeta. Como tambin de Cooperacin Internacional. disponible en:
http://www.educacion.es/redele/elmundo/
est claro que el multilingismo est aqu para
elmundo2009.shtml.
quedarse, de modo que siempre existir la necesi-
QualiFiCaTions anD CurriCulum DEvElopmEnT aGEnCy
dad de aprender y usar lenguas diferentes a la ma-
(2011). Languages that schools may teach.
terna. se sabe que aprender una lengua extranjera
disponible en: http://curriculum.qcda.gov.uk/key-
hace ms fcil aprender otras, y que la motivacin stages-3-and-4/subjects/key-stage-3/modern-
es clave para el xito. aprender otras lenguas du- foreign-languages/languages/index.aspx. ltima
rante la primaria y la secundaria debe servir para consulta: 6/05/11.
desarrollar la competencia intercultural y para crear TinslEy, T. (2008). think global, act local, how spanish
estrategias con las que aprender otras lenguas en can provide us with the keys to reviving language
el futuro, abriendo el camino para una trayectoria learning. Vida Hispnica, 38, otoo de 2008, pp.
de formacin permanente. si se tienen en cuenta 19-24.
13 Vase, por ejemplo, spains jobseekers flock back to class, The Daily Nation, 10/05/11.
14 the World is Changing Fast, Work inspiration. disponible en: http://www.youtube.com.
Why spanish?
teresa tinsley
113
research shows that european businesses according to the latest figures available
require a very wide range of languages 1 to from eurydice3, spanish is the fourth foreign
boost trade and cooperation both within the eU language in europe, learnt by 7.6 % of pupils
and with third countries, yet there is a notable in lower secondary, and 15.4 % in upper
lack of interest in learning languages apart from secondary education. It is at its strongest in
english. representatives from member states France, where it is studied by nearly two thirds
at the european Commissions Languages of pupils, and in sweden and denmark with
for Jobs group, which has been meeting 40 % and 28 % of pupils respectively. In the
regularly in Brussels over the past year, have U.K., it has recently overtaken German as the
noted that the reluctance to go beyond english second foreign language taught after French,
affects both english-speaking and non-english but it is the speed of its rise, in a context
speaking countries. Whilst english-speaking of general decline in language learning in
countries find themselves at the bottom of secondary schools, that is most striking. From
the european league in terms of language 2000 to 2010, exam entries at GCse (the exam
performance, in other countries english often taken by 15-16 year olds) in modern languages
has more the status of a basic skill than a generally declined by 36 %; yet this figure hides
foreign language, and other languages struggle an astonishing 32 % increase in the number of
to attract students. pupils taking spanish. the pattern is the same
for a-level (the exam normally taken by 17-
However, one language seems to be bucking 18 year olds). entries for all modern language
this trend, particularly where students are given subjects have declined by 9 % in the last 10
more of a choice about which language to years, yet spanish has increased by 33 %.
study. From Belgium to Bulgaria, and certainly and these are not just large percentages on
in the U.K., spanish is becoming an increasingly a small numerical baseline: more than 16,000
popular language2. so what is behind this surge additional teenagers took spanish as a GCse
of interest? Is it economic, or cultural? or the lure in 2010 than in 2000. one third of english
of a lesser taught language which appears easy secondary schools say they have increased
to learn? and how should education planners provision for spanish in the last three years.
and policymakers respond to the evident
success of spanish in motivating learners, and What factors are influencing this change?
balance this with other considerations when Behind the statistics is a complex mix of
deciding which languages should be taught social attitudes, school interests, resourcing
within the school curriculum? constraints, half-digested facts and student
4 Grin (2003).
5 http://www.ethnologue.com. Last accessed: 6/05/11.
6 http://www.internetworldstats.com. Last accessed: 6/05/11.
7 eLaN, op cit.
8 see, for example, CBI education and skills survey 2011.
9 http://www.unwto.org/. Last accessed: 6/05/11.
10 Year 9 perceptions on spanish language and culture, November 2006, Consejera de educacin en el reino
Unido e Irlanda.
european route, was an important influence. agency, the QCda, identifies the following
Class factors seemed to play a role too: spain factors that secondary schools may wish to
is a country in which ordinary U.K. teenagers consider in deciding which languages to offer12:
have no difficulty imagining themselves and,
1. the desirability of offering pupils some
importantly, imagining themselves having fun
degree of choice over the language(s) they
while France is perhaps more associated with
wish to learn.
high culture and privilege11. at the time when
david Beckham was signed to real Madrid, 2. the usefulness of the language in question
course providers cited the Beckham effect as for personal or career reasons (noting that
stimulating an increase in take-up for spanish, widely-spoken world languages such as
and the strength and glamour of spanish arabic or spanish may appeal because of
football may well be another contributing factor their potential usefulness in the future).
in encouraging young people to study spanish. 3. Local and regional needs, such as community
the spanish tourist authorities have done an or transport links, or major local employers.
excellent job in consistently promoting a varied, 4. the availability of teachers.
attractive spanish culture and the marketing
5. the availability of teaching and learning
coverage they have achieved across europe and
resources.
beyond must surely have had an impact too.
6. Continuity from primary school.
7. available pathways to continue studying the
6. Language planning in the school language.
curriculum
We have discussed issues relating to the first
so far we have talked about learner demand three factors above. the remaining points
to learn spanish including, of course, parental are all pragmatic ones, likely to be of crucial
influence and we have noted that the more importance in determining the practicality
choice learners have, the more they tend to opt of offering a particular language. Whilst
for spanish. But very often it is not the learners Mandarin, arabic or Urdu might score on the
or their parents who are making the choices, first three at least in the U.K. they cannot
but the educational institutions planning which meet the other criteria. there are serious
languages to offer. planners should certainly blockages for schools in teacher training, in
take into account the preferences of their assessment and in curriculum resources to
consumers particularly for a subject like establish these languages as a genuine choice
languages where motivation is so important alongside those traditionally offered. spanish
but they also need to think strategically about scores on all counts. It is both a community
the future needs of the country, the jobs market, language spoken by extensive spanish and
and, crucially, what is possible to offer within the Latin american communities in the U.K., and a
constraints available. the english curriculum Latin-based, Western european language with
11 tinsley (2008).
12 http://curriculum.qcda.gov.uk/key-stages-3-and-4/subjects/key-stage-3/modern-foreign-languages/languages/
index.aspx. Last accessed: 6/05/11.
a strong literary tradition and a history of being of the single market14. despite popular rhetoric
taught as a foreign language one of the very on the extent of immigration, only 2 % of the
few immigrant languages, along with Italian european workforce live and work in a member
(also increasingly popular), that is also taught state that is not their own, and language is a
as a foreign language. major barrier. the Languages for Jobs group
was set up to consider how to improve the
there is another factor, also very pragmatic, match of supply and demand for language
which is not mentioned in official documents, skills, and move closer to realising the benefits
but which is of great interest to schools and of mobility for both businesses and individuals.
learners alike: how easy a language is to learn. However, language needs are often transient
For speakers of the major european languages, and unpredictable. a sudden international
spanish is easier than languages which use security issue, a major event on the world stage
different scripts or come from different language or an exceptional business opportunity can
families. It is received wisdom that pupils should create an immediate demand for a particular
first learn a language which is more similar to language alongside other specialist skills.
their own before trying a more difficult one Yet learning a language cannot be achieved
although this is unproved and unresearched. overnight; it requires long-term investment by
Both schools and learners will want to obtain the education system. the labour market for
good examination results, so there is an languages is extremely complex, and the fact
incentive to choose what appears to be an that multilingual jobseekers are highly mobile
easier language. spanish has been rated as the makes it more so. there has been an upsurge
easiest of ten languages for english speakers of language learning amongst young people
to learn13, taking into account pronunciation, in countries like Ireland and spain, which are
grammar, writing and spelling, vocabulary and suffering most from the economic crisis15. It
reading (French came sixth equal, with Welsh has been noted that young people growing
and arabic.) It is not just a question of saving up today will need to do jobs which do not
effort, of course. If learners can reach higher yet exist, using technologies which are not
levels more quickly, motivation is easier to yet available, and they will be competing in
sustain and they can start to enjoy the benefits global environment which is very different from
of speaking another language sooner. todays16. What are planners to make of this; or
parents, trying to advise their children?
that multilingualism is here to stay, so there will european Commission. (2008) Languages mean
always be a need to learn and use languages business: companies work better with languages.
other than mother tongues. We know that recommendations from the Business Forum for
Multilingualism 2008.
knowing one foreign language makes it easier
to learn another, and that motivation is the eurydice Network. (2008) Key Data on Teaching
key to success. Learning languages at school Languages at School in Europe 2008 Edition.
B r u s s e l s : C o m m i s s i o n o f t h e e u ro p e a n
should develop intercultural competence, and
Communities. http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/
strategies to help learn other languages in the
eurydice/documents/key_data_series/095es.pdf.
future, paving the way for lifelong language
Grin, F. (2003) Language planning and economics.
learning. provided these approaches are
Current issues in language planning, vol. 4/1, pp.
borne in mind, and that there are genuine
166.
opportunities for young adults to learn new
Ministerio de educacin de espaa. (2009) El mundo
languages at a later stage in their careers, both
estudia espaol 2009. subdireccin General
spanish and english can both serve the cause de Cooperacin Internacional. http://www.
of greater multilingualism in europe. educacion.es/redele/elmundo/elmundo2009.
shtml/.
Qualifications and Curriculum development agency.
References (2011) Languages that schools may teach. http://
curriculum.qcda.gov.uk/key-stages-3-and-4/
doyle, t. and Meara, p. (1991) Lingo! How to Learn a subjects/key-stage-3/modern-foreign-languages/
Language. London: BBC Books. languages/index.aspx. Last accessed: 6/05/11.
eLaN. (2006) Effects on the European Economy of tinsley, t. (2008) think global, act local, how spanish
Shortages of Foreign Language Skills in Enterprise. can provide us with the keys to reviving language
http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/lang/doc/ learning. Vida Hispnica 38, Autumn 2008, pp.
elan_final_report_en.pdf. 1924.
119
rendimiento inferior a la media (Cummins, 2000). las autoridades educativas no siempre com-
La reciente introduccin del ingls como lengua prenden el ingente esfuerzo que requiere elevar
vehicular para las asignaturas de Ciencias y el nivel lingstico y las habilidades docentes del
Matemticas en los sistemas educativos de al- profesorado, as como la capacidad lingstica
gunos pases tambin se enfrenta a problemas; de los alumnos: la planificacin y capacidad
Malasia, por ejemplo, cuyo sistema educativo que esto requiere, los costes, el plazo necesario
comenz a ofrecer estas dos asignaturas en in- para que los nuevos programas ofrezcan resul-
gls en 2003, cerrar este programa en 2012. tados, la necesidad de gestin y, sobre todo,
Muchos consideran que los estndares de logro los riesgos potenciales que estos programas
acadmico en Ciencias y Matemticas son de- presentan para los estndares nacionales de
masiado bajos (Zain, 2010), especialmente en educacin.
las zonas rurales, y esto ha sido objeto de un
amplio debate poltico de alcance nacional.
2. Factores de xito en los
por qu resulta tan difcil impartir asignaturas programas de alcance nacional
en L2 en programas de alcance nacional? en
primer lugar, porque muchos docentes care- el presente artculo se propone delinear las con-
cen de la capacidad lingstica requerida, y no diciones clave que determinan el xito de los
disponen de herramientas pedaggicas que les programas educativos de alcance nacional en
permitan ensear sus asignaturas a alumnos una L2 como lengua vehicular, e indicar lo drs-
con conocimientos bajos de la L2. Numerosos tica que debe ser la intervencin de las autorida-
alumnos presentan un nivel bajo e incluso des en los sistemas educativos de estos pases
inexistente en la L2, especialmente si el pro- si se desea que estos programas funcionen.
grama comienza en su primer ao de escolari-
zacin. en algunos contextos, como por ejem-
plo en el frica rural, los alumnos tienen escasa Los alumnos
exposicin a la L2 dentro de su comunidad Los alumnos deben manejar la lengua con sol-
(trappes-Lomax, 1990). adems, algunos pro- tura suficiente como para aprender contenidos
vienen de familias con un nivel socioeconmico transmitidos en ella. si se encuentran por deba-
bajo, lo que puede constituir una barrera para jo de un nivel lingstico determinado, captarn
el aprendizaje en general y para el aprendizaje los contenidos peor de lo que lo haran en su L1.
en una L2 en particular. parte de los alumnos, el principio fundamental que subyace al apren-
especialmente en los primeros cursos, carecen dizaje en L2 es el siguiente: si un alumno care-
de un nivel adecuado de habilidades cognitivas ce de fluidez suficiente en la L2, usarla como
y de lectoescritura en su L1. escasean los ma- lengua vehicular hace que el aprendizaje sea
teriales lectivos adecuados, y los recursos de dificultoso, poco efectivo y lento. si este es el
los centros para financiar la enseanza en L2 caso de muchos de los alumnos de un sistema
suelen ser insuficientes. La motivacin de los educativo, la educacin en una L2 como lengua
alumnos, padres y docentes hacia la enseanza vehicular aminora el nivel de logro educativo de
en L2 como lengua vehicular puede no siempre todo el pas.
ser alta. son escasos los equipos directivos con
experiencia en la aplicacin de polticas efecti- el contexto lectivo tambin influye en la capaci-
vas para la enseanza en una L2. por ltimo, dad de los alumnos para aprender en una L2.
en este punto destacan dos factores. el primero lar sugieren que, si los alumnos poseen una
es el nivel socioeconmico: los alumnos cuyas buena competencia lingstica cognitiva aca-
familias presentan un nivel socioeconmico ele- dmica (o CaLp, segn sus siglas en ingls) en
vado tienden a encontrar ms fcil el aprendiza- su L1, y los centros educativos les ofrecen un
je en una L2 (Lin y Man, 2009; Ferguson, 2006). apoyo adecuado, pueden transferir gran parte
Y, al contrario, los nios provenientes de familias de esta competencia a la L2 (Cummins, 2000).
con un bajo nivel educativo y econmico pue- podemos comprobar esto en la educacin de
den encontrar ms difcil el proceso educativo alumnos procedentes de minoras etnolingsti-
en general, y especialmente si la lengua vehicu- cas. en el reino Unido, por ejemplo, un alumno
lar es una L2. esto se hace desesperadamente somal que carezca de competencia lectoescri-
evidente en el frica subsahariana, por ejemplo, tora en su L1 y no tenga demasiada experien-
donde la mayora de los alumnos muestra un cia lectiva tender a aprender los contenidos en
bajo desempeo en la L2, una tendencia que no ingls mucho ms lentamente que un alumno
aplica en la misma medida a aquellos que pro- de origen polaco que tenga una buena educa-
vienen de familias de clase media (afitsca et al., cin en su lengua. en frica, la educacin en L2
2011). del mismo modo, los grupos tnicos mi- arranca despus de tres o cuatro cursos duran-
noritarios de los pases industrializados tienden te los cuales no ha habido un buen afianzamien-
a mostrar un nivel bajo de logro acadmico, to de las habilidades cognitivas y lectoescritoras
pero los pertenecientes a grupos con un nivel en la L1. de hecho, hay quien defiende que los
socioeconmico superior a la media pueden di- alumnos africanos precisan de al menos seis
ferenciarse en este aspecto. en el reino Unido, cursos de educacin inicial de calidad durante
por ejemplo, muchos alumnos cuyas familias los que se desarrolle la CaLp en su L1 antes
son de origen chino o indio, situadas en la clase de emprender el aprendizaje de algunas asig-
media y con aspiraciones de ascenso social, se naturas en la L2 (Heugh, 2006). en europa, el
sitan en el nivel ms alto de logro acadmico aICLe tiende a aplicarse mayoritariamente du-
del pas (dfes, 2006). algunos programas selec- rante la etapa de secundaria, tras una etapa de
tivos de educacin en una L2 como los pro- primaria con educacin de calidad en la L1. en
gramas de inmersin aplicados en Norteam- otros programas de alcance nacional, como los
rica o los existentes en centros privados (Lin y establecidos en algunos pases del Golfo pr-
Man, 2009) tienden igualmente a presentar un sico o en el sureste de asia, la enseanza de
alumnado de nivel socioeconmico relativamen- Ciencias y Matemticas en ingls tiende a obte-
te alto. esto mismo se puede aplicar a algunos ner mejores resultados en las comunidades ms
programas europeos de aICLe, aunque no a to- pudientes.
dos. Y sin embargo, los programas de alcance
nacional deben proporcionar educacin a todos Las autoridades educativas deben responder
los alumnos independientemente de su nivel so- a las necesidades de los alumnos dotando de
cioeconmico, lo que implica que muchos de mayores recursos a los centros educativos que
ellos experimentan grandes dificultades. ms dificultades experimenten. tambin deben
adoptar las medidas precisas para apoyar la
otro factor de xito relacionado con el anterior educacin en una L2 como lengua vehicular en
es el nivel de habilidades de aprendizaje de los todos los centros. en los programas de alcan-
alumnos en su L1. Las investigaciones sobre ce nacional, la competencia de los alumnos en
la educacin en una L2 como lengua vehicu- la L2 es variable, pero el nivel medio dentro
del sistema educativo en su conjunto suele ser nar este tipo de formacin para los docentes de
medio-bajo, lo que no basta para asegurar un determinadas asignaturas de todo el pas. en
buen logro acadmico general en la L2. por primer lugar, resulta caro; en segundo, consu-
tanto, deben aplicarse mtodos para apoyar a me mucho tiempo; y en tercero, no es fcil para
estos alumnos. de ellos, el ms importante es las autoridades educativas encontrar, ya sea en
la pedagoga especializada: los docentes han el propio pas o en el extranjero, expertos que
de recibir formacin especfica que compense puedan proporcionar estos cursos, enriquecin-
la baja capacidad de los alumnos en la len- dolos con una orientacin especializada en el
gua vehicular. el segundo en importancia es lenguaje propio de la enseanza de las asigna-
la provisin de materiales lectivos diseados turas en cuestin.
especficamente para alumnos con un nivel
bajo en la L2. el tercero consiste en optimizar por otra parte, si los profesores imparten cla-
la enseanza de la L2 como asignatura en s ses a alumnos con poca competencia en la L2,
misma. el cuarto es instaurar una poltica de deben disponer de herramientas pedaggicas
gestin integral de los centros educativos que que les permitan compensar la baja eficiencia
apoye la educacin en L2. en las siguientes en el aprendizaje producida por las carencias
secciones ampliaremos cada uno de estos lingsticas. La fluidez en la L2 no es suficien-
cuatro puntos. te; de hecho, un docente puede manejar la L2
con soltura impecable y, al mismo tiempo, ser
incapaz de hacer comprensible su asignatura
Las herramientas docentes a alumnos como los citados. para lograrlo, los
Los docentes precisan de habilidades tanto profesores necesitan unos conocimientos peda-
lingsticas como pedaggicas. en lo que res- ggicos especializados que resultan familiares
pecta a las lingsticas, deben hablar la L2 con para todos los que trabajan en la educacin de
suficiente fluidez. si no alcanzan un nivel mnimo minoras o en contextos de aICLe. entre otras
de competencia en la lengua vehicular, carece- cosas, este enfoque supone amplificar los con-
rn de competencia para impartir su asignatura: tenidos lectivos mucho ms de lo que hace la
no podrn explicar los conceptos con claridad, enseanza convencional en L1 (Gibbons, 2002;
ni responder a las iniciativas de los alumnos, ni Clegg, 2005). por ejemplo, los docentes usan
mantener un trato personal fluido con ellos. Los los elementos visuales de manera mucho ms
enseantes con deficiencias en la L2 tienden a compleja; emplean un discurso lectivo extrema-
recurrir a su lengua materna (arthur y Martin, damente accesible para optimizar la compren-
2006) y cambian de la L2 a esta con mucha fre- sin de los alumnos; refinan sus interacciones
cuencia, en ocasiones durante ms del 50 % del lingsticas con los alumnos para fomentar y
discurso lectivo (probyn, 2006). por encima de ampliar las intervenciones de estos; utilizan una
todo, estos docentes suelen impartir su asigna- panoplia especializada de tareas de tipo lings-
tura de manera poco eficaz, y a menudo llegan tico con el fin de reforzar el empleo de la lengua
a situaciones de frustracin profesional. escrita y hablada en el marco de la asignatura
que imparten; cambian de manera juiciosa de la
dado que el nivel de competencia de los docen- L1 a la L2 y viceversa; administran con especial
tes en la L2 puede ser bajo, es frecuente que la cuidado las distintas formas de interaccin (tra-
mayora precise de cursos de refuerzo lingsti- bajo plenario, trabajo en grupo); y, por ltimo,
co. sin embargo, resulta muy difcil proporcio- evalan los conocimientos acadmicos que los
alumnos adquieren en la L2, algo cuya realiza- a los profesores, ya que incorporan la pedago-
cin correcta entraa grandes dificultades. ga especializada en refuerzo lingstico que es-
tos profesionales han de aplicar; de este modo,
Los programas de alcance nacional precisan de funcionan como formadores para los docentes.
una estructura formativa que instruya en estos adems, es muy normal que los profesores que
temas a todos los profesores de las asignaturas imparten sus clases en una L2 se vean obliga-
impartidas en la L2. en los programas de for- dos a emplear mucho ms tiempo en preparar-
macin inicial para profesores, esto se traduce las que sus colegas de L1, ya que suelen care-
en cursos de duracin anual a largo plazo; en cer de libros de texto apropiados.
el marco de la formacin continua del personal
docente en ejercicio, implica cursos largos que Hoy da se sabe cmo disear estos libros usan-
se compatibilicen con el horario lectivo, o cursos do una amplia gama de tcnicas especializadas
ms cortos a tiempo completo (de unas cua- que los distinguen de los libros de texto conven-
tro semanas como mnimo), para lo que habr cionales, y, sin embargo, hay que decir que son
que proporcionar profesores sustitutos. estos escasos. en los contextos de aICLe existentes
cursos estarn destinados a todos los profeso- en pases europeos, donde se puede encon-
res del pas que deban trabajar en la L2, y se trar un nmero reducido de libros de este tipo,
aadirn a la formacin puramente lingstica ya esta escasez puede achacarse en parte a que el
mencionada en puntos anteriores. sin embargo, mercado es pequeo. pero a nivel mundial esta
las entidades o individuos capaces de ofrecer carencia se debe, por un lado, a que las autori-
este tipo de formacin a los docentes (esto es, dades educativas y los editores pasan por alto
expertos en estrategias que permitan impartir la necesidad de este tipo de libros, y por otro, a
materias determinadas a alumnos con baja ca- que escasean los autores capaces de desarro-
pacidad en la L2) escasean en todo el mundo. llarlos. as, las autoridades se ven frecuentemen-
La mayor parte de las autoridades educativas te obligadas a encargar el desarrollo desde cero
experimentan dificultades para encontrarlos en de esos libros a editores que, en muchos casos,
su pas; as pues, se ven obligados a recurrir a son recin llegados a estos temas.
expertos en formacin de formadores, y a cons-
truir lentamente una estructura nacional de for-
macin que solo dar frutos a largo plazo. La enseanza de lenguas
La enseanza de lenguas puede elevar el ni-
vel de competencia lingstica de los alumnos
Los libros de texto que tienen una L2 como lengua vehicular, for-
Los libros de texto proporcionan apoyo tanto a taleciendo sus capacidades tanto antes del
los profesores como a los alumnos que usan una comienzo del programa educativo en la L2
L2 como lengua vehicular. para los alumnos que como durante su propio desarrollo. Los centros
cursan la asignatura de Ciencias, por ejemplo, educativos pueden ofrecer cursos de refuerzo
en una lengua en la que no son muy competen- y orientar el contenido de la propia asignatura
tes, resulta muy til disponer de un libro de texto de L2 hacia las demandas lingsticas de las
diseado teniendo en cuenta sus dificultades, otras asignaturas que se imparten en esa len-
de forma que reduzca las demandas lingsticas gua. esto ltimo requiere modificar los progra-
mientras mantiene el nivel de desafo cognitivo. mas de estudio y los materiales usados para la
Los libros de este tipo tambin sirven de ayuda enseanza de la L2 como materia, y tambin
implica que los profesores especialistas de L2 bajo nivel general en la L2, los centros se ven
sean capaces de sobreponerse a la preocupa- abocados a luchar por mejorar los estndares
cin de trabajar con contenidos relacionados de logro educativo en ausencia de un marco de
con asignaturas que tal vez no dominen. polticas y prcticas aplicables a todo el currcu-
lo y a todo el centro educativo. aspectos como
elevar los niveles de competencia de los alum- la pedagoga efectiva, la evaluacin objetiva de
nos en la L2 es un proceso largo, y ello por dos los conocimientos de las asignaturas cursadas
razones. en primer lugar, adquirir la fluidez ne- en la L2 o la colaboracin entre los profeso-
cesaria para usar una lengua como vehicular res de esas asignaturas y los de la L2 deben
puede llevar ms tiempo que aprender a des- ser impulsados por los equipos directivos de
envolverse en ella en el contexto social. Los los centros. existen conjuntos de prcticas de
alumnos que aprenden asignaturas en una L2 probada eficacia que pueden ayudar a los cen-
necesitan adquirir CaLp (Cummins, 2000) en tros a abordar estas medidas adecuadamente.
la misma medida en que precisan de fluidez Muchos centros que tienen xito en el campo
social en la L2. algunos investigadores sostie- de la enseanza de minoras en pases como
nen que, en ee.UU., los alumnos inmigrantes ee.UU., el reino Unido y australia recurren a
que aprenden ingls tardan dos aos en alcan- estas prcticas; podemos citar, por ejemplo,
zar la competencia social y siete en alcanzar la gestin del modelo britnico denominado
la competencia acadmica (Cummins, 2000). Partnership Teaching para alumnos con el in-
en segundo lugar, en un sistema educativo t- gls como lengua adicional (Bourne y Mcpake,
pico, el nivel de competencia de los alumnos 1991; Creese, 2005).
en la L2 vara. elevar la competencia lingstica
de todos los alumnos integrados en todos los Las autoridades educativas han de informarse
centros hasta el nivel requerido para cursar con acerca de las prcticas adecuadas de gestin
xito una asignatura en la L2 puede llevar aos de centros con programas de enseanza en
y conlleva una mejora radical en la efectividad lengua inglesa. tras hacerlo, debern importar
de la enseanza de lenguas. Y, de nuevo, para algunas de ellas y desarrollar localmente otras
ello hara falta proporcionar formacin con- a lo largo del tiempo, con el fin de ofrecer una
tinua a los docentes de lenguas, para lo cual formacin generalizada a los equipos directivos
habra que reunir un conjunto de formadores de todos los centros educativos.
con experiencia en el uso de una L2 como len-
gua vehicular un enfoque que no es comn
encontrar. as pues, poner esto en prctica 3. Conclusiones
requiere tiempo y una gestin competente de
los recursos formativos. La introduccin de un sistema de educacin
nacional con una L2 como lengua vehicular es
una tarea de gran alcance para la que se pre-
Gestin de los programas cisan tiempo, fondos y desarrollo de capacida-
por ltimo, las autoridades nacionales tambin des. tambin presenta riesgos: si no funciona
deben proporcionar formacin sobre la gestin adecuadamente, puede perjudicar los estnda-
de los programas educativos en L2. es este un res educativos y causar descontento entre los
asunto que implica a los centros de ensean- ciudadanos. para que funcione, las autorida-
za. en un programa de alcance nacional con un des han de realizar previamente un anlisis en
profundidad que determine los requerimientos bakEr, C. (2001). Foundations of Bilingual Education
y riesgos que presenta el programa, cubrir los and Bilingualism. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
costes que implica, poner en marcha y ampliar bournE, J. y mCpakE, J. (1991). Partnership Teaching:
gradualmente nuevos procedimientos de for- cooperative teaching strategies for language
macin del profesorado y lectivos, y acumular support in multilingual classrooms. Londres:
experiencias en los centros educativos e ins- HMso.
tituciones de formacin, de manera que esas C lEGG , J. (2005). recognising and countering
experiencias se difundan a largo plazo por linguistic disadvantage in english-medium
todos los centros. pocos de los pases que education in africa, en H. Coleman, J. Gulyamova
han decidido cambiar la lengua vehicular en el y a. thomas (eds.). National Development,
conjunto de sus centros educativos han sido Education and Language in Central Asia and
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cumentada y cuidadosa. por alguna razn, las CrEEsE, a. (2005). Teacher Collaboration and Talk in
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las autoridades, que tienden a adoptarlas con Cummins, J. (2000). Language, Power and Pedagogy:
ms despreocupacin de la que mostraran Bilingual Children in the Crossfire. Clevedon:
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in south africa. Language and Education, 20, 5,
and technology policy: the Malaysian experience.
pp.391-414.
Educational Planning and Research Division,
TrappEs-lomax, H. (1990). Can a foreign language
be a national medium?, en C. rubagumya Ministry of Education Malaysia. disponible en:
(ed.). Language in Education in Africa. Clevedon: http://www.istic-unesco.org/meetingdocs-2010.
Multilingual Matters. html. ltima consulta: 17/05/11.
129
get low exposure to the L2 in the community ineffective and slow. If this applies to many
(trappes-Lomax, 1990). In addition, some learners in the education system as a whole, L2-
families will have low ses which may be a barrier medium education depresses national school
to learning generally and to L2-medium learning achievement.
in particular. some learners especially in the
early years will not have good cognitive and the context in which learners work also
literacy skills in their L1. appropriate materials influences their ability to learn through L2. two
will be scarce and school resources to fund L2- factors stand out. one is ses: learners from
medium learning may be low. Motivation for L2- families with higher ses can find L2-medium
medium learning amongst parents, learners and learning easier (Lin and Man, 2009; Ferguson,
teachers may not always be high. Few school 2006). Conversely, children from poor and
managements will have experience of successful uneducated families can find education in
whole-school policy for L2-medium teaching. general difficult and education in L2 especially
Finally, governments may not understand the so. this is most desperately clear in sub-
sheer scale of the job of upgrading teacher saharan africa, for instance, where the majority
language and pedagogical skills and learner of learners tend to do poorly in the L2, but
language ability: the capacity and planning those from middle-class backgrounds tend to
requirements, the costs, the length of time which do better (afitska et al., 2011). similarly, while
a new programme will take to show results, the minority ethnic groups in industrialised countries
need for piloting and above all the potential risks tend not to do well at school, some communities
to national educational standards. with higher than average ses can flourish. In the
U.K., for example, children from some middle-
class Chinese and Indian communities with high
2. success factors in country-wide social aspirations tend to perform amongst the
programmes best in the country (dfes, 2006). some selective
L2-medium programmes such as North
What I want to do in this paper is to outline american immersion programmes or private
key conditions for the success of country- schools (Lin and Man, 2009) also tend to serve
wide L2-medium education and indicate the families with higher ses. the same may be true
extent to which the governments which run of some though certainly not all european
these programmes need to make wholesale CLIL programmes. Country-wide programmes,
interventions in the education service in order to however, must cater for all children regardless of
make them work. ses and many will struggle to succeed.
a child from somalia who is not very literate in his/ the L2 well enough. Below a certain level of
her L1 and has poor experience of schooling will ability in the MoI, a teacher is not competent to
learn in english much more slowly than a child teach the subject: s/he cannot explain concepts
from poland who has had a good education in clearly, respond to learner initiatives, and be
polish. again, in africa, L2-medium education personally at ease with them. above all they use
starts after 3-4 years of poorly established L1 the mother-tongue (arthur and Martin, 2006): a
cognitive and literacy skills. It is claimed that at large amount of code-switching sometimes
least six years of good quality initial education more than 50 % of teacher-language (probyn,
and CaLp development in L1 is necessary for 2006) takes place. and crucially, these
african learners to be able to make a successful teachers tend to teach their subject ineffectively
switch later to learning partly in L2 (Heugh, and may become professionally dissatisfied.
2006). In europe, CLIL tends to happen mainly in
secondary schools on the back of good primary Because average levels of subject teacher
education in the L1. In country-wide programmes, language ability may be low, most teachers will
such as in the Gulf or south-east asia, successful need language upgrading courses. this amount
english-medium maths and science is likely to of training, for all teachers in the country in the
occur most easily in wealthier communities. target subjects, is difficult to provide. Firstly, it is
expensive; secondly, it is time-consuming; and
Governments must respond to learner needs thirdly, it is hard for any country to find either
and especially devote more resources to domestically or abroad the language training
disadvantaged schools. they must also capacity to offer these courses with a specialist
make appropriate provision to support L2- orientation towards the language of teaching
medium learning in all schools. In system-wide subjects.
programmes, L2 proficiency of learners is
variable but average levels throughout the school In addition, subject teachers working with learners
system may be around lower-intermediate. whose ability in the L2 is low must also have the
this is too low to ensure high levels of subject pedagogical skills to compensate for the learning
achievement through L2 and other means of inefficiency which this causes. It is not enough
supporting these learners will be necessary. the to be fluent in the L2; indeed a perfectly fluent
most important is specialist pedagogy: teachers teacher could still be unable to make a subject
need specific training which compensates for low understandable to these learners. to do this the
learner ability in the MoI. the second is to supply teacher needs a specialist pedagogical expertise
specialist subject materials designed for low-L2 which is familiar in minority education and CLIL
learners; the third is to raise the effectiveness contexts. It involves amplifying classroom
of teaching the language as a subject and the meanings much more than conventional L1-
fourth is to operate whole-school management medium subject teaching does (Gibbons,
policy to support L2-medium education. In the 2002; Clegg, 2005). For example, teachers use
next sections I will expand on these four issues. visuals in much more complex ways; they use
highly accessible forms of teacher-talk to make
themselves super-comprehensible; they refine
teacher skills teacher-pupil talk to prompt and extend learner
teachers need both language and pedagogical utterances; they use a specialised range of
skills. as regards language, they need to speak language-supportive task types for supporting
listening, speaking, reading and writing within the We know how to design these books using a
subject; they switch judiciously in and out of the range of specialist techniques which distinguish
L1; they use different forms of interaction (plenary them from conventional textbooks. However,
work, group work) especially carefully; and finally these books are rare. In european CLIL contexts
they assess subject knowledge acquired through where a small number of such books are
the medium of L2, which is a notoriously difficult available this is partly because the market is
thing to do well. small. But world-wide, the reason is mainly that
education authorities and publishers overlook
system-wide programmes require a training the need for them and because author expertise
capacity to train all subject teachers to teach in is rare. Governments thus need to commission
this way. In initial teacher-education this means textbooks from scratch with publishers who
long-term full-time courses; in INset it means themselves may have to develop novel expertise.
long part-time courses, or shorter full-time
courses (say 4 weeks minimum), with teacher
replacement. these courses will cater for all the Language teaching
subject teachers in the country working in L2, Language teaching can raise learners level of
over and above the kind of language upgrading language ability in L2-medium programmes, by
programme outlined above. Crucially, this strengthening learners language ability both
training capacity subject teacher-educators before the start of a programme and while it
who are experts in teaching subjects to low-L2 progresses. schools can offer language booster
ability learners is scarce everywhere. Most courses and they can also orientate the teaching
authorities will not find it available locally; they of L2 towards the language demands of the
will have to buy in trainer-training expertise and subjects taught in L2. this latter development
then construct domestic training capacity slowly requires changes to the syllabus and materials
over the long term. of L2 subject teaching. It also needs L2 subject
teachers who can overcome common worries
about working with subjects about which they
textbooks fear they have insufficient knowledge.
textbooks support both teachers and learners
in L2-medium programmes. If a child is learning raising learners L2 ability levels also takes time,
science in a language in which she has low ability, for two reasons. Firstly, becoming fluent enough
it makes it much easier if the textbook has been to use a language as MoI may take longer than
designed especially with this level of language becoming fluent socially. L2-medium subject
ability in mind, reducing language demands learners need CaLp (Cummins, 2000) as well
while maintaining cognitive challenge. Books as social fluency in L2. In the U.s. immigrant
like this help subject teachers too, because they learners of english in schools are said to acquire
incorporate the specialist language-supportive social proficiency in 2 years, but academic
pedagogy which they need to use. they act proficiency in 7 (Cummins, 2000). secondly,
as a trainer for the teacher. In addition, subject in a typical school system, the L2 proficiency
teachers working in a second language typically of learners is variable. to raise the language
spend much more time on preparing lessons proficiency of all learners in all schools to the
than those working in L1, because they do not level they require to use the language to learn
have appropriate textbooks. a subject would take a matter of years, and a
Clegg, J. (2005) recognising and countering linguistic Hornberger, N. and Chick, K. (2001) Co-constructing
disadvantage in english-medium education in school safetime: safetalk practices in peruvian
africa. In H. Coleman, J. Gulyamova and a. and south african Classrooms. In M. Heller and M.
thomas (eds.) National Development, Education Martin-Jones (eds.) Voices of Authority: Education
and Language in Central Asia and Beyond. and Linguistic Difference. Westport, Ct: ablex.
tashkent: British Council Uzbekistan. Housen, a. and Baetens Beardsmore, H. (1987)
Creese, a. (2005) Teacher Collaboration and Talk in Curricular and extra-curricular factors in multilingual
Multilingual Classrooms. Clevedon: Multilingual education. Studies in Second Language Acquisition
Matters. 9, pp. 83102.
Cummins, J. (2000) Language, Power and Pedagogy: Lin, a.M.Y., and Man, e.Y.F. (2009) Bilingual Education:
Southeast Asian Perspectives. Hong Kong: Hong
Bilingual Children in the Crossfire. Clevedon:
Kong University press.
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Wolff, d. (2007) CLIL: Bridging the gap between
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137
Viajar a otros pases para estudiar no es un fe- tiendo rpidamente en una lengua franca para
nmeno nuevo: siempre ha sido una opcin la masa global de trabajadores, ya que juega un
para algunos. Lo que s resulta novedoso es el papel clave como va de acceso a la educacin,
pronunciado incremento de los alumnos que es- el empleo y las oportunidades vitales. el no po-
tudian en el extranjero, especialmente a lo largo der manejarse en ingls puede constituir una
de la ltima dcada. en europa, una de las cua- barrera, excluyendo literalmente a aquellos que
tro libertades que garantiza la Unin europea es no cumplen los requisitos de acceso (ya sea un
la libre circulacin de personas (junto a las de acceso formal a las instituciones de educacin
bienes, capitales y servicios), y la movilidad aca- superior, o informal al mundo laboral). tambin
dmica es uno de los pilares de la poltica edu- se detecta un mayor uso e importancia del es-
cativa de esta entidad. el concepto de movilidad paol en algunos mercados clave ajenos a su
acadmica incluye a la plantilla docente y a los bastin tradicional en espaa y Latinoamrica,
investigadores, pero en este artculo nos centra- especialmente en ee.UU. (como tratan en otros
remos en los estudiantes. a grandes rasgos, la captulos de esta publicacin Malet y Lipski), y
movilidad de estos presenta dos modalidades: un incremento en el nmero de alumnos que
la movilidad de grado que se da cuando la optan por estudiar esta lengua a lo largo de
estancia en el otro pas da como resultado la las etapas de primaria o secundaria en lugares
obtencin de un ttulo de grado y la movili- como el reino Unido y otros pases europeos
dad de crditos que implica estancias en el (vanse Ferrari y tinsley). al mismo tiempo, se
extranjero ms cortas, de una duracin de en- presentan cuestiones de calado relacionadas
tre un cuatrimestre o semestre y un curso, y en con el nivel de competencia lingstica en ingls
las que se obtienen crditos que se usan para que poseen los alumnos al acceder a la univer-
completar el ttulo de grado emitido por la uni- sidad (un tema que tambin puede aplicarse a
versidad de origen. los propios hablantes nativos), con la medida en
la que su dominio del ingls mejora durante sus
si mencionamos a la Ue al comienzo de este estudios universitarios, y con la forma en que las
texto es porque esta entidad ha ejercido una universidades preparan a sus estudiantes para
profunda influencia en el mundo de la educa- que, cuando ingresen en el mercado laboral,
cin superior, al contribuir a la aparicin de una posean las herramientas lingsticas necesarias
comunidad educativa que se ha adaptado al para llevar a cabo su trabajo en un entorno glo-
proceso de globalizacin con su fenmeno balizado y competitivo.
concomitante de intensificacin de las redes y
las interconexiones, y con el nfasis cada vez
mayor en la adquisicin y uso de competencias 1. Movilidad estudiantil:
lingsticas que se observa en el mundo ac- una perspectiva histrica
tual. Y esto ha ocurrido en un periodo relati-
vamente corto de tiempo. retrocedamos un paso para contemplar el pa-
norama reinante hace treinta aos, a principios
en los ltimos veinte aos, la lengua inglesa ha de la dcada de 1980. en aquel entonces se
ganado preeminencia en el mundo acadmico, potenciaba casi exclusivamente la movilidad
convirtindose en una herramienta necesaria de grado; la mayora de los alumnos viajaban
para estudiantes, investigadores y acadmicos. del sur al norte, subvencionados por diversas
del mismo modo, esta lengua se est convir- becas y ayudas a menudo relacionadas con
las antiguas relaciones coloniales o con la con- ocurra a la mayora de los estudiantes naciona-
ciencia poscolonial de los pases septentrio- les. Las entidades donantes de la beca a me-
nales. Mediante estas medidas, los pases del nudo financiaban un curso de perfeccionamien-
norte buscaban compensar las deficiencias de to lingstico previo a los estudios de grado, con
la educacin universitaria en sus antiguas colo- frecuencia en otra parte del pas, y les ofrecan
nias (fomentando, al hacerlo, el desarrollo eco- un servicio de asesoramiento general. sola
nmico de los nuevos pases), proporcionando haber un funcionario universitario encargado
becas para que algunos alumnos estudiaran en del alojamiento que facilitaba a los estudiantes
el extranjero. aunque no todos los pases del una lista de viviendas disponibles, y en algunos
norte tenan un pasado colonial, eran con mu- pases existan organizaciones estudiantiles de
cha diferencia los principales pases receptores; apoyo que ofrecan ayuda con las tcnicas de
la movilidad en sentido contrario era escasa o estudio y, en ocasiones, formacin lingstica;
inexistente. Los pases que ms alumnos re- estas organizaciones estaban normalmente liga-
ciban eran Gran Bretaa, ee.UU., australia, das a los departamentos que se ocupaban de
Francia y alemania. seleccionar a los alumnos extranjeros. de este
modo, la mayor parte de los apoyos se localiza-
en muchos aspectos, esta fase de la movilidad ban en el nivel de los departamentos y depen-
quedaba fuera del radar de los gobiernos, dan de individuos radicados en ellos.
ms all de los aspectos puramente diplomti-
co-econmicos. se detectaba el apoyo de las en 1981, la Ue estableci un programa conjun-
autoridades gubernamentales en la concesin to de estudios: el precursor del programa eras-
de becas que, normalmente, deban gastarse mus, y un anticipo de lo que estaba por venir.
en el pas donante. tampoco tenan la mayor Los estudiantes pioneros que participaron en
parte de las instituciones universitarias una po- aquella iniciativa de movilidad de crditos goza-
ltica clara con respecto a los estudiantes inter- ron de un apoyo institucional tan escaso como
nacionales. La actividad real de seleccionarlos y el de sus pares con movilidad de grado. tam-
atenderlos funcionaba a nivel departamental, a bin se enfrentaron a desafos considerables
menudo dirigido por individuos que mantenan causados por la falta de apoyo, tanto por parte
lazos con otras partes del mundo y se sentan de las instituciones de acogida como de las de
comprometidos con la mejora de sus procesos origen, y encontraron serias trabas para con-
de desarrollo a travs de la educacin superior. validar los logros acadmicos obtenidos en el
extranjero; muchos de ellos tuvieron que acudir
as pues, cul era el panorama de los servi- a convocatorias de recuperacin a su vuelta
cios ofrecidos a los estudiantes extranjeros en para asegurarse la continuidad en los estudios.
la dcada de 1980? se trataba de estudiantes
con movilidad de grado, muchos de los cuales a finales de la dcada de 1980, la conjuncin
no haban tenido la oportunidad de acceder a de diversos factores modific el panorama de
la educacin superior; un gran porcentaje eran la movilidad estudiantil. algunos pases comen-
semiprofesionales adultos que necesitaban am- zaron a reconsiderar su poltica de subvencin
pliar su formacin. a menudo venan acompa- de las tasas de matrcula de los estudiantes
ados de sus esposas y familias. Normalmen- extranjeros y les impusieron el pago completo
te, en el nivel puramente institucional, el apoyo (Gran Bretaa ya haba adoptado esta medida
que reciban era mnimo como, de hecho, les en 1980 y australia lo hizo en 1986). en esta
dcada tambin se redujo el nmero de becas programa erasmus durante periodos reducidos,
para estudiantes con movilidad de grado, a me- y que seguan teniendo que hacer malabaris-
dida que se iban fundando universidades en los mos con la experiencia y crditos obtenidos en
pases de donde provenan, y que las entida- el extranjero para adaptarse a los programas de
des financiadoras comenzaban a destinar sus grado de sus instituciones de origen.
fondos a la educacin primaria y secundaria.
estos dos hechos por un lado, el incremento La declaracin de Bolonia, firmada en 1999, re-
de las tasas reales de matrcula, y por otro, la re- sult un punto de inflexin para la educacin su-
duccin en el nmero de estudiantes extranjeros perior internacional en todas partes, no solo en
becados concentraron la atencin de las ins- los veintisiete pases firmantes. Lo que comenz
tituciones educativas. al mismo tiempo, en eu- como una versin regional de la globalizacin
ropa se puso en marcha en 1987 el programa (teichler) se convirti en un motor de cambio y
erasmus, con el fin de permitir que una cantidad reformas en este sector de alcance mundial. Uno
mayor de estudiantes disfrutara de una expe- de los objetivos de la declaracin era la creacin
riencia internacional como parte de su programa de un espacio europeo de educacin superior
de grado. estas medidas de nivel estatal y re- (eees); esto requera que se produjera un pro-
gional tuvieron reflejo en las instituciones. si los ceso de convergencia y de comprensin mutua,
estudiantes extranjeros con movilidad de grado de forma que las estructuras de los grados, los
pagaban ntegras las tasas de matrcula, se con- crditos, la carga de trabajo de los alumnos y las
vertan en un sector mucho ms atractivo; eso, garantas de calidad fueran transparentes y com-
combinado con el desarrollo del programa de parables aunque no idnticos. Los esfuerzos
movilidad estudiantil de la Ue, hizo que las ins- llevados a cabo en toda europa para llevar a la
tituciones abrieran sus miras y descubrieran el prctica la declaracin de Bolonia han sido exi-
valor de ser ms internacionales y transfronteri- tosos, si bien prolongados; tanto que ya hay un
zas, y de involucrarse en el mundo laboral. por total de cuarenta y seis pases que han firmado
citar un ejemplo, las instituciones educativas de la declaracin y han adoptado las estructuras y
Gran Bretaa comenzaron a explotar comercial- procesos marcados en Bolonia.
mente sus conocimientos, a ofrecer programas
diseados especficamente para grupos interna- Una investigacin llevada a cabo en cinco pa-
cionales, y a fortalecer sus servicios de apoyo ses Francia, alemania, Grecia, suecia y reino
para los estudiantes extranjeros. Unido por la London school of economics en
el ao 2000 exploraba la relacin existente entre
as pues, los estudiantes con movilidad de gra- las polticas y prcticas de admisin a la educa-
do de finales de la dcada de 1980 formaban cin superior, tanto en el mbito estatal como
parte de un esquema diferente. ahora reciban por universidades, y las relacionaba con la mo-
apoyo de las instituciones as como de indivi- vilidad estudiantil. el estudio detect numerosas
duos comprometidos. se establecieron oficinas actividades especficas relacionadas con el pa-
internacionales, se fundaron unidades de apoyo pel de la lengua como clave o barrera potencial
lingstico y de estudios, se instauraron sistemas para la movilidad de estudiantes dentro o fuera
de tutelaje personal y otras medidas similares. del pas. entre ellas estaban las siguientes:
sin embargo, era evidente que eso no basta- Lainclusindeclasesobligatoriasrelaciona-
ba, especialmente en el caso de los estudiantes das con lenguas extranjeras de los estudios
con movilidad de crditos que participaban en el que se ofrecan.
la educacin superior como en la formacin pro- comparada con la de quienes lo hicieron hace
fesional, se proponen mejorar las relaciones cultu- treinta aos?
rales y facilitar la adquisicin de las herramientas
necesarias para manejarse en la economa global si abordamos en primer lugar la cuestin de qui-
basada en el conocimiento; y entre estas herra- nes son esos estudiantes, comprobaremos que
mientas se cuentan las lenguas, especialmente el los alumnos con movilidad de crditos (erasmus)
ingls y, cada vez ms, el espaol. dentro de europa pertenecen a la clase media
(ms del 55 % provienen de hogares en los que
el programa aLFa fomenta la cooperacin en- al menos uno de los progenitores tiene formacin
tre instituciones de educacin superior de la Ue universitaria, y que superan la media de ingre-
y otras de Latinoamrica. desde su inicio en sos). Casi dos tercios de los encuestados tienen
1994, este programa tiene como objetivo me- un progenitor que trabaja en un puesto ejecuti-
jorar la calidad, la relevancia y la accesibilidad vo, profesional o tcnico; esta es una proporcin
de la educacin superior en Latinoamrica, as mayor que la de la poblacin general, donde el
como contribuir al proceso de integracin re- porcentaje de trabajadores de 45 aos o ms
gional de los sistemas de educacin superior que ocupan este tipo de puestos no llega al 40 %.
latinoamericanos. La estrategia de la Ue para adems, aproximadamente un 58 % de los es-
frica (2005) y el primer plan de accin 2008- tudiantes tiene al menos un progenitor con estu-
2010 para la puesta en prctica de la asocia- dios superiores. Los estudios tambin revelan que
cin estratgica Ue-frica (Migracin, Movilidad estos estudiantes manejan con competencia dos
y empleo) marcan el compromiso de colaborar o tres lenguas (p.ej., souto otero y McCoshan,
con la Unin africana para incrementar la movili- 2006). sin duda, la cuestin de las lenguas es cla-
dad de estudiantes en el mbito de la educacin ve para la movilidad, especialmente en europa.
superior entre los pases de frica y los de la Ue, resulta especialmente significativa para facilitar
as como en el interior del continente africano. el flujo de estudiantes, e influye mucho en la se-
es verdad que la movilidad estudiantil sigue cir- leccin de los pases de destino especialmente
culando predominantemente del sur al norte y en casos en los que una parte considerable de
del este al oeste; sin embargo, ahora, gracias los contenidos se imparten en una lengua oficial
a estos programas de la Ue, las posibilidades del pas, como en el caso de espaa, por ejem-
de moverse en direccin opuesta son mayores. plo. el desconocimiento de lenguas extranjeras
del que adolece la mayor parte de los estudian-
tes britnicos es un tema recurrente en todos los
2. Quines son los estudiantes debates acerca de la movilidad de estudiantes
internacionales? originarios de este pas1. el tema de la lengua pa-
rece haber contribuido a que el inters de estos
se han gastado y se siguen gastando su- estudiantes se desplace de los pases europeos a
mas de dinero muy considerables para fomentar entornos anglfonos de otras partes del mundo
la movilidad estudiantil. Cmo es la experiencia (australasia, singapur, Hong Kong y, superan-
de los estudiantes que se trasladan hoy, en 2011, do con mucho a todos los anteriores, ee.UU.)2.
1 HeFCe (2004).
2 en los ltimos aos estados Unidos y australia estn decayendo como destinos preferidos por los estudiantes,
salvo para los procedentes de pases asiticos.
3 Los datos ms recientes muestran que este fenmeno afecta a todas las lenguas extranjeras a excepcin
del espaol, cuyas matrculas han aumentado nada menos que un 33 % en los ltimos aos, y en menor medida
el italiano - U.K. dept of education (2010). GCSE attempts and achievements in selected subjects of pupils
at the end of Key Stage 4 in schools (numbers). Years 2008/09. disponible en: http://www.education.gov.uk/
performancetables/.
4 Lifelong Learning programme. tHe erasMUs proGraMMe 2008/2009: a statistical overview. diciembre
de 2010, direccin General de educacin y Cultura, Lifelong Learning, Higher education e International affairs.
5 eurobarometer survey 2009 on entrepreneurship: entrepreneurship in the eU and Beyond. disponible en:
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sme/facts-figures-analysis/eurobarometer/index_en.htm.
Los pases que ms estudiantes erasmus en- impartidos en ingls; el portal web del daad
viaron al extranjero fueron Francia (con 28.300 (servicio alemn de Intercambio acadmico)
estudiantes), alemania (27.900) y espaa indica, entre las posibilidades para los alumnos
(27.400). Los destinos ms populares fue- internacionales que acuden a alemania, un gran
ron espaa (33.200 estudiantes), seguida de nmero de programas en ingls; en toda euro-
Francia (24.600) y alemania (22.000). aunque pa, los distintos pases ofrecen programas en
a primera vista parecen cantidades eleva- este idioma en mayor o menor medida. pero
das, solo representan un 0,91 % del total de no todos ellos presentan una gran variedad de
estudiantes universitarios de los treinta y un programas en lengua extranjera, a pesar de las
pases participantes en erasmus durante el recomendaciones contenidas en diversos estu-
curso 2008/2009. si tenemos en cuenta que dios realizados a lo largo de la ltima dcada.
la media de duracin de los grados universita- en espaa, por ejemplo, la mayor parte de los
rios es de cuatro o cinco aos, podemos es- cursos se imparten en espaol, aunque algunos
timar que aproximadamente un 4 % de todos hacen uso de otras lenguas oficiales del estado
los estudiantes europeos podran participar en (como el cataln o el vasco). Un nmero redu-
el programa erasmus en algn momento de cido de programas de mster se imparten en
sus estudios; este sigue siendo un porcentaje ingls, y las entidades integradas en el consor-
muy bajo. Los ministros que participaron en la cio erasmus Mundus siempre incluyen, al me-
cumbre del proceso de Bolonia celebrada en nos, algunos programas de estudios en ingls,
Lovaina en 2009 se marcaron el muy optimis- en lugares como la Universidad de deusto, por
ta objetivo de que, para 2020, el 20 % de los ejemplo. No obstante, espaa recibe a dos ti-
estudiantes del eees realizara algn viaje de pos diferentes de estudiantes internacionales.
estudios al extranjero. para los becarios del programa erasmus, que
pasan en el pas periodos relativamente cortos
se estima que en 2005 el nmero total de es- de tiempo, aprender espaol puede ser dif-
tudiantes de educacin superior que cursaron cil, e incluso llega a afectar a su rendimiento
clases en el extranjero super los 2.700.000 acadmico en parte del programa de estudios.
(vase grfico 1), un incremento casi del 61 % para los estudiantes con movilidad de grado,
desde 1992. Histricamente, ms del 90 % de el reto puede ser considerablemente menor, ya
los estudiantes internacionales se han matricu- que muchos de ellos provienen de pases lati-
lado en instituciones educativas radicadas en noamericanos, de Brasil o de portugal (los diez
pases de la organizacin para la Cooperacin y pases que ms estudiantes de esta modalidad
el desarrollo econmico (oCde), y los destinos envan responden a esta descripcin). estos
ms elegidos (ee.UU., reino Unido, alemania, estudiantes realizan sus estudios superiores en
Francia y australia) han absorbido aproximada- una variacin de su lengua materna, o en una
mente al 70 % de los estudiantes. lengua ampliamente usada como lengua franca
en su entorno.
Los estudiantes con movilidad de grado, espe-
cialmente los integrados en msteres u otros Muchas universidades han desarrollado currcu-
programas superiores de posgrado, encuen- los internacionalizados para todos sus alumnos,
tran en la actualidad la posibilidad de estudiar y acogen a profesores invitados (frecuentemen-
en ingls en muchos pases europeos. Hoy da, te a travs de sistemas de movilidad acadmi-
existen en los pases Bajos 940 programas ca o de asociaciones con otras universidades).
GRFICO 1
2001 2009
2.000.000 de estudiantes 3.300.000 estudiantes
internacionales en el mundo internacionales en el mundo
ee.UU.
20 %
ee.UU.
otros 30 %
28 %
otros 34 %
reino Unido
15 %
reino Unido
11 %
Blgica Japn 4 %
2%
Canad 4 % Francia 8 %
espaa 2 %
Japn 3 % australia 7 %
alemania 9 % alemania 7 %
australia 4 % Francia 7 % China 7 %
australia tiene una slida trayectoria en este tipo sin embargo, la oferta de programas en una
de asociaciones transnacionales, y algunas de lengua franca indica claramente que se espe-
sus universidades ofrecen programas de grado ra de los estudiantes que la usen con cierto
381617p133
en el propio pas de origen de los estudiantes; nivel de competencia. ofrecerles clases de la
as, aunque esos estudiantes disfrutan de mo- lengua como si fueran estudiantes ordinarios
vilidad acadmica, no necesitan viajar, y parte de una lengua extranjera puede no ser la ma-
del currculo puede ser impartido por profesores nera ms efectiva de ayudarlos. esto puede
locales en la lengua nacional, aunque la mayor aplicarse tanto al ingls como al espaol (ya
parte de la carrera se curse en ingls. se ha comentado antes que espaa acoge a
numerosos estudiantes provenientes de pases
Un rpido repaso de los portales web de las uni- lusfonos y de rumana, todos los cuales es-
versidades revela que muchas enumeran los ti- tudian en la lengua franca, que para ellos es el
pos de apoyo que proporcionan a los estudiantes espaol). Como afirman Hlmbauer et al.:
desplazados. La oferta tpica incluye: ayuda pre-
Mucha gente cree errneamente que los estu-
via a la llegada, ajuste cultural, informacin sobre
diantes de eLF (siglas inglesas que denominan al
visados, actividades sociales, temas econmi-
ingls como lengua franca) estn en proceso de
cos, problemas de deudas y ofertas de trabajo,
aprender un repertorio lingstico, y no usndolo
as como apoyo con los estudios y la lengua. de manera efectiva. si bien todos somos, en cier-
to modo, aprendices permanentes de todas las
No suele proporcionarse informacin acerca lenguas que conocemos, incluida la materna (por
del tipo de apoyo lingstico que se ofrece; ejemplo, cuando extendemos nuestro empleo de
la lengua a nuevos campos), los hablantes de eLF extranjero, y comienzan a desviar su atencin
no han de ser considerados simplemente como hacia las demandas de trabajo o las becas de
aprendices que tratan de reproducir el uso de un trabajo y estudios. as, el nmero de partici-
hablante nativo sino, eminentemente, como usua- pantes en el programa erasmus se ha reducido
rios de la lengua, aunque su parmetro principal
levemente desde la introduccin de becas con
no es la correccin formal sino la efectividad fun-
trabajo remunerado en ese mismo programa.
cional. evidentemente, el uso y el aprendizaje es-
es previsible que la demanda de este tipo de
tn relacionados (puede aprenderse una lengua al
becas aumente, dado que la crisis que afecta a
usarla), pero lo cierto es que, en el caso del eLF, lo
esencial es el uso, y el aprendizaje queda relegado
gran parte de europa est exacerbando la preo-
a un plano secundario. este lenguaje de uso pue- cupacin por la carga econmica que supone
de, indudablemente, mostrar las mismas formas cursar parte de la carrera en el extranjero. en el
que el ingls de aprendizaje; pero la relevancia de actual clima socioeconmico, parece probable
esas formas es esencialmente distinta. que la movilidad de estudiantes europeos hacia
el exterior se vea afectada, en general, por un
a primera vista, los servicios ofrecidos a los es- complejo entramado de factores: las capacida-
tudiantes internacionales en 2011 parecen haber des lingsticas, las limitaciones econmicas,
mejorado ms all de lo que nadie podra haber la escasez de becas con trabajo remunerado y
imaginado hace treinta aos. Las universidades la percepcin popular de los altos estndares
y las administraciones son ahora conscientes que poseen los sistemas educativos de ee.UU.
de sus responsabilidades, y parecen estar cum- y otros pases anglfonos. Como deja claro el
plindolas. Los controles de calidad, los sistemas estudio de la movilidad estudiantil realizado en
deinformes, la compatibilidad de los sistemas de 2004, si quienes determinan las polticas educa-
crditos acadmicos, la mayor transparencia, las tivas fomentan la movilidad estudiantil, debern
mejoras en las instalaciones y los servicios espe- responder a las perspectivas de los estudiantes
cficos de apoyo parecen garantizar que los estu- sobre la movilidad y sobre la naturaleza de su
diantes internacionales de 2011 tendrn menos experiencia. para ello, pueden ofrecer incentivos
distracciones externas que los desven de sus destinados a estudiantes con baja capacidad
estudios. Y sin embargo, se detecta ms de un econmica; establecer acuerdos de asociacin
desliz. con pases a los que puedan estar ligadas las
minoras tnicas del reino Unido o de espaa
por factores lingsticos o histricos; o incre-
el declive relativo del nmero de alumnos que
mentar la oferta de puestos de trabajo o becas
estudian alguna lengua extranjera en el rei-
conjuntas de trabajo y estudios.
no Unido, por ejemplo, puede ser la causa de
que haya cado el nmero de estudiantes inter-
para terminar, he aqu un fragmento de un blog
nacionales que salen del pas. La carencia de
escrito por un estudiante annimo sobre las ex-
habilidades lingsticas es un factor que, segn
periencias que vivi en 2010, que nos recuerda
los estudiantes, obstaculiza la movilidad hacia
lo difcil que resulta sustituir el toque personal:
pases no anglfonos (HeFCe). Y, del mismo
modo, es evidente que el no dominar otras len-
existe una evidente falta de coordinacin entre
guas (especialmente el ingls) constituye tam- las universidades de origen y las de destino. a
bin una barrera para los estudiantes de habla veces, incluso la transmisin de las notas resulta
no inglesa. existen indicios de que los estudian- catica. si tienes problemas de cualquier tipo,
tes estn perdiendo el inters por estudiar en el dselo tanto al coordinador de la universidad re-
hiGhEr EDuCaTion FunDinG CounCil (HeFCe) (2004). TEiChlEr, u. (2004). temporary study abroad: the
International Student Mobility. Informe del sussex life of erasMUs students. European Journal of
Centre for Migration research, Universidad de Education, 39/4, pp. 395-408.
149
travelling overseas to study is not a new in certain key markets outside the traditional
phenomenon; it was always an option for stronghold of Latin america, especially in the
some. What is new is the steep increase in U.s. (cited in Lipski and Malet, this publication),
numbers taking up study abroad, especially and an increase in the number of students in
during the past ten years. In europe, one of the U.K. for example (as well as other european
the four freedoms of the european Union (eU) countries) opting to study spanish at school
is the movement of people (along with the free (cited in Ferrari and tinsley, this publication).
movement of goods, capital and services), and at the same time there are serious challenges
academic mobility is central to eU education around the quality of english skills that students
policy. academic mobility includes staff and bring to the university (and this could similarly
researchers, but the focus of this chapter is be extended to native-speaker students), how
students. student mobility is of two broad types: their english is extended while at university, and
degree mobility, where a stay in another country how university programmes prepare students
leads to a degree qualification; and credit so that they can enter future employment with
mobility, where shorter stays abroad within a the language skills needed to do their jobs in a
degree programme lasting from one term or competitive globalised environment.
semester to one year earns credits that are used
as part of the home degree qualification.
1. student mobility: a historical
the eU is mentioned at the beginning of this perspective
paper because as far as higher education is
concerned it has had a profound influence on Let us stand back and consider the situation thirty
a higher education community worldwide which years ago up to the early 1980s. the emphasis
has embraced the processes of globalisation was then almost entirely on degree mobility, with
with the concomitant increase in networking and most of the students moving from south to north
interconnectedness and the increased emphasis supported by a variety of grants and scholarships
on the acquisition and deployment of language often linked to former colonial relationships or the
skills we see today. this has happened over a post-colonial northern conscience. Under these
relatively short period of time. arrangements northern states sought to redress
the paucity of university education in former
In the last 20 years, the english language has colonies (and in so doing, boost the economic
achieved dominance in the academic world, development of the new countries) by providing
becoming a necessary communication tool scholarships for study overseas. although not
for students, researchers and academics. It is all northern countries had had a colonial history,
now also fast becoming the lingua franca of they dominated as receiving countries. there
the global workforce as it plays a key role in was little or no mobility in the opposite direction.
enabling access to education, employment and Key receiving countries were Britain, the U.s.,
life opportunities. Conversely, the lack of english australia, France and Germany.
language skills can prove to be a barrier, literally
by excluding those who do not meet entry In many ways this phase of mobility was below
criteria (whether formally to higher education the radar of governments other than as a
institutions or informally to the world of work). We diplomatic/economic consideration. they were
see also an enhanced role and use of spanish seen to be supportive in funding grants, normally
to be spent in the donor country. Nor did most a number of factors came together in the late
institutions have a clear policy on international 80s which changed the landscape of student
students. the real activity of recruiting and mobility. some governments began to look at
nurturing these functioned at departmental the ways in which they were subsidising student
level, often driven by individuals who had links fees for non-nationals, and introduced full fees
to other parts of the world and were committed (Britain had already done this in 1980, australia
to helping the development processes through in 1986). during the 80s scholarships were also
higher education. reduced in number for degree mobile students
as universities were being established in their
What then did the provision of services for mobile home countries, and donors switched their
students look like around 1980? Here we had funding to primary and secondary education.
degree mobile students, many of whom had not these two facts, on the one hand an increase
had the opportunity to undergo higher education in real fees, and on the other hand the reduction
post school, and so they were probably mature in the number of grant aided students,
semi-professionals needing further study. they concentrated the minds of institutions. at the
were often accompanied by wives and families. same time, in europe the erasMUs programme
typically, at institutional level the amount of was launched in 1987 to enable larger numbers
support they would have received would have of students to have international experience
been minimal as it was then, indeed, for most as part of their degree programmes. these
home students. the scholarship organisations events at government and regional levels were
perhaps funded a pre-degree language course, reflected in institutional noticing. International
often in another part of the country, and offered degree mobility students paying full fees were a
a general advisory service. there would have commodity worth nurturing, and that, together
been a university housing officer to hand out a with the development of the eU mobility
list of available accommodation, and in some scheme, changed institutions from being inward
countries there would have been student support looking to seeing the value of being more
units offering help with study skills and possibly international, cross border, and transnational,
language tuition, often linked to the departments and of engaging with the world of work. to
which recruited numbers of students. Most take one example, in Britain, institutions began
support was thus located at departmental level to market their expertise, offer programmes
and given by individuals there. tailored to international groups, and strengthen
their support services for overseas students.
In 1981 the eU set up a joint study programme,
the precursor of the erasMUs programme, and thus the degree mobile students from the late
an early warning of things to come. the pioneer 80s were part of a different scheme of things.
credit mobile students had as little institutional Institutions, as well as committed individuals
support as their degree mobile counterparts. provided support. International offices were
they also faced considerable challenges in established, study and language support units
terms of support from both home and host were set up, personal tutoring systems were
institutions as well as often severe problems in introduced and so on. However, it was apparent
validating their academic achievement abroad; that even more needed to be done. particularly
many had to catch up on assessments on their for credit mobility students on short erasMUs
return in order to secure degree continuity. study periods, who still juggled their experiences
the Bologna declaration in 1999 proved Not all countries, nor all institutions in any
to be a critical point for international higher country, were providing these activities at that
education everywhere, not only for the twenty- time, however.
seven signatory countries. What began as a
regional version of globalisation (teichler, 2004) Language was one of three barriers common to
became a driver for change and reform in higher all the countries in the study, along with finance
and the recognition of qualifications and/or
education world-wide. one of the objectives
admissions procedures. the study identified a
of the declaration was the establishment of a
number of recommendations with respect to
european Higher education area (eHea); this
language to develop and reinforce language
required a process of convergence and the
training and facilitate student mobility. these
building of mutual understanding to take place
included:
so that degree structures, credits, student
workload and quality assurance were transparent theEUadoptingamorecomprehensivepolicy
and comparable not identical. effort invested concerning foreign language instruction
in europe to implement the Bologna declaration atthenationallevel,promotingtheteaching
has been largely successful, if lengthy, so of widely spoken eU languages in secondary
much so that there are now forty-six signatory education
countries who have adopted the structures and
atanundergraduatelevel,EUfundingunder
processes of Bologna. the socrates programme could be used for
the development of project-based student
research conducted in five countries France, exchange schemes directly related to the
Germany, Greece, sweden and the U.K. by linguistic preparation of outgoing students in
the London school of economics in 2000 the language of the host country, and
explored the relationship between higher
instructioninatleastsomecorecoursesin
education admissions policies and practices at
widely spoken european languages would
national and university levels and related these
attract incoming students towards institutions
to student mobility. With respect to language as
w h e re l e s s w i d e l y s p o k e n e u ro p e a n
both an enabler of and a barrier to inward- and
languages prevail.
outward-mobility several specific activities were
London school of economics, 2000, pp. 70ff.
evident in these countries, including:
While actively encouraging mobility and aLFa aimed to improve the quality, relevance
compatibility, it has developed into a strong and accessibility of higher education in Latin
competitor for the U.s. and australia (and america, as well as to contribute to the process
Britain) as a destination of choice for both of regional integration in Latin america in terms
kinds of student mobility. Now students from of higher education. the eU strategy for africa
europe and third countries can undertake credit (2005), and the First action plan 2008-2010 for
mobility through eU-funded programmes such the implementation of the africa-eU strategic
as Tempus, where part of the full programme partnership (Migration, Mobility and employment),
of a degree is spent in at least two different committed to collaborate with the aU to increase
universities in consortia funded by the eU. one student mobility in the area of higher education
can see how these incentives create at least between africa and eU countries as well as within
some interest in ways of making university africa itself. student mobility remains, however,
education more comparable and transparent strongly south to north and east to west, but with
outside europe. greater opportunities for movement in the other
direction provided by the eU programmes noted
these developments have resonated around above.
the world: developing countries need to develop
and conserve their talent in the home workforce,
while the ageing populations of the north 2. Who are these mobile students?
wish to attract talent to strengthen research,
knowledge development and economies. thus Considerable sums have been spent, and are
far, apart from the eU and its eastern european being spent, to encourage student mobility.
neighbours, the Bologna processes and What is the experience of mobile students in
structures are being considered in Latin america 2011 compared with thirty years ago?
and africa, and have gained the attention of
the U.s. and australia. the eU has had formal turning first to the question of who the students
agreements with the U.s. and Canada since are, research has shown that credit mobile
1995 and subsequently bi-lateral agreements (erasMUs Mundus) students within europe
have also been established with australia, are middle class (over 55 % come from homes
Japan, New Zealand, south Korea, and where at least one parent has university
more recently with the BrIC countries (Brazil, education, and who are above average earners.
russia, India and China). these agreements, almost two thirds of respondents had at least
which foster cooperation and establish joint one parent who held an occupation as an
programmes in both higher education and executive, professional or technician). this
vocational training, aim to promote better proportion is higher than that found in the
cultural relations and facilitate the acquisition of population in general, where less than 40 % of
skills needed for the global knowledge-based people in employment aged 45 and over have
economy, including language, and in particular such jobs. Moreover, around 58 % of students
english and increasingly spanish. had at least one parent who had experienced
higher education. they are also reported to be
the aLFa programme supports cooperation highly competent in second or third language
between higher education institutions in the use (souto otero and McCoshan, 2006).
eU and Latin america. Beginning in 1994, Language is clearly key to mobility, especially
1 HeFCe (2004).
2 In recent years, U.s. and australia are declining as preferred host countries for all except asian students.
3 Current data shows that this phenomenon continues with all european languages with the exception of spanish,
which has increased by 33% (and less so Italian) - U.K. dept of education (2010) GCSE attempts and
achievements in selected subjects of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 in schools (numbers). Years 2008/09. http://
www.education.gov.uk/performancetables/.
4 Lifelong Learning Programme THE ERASMUS PROGRAMME 2008/2009 A Statistical Overview december 2010,
directorate-General for education and Culture, Lifelong Learning, Higher education and International affairs.
students in 2008/09. a desire by students to taking into account the average study duration
increase their job prospects through practical of approximately 4-5 years, it can be estimated
work as shown by a eurobarometer survey that around 4 % of all european students might
in 20095 is seen as a main reason behind the participate in the erasMUs programme at
increasing popularity of erasMUs company some stage during their studies still a very low
placements. percentage. Ministers at the Bologna process
summit in Leuven in 2009 set the very optimistic
the countries sending the highest numbers target that 20 % of students in the eHea would
of erasMUs students were France (28,300 have experience of study abroad by 2020.
students), Germany (27,900) and spain
(27,400). the most popular destinations for the total number of mobile tertiary education
erasMUs students were spain (33,200 students was estimated to have reached
students), followed by France (24,600) and more than 2.7 million by 2005 (see Figure 1
Germany (22,000). While the numbers seem below), a nearly 61 % increase since 1992.
large, they actually only represent about 0.91 % traditionally, more than 90 % of international
of the total higher education student population students have enrolled in institutions in countries
in the 31 participating countries in 2008/09. belonging to the organisation for economic
FIGURE 1
2001 2009
2 Million Internationally Mobile 3.3 Million Internationally Mobile
Students Wordwide Students Wordwide
United states
20 %
United states
other 30 %
28 %
other 34 %
United Kingdom
15 %
United Kingdom
11 %
Belgium Japan 4 %
2%
Canada 4 % France 8 %
spain 2 %
Co-operation and development (oeCd) with the through academic staff mobility schemes or
main destinations (the U.s., the U.K., Germany, partnerships). australia has a strong record in
France and australia) recruiting over 70 % of providing transnational partnerships, offering
them. their degree programmes in the home country
of the students, so while the students count
degree mobile students, especially those as international they do not have to travel,
studying at Masters level or above, will now find and some of the programme can be taught
that in many european countries they can study by local lecturers in the mother tongue, even
in english. the Netherlands now has 940 degree though the majority of the programme will be
programmes taught in english; the daad taught in english.
(German academic exchange service) website
for international study in Germany indicates a quick review of university websites shows that
large numbers of programmes taught in english; many list the types of student support provided
while countries across europe offer greater or for international students. typical provision
fewer programmes in english. Not all countries includes pre-arrival needs, cultural adjustment,
have a wide variety of programmes on offer in visa information, social activities, financial issues,
a foreign language (despite recommendations debt problems, and work placements, as well as
made by various studies in the past decade). In study and language support.
spain, for example, courses are mostly taught
in spanish, though some may use other official No information about the kind of language
regional languages (e.g. Catalan, Basque). a support is normally given. However, the provision
very small number of Masters programmes are of programmes in a lingua franca suggests that
taught in english. programmes in erasMUs the students are expected to be functional
Mundus consortia will certainly include some users of the language at some level. to provide
programmes in english, e.g. at the University lessons as though they were foreign language
of deusto. However, spain has two kinds of learners might not be the most appropriate way
inwardly mobile students: the erasMUs- of helping them. this applies to both english and
funded ones who are there for periods of spanish (spain hosts numbers of students from
relatively short duration. For them the challenge Lusophone countries as noted above, and from
of learning in spanish may be considerable, and romania, all of whom are taught in the lingua
may indeed affect their academic progress for franca of spanish). as Hlmbauer et al. (2008)
a part of the programme. For degree mobile noted:
students the effects may be less, as many of
the inward students to spain come from Latin A common misconception of ELF (English as
american countries, Brazil and portugal the a Lingua Franca) is that its speakers are in the
process of learning a language repertoire rather
top ten sending countries fall into this category.
than using it effectively. While all of us are, in
For these students they will continue to study in
a sense, lifelong learners of any language,
a variety of their own language, or of a language
including our mother tongue (for instance when
widely used as a lingua franca. we extend our language use into new domains),
ELF speakers are not considered merely learners
Many universities have developed striving to conform to nativespeaker norms but
internationalised curricula for all their students, primarily users of the language, where the main
and offer guest lecturers (often provided consideration is not formal correctness but
functional effectiveness. Of course, using and that in the current socio-economic climate that
learning are related (you can learn while using), outward mobility of students in general in europe
but the point is that with ELF the emphasis is is affected by a complex interplay of factors
on use and the learning is incidental. This user
language ability, financial constraints, limited
language may certainly exhibit the same forms as
opportunities for paid work placements, and the
learner English, but the significance of the forms is
perceived high standards and marketability of
essentially different.
U.s. and other anglophone education systems.
as the student Mobility study of 2004 makes
on the face of it, provision for international
clear, in encouraging more students to become
students in 2011 has improved beyond
mobile, policy makers may need to respond to
anything one could have imagined 30 years
student perspectives on mobility and the nature
ago. Institutions and governments are now
of the student experience by offering incentives
aware of their responsibilities and would
for students from lower income groups or
appear to be fulfilling them. Quality assurance,
forging partnerships with countries to which
reporting, comparability of credit systems, more
U.K. and spanish minority ethnic groups may
transparency, better equipment, as well as
have historical and linguistic links, or developing
special support services all of these seem to
more work or combined work and study
ensure that the international students of 2011
opportunities.
would have fewer external distractions from their
work. and yet... there is many a slip.
Let us end with a quote from an unknown
the relative decline in numbers of students student blogger writing of her or his experiences
studying a language in the U.K., for example, in 2010, and remember that the personal touch
may be responsible for declining numbers of is not easily replaced:
outgoing mobile students (with the exception
There is an evident lack of coordination between
of spanish, according to the latest erasMUs
home and host universities. Sometimes even
data). the lack of language ability is a factor
the transmission of grades can be chaotic. If
which students present as militating against you would have problems of any kind, tell your
mobility to non-anglophone countries host university coordinator as well as your home
(International student Mobility 2004, op cit). university coordinator. Indeed, as they may not
and we can see that a lack of language ability communicate between each other, you will always
(especially in english) is also a barrier to non- have to act as a link between them. You should be
english speaking students. there are some careful about what coordinators will tell you: they
indications that students are becoming less may assert that something can be done without
interested in study abroad options and that checking that it can be done actually and you
demand for work is increasing, or work and may have problems because of that. ERASMUS
coordinators are not paid to be coordinators (as
study placements. thus the erasMUs take
far as I know), and most of the time they are told to
up declined slightly since the introduction of
be coordinators. This is why certain coordinators
funded work placements through the same
do not pay attention to their students, cannot be
scheme. demand for work placements is likely reached easily, do not answer emails Actually
to increase as the economic recession in much there are coordinators that do their job well and
of europe continues to exercise an influence and always try to help their students, but not all of
exacerbate concerns about the financial impact them do. (web address withheld as it names the
of a period of spent abroad. It seems likely country).
References
Batory, a. and Lindstrom, N. (2011) the power of the and parther in intercultural communication.
purse: supranational entrepreneurship, Financial Synergies Europe No. 3.
Incentives and european Higher education policy. London school of economics. (2000) Higher Education
Governance, 24, pp. 311324. Admissions and Student Mobility in the EU. Clare
Higher education Funding Council (HeFCe). (2004) Market papers No. 18. Centre for educational
International Student Mobility. report by the research. http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/erG/
sussex Centre for Migration research, University pdf/cmp18.pdf.
of sussex, and the Centre for applied population oeCd. (2010) Education at a Glance 2010. http://
research, University of dundee. Commissioned www.oecd.org/dataoecd/46/20/45925316.pdf.
by HeFCe, sHeFC, HeFCW, deL, dfes, U.K. souto otero, M. and McCoshan, a. (2006) Survey
socrates erasmus Council, HeUro, BUteX and of SocioEconomic Background of ERASMUS
the British Council. http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/ Students: Final Report. dG/eaC 01/05.
hefce/2004/04_30/.
teichler, U. (2004) temporary study abroad: the life
Hlmbauer, C., Bhringer, H. and seidlhofer, B. (2008) of erasMUs students. European Journal of
Introducing english as a Lingua Franca precursor Education, 39/4, pp. 395408.
159
de Irlanda, la llamada Modern Languages in Pri si bien no existen datos sobre el nmero de
mary School Iniciative (MLpsI)4, que ayuda a las estudiantes matriculados en espaol en secun-
escuelas que introducen una lengua, ha crecido daria, s podemos consultar los relativos a los
vertiginosamente desde su fundacin en 1998 inscritos en los exmenes estatales en las dis-
hasta contar actualmente con ms de 500 cen- tintas lenguas. Las cifras publicadas por las ins-
tros afiliados. el espaol, que se ensea en 98 tituciones britnicas e irlandesas coinciden en la
de ellos sobrepasando recientemente al alemn, tendencia al alza del espaol frente al descenso
es el idioma que ms crece (tabla 1). del francs y el alemn (tablas 2 y 3).
tabLa 1
Evolucin de los centros adscritos al MLPSI
FUeNte: MLpsI.
tabLa 2
Diferencia en las matrculas en exmenes oficiales del Reino Unido entre 2000 y 2009
tabLa 3
Diferencia en las matrculas en exmenes oficiales de Irlanda entre 2000 y 2009
4 Informacin disponible en la pgina web de la Modern Languages in primary school Institute: http://www.mlpsi.ie/.
estas cifras presentan una continuidad en las bre de National Goals for Schooling in the Twen
matrculas de cursos universitarios5. tyFirst Century, el gobierno de australia est
implantando un nuevo currculum obligatorio en
a pesar de la escasa presencia de lenguas ex- las escuelas que en su segunda fase contempla
tranjeras en sus escuelas, la educacin britnica la oferta obligatoria de una serie de lenguas en-
no es ajena al multilingismo. desde los aos tre las que se encuentra el espaol. Mientras, el
setenta el gobierno de Gales gestiona en esta rpido descenso de las matrculas en lenguas
regin un programa de inmersin lingstica extranjeras en los colegios australianos desde
por el cual los estudiantes que lo elijan pueden hace aos ha sido atajado por el gobierno me-
acudir a centros escolares donde las clases son diante la firma de convenios de colaboracin en
impartidas en gals e ingls. prueba del xito materia educativa con pases asiticos de inte-
del programa es el creciente y muy significativo rs estratgico y comercial. esto ha provocado
nmero de padres no hablantes de gals que que el nmero de estudiantes de lenguas euro-
envan a sus hijos a estos colegios. peas siga descendiendo mientras las matrculas
de chino o japons aumentan 6. sin embargo,
esta aparente falta de inters por el espaol a
australia y Nueva Zelanda nivel escolar contrasta con los datos universita-
Los sistemas educativos de australia y Nueva rios y los relativos a los programas del Ministerio
Zelanda estn siendo objeto de ambiciosas re- de educacin espaol (MeC) en australia, don-
formas que prometen mejorar considerablemen- de se observa que el nmero de alumnos de las
te la situacin de la enseanza de lenguas en aulas y agrupaciones de Lengua y de los auxi-
general, y de espaol en particular. Con el nom- liares de conversacin aumentan ao tras ao7.
tabLa 4
Diferencia en el nmero de escolares matriculados en lenguas extranjeras
entre 2006 y 2010
5 datos relativos al reino Unido obtenidos de Universities and Colleges admissions services (UCas) y the National
Centre for Languages (CILt); para los referentes a Irlanda: El mundo estudia espaol 2007.
6 debido a la descentralizacin educativa de australia, no existen datos a nivel nacional de las matrculas en lenguas
extranjeras. a modo de ejemplo, vanse los relativos a Nueva Gales del sur publicados por su departamento de
educacin: https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/reports_stats/stats/schools.htm.
7 para datos relativos a las universidades australianas, vase El mundo estudia espaol 2007; para los programas
del MeC, evaluacin de los programas de educacin en el exterior.
8 http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/.
cultural y econmico son los fuertes movimien- la presencia del espaol en aquellas donde s se
tos en defensa del ingls frente al espaol. pueden estudiar idiomas est en torno al 90 %
tanto en primaria como en secundaria (tabla 5).
La tendencia reciente a promover el aprendizaje
de lenguas en la escuela sufri un revs en 2009 el departamento de educacin estadounidense
cuando se decidi posponer a 2012 su inclu- ha puesto en prctica distintos tipos de progra-
sin en el National assessment of education. La mas escolares de lengua dependiendo de las
enseanza de idiomas sigue sin ser obligatoria caractersticas de la poblacin de cada territo-
en prcticamente ningn estado, lo que hace rio. estos programas cubren desde un contacto
que el acceso a ella sea muy desigual y que se general con la lengua (FLEX), a clases tradicio-
concentre principalmente en escuelas privadas nales (FLES) o cursos para nativos. particular-
y zonas urbanas. mente innovadores son los TwoWay Immersion
Programs, donde las clases se componen a
de acuerdo con los datos publicados en un partes iguales de estudiantes nativos en ingls y
estudio de 2008, el nmero de escuelas que en espaol, y el horario lectivo se reparte entre
ofrecen lenguas internacionales ha descendido los dos idiomas. en marzo de 2011, 384 cole-
considerablemente desde 1997. a pesar de ello, gios en veintiocho estados y el dC ofrecan este
tabLa 5
Lenguas presentes en Primaria y Secundaria en las escuelas con enseanza
de idiomas
PRIMaRIa
1997 79 % 27 % 5%
2008 88 % 11 % 2% 4%
diferencia +9 % 16 % 3 %
SECUNDaRIa
1997 93 % 64 % 24 %
2008 93 % 46 % 14 % 4%
diferencia 0% 18 % 10 %
tipo de programa; de ellos, el 93 % eran en es- tranjera estarn en una desventaja competitiva
paol12. importante con respecto al resto del mundo en
solo una dcada. a pesar de que los gobiernos
La adaptacin de la oferta acadmica se obser- han tomado conciencia de esta circunstancia
va tambin en la universidad, donde los cursos y han puesto en marcha importantes medidas
para nativos o los de disciplinas como el espa- con el fin de promover el multilingismo entre
ol jurdico, mdico o de negocios aumentan sus ciudadanos, muchas de ellas son todava
cada ao. de acuerdo con los datos publicados insuficientes. de no emprenderse acciones ms
por el Modern Language association (MLa)13, contundentes, millones de hablantes nativos de
en el curso 2009/2010 el espaol continuaba ingls continuarn siendo monolinges cuando
siendo la lengua ms aprendida a nivel univer- se incorporen al mercado laboral.
sitario, con 100.000 matrculas ms que todas
las dems lenguas extranjeras combinadas, con La introduccin de lenguas extranjeras en las es-
cuatro veces ms estudiantes que el francs, la cuelas y, sobre todo, la ampliacin de la oferta
segunda lengua ms estudiada, y con catorce lingstica, ha permitido descubrir la fuerte de-
veces ms estudiantes que el chino y veinticua- manda de espaol que existe en todas las re-
tro que el rabe, las que ms crecen (tabla 6). giones del mundo. Los datos aqu expuestos no
dejan lugar a dudas sobre la fuerte expansin de
la lengua en los pases de habla inglesa tanto en
3. Conclusiones nmero de estudiantes como en su presencia en
los sistemas educativos, aun teniendo en cuenta
se calcula que ms del 90 % de los escolares que su implantacin es todava escasa en algu-
europeos est aprendiendo ingls, y que la cifra nos de ellos. estas cifras favorables se refieren
total de personas que lo estudian en el mun- tanto a territorios con vnculos directos con los
do roza nada menos que los mil millones. esto pases hispanos la inmigracin, el comercio y
significa que las generaciones de angloparlan- la proximidad geogrfica, en el caso de ee.UU.
tes nativos que no aprendan una lengua ex- y Canad; el turismo y la propiedad inmobiliaria,
tabLa 6
Estudiantes de lenguas en las universidades estadounidenses
FUeNte: Enrollments in Languages Other than English in United States Institutions of Higher Education, Fall 2009, MLa.
en el del reino Unido, como a estados con los tanto en metodologa como en uso de las nuevas
que no se mantienen lazos importantes, como tecnologas. en este terreno es decisiva la labor
Nueva Zelanda. esto hace pensar que el espa- del Ministerio de educacin espaol y del Instituto
ol se est empezando a concebir como una Cervantes, que estn respondiendo a esta defi-
lengua del futuro o una segunda lengua inter- ciencia por medio de programas de intercambio y
nacional, debido mayoritariamente a la creciente formacin del profesorado cuyos nmeros crecen
importancia comercial de los pases latinoame- cada ao. es necesario que se pongan en mar-
ricanos y de las empresas espaolas, as como cha nuevas frmulas para favorecer la difusin de
al peso de la lengua y la cultura hispana en los la lengua y la formacin docente, y que se expan-
ee. UU., pas que se ha convertido en una refe- dan las que han demostrado su xito, como las
rencia no solo en cuanto a la tendencia general secciones Bilinges gestionadas por el gobierno
hacia el aprendizaje de espaol, sino tambin espaol en pases del este de europa. del mismo
en el desarrollo de programas y metodologas modo, es indispensable que se favorezca la cola-
docentes. esta situacin se acentuar con toda boracin internacional en materia lingstica me-
probabilidad en los prximos aos debido al es- diante acuerdos como los memorandos firmados
tado actual de crecimiento, a la inmigracin y a recientemente entre espaa y portugal e Italia. es
la implantacin de programas que impongan la de esperar que en un futuro no muy lejano los dis-
obligatoriedad del aprendizaje de lenguas. tintos pases habiliten nuevas formas de acceso a
la funcin docente, ya sea flexibilizando el acce-
el momento de marcado inters internacio- so a puestos de trabajo en la educacin reglada
nal por el espaol resulta evidente, adems, rebajando, por ejemplo, la exigencia de cono-
en otros indicadores como las recientes cifras cer otras lenguas cooficiales, o creando pro-
relativas al programa de movilidad estudiantil gramas universitarios especficos para este fin.
erasmus que muestran que espaa es, por solo as se podr asegurar la calidad de la ense-
noveno ao consecutivo, el destino preferido anza de una lengua cuya importancia no parece
por los estudiantes europeos, la proliferacin que vaya a dejar de crecer en mucho tiempo.
de escuelas y programas de idiomas en toda
Latinoamrica, o la fuerte expansin del Institu-
to Cervantes y los programas de cooperacin Referencias bibliogrficas citadas
educativa del Ministerio de educacin por todo
ausTralian EDuCaTion union (2006). The OECD Edu
el mundo. esto va acompaado por un fuerte
cation at a Glance Report 2006. A Preliminary
crecimiento del mercado privado de la ensean-
Summary of Selected Statistics. Melbourne. dis-
za del espaol como segunda lengua o lengua ponible en: http://www.aeufederal.org.au/publi-
extranjera, y por el surgimiento de un gran n- cations/oecd2006.pdf.
mero de opciones laborales vinculadas al cono-
CEnTEr For appliED linGuisTiCs (CaL) (2009). World
cimiento y la enseanza del espaol. Language Teaching in American Schools. Prelimi
nary Results from the National K12 Foreign Lan
salvado el obstculo cultural de no haber sido guage Survey. disponible en: http://www.cal.org/
una lengua tradicionalmente estudiada en mu- projects/flsurvey.html/.
chos de los pases anglfonos, la nueva barrera Comisin EuropEa (2006). Los europeos y las lenguas.
a la que nos enfrentamos es la carencia de per- Eurobarmetro Especial 64.3/243. disponible en:
sonal docente preparado y de recursos educati- http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/
vos acordes a los nuevos enfoques pedaggicos ebs_243_en.pdf.
minisTErial CounCil For EDuCaTion, Early ChilDhooD Cooperacin Internacional. disponible en: http://
DEvElopmEnT anD youTh aFFairs (MCeeCdYa) www.educacion.gob.es/dctm/ministerio/horizon-
(1999). The Adelaide Declaration on National tales/estadisticas/exterior/accion-educativa/
Goals for Schooling in the 21st Century. disponi- evolucion.pdf?documentId=0901e72b808930f0.
169
of Ireland, the Modern Languages in primary even though there is no data regarding the
schools Initiative (MLpsI4), which helps schools number of students registered in spanish at the
to introduce a new language, has grown at a level of secondary education, we can consider
vertiginous rate since its foundation in 1998, those enrolled in foreign language assessment
and currently has more than 500 affiliated for the state exams. the figures published by
centres. spanish, which is taught in 98 of them British and Irish institutions coincide with the
and has recently surpassed German, is the rising patterns of spanish learning vis--vis the
fastest growing language (table 1). decline of French and German (tables 2 and 3).
tabLE 1
Evolution of centres affiliated with MLPSI
soUrCe: MLpsI.
tabLE 2
Changes in registration for official exams in the U.K. between 2000 and 2009
tabLE 3
Changes in registration for official exams in Ireland between 2000 and 2009
the registration trends in these statistics show implementing a new mandatory curriculum for
continuity at university level5. schools called National Goals for Schooling in
the TwentyFirst Century that considers, in its
despite the scarce presence of foreign languages second phase, the requirement to offer a series
in schools, British education is not unfamiliar with of languages, including spanish. For years,
multilingualism. since the seventies, the Welsh the government has offset the rapid decline
Government has been managing immersion in foreign language registration in australian
programmes that use Welsh as the medium
schools by signing collaboration agreements
of instruction. the success achieved by these
in educational matters with asian countries of
bilingual programmes is shown by the large and
strategic and commercial interest. as a result,
growing number of non-Welsh-speaking parents
the number of students of european languages
who are choosing to send their children to this
has continued to drop while the registrations in
type of school.
Chinese or Japanese have increased6. However,
this apparent lack of interest in spanish at
australia and New Zealand school level is in contrast with the data on the
the school systems in australia and New spanish department of education programmes
Zealand are currently the objects of ambitious in australia, which show a steady yearly increase
reforms that aim to improve considerably the in the number of students in language classes
general state of language teaching, particularly and interest groups, and in the number of
spanish. the australian gover nment is language and culture assistants7.
tabLE 4
Changes in the number of registered students in foreign languages between
2006 and 2010
5 U.K. data obtained from Universities and Colleges admissions services (UCas) and the National Centre for
Languages (CILt); for Ireland data, see El mundo estudia espaol 2007 (2009).
6 due to the decentralisation of the australian school system, data on registration figures in foreign languages at the
national level are scarce. For examples, please refer to the data relative to New south Wales published by its
department of education. https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/reports_stats/stats/schools.htm/.
7 For information on australian universities, see El mundo estudia espaol 2007 and El mundo estudia espaol 2009;
for the spanish department of education programmes see estadsticas de la accin educativa en el exterior:
evaluacin de los programas de educacin en el exterior. http://www.educacion.es/mecd/estadisticas/
educativas/exterior/.
8 http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/.
the schooling strategy 2005-2010, launched by settled in its territory, seems extraordinary given
the New Zealand government, also proposes a that the Hispanic population is still a modest
curriculum reform that for the first time will include minority. It is the commercial and cultural
a section for the learning of foreign languages importance of spanish that drives the demand
(Learning Languages). the most recent data for spanish distance learning programmes, and
published by the department of education is also behind the proliferation of bilingual school
reveals that the number of spanish students programmes in the state of alberta. thanks to
has increased fourfold since 1997, being today, the collaboration of the alberta department
together with Chinese, the fastest growing of education with the spanish department of
language at all levels of schooling (table 4). education, the number of schools that started
the programme in 2002 has grown from 2
to 17 in 2007, and the number of students
Canada has gone from 100 to almost 3,000. together
the significant demographic diversity of Canada, with Manitoba and saskatchewan, alberta
and its decentralised administrative structure in has signed on a curriculum for the teaching
educational matters, renders a comprehensive of spanish language and culture in secondary
analysis of the teaching of spanish in the schools that is already being put into practice.
school system very difficult at the national level. a similar programme was recently approved
Broadly speaking, its presence is significant in Quebec, and because of the demand for
and increasing in the most densely populated spanish in British Columbia, it is now available
states and in big urban nuclei such as ontario, at all levels of institutionalised schooling.
alberta, Quebec or British Columbia. With
the exception of Yukon, where spanish is the at the university level, and according to the data
most widely offered language after indigenous made available by the Canadian association of
tongues, in the rest of the lesser populated Hispanists, spanish is taught in all provinces
regions the presence of spanish is almost non- including the Yukon territory. spanish is the
existent at the school level together with the foreign language in highest demand after
other second languages9. this urban link with secondary school, to the point that, according
spanish is evident, for instance, in the state to university sources, the interest in spanish
of Manitoba, where the data compiled by the is surpassing French in the english speaking
department of education shows that whereas provinces. this demand is difficult to meet due
German is the second language in highest to budget and teaching personnel limitations,
demand in the state, which has historical ties and lack of government support.
with Germany, it is spanish that is in highest
demand in its capital, Winnipeg10.
United states
the thriving presence of spanish in the In the U.s. the teaching of spanish transcends
Canadian school system, which favours the the educational sphere strictly speaking and
instruction of languages of historical relevance engages the political, the sociological, as well as
and those belonging to immigrant communities the cultural spheres of the country. Its cultural
and economic weight is sufficiently proven in the presence of spanish in those that do offer
powerful movements that aim to defend english languages is about 90 % in both elementary
vis--vis spanish. and secondary schools (table 5).
the recent trend to promote the learning of the U.s. department of education has
foreign languages in schools suffered a setback implemented different types of school language
in 2009 when its inclusion in the National
programmes depending on area demographics.
assessment of education was postponed.
these programmes range from a general
Language teaching is yet to be mandatory in
contact with the language (FLeX), to traditional
all states, which means access is unequally
classes (FLes), to courses for native speakers.
distributed and mostly concentrated in private
the two-Way Immersion programmes, where
schools and urban areas.
classes combine an equal number of native
according to the data published by a 2008 speakers of english and spanish, and lecture
study, the number of schools that offer time is equally divided between the two
inter national languages has decreased languages, are particularly innovative. In March
considerably since 1997. Nonetheless, the 2011, 384 schools in 28 states and d.C. offered
tabLE 5
Languages offered in elementary and secondary schools with foreign language
programmes
ELEMENtaRY
1997 79 % 27 % 5%
2008 88 % 11 % 2% 4%
Change +9 % 16 % 3 %
SECONDaRY
1997 93 % 64 % 24 %
2008 93 % 46 % 14 % 4%
Change 0% 18 % 10 %
this kind of programme, of which 93 % were in essential that the young generations of native
spanish12. anglophones learn foreign languages. In spite of
the recent reforms that have introduced second
at university level too, courses for native languages in formal education, more effort has to
speakers or for specific disciplines such as be made to effectively integrate them in schools
spanish for law, medicine, or economics and to make sure that all children are learning them.
increase every year. according to the data
provided by the Modern Language association the introduction of foreign language classes in
(MLa) in 2010 regarding the 2008-2009 school curricula and the diversification of the
academic year 13 , spanish continues to be linguistic offer have uncovered the existence of
the most frequently pursued language at a strong demand for spanish language around
university level, with 100,000 more enrolments the world. the data discussed here leave little
than all other foreign languages combined, doubt as to the significant expansion of spanish in
and accounting for more than four times the english speaking countries in terms of the number
number of students than French (the second of students and its presence in school systems.
most studied), 14 times more students than these figures refer both to regions with direct ties
Chinese and 24 more than arabic, these two to spanish speaking countries in the case of the
being the fastest growing languages (table 6). U.s. and Canada, immigration, commerce and
geographical proximity; for the U.K. it is tourism and
real estate as well as to states without significant
3. Conclusions connections, such as New Zealand. this suggests
that spanish is beginning to be perceived as a
With more than 90 % of european school children language of the future or as a second international
learning english, and the estimated total number language, due for the most part to the growing
of english learners in the world being close to one commercial importance of Latin american
billion, speaking english, and only english, is not a countries and of spanish companies, as well as to
competitive advantage anymore. It has become the relevance of Hispanic language and culture in
tabLE 6
Foreign language students in american universities
soUrCe: enrollments in Languages other than english in United states Institutions of Higher education, Fall 2009, MLa.
12 data from the Center for applied Linguistics (CaL) for two-Way Immersion programs. http://www.cal.org/twi/
directory/.
13 http://www.mla.org/2009_enrollmentsurvey.
the U.s. In all likelihood this situation will become or by creating university programmes specifically
more pronounced as a result of the current state directed to this end. only then can the quality of
of growth, immigration and the implementation language teaching be guaranteed to ensure the
of programmes that make the learning of foreign continuing relevance of languages in the worlds of
languages a school requirement. education and employment.
the lack of well-trained instructors and teaching european Commission. (2006) Special Eurobarometer
resources, both regarding modern methodologies 64.3/243, Europeans and their languages. http://
and the use of new technologies. In this area, the ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/
ebs_243_en.pdf.
work of the spanish department of education
and the Instituto Cervantes is decisive, thanks to Ministerial Council for education, early Childhood
the growing number of programmes for student development and Youth affairs (MCeeCdYa).
(1999) The Adelaide Declaration on National
exchange and teacher formation. New formulae
Goals for Schooling in the 21st Century. http://
to promote the language should be designed, and
www.mceecdya.edu.au/mceecdya/adelaide_
those that are succeeding, such as the Bilingual
declaration_1999_text,28298.html.
sections, should expand to other countries. the
Ministerio de educacin de espaa. (2005) El mundo
governments of spanish-speaking countries should
estudia espaol 2007. Madrid: Ministerio de
seek to sign agreements of international linguistic
educacin y Ciencia, secretara General tcnica.
collaboration, such as the one recently established
. (2010) evaluacin de los programas de
by spain with portugal and Italy. It is hoped that
educacin en el exterior. Estadstica de la Accin
in the near future different countries will open new Educativa en el Exterior, subdireccin General
avenues of access to pedagogic labour, whether de Cooperacin Internacional. http://www.
by making access to jobs in institutionalised educacion.gob.es/dctm/ministerio/horizontales/
education more flexible for instance, lowering the estadisticas/exterior/accion-educativa/evolucion.
requirements to know other co-official languages pdf?documentId=0901e72b808930f0.
177
una forma de imperialismo cultural de los nue- y capaz de desenvolverse en un contexto glo-
vos colonizadores yanquis, idea todava pre- bal. Muchas veces tomando como referencia
sente en algunos discursos oficiales. esto se ha las transformaciones acaecidas en los pases
visto reforzado por un sentimiento de suficiencia asiticos, los gobiernos han aprendido que el
basado en el alto nmero de hablantes de espa- ingls ofrece no solo una salida a los problemas
ol y en que esta fuera durante mucho tiempo de desempleo, sino una verdadera herramien-
la lengua principal de sus relaciones comercia- ta de movilidad social que puede moderar las
les. Como consecuencia de esto, as como del diferencias entre sus ciudadanos. se han dado
escaso presupuesto dedicado a la educacin y cuenta de que, a la hora de competir por in-
de la necesidad de atender a otros problemas versin extranjera, contar con una fuerza laboral
ms acuciantes (la escolarizacin de grupos con conocimientos de ingls ha pasado a ser
marginados, la alfabetizacin en castellano, el un elemento ms a considerar en la toma de
absentismo escolar o la falta de infraestructuras, decisin de las compaas, junto a otras como
entre otros), las autoridades polticas prestaron la estabilidad poltica o las condiciones fiscales.
poca atencin al aprendizaje del ingls. profe- Los pases centroamericanos que pugnan por
sores con escasos conocimientos de la lengua y albergar las sedes de los call centres internacio-
un mtodo docente inefectivo basado en la me- nales ya se han dado cuenta.
morizacin lxica y la realizacin de ejercicios de
gramtica, convirtieron al ingls en una materia as pues, el aprendizaje de ingls en los pases
siempre estudiada pero nunca aprendida. de habla hispana est atravesando un momento
de importantes transformaciones. desde hace
Las transformaciones globales han hecho que pocos aos se estn poniendo en marcha com-
esta situacin haya comenzado a cambiar. Las plejas reformas educativas que tienen en el in-
autoridades han tomado conciencia de la impor- gls uno de sus nuevos pilares. se ha dado el
tancia de ensear la lengua a sus ciudadanos primer paso; en los prximos aos se ver quin
y de la necesidad de hacerlo de manera eficaz. es capaz de continuar haciendo el camino y a
Incluso las naciones ms alejadas de la rbita qu velocidad.
econmica y poltica occidental estn empezan-
do a ver en el ingls una oportunidad: una nueva
identidad de hispanos multilinges, globales y 2. La situacin del ingls en la
competitivos, y no una prdida de identidad. el enseanza de los pases hispanos
factor ms importante detrs de este cambio es
el papel creciente de estos pases en el teatro Un anlisis de la situacin actual del aprendi-
del comercio internacional: espaa a travs de zaje del ingls en los pases hispanos reviste
su membresa en la Unin europea y de sus em- importantes dificultades. determinar el nmero
presas multinacionales, y amrica Latina como de personas que lo hablan o lo estudian resul-
fuente de mano de obra, como mercado y como ta prcticamente imposible por varios moti-
destino turstico internacional. esto ha multipli- vos: primero, porque con la nica excepcin
cado la necesidad de personal local cualificado de espaa 4, no existen datos oficiales sobre
4 son varios los ndices que han medido en aos recientes en espaa tanto los conocimientos de ingls de los
ciudadanos como las actitudes generales de la poblacin ante la enseanza del ingls. a nivel nacional, contamos
con los Barmetros de 2007 y 2009 del Centro de Investigaciones sociolgicas (CIs), y con los eurobarmetros
de 2001 y 2006 sobre conocimientos lingsticos (Los europeos y sus lenguas) llevados a cabo por la Comisin
europea de multilingismo. Los datos del nmero de estudiantes de lenguas en todos los niveles de la educacin
pblica y concertada, as como en las escuelas oficiales de idiomas, dependientes del Gobierno central, estn
disponibles en la pgina web del Ministerio de educacin. Los datos de movilidad internacional tanto del alumnado
como del profesorado europeo son publicados anualmente por la Comisin de educacin y Formacin.
5 a pesar de que todos los pases de amrica Latina publican los datos sobre el nmero total de estudiantes
matriculados en las escuelas y de que los planes de estudios determinan la obligatoriedad o no de la enseanza
de ingls, en muchas regiones esta opcin no es an una realidad, datos no considerados en las estadsticas
oficiales.
6 en Bolivia se aprob, en diciembre de 2010, la Ley de Educacin Avelino SianiElizardo Prez, uno de cuyos
objetivos es establecer la enseanza trilinge en espaol, ingls y las lenguas aborgenes, en la enseanza formal
desde primaria, medida que todava no se ha puesto en marcha con relacin al ingls.
7 Los guatemaltecos califican mal al sistema educativo, El Peridico (Guatemala), 24 de mayo de 2007. disponible
en: http://www.elperiodico.com.gt/es/20070524/actualidad/39960/.
en comparacin con el sector privado. La mayo- tellano estn asistiendo a un fuerte ascenso en
ra se nutren casi exclusivamente de profesores la demanda de estudios encaminados a formar
hispanohablantes que han aprendido la lengua profesores de ingls.
en su propio pas y que nunca han viajado a un
pas anglfono. estudios llevados a cabo en Una de las fuentes ms comunes de formacin
Colombia, ecuador, Mxico o Chile revelan que lingstica para nios y adultos son las acade-
una parte importante del profesorado no pasa mias de idiomas, muy numerosas en todas las
los exmenes de ingls ms elementales. este ciudades hispanas y que ofrecen una calidad
problema no solo redunda en una mala calidad muy desigual en su enseanza. si en la educa-
de las clases, sino que est retrasando la puesta cin pblica es casi imposible encontrar profe-
en marcha de las reformas pues, en lugar de sores de ingls nativos, muchas academias pre-
recurrir a profesores veteranos, las autoridades sentan el problema contrario: docentes nativos
educativas se estn viendo obligadas a formar pero con altos ndices de rotacin y escasos co-
nuevas plantillas no solo en ingls, sino tambin nocimientos pedaggicos (una fuente habitual
en nuevas estrategias docentes acordes con el son los populares programas de voluntariado
enfoque comunicativo. a travs de los cuales jvenes angloparlantes
pasan un tiempo en amrica Latina enseando
de este modo, ya sea porque el sistema pblico ingls). Como reaccin a esta situacin, se han
no ofrece clases de ingls o porque su ense- creado recientemente en casi todos los pases
anza es deficiente, lo cierto es que el mundo ndices de certificacin que miden la calidad de
hispano sigue recurriendo en gran medida al las academias de idiomas y exigen cursos de
sector privado para su formacin lingstica. formacin continua para sus empleados.
existe en todos los pases un potente y crecien-
te mercado de centros privados de educacin por ltimo, no puede hacerse una radiografa de
bilinge o de habla inglesa, ya sean guarderas, la situacin del ingls en los pases hispanos sin
colegios o universidades. este ltimo caso es resaltar la importante labor llevada a cabo por
especialmente interesante. si hasta hace pocos los gobiernos de pases angloparlantes, espe-
aos la posibilidad de realizar estudios superio- cialmente ee.UU. y Gran Bretaa, a travs de
res en ingls en pases hispanos se reduca a la firma de tratados de colaboracin y de sus
las carreras especficamente vinculadas a esta instituciones.
lengua (el turismo, la hostelera o los negocios),
con el fin de atraer a los miles de estudiantes La labor educativa de las secciones culturales de
hispanos que realizan sus estudios superiores las embajadas de ee.UU. en Hispanoamrica y
en pases de habla inglesa 8, estn surgiendo espaa se basa en gran medida en la concesin
universidades donde la lengua de enseanza de becas de estudios e investigacin, la gestin
para todos los estudios es el ingls. tanto estos de programas de intercambio y la formacin do-
centros como los que ofrecen las clases en cas- cente. en pases como Bolivia, Mxico, ecuador
8 de acuerdo con las estadsticas publicadas por el Institute of International education (IIe) en el Open
Door Report de 2010, en las universidades y centros de enseanza superior americanos haba
57.164 estudiantes procedentes de pases de habla hispana durante el curso 2009-2010. segn
un estudio de the Complete University Guide, en el curso 2008-2009 haba 2.466 estudiantes espaoles
en las universidades britnicas (no existen datos para los dems pases hispanos). disponible en:
http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/international/breakdown/where-they-come-from/.
o Uruguay, las embajadas gestionan adems formacin, por nombrar algunos. entre los recur-
centros de enseanza de ingls de los que se sos concebidos especficamente para los con-
benefician miles de estudiantes (solo en Uruguay textos socioculturales de estos pases destacan,
hay actualmente 44 de estos centros). en aos por ejemplo, mtodos de idiomas para regiones
recientes han adquirido especial importancia por rurales o aisladas, programas de voluntariado
su labor de asesoramiento a las autoridades lo- para involucrar a la poblacin extranjera de ha-
cales y a los directores de las escuelas en el es- bla inglesa residente en estos pases, recursos
tablecimiento de la enseanza de ingls. de enseanza basados en las lenguas indgenas
o cursos de formacin tcnica en ingls en las
adems de tareas ya tradicionales como las cla- nuevas industrias donde existe demanda, como
ses de lenguas, la administracin de exmenes los centros de servicio o call centres.
oficiales y la labor de difusin cultural, el British
Council se ha convertido en un actor principal en trminos generales, los cambios introducidos
en el proceso de transformacin de la ensean- se basan en dos tipos de acciones: por un lado,
za de ingls de muchos pases hispanos: entre la implantacin del ingls de forma igualitaria en
sus principales acciones destaca la colabora- todos los centros de educacin pblica, que as-
cin con los gobiernos de ecuador y Colom- pira a transformar la realidad sociolingstica de
bia en el diseo de sus reformas educativas (el los pases a medio-largo plazo y a recortar la dis-
programa CradLe ecuatoriano ha beneficiado tancia entre la educacin pblica y la privada; y
hasta la fecha a ms de un milln de estudian- por otro, las que se centran en facilitar mediante
tes) o la gestin junto al Ministerio de educacin becas el acceso de estudiantes de menos recur-
espaol de un programa nacional de colegios sos a centros de educacin privados, ya sea por
bilinges de financiacin pblica. mritos acadmicos o procedencia, con el objeti-
vo de formar de manera ms rpida a un nmero
menor de estudiantes y reforzar una clase media
3. tiempo de reformas basada en el conocimiento del ingls. el primer
grupo de medidas, las ms ambiciosas, se en-
pases como Colombia, espaa, Mxico, Chile o frenta a grandes dificultades debido a las defi-
Costa rica han aprobado complejos planes na- ciencias generales de los sistemas de educacin
cionales de enseanza que introducen reformas y a la necesidad de formar a un alto nmero de
en todas las reas vinculadas a la enseanza del profesores y dotar de medios a todas las escue-
ingls. as, los nuevos planes de educacin lin- las, costosos cambios que requieren un esfuerzo
gstica abarcan de manera simultnea reformas continuado en el tiempo. La segunda frmula,
curriculares, ampliaciones en el acceso a clases menos popular, puede suponer una mera perpe-
de ingls tanto escolares como extraescolares, la tuacin de las desigualdades entre la educacin
evaluacin, formacin y actualizacin del profe- pblica y la privada en el caso de que fracasen
sorado, la dotacin de nuevas estructuras tanto las reformas del sistema estatal.
fsicas como tecnolgicas, el diseo de recursos
docentes acordes con los nuevos enfoques edu-
cativos, programas de inmersin lingstica, la 4. Conclusiones
utilizacin de ndices de evaluacin comunes (en
general el Marco comn europeo de referencia el momento de dinamismo que se vive en los
para las lenguas) o proyectos intersectoriales de pases hispanos en su aspiracin a transformar-
185
communicative approach into the classrooms, learning english is not a threat to their identity,
a failure to provide teacher training and new but an opportunity. parents are investing large
materials meant that the teaching methodologies sums of money to make sure their children learn
remained unchanged and, thus, ineffective. the english, and they are demanding that education
few students who studied english in the public authorities provide quality language education
systems spent much of the time doing grammar in public schools. Many countries have recently
exercises and memorising english words. When passed laws that implement comprehensive
put in real-life situations, most of them could education reforms based in part on this new
barely speak a word. position of english. It is a good first step in the
path to multilingualism; we have yet to see who
the transformations brought about by can stay on it, and how fast they can walk.
globalisation have changed this situation
dramatically. In the last decade, political
authorities have acquired a new awareness of the 2. english language
importance of teaching english to their citizens,
in the education systems
and of doing so effectively. the main reason
of spanish-speaking countries
behind this shift is the growing importance of
Hispanic countries in the global economy: spain
It is difficult to give an approximate number
through its membership in the european Union
of english language learners and speakers in
and its multinationals; and Hispanic america as
Hispanic countries. there are various reasons
an international market, tourist destination, and
for this. Firstly, very few countries have available
provider of labour resources. this has increased
data on language education 4 . even in the
the demand for local english-speaking personnel,
cases in which education authorities publish
which has become a key element for companies
the numbers on overall school enrolment,
deciding where to place a plant or outsource
services. Governments have realised that english classes, even if mandatory, are rarely
being able to comply with this requirement can in place in rural and isolated regions. there is
foster development in their countries by cutting no information about how many students are
unemployment and bolstering social mobility, effectively receiving english classes. secondly,
hence diminishing inequalities. Central american a very large part of english learning takes place
countries competing to host international call in the private sector, abroad, or informally. this
centres know this already. is the case of the tens of millions of Hispanic
citizens living in the U.s. and in other english
english language learning in spanish-speaking speaking countries, many of them illegally. It is
countries is going through deep transformations. very difficult to make a calculation of how many
Hispanophones are starting to understand that Mexican, Guatemalan or dominican nationals
4 spain is an exception. Various indices have measured both the english skills and the attitude towards languages in
spain. National surveys were conducted by the Center for sociological research (CIs), in 2007 and 2009, and the
european Commission published the results of two eurobarometers on the subject (europeans and their
languages, special eurobarometer 54, from 2001, and special eurobarometer 243, from 2006). detailed data
about foreign language students in all levels of formal education and state-funded language schools (escuelas
oficiales de idiomas) are available from the Ministry of education. statistics about european student and teacher
mobility are published yearly by the european Commission of education and training.
speak english because they have used it, or are runs 80 infant and primary schools, as well as
using it, during their international stays. 44 secondary schools nationwide, and where
Madrids local government has made 242
a third obstacle arises from the difficulty in traditional schools bilingual in the last 7 years.
establishing a direct correlation between attending
a large number of english classes, and having the the education systems of all spanish-speaking
ability to use the language for communication, countries are facing a common problem
as seen in the Chilean results as well as in the the need for qualified english teachers. Low
experience of so many spaniards who studied salaries and requirements that are too hard
english at school in the 80s and 90s. Instead of to comply with for non-nationals are keeping
assuming that students are successfully learning native speakers out of the public system. Most
the language because it is taught within their english teachers are locals who have studied
education systems, governments should conduct the language in their home towns and who have
regular surveys that look into whether they are never been to an english speaking country.
acquiring english skills or not. studies conducted in Colombia, ecuador,
Mexico and Chile show that a big percentage of
all but five spanish-speaking countries offer these teachers fail primary level tests. this has
compulsory english classes at school, usually a very negative impact not only on the quality
in secondary education. the countries that do of education, but also on the implementation of
not, Guatemala, el salvador, Honduras, Cuba the reforms, which are being delayed because
and Bolivia 5 , are facing strong demands for governments are having to train new teacher
its introduction (a poll conducted in 2007 by cohorts instead of hiring veteran instructors.
Guatemalan newspaper El Peridico showed
that 93.1 % of those surveyed said that the lack therefore, whether because the public system
of mandatory english classes at schools was does not offer english classes, or because its
one of their biggest concerns6). places like Chile teaching shows serious deficiencies, a very
and argentina are making english compulsory large number of spanish-speakers are learning
from primary level, while spain is introducing it english in the private sector. all countries are
in kindergarten. CLIL (Content and Language seeing the rise of a fast-growing market of private
Integrated Learning) methodology, thoroughly education at all levels: infant education, schools
used in private schools, is being introduced and universities. this last case is a very recent
in the public system in countries like Mexico phenomenon that is trying to attract Hispanic
and spain, where a joint programme of the students who attend university in english-
British Council and the Ministry of education speaking countries7. Both these schools and
5 In december of 2010, Bolivia approved thorough reforms of its education system (Ley de educacin avelino siani-
elizardo prez), which have not yet been implemented. they establish that all students will receive a trilingual
education (in spanish, english and the indigenous languages) at school.
6 Los guatemaltecos califican mal al sistema educativo, el peridico of Guatemala, May 24, 2007.
http://www.elperiodico.com.gt/es/20070524/actualidad/39960/.
7 according to the data published by the Institute of International education (IIe), during the 2009-2010 academic
year there were 57,164 students of Hispanic citizenship in U.s. higher education institutions. a study conducted by
the Complete University Guide says that in the 2008-2009 school years there were 2,466 spanish students in
British universities (there is no data for other spanish-speaking countries). this information can be found at
http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/international/breakdown/where-they-come-from/.
traditional spanish language universities are language teaching centres and administering
seeing a steady rise in the demand for courses examinations schemes, the British Council has
that prepare students to become english become a key player in the transformations
teachers. that are taking place in some spanish-speaking
countries. some of its most significant projects
one of the most popular sources of linguistic have involved collaborations with the ecuadorian
training is language schools or academias. they and the Colombian governments in the design
can be found in almost every town, and the of their education reforms (the CradLe
quality of their teaching can vary considerably. programme of ecuador has benefitted more than
While in the public system it is difficult to find one million students so far since its inception in
native teachers, in the case of some language 1997), and the creation of a network of bilingual
schools many of the instructors are native public schools along with the spanish Ministry
english speakers but have little teaching training of education. all three programmes are used as
(a common source of teachers are volunteering models by neighbouring countries in the design
programmes where english-speaking students of their english language reforms.
spend some time in Latin america teaching
the language). to make sure the schools reach
quality standards, many countries require that 3. time for change
they comply with regulations that demand
that their language instructors attend training the most comprehensive education plans,
programmes. such as those passed in recent years by
Colombia, spain, Chile, Mexico and Costa
an overview of the english language in rica, tackle all aspects of language teaching.
Hispanophone regions cannot be complete they comprise curriculum reforms, access
without mentioning the work of the english- to english classes both in and out of school,
speaking countries, especially the U.s. and immersion and exchange programmes, teacher
the U.K., through their on-site cultural and evaluation and training, new physical and
educational institutions. technological structures, teaching resources,
the establishment of international indices for
the cultural sections of the U.s. embassies proficiency evaluation (the Common european
in spain and spanish-speaking Latin america Framework of reference, in most cases), or
focus mainly on managing scholarship and inter-sectoral collaborations, to name a few.
exchange programmes. In countries like Bolivia, Most have also designed programmes that
ecuador or Uruguay, these sections also run address their countries specific contexts of
language schools (only in Uruguay there are 44 implementation, such as language methods
of these centres). In recent years, the cultural for rural areas, volunteering programmes for
departments have also started working as foreign residents, teaching resources based on
advisors to both local authorities and school indigenous languages, or technical training in
heads in the implementation of english classes english to meet specific job demands, such as
in schools. working in call centres.
apart from its traditional work running an these plans are based on two main types of
international network of over 100 english reforms: one that focuses on the introduction of
english classes in all centres of public education, the only way to achieve a true transformation of
and a second that enables students from the system is to sustain the investment in time
impoverished areas to access private education. (for at least ten years), and to promote popular
the first type of measure seeks to transform the awareness of its importance. For it to succeed,
sociolinguistic reality in the long term, and to none of the working areas teacher training,
shorten the distance between public and private student motivation, proficiency demand,
education. this formula faces considerable teaching methodologies, and so on can be
overlooked. education authorities should offer
problems due to the general deficiencies of the
teachers a competitive salary to encourage
education systems, the need to train a large
people who learn english to go back to school
number of teachers and to provide schools
to teach. Lastly, special attention should be paid
with teaching resources and infrastructures.
to language training for the adult population.
the second type of measure attempts to train
While it will take years for schoolchildren to enter
a smaller number of students faster, and to
the labour market, adult learners are already part
enforce the creation of a strong working-class of it. they may have stronger motivation, are
based on the ability to communicate in english. more likely to be exposed to the language, and
this second formula is less popular, and, should serve as a positive model for children.
the public reforms not succeed, may simply
perpetuate the inequalities between private and In addition to the education reforms, there are
public education. other ways in which governments can help
the creation of multilingual societies. one of
them is fostering the use of english outside the
4. Conclusions classroom, in leisure time, through television,
movies, the internet, and cultural events.
the strong dynamism that is seen in spanish- Collaboration with english-speaking countries
speaking countries with regards to english and institutions to establish exchange or visiting
learning cannot hide the huge difficulties it programmes is essential not only to make
faces. turning a language spoken by the elite sure that students and teachers practise the
into a language spoken extensively in a region language in-context, but that they also have
where the school dropout rate is one of the first-hand contact with the culture. establishing
channels to share and exchange ideas among
highest in the world is only one of them. another
countries facing similar problems in different
problem arises from the fact that in countries like
world regions should be a fruitful source of
paraguay, Bolivia, Colombia, peru, and in some
information.
regions of spain, these reforms coincide with a
defence of local languages other than spanish
the challenges faced in the path to
that is bringing them back into schools as media multilingualism are complex, but the reward is
of instruction. In some cases, this means the use certainly worth it. the countries that succeed
of three different languages for education. this is at becoming multilingual will have citizens
creating not only a fight for funds and space in who speak two of the most-used languages
the school timetable, but also an overwhelming in the world. It is a competitive advantage that
burden for some students, especially those who they cannot turn away from, and they seem
are not fully literate in even one of them. to know it.
References
191
La lengua
en Europa
PART THREE
Language
in Europe
Plurilingismo?
Han cumplido lo prometido
las polticas europeas
de educacin lingstica?
Janet Enever
195
1 Actualmente, el Consejo de Europa, a travs de su divisin de Poltica Lingstica, centra su atencin en asuntos
polticos a nivel individual, nacional y supranacional. En este contexto se han introducido dos conceptos:
plurilingismo y multilingismo. De acuerdo con la terminologa del Consejo, el plurilingismo est vinculado
al aspecto psicolingstico, es decir, al uso individual de ms de una lengua, mientras que el multilingismo
se relaciona con el aspecto sociolingstico, es decir, con la coexistencia de varias lenguas en un mismo territorio o
estado cuyos miembros no son necesariamente plurilinges. Komorowska (2010, p. 5). Disponible en:
http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/fms/MRSite/Research/iset/Working %20Paper %20Series/WP %2015.pdf.
ltima consulta: 14/06/11.
tabLa 1
Europa: cambios recientes en la edad de inicio de aprendizaje obligatorio
de una segunda lengua o lengua extranjera (LE) (mayo de 2011)
1990 2 1 24
2011 13 10 4
tornado en base racional para dar prioridad a la que opta por ella suele estar entre el 10 y el
actividad econmica global; y, en este campo, el 20 %. El italiano ocupa una posicin similar y
ingls se percibe como la herramienta lingstica el ruso se coloca en el quinto lugar de la lista
de ms valor, lo que lo convierte en una priori- de lenguas extranjeras ms estudiadas en los
dad desde el mismo inicio de la escolarizacin. centros educativos europeos.
Esta conclusin se ve reforzada por las ltimas
estadsticas publicadas sobre el nmero de
alumnos de Primaria que estn aprendiendo di- 3. Polticas lingsticas en Primaria
versas lenguas extranjeras en toda Europa (red
Eurydice, 2008). Aunque los ltimos datos que El anlisis de las polticas lingsticas en el
ofrece Eurydice datan de 2006, constituyen la mbito educativo de los distintos pases indi-
panormica ms reciente de que disponemos ca que la decisin ltima recae a menudo en
de la oferta de lenguas extranjeras en Europa, y las administraciones regionales o en los pro-
son corroborados por otros datos ms actuales pios centros educativos. Por ejemplo, la polti-
pero menos exhaustivos que confirman que la ca educativa austriaca comprende un total de
enseanza del ingls como lengua extranjera en nueve lenguas extranjeras que pueden ofre-
el ciclo de Primaria es una tendencia en ascen- cerse en los centros de Primaria, atendiendo
so. El informe Eurydice (2008, 62) afirma que especialmente a la presencia de distintas mi-
en todos los pases europeos, con las excep- noras lingsticas en las regiones del pas. A
ciones de Blgica y Luxemburgo, el ingls es la pesar de esta libertad de eleccin, el 97 % de
lengua extranjera ms estudiada en la etapa de los centros optan por introducir el ingls en pri-
Primaria. Por otra parte, en el ao 2006 ms mer lugar, a partir de los seis aos. El reciente
del 60 % de los alumnos de Primaria estudiaban estudio ELLiE (www.ellieresearch.eu) muestra
ingls, frente a un 4 % que estudiaban alemn y que los diferentes enfoques adoptados por
un 6 % que elegan el francs. las declaraciones de polticas educativas para
determinar la eleccin de lengua extranjera fre-
En cuanto a la popularidad del espaol, los da- cuentemente resultan en la eleccin mayoritaria
tos de Eurydice (2008, 69) sugieren que esta del ingls como primera opcin en los progra-
lengua es ms estudiada en los ltimos cursos mas de inicio temprano. En la tabla 2, que apa-
de Secundaria, donde el porcentaje de alumnos rece a continuacin, resumimos las polticas de
tabLa 2
Polticas nacionales de eleccin de la primera lengua extranjera por pases
(de 1. a 4. de Primaria)
eleccin de lenguas extranjeras vigentes en los pasado esta lengua era el francs, percibido en
siete pases ELLiE. muchas partes del mundo como un idioma til
y prestigioso, y tradicionalmente impartido como
En Inglaterra, donde resulta difcil determinar qu primera lengua extranjera en Secundaria. Sin em-
idioma puede ser el capital cultural ms valioso bargo, los datos ms recientes sugieren que esta
para el futuro, la tendencia de los centros de Pri- tendencia podra estar cambiando, a medida que
maria ha consistido hasta ahora en seleccionar aparece una nueva generacin de docentes que
la lengua que mejor dominan los docentes. En el viajan ms que sus antecesores y que a menudo
han vivido o trabajado durante una temporada en Sin embargo, limitarse a rebajar la edad de inicio
Espaa o Latinoamrica, donde adquieren fluidez no basta para obtener los resultados deseados.
en una u otra variedad del espaol. Esta mayor Para que un programa de este tipo se imple-
popularidad del espaol est tambin relaciona- mente con xito, se requiere realizar reformas
da con la adquisicin cada vez ms frecuente de de calado a lo largo de un periodo de tiempo
segundas residencias en Espaa por parte de prolongado. Y, aunque existe hoy da un extenso
familias britnicas, a menudo con el fin de vivir corpus de conocimiento especializado acerca
en ellas tras su jubilacin. Esto ha dado lugar a de las condiciones necesarias para lograr una
un aumento de los viajes de ciudadanos brit- implementacin efectiva, an no disponemos de
nicos a Espaa, lo que a su vez ha propiciado datos que confirmen que el comienzo temprano
una familiarizacin cada vez mayor con el idioma. produce necesariamente niveles de fluidez sufi-
Estos datos se reflejan en la seccin del informe cientes para que la siguiente generacin domine
ELLiE dedicada a Inglaterra, que refleja que, en la de manera efectiva todos los registros de la len-
regin estudiada, aproximadamente un 35 % de
gua extranjera necesarios para la comunicacin
los centros de Primaria ofrecan la asignatura de
regional e internacional. As, seguimos estando
Espaol en 2008. Desde entonces, este porcen-
en un momento demasiado prematuro de este
taje no ha dejado de subir, una tendencia que es,
campo de investigacin como para evaluar este
hasta cierto punto, observable tambin en otros
aspecto de manera efectiva.
pases europeos (especialmente en Suecia).
GRFICO 1
ELLiE 2010: Modelo de planificacin para la implementacin de la enseanza
de una lengua extranjera en Primaria
de logro ms alto, el A1+, a los once aos. No que informaban en espaol sobre el Mundial de
obstante, el anlisis de las aulas reales revela un Ftbol. El entusiasmo y el orgullo manifestado
panorama a menudo alejado de estas expecta- por los alumnos por haber sido capaces de es-
tivas, con diferencias de nivel tanto dentro de un cuchar y entender de manera aproximada a los
mismo pas como entre diferentes pases. Dos comentaristas confirma el potencial que tienen
de los factores a los que ms se puede achacar los eventos sociales para el aprendizaje de len-
esta variacin son la motivacin y la cantidad guas, incluso entre nios de tan corta edad. Los
de exposicin a la lengua extranjera que expe- niveles de exposicin a la lengua extranjera de-
rimentan los alumnos fuera del entorno escolar tectados en la totalidad de muestras analizadas
dos aspectos que, hasta cierto punto, pueden por el estudio oscilaban entre lo sustancial y lo
considerarse interrelacionados. Los casos de- insignificante, en algunos casos.
tectados de grupos de alumnos motivados a lo
largo del tiempo solan estar relacionados con la En general, el estudio ELLiE ha demostrado que
presencia de un profesor hbil que usaba regu- el desarrollo lingstico de los alumnos es un pro-
larmente enfoques docentes variados y atracti- ceso dinmico, en el que existen numerosos fac-
vos, apoyados por materiales lectivos adecua- tores individuales que influyen en su motivacin
dos. Se identific la existencia de docentes de y progreso. Las diferencias entre los alumnos de
este tipo en los siete pases analizados, en ma- una misma clase tambin se incrementaron a lo
yor o menor medida. En los lugares donde el largo de los tres aos que dur el estudio, y un
tamao de las clases observadas era mayor (el gran porcentaje de la variacin se puede relacio-
nmero de alumnos de las aulas analizadas en nar con el uso social de la lengua extranjera y
el marco del estudio oscilaba entre siete y trein- con la distancia lingstica. A grandes rasgos, se
ta), el empeo de mantener a todos los alumnos puede afirmar que los logros lingsticos obteni-
interesados se dificultaba considerablemente. dos por los alumnos de once aos son bastante
limitados, con algunas excepciones notables. No
El nivel de exposicin a la lengua extranjera fuera obstante, se detect un incremento considerable
del entorno escolar tambin se mostr como un en el nivel de motivacin y en la confianza con
factor determinante para los logros educativos la que los alumnos se desenvuelven en la len-
de los alumnos. Este contacto ocurra por me- gua extranjera. Dada la naturaleza dinmica del
dio de amigos de la familia, viajes de vacaciones aprendizaje de lenguas, no ser posible evaluar
y programas televisivos o radiofnicos (a veces realmente el impacto del inicio temprano en la
en lnea), y tambin dependa del apoyo de los enseanza de las lenguas hasta que los alumnos
padres, que a menudo ayudaban a los alumnos sean capaces de aprovechar el segundo tipo de
con los deberes o se interesaban por su trabajo ventajas al que, segn Johnstone (2009, 33),
diario en la asignatura de lengua extranjera. El podrn acceder a medida que crecen.
resumen de los datos recogidos a lo largo del
ao 2010 muestra hasta qu punto la exposi-
cin a la lengua fuera del entorno escolar puede 6. La promesa del plurilingismo
suponer una diferencia en los niveles de motiva-
cin dentro del aula. Durante este periodo, cier- Los datos expuestos indican el gran potencial
to nmero de alumnos ingleses que estudiaban existente para conseguir un conjunto de ciuda-
espaol manifestaron durante las entrevistas danos mayoritariamente bilinges en Europa,
haber escuchado en Internet a comentaristas suponiendo que el fortalecimiento del modelo
de formacin actual se consolide con el tiempo. sible que aumenten en esta etapa la demanda y
As, la generalizacin del sistema de comienzo la motivacin hacia las oportunidades de apren-
temprano puede servir para establecer el apren- dizaje de una lengua extranjera.
dizaje de una lengua extranjera como una parte
esencial de la educacin bsica de los nios Dada la naturaleza marcadamente impredeci-
de Europa. Como ejemplo de lo sustancial del ble de estos temas, el presente artculo no se
cambio ocurrido podemos citar el caso de In- propone hacer especulaciones a largo plazo.
glaterra, que antes de 2005 ocupaba el extremo Muchos de los que han tratado de hacer pre-
inferior de la escala por la poca atencin que su dicciones en el pasado han sido incapaces
currculo prestaba a la oferta de lenguas extran- de anticipar los acontecimientos sociales, po-
jeras en centros pblicos, y que ahora presenta lticos y econmicos que han alterado radical-
una oferta muy sustancial. Aunque la calidad de mente la percepcin pblica del capital cultural
esta oferta sigue siendo variable, la encuesta de que puede obtenerse aprendiendo una lengua
la NFER (2008) mostr que las lenguas extran- extranjera. Con el rpido desarrollo que estn
jeras se haban introducido en el 92 % de los experimentando las tecnologas digitales mul-
centros de Primaria, y las expectativas son que timodales, es posible que las generaciones
alcancen prcticamente el 100 % en 2011. futuras encuentren nuevas soluciones a los re-
tos comunicativos, alternativas que escapan a
Esta oferta extensiva de lengua extranjera en nuestra imaginacin contempornea. Lo que
Primaria despeja el camino para la introduccin resulta evidente hoy da es que, en general, to-
de una segunda lengua fornea a los alumnos dos los sistemas educativos del mundo estn
de alrededor de doce aos, quienes pueden cerca de establecer como logro esperado el que
apoyarse en la experiencia ya adquirida en el los alumnos manejen con fluidez al menos una
aprendizaje de una lengua para efectuar rpidos lengua extranjera (que suele ser el ingls), pero
progresos que los siten en un nivel mnimo de que la promesa del plurilingismo puede no ser
B1 al final de la enseanza obligatoria. La mayor relevante para todos los contextos.
parte de los sistemas educativos europeos re-
quieren hoy da que todos los alumnos aprendan El proyecto de investigacin ELLiE se ha beneficia-
dos lenguas extranjeras en la etapa obligatoria do de una subvencin de la Comisin Europea en
de Secundaria (Eurydice, 2008, 31), aunque esto el marco del Programa de Aprendizaje Permanen-
presenta grandes variaciones en algunos con- te, Proyecto n. 135632-LLP-2007-UK-KA1SCR.
textos. Por ejemplo, la poltica de enseanza de El equipo investigador de Croacia ha recibido una
lenguas extranjeras inglesa en el ciclo general de subvencin adicional del British Council. Los datos
Secundaria requiere actualmente solo tres aos mencionados en el presente artculo fueron recogi-
de estudio obligatorio de una lengua extranjera, dos y analizados conjuntamente por los miembros
y la convierte en opcional a partir de los cator- del equipo ELLiE.
ce aos. Esto ha propiciado que muchos de los
alumnos abandonen su estudio; de hecho, me-
nos del 43 % de los alumnos ingleses optan por
presentarse a la prueba del National Centre for
Languages (CILT, 2010). A medida que la poltica
de aprendizaje temprano descrita anteriormente
empiece a hacerse sentir en Secundaria, es po-
205
tabLE 1
Europe: recent changes to national compulsory start age for second/foreign language
learning (May 2011)
1990 2 1 24
2011 13 10 4
1 At present the Council of Europe, through its Language Policy Division, focuses on political issues
at individual, national and supranational levels. With this end two concepts have been introduced, namely
of plurilingualism and multilingualism. In the terminology of the Council plurilingualism is related to
the psycholinguistic aspect, i.e. to the individual use of more than one language, while multilingualism
is related to the sociolinguistic aspect, i.e. to coexistence of several languages in a given region or state
whose members are not necessarily plurilingual. Komorowska (2010, p.5). http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/fms/
MRSite/Research/iset/Working %20Paper %20Series/WP %2015.pdf. Last accessed: 14/06/11.
Whilst this demonstrates the extent of the shift 3. National primary languages
over this 21-year period, it should also be noted policies
that a large proportion of these changes occurred
during the first few years of the new century, Analysis of language policies for schools at
operating in parallel with a similar pattern in Asia national level indicates that the decision on
at the time. Within this timeframe the pressure to language choices is often taken at regional level or
ensure economic advancement was linked to new by individual schools. In Austria, education policy
opportunities for communication via emerging lists a total of 9 languages that may be taught
new technologies and hence, overwhelmingly, in primary school, particularly acknowledging the
English became perceived as the global medium minority language groups of the country. Despite
of communication for business. It appears then, this freedom, 97 % of schools opt to introduce
that the mandate for a European space where English first, from the age of six years. The recent
plurilingualism could facilitate borderless economic ELLiE research (www.ellieresearch.eu) has shown
activity and social cohesion has now emerged as how varied approaches to determining language
a rationale for prioritising global economic activity, choice within policy statements frequently leads,
with English perceived as the most valuable nonetheless, to English being overwhelmingly the
linguistic tool in achieving this and, thus, a priority first choice for early start programmes. Table 2
from the start of schooling. This outcome is further below summarises current policy on language
reflected in the most recent published statistics on choices in the seven ELLiE countries.
numbers of primary aged children learning various
FLs in Europe (Eurydice network 2008). Although In England, where it is difficult to determine which
the current Eurydice data set were collected in language might provide the most valuable cultural
2006, it provides the most up-to-date picture of capital in the future, the tendency at primary level
FL provision across Europe yet available, with has been for schools to select the language of
some more recent, less comprehensive, data which teachers have some knowledge. In the
confirming that the provision of English at primary past this has been French, perceived as a widely
level continues to be an increasing trend. Eurydice useful and prestigious language in many parts of
(2008, p.62) reports that: the world and traditionally taught as first foreign
language at secondary level. Early indications
In all European countries with the exception of
suggest this pattern may be changing as a
Belgium and Luxembourg, English is the most widely
younger generation of teachers begin to travel
taught foreign language in primary education.
more widely, often spending time living or working
Additionally, by 2006 more than 60 % of primary in both Spain and Latin America where they gain
school pupils were learning English with only 4 % some fluency in a variety of Spanish. Further
learning German, and 6 % French. popularity for Spanish relates to the growth of
second or retirement homes purchased by U.K.
With regard to the popularity of Spanish, Eurydice families in Spain. Thus, more frequent visits to
(2008, p.69) data suggest that this was more family and friends living in Spain has resulted
likely to be taught only at upper secondary levels in increased confidence in communicating in
and then more often with an uptake level of 10- Spanish. These trends are reflected in the ELLiE
20 % only. Italian occupied a similar position to data for England, which indicate that in the
this, with Russian being the fifth most likely FL to sample region approximately 35 % of primary
be studied in European schools. schools were teaching Spanish in 2008. Since
tabLE 2
National policy for choice of first foreign languages (in grades 1-4)
Sweden 6 yrs From 2011, compulsory from Grade 1. English syllabus talks
of English and modern languages (positioning English as
serving a different function).
then, the figure has increased still further. To some an early start, a higher level of fluency will be
extent, similar patterns have been observed achieved by the end of formal schooling than
elsewhere in Europe particularly in Sweden. would be possible with a later start. Johnstone
(2009, p.33) puts the case succinctly, saying:
making the early start, whereas only the second set Variations in policy across countries are discussed
of advantages is available to those beginning later. in relation to particular national/regional histories.
However, it is not sufficient to simply lower the Figure 1 introduces a summary of the many
start age to achieve these desired outcomes. For essentials to be addressed when formulating FL
a national programme of implementation to be policy for an early start.
effective, wide ranging reform is necessary over a
prolonged period. Whilst there now exists a great
deal of expertise regarding the conditions needed Teacher qualifications and expertise
to achieve effective implementation, insufficient Across the 7 ELLiE countries there was much
evidence is yet available to confirm that this earlier variation in the teacher preparation required
start will certainly lead to fluency levels sufficient and provided for primary teachers of FLs. Whilst
for the next generation to be able to operate there was general agreement on a preferred
effectively in all domains of the FL for regional and national model for teaching FLs to this age
international communication. In terms of how to group, with a strong preference for a primary
effectively evaluate this, we are still at an early trained teacher with expertise in the FL, at least
stage of this research field. at B1-B2 level, as defined by the CEFR levels
for FLs (Council of Europe, 2002), in Poland it
The recently completed Early Language Learning continues to be difficult to employ sufficiently
in Europe study (ELLiE, 2007-10) contributes to well trained generalist class teachers able to
a new phase of data evidence by establishing teach the FL. This also applies to some extent
a transnational, longitudinal approach to in England and Italy. In England and Sweden no
empirical research in this area. A multi-method minimum language competency is specified,
approach interweaves both quantitative and whilst in Poland, although well qualified
qualitative data to interrogate what is currently generalist teachers are available, the demand
achievable during the early primary phases of for specialist English teachers throughout the
FL learning in Europe. In the next section data age range results in them more often employed
are presented as an indicator of the current to teach just English.
progress towards establishing the conditions
for effective implementation in Europe. This is Data evidence from the ELLiE study suggests
followed by further discussion of some of the that the availability of appropriate pre- and in-
current limitations to implementation identified service teacher education preparation continues
in the study. Finally, the potential contribution to to be insufficient across all seven countries.
plurilingualism that these policy initiatives might Whilst pre-service provision is available in all
make over time is reviewed. countries, pathways to qualifying as a generalist
primary teacher with high level fluency in the
target language and additional skills in teaching
5. Implementing early start policy FLs to young children are not widely available. In
in Europe data from the ELLiE Poland, for example, despite adequate teacher
study preparation, many prefer either to emigrate or to
teach in private language schools due to the low
This section provides a sample of findings related salaries in state schools. In-service professional
to aspects of policy implementation that can be development courses are available in all seven
identified as central to effective implementation. ELLiE countries with extensive provision on a
FIGURE 1
ELLiE 2010: Planning model for primary languages implementation
national scale in some cases. However, this is policy in Sweden offers one example of how
generally optional and attendance can be poor future policy might be designed to achieve
in some countries, particularly where courses the desired aims. From July 2011 Sweden
are only available after school hours. introduced new teacher education programmes
with English becoming a compulsory subject
In summary, whilst there has been much (including both teacherly skills and language
progress in the provision of pre- and in-service proficiency) for all generalist teachers of six-
courses for the reform implementation, much year-olds and above. Over time, this will provide
yet remains to be achieved. A recent review of the teachers needed to deliver the new national
curriculum requirement for compulsory English The extent to which out-of-school exposure can
from seven years. It seems that national pre- make a difference to in-class motivational levels
service provision of this nature is needed, if the was interestingly reflected in the summary round
goal of plurilingualism is to be met. of data collection in 2010. During this period a
number of the interviewees in England from
classes learning Spanish reported listening to
Language aims and outcomes internet commentators reporting on the World
Policy statements in the ELLiE countries have Cup in Spanish. Their enthusiasm and pride at
tended to refer to the CEFR descriptors as a having enjoyed and approximately understood
reference point for identifying desired language the commentary confirmed the potential of social
achievements. Expectations vary slightly, with opportunities for language learning even for these
Sweden anticipating an achievement level of A1 young children. Across the whole study sample
by nine years, Croatia by 10-11 years, England these kinds of exposure varied from substantial
and Poland by 11 years. Netherlands and Italy to almost insignificant in some cases.
expect a higher achievement level of A1+ by 11
years. Classroom realities, however, sometimes Overall, language development amongst the
revealed a very different picture, both within learners of the ELLiE study was shown to be a
and across countries. Two major factors that dynamic process with many individual factors
accounted for much of the variation related to influencing motivation and progress over time.
the levels of motivation and the amount of out- Differences between learners in the same
of-class exposure to the FL experienced by class also increased over the three years of the
the children. To some extent these factors can study. Highly significant variation in outcomes
be considered as inter-related. Achieving and can be related to societal use of the FL and to
sustaining motivation in class over time could language distance. Broadly speaking, language
generally be attributed to a skilled teacher who achievement by the age of eleven years could
regularly used varied and engaging approaches be described as fairly limited, with some notable
to teaching and lear ning, supported by exceptions. Levels of motivation and increasing
appropriate teaching materials. Such teachers confidence in communicating in the FL were
were observed in all seven country contexts, to a seen to be developing significantly, however.
greater or lesser extent. Where larger class sizes Given the dynamic nature of language learning,
were observed (class sizes ranged from 7-30 it will not be possible to fully assess the impact
across the study sample) the teachers task in of this early start until children have been able to
keeping the whole class engaged was noticeably take advantage of the second set of advantages
more challenging. that Johnstone (2009, p.33) identifies as being
available to learners as they become older.
The amount of out-of-school exposure to the
FL was shown to be a further significant factor
in childrens achievement. Exposure occurred 6. The promise of plurilingualism
through family friends and holidays, watching TV
and listening to radio programmes (sometimes The above evidence indicates the strong
via computer), together with parental support potential for achieving a mainly bilingual citizenry
including help with homework and showing an throughout Europe, assuming the further
interest in what happens in the FL classroom. strengthening of current provision models is
consolidated over time. Extensive early start anticipate social, political and economic events
provision can thus serve to establish language that have radically altered public perceptions
learning as an essential part of childrens basic of the cultural capital to be gained by learning
education in Europe. As one example of how a FL. With rapidly increasing developments in
substantial the shift has already been, England, multimodal digital technologies it is likely that
placed towards one end of the continuum as a future generations will find new solutions to the
country where state school provision occupied challenges of communication that are beyond
little or no part of the primary curriculum for our contemporary imaginations. What is evident,
many years prior to its introduction in 2005, has at present, is that globally fluency in at least one
now developed substantial provision. Whilst foreign language (mostly English) is close to
quality still remains variable, the NFER survey becoming an expected outcome for all education
(2008) reported that FLs had been introduced systems, but the promise of plurilingualism may
in 92 % of primary schools and was expected to not be relevant to all contexts.
reach close to 100 % by 2011.
The ELLiE research project was supported by a
The nature of such extensive provision clears European Commission grant under the Lifelong
a path for the introduction of a second foreign Learning Programme (part of the EACEA), Project
language around the age of 12+, with the n. 135632-LLP-2007-UK-KA1SCR. An additional
possibility for capitalising on prior language British Council grant supported the Croatian
learning experience and thus making rapid research team. Data discussed in this article
progress towards a minimum of B1 competency were jointly collected and analysed by ELLiE team
in the second FL by the end of compulsory members.
schooling. The majority of European education
systems now have a requirement for all students
to learn two FLS throughout the general
secondary level of education (Eurydice, 2008,
p.31), although there is great variation in some
contexts. For example, the FL policy at general
secondary level in England currently requires
only three years of compulsory FL learning
(one FL), making it optional from 14 years. This
has resulted in many students opting out, with
less than 43 % in England choosing to take the
References
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215
En el momento en que esto se escribe, los Veinticinco de los equipos de trabajo organizan
institutos miembros han establecido una rela- todos los aos celebraciones por el Da de las
cin de colaboracin en 65 ciudades de todo Lenguas, y este nmero crece de ao en ao
el mundo, con el fin de formar equipos de extendiendo el alcance de EUNIC. El equipo de
trabajo que realizan actividades y proyectos trabajo de EUNIC en Polonia es el que ha desa-
conjuntos (vase el cuadro 1 que describe la rrollado un programa ms activo para conme-
celebracin de 2010). En 2011 se celebrarn morar este da.
cuatrocientos eventos de este tipo, lo que
supone un crecimiento marcado y constante
desde que la red se estableci en 2006. 2. Una Europa rica en lenguas
Individualmente, las entidades que componen El ingls est emergiendo como lengua franca,
EUNIC conforman uno de los principales ac- pero eso no significa que el British Council no sea
tores del mundo en el campo de la ensean- consciente de la diversidad lingstica de Europa
CUaDRO 1
Monika Knapkiewicz describe la celebracin de 2010:
Da Europeo de las Lenguas 2010 en Varsovia = 8 das, 22 socios, ms de 13.000 visitantes individuales
del portal web, 1.200 fans en Facebook, 67 clases y talleres en 19 lenguas con una asistencia de 1.500
alumnos, 9 expertos en multilingismo, 360 participantes en simposios, 19 pelculas en 12 lenguas, 100
participantes en juegos de calle y docenas de menciones en los medios.
Las ambiciones eran muchas. Cmo podemos promover el multilingismo? Ofrezcamos clases de de-
mostracin en diferentes lenguas! Talleres para profesores! Representaciones teatrales! Competiciones!
Y un simposio internacional sobre multilingismo? Y un festival de cine europeo? Por qu no organiza-
mos un juego callejero acerca de las lenguas?
Tenamos un ncleo consolidado de organizadores (el British Council, el Goethe Institut, la Comisin Euro-
pea y, como socio local, la Fundacja Rozwoju Systemu Edukacji, o Fundacin para el Desarrollo del Siste-
ma Educativo). Este grupo coordin el trabajo de los dems socios principales, incluyendo la Universidad
de Varsovia, el ayuntamiento de la ciudad y los miembros de EUNIC. Todos hablbamos con una sola voz,
lo que se tradujo en una campaa promocional especialmente efectiva. El objetivo comn, el entusiasmo,
los recursos, la conjuncin de talentos En eso se basaba nuestra colaboracin, y eso fue lo que hizo
que el Da Europeo de las Lenguas tuviera tanto xito. Gracias a esta colaboracin conseguimos que nos
cedieran gratuitamente los locales y que nos patrocinaran entidades tanto privadas como pblicas, entre
ellas, el Ministerio de Educacin y la Presidencia de Varsovia.
En 2010, dimos un salto gigantesco en los mtodos para alcanzar a nuestro pblico y aterrizamos en el
mundo virtual. El portal del Da Europeo de las Lenguas ha recibido 65.000 visitas, y ha canalizado las
inscripciones en todas las actividades. El simposio se retransmiti en vivo por el portal, con la cooperacin
de Microsoft y Twitter. La pgina del Da Europeo de las Lenguas en Facebook estaba llena a rebosar de
competiciones, y nos facilit la interaccin con el pblico.
GRFICO 1
Este proyecto bienal demuestra que, median- cipales factores motivadores e inhibidores
te el trabajo conjunto, los miembros de EUNIC del multilingismo y un catlogo de buenas
pueden ejercer una influencia clave en el diseo prcticas, as como testimonios y videoclips
de polticas basndose en los vastos conoci- de los Embajadores del multilingismo
mientos que acumulan y otro aspecto igual- (personajes conocidos del mundo del espec-
mente importante atrayendo socios para for- tculo, los negocios, el deporte, la poltica o
mar un consorcio paneuropeo. el periodismo).
Encargarnuevosestudiosdeinvestigacin
en campos como la educacin de adultos,
3. Plataforma para el multilingismo
el aprendizaje de lenguas en edad preescolar
o los servicios lingsticos de carcter social/
El multilingismo es uno de los factores que
comunitario para la inclusin social.
ms slidamente cimientan el conocido lla-
mamiento de la Unin Europea de unidad en En la pgina web http://poliglotti4.eu/ pueden
la diversidad. A partir de una serie de polti- encontrarse ms detalles al respecto. Al enca-
cas acordadas en 2008, la UE empez a tra- bezar esta Plataforma, los miembros de EUNIC
tar de explotar el potencial del multilingismo se han situado en primera lnea del diseo de
para ayudarse en la tarea de establecer una polticas lingsticas en Europa.
Plataforma de la Sociedad Civil. Esta entidad
es una red de redes compuesta por veintisiete
organizaciones europeas que se dedican a las 4. Literatura y traduccin
lenguas en todos sus aspectos. Entre los inte-
reses de sus miembros se encuentran la es- La literatura y la traduccin son dos aspectos
critura, la edicin, la enseanza, la formacin, vinculados estrechamente con las lenguas.
el teatro, el arte, la televisin, el dilogo inter- Prcticamente todos los miembros de EUNIC
cultural o la traduccin. EUNIC es una de las trabajan con escritores de distintas maneras,
entidades participantes y, de hecho, ocupa la ya sea organizando giras de conferencias, apo-
presidencia de la Plataforma a peticin de los yando festivales literarios o facilitando foros de
dems miembros. El Goethe Institut de Bruse- contacto en lnea con los lectores. La red de
las dirige a EUNIC en esta tarea. Centros Checos dirige un programa de EUNIC
dedicado a la literatura y la traduccin llamado
A lo largo de los prximos dos aos, la Pla- Noches de Literatura Europea (European Litera-
taforma se propone abordar las siguientes ture Nights)1.
acciones:
En mayo de 2011, diecisis equipos de EUNIC,
Difundirundocumentosobretemasdeactua-
desde Mosc hasta Madrid y desde Hani
lidad relacionados con el multilingismo, con
hasta Praga, participaron en las Noches de
recomendaciones a nivel europeo, nacional y
Literatura Europea mediante programas de-
local.
sarrollados conjuntamente con socios locales.
Crearunobservatoriovirtualdelmultilingis- El propsito comn de estas actividades era
mo que contenga informacin sobre los prin- difundir la obra de nuevos autores traducidos
1 http://www.literaturenight.eu/2011/en/praha/homepage.
Hastaqupuntosoncapacesdecompren- ElGoetheInstitutencabezaelsubgrupoque
der el mensaje de las obras y transmitirlo a la examina el papel de las lenguas en la integra-
lengua de destino, esto es, al espaol? cin social.
Qutipodeinterpretacinimplicaestepro- Eltercergrupo,lideradoporelBritishCoun-
ceso y qu investigaciones literarias llevan a cil, investiga las lecciones que los miembros
cabo en su transcurso? pueden extraer del anlisis de los estndares
profesionales que cada institucin establece
En Londres, la cooperacin que durante tres para sus docentes, as como sus estndares
aos ha mantenido el equipo de EUNIC con educativos.
la British Library y el Arts Council England ha
dado como resultado la formacin de una red Estos ejemplos ilustran el rico y creciente po-
compuesta por todos aquellos sectores rela- tencial de la cooperacin en el terreno de las
cionados con la literatura y la traduccin es- lenguas que proporciona EUNIC. Dentro de la
critores, agentes, editores, dinamizadores, red de equipos de trabajo establecidos pueden
organizadores de festivales, libreros y, por su- encontrarse ms ejemplos; y estamos seguros
puesto, traductores que tiene como fin au- de que irn apareciendo muchos otros con el
mentar el alcance y la cantidad de traduccio- tiempo, a medida que los miembros de EUNIC
nes de obras contemporneas publicadas en disfruten de las ventajas de asociarse y trabajar
el Reino Unido. conjuntamente.
221
bOx 1
Monika Knapkiewicz describes the 2010 event:
The European Day of Languages 2010 in Warsaw = 8 days, 22 partners, 13,000+ unique website visitors,
1200 fans on Facebook, 67 lessons and workshops in 19 languages attended by 1500 students, 9 experts
on multilingualism, 360 conference participants, 19 films in 12 languages, 100 street game participants and
dozens of media mentions.
Ambitions were great. How can we promote multilingualism? Lets have demo lessons in different languages!
Workshops for teachers! Stage performances! Competitions! How about an international conference on
multilingualism? Or a European film festival? Why dont we have a language street game?
We had a tight group of core organisers (British Council, Goethe Institut, European Commission and as
the local partner, the Foundation for Development of Education Systems). The group coordinated the work
of other main partners, including the University of Warsaw, Warsaw City Hall and EUNIC members. We all
spoke with one voice, which translated into a very effective promotional campaign. The common goal, the
enthusiasm, the resources, the pool of talent thats what partnership was all about and thats what has made
the European Day of Languages successful. Thanks to the partnership we have managed to secure sponsors,
free venues and patrons, including the patronage of the Ministry of Education and the President of Warsaw.
In 2010 we took a quantum leap in the way we reached out to our audiences and landed in the virtual world.
The EDL website had over 65,000 page views and channelled registration for all the events. The conference
was live streamed online in cooperation with Microsoft and Twitter. The EDL Facebook page was brimming
with competitions and facilitated interaction with our audiences.
ability to see things in a different light; to extend in achieving more prosperous and stable
ones own empathic approach to life. At the societies. It aims to encourage and enable
higher levels of competence, a world of literature these leaders to take a more strategic approach
and ideas becomes available. and increase investment in language education
and use of languages across society (www.
The British Councils perspective as a cultural languagerichblog.eu). The project brings
relations organisation is that competence in and together four other EUNIC members (Instituto
use of several languages is an essential tool Cervantes, Goethe Institut, Camoes Institute,
to ensure better understanding and cohesion Danish Cultural Institute) and most clusters in
between and within societies. It is also well Europe with over twenty other organisational
known that higher levels of plurilingualism partners. Both the European Commission (a key
improve a workers employability and job co-funder) and the Council of Europes Centre
mobility while opening doors to new business for Modern Languages are closely associated
markets. with the project.
Language Rich Europe is a project to create an The core of the project is evidence-based
informed dialogue with leaders in government, research on languages in Europe today,
educational institutions, public services, which will result in a measurement tool
business and the media across Europe, called the Index of Multilingual Policies and
highlighting the importance of multilingualism Practices in Europe. This Index (Figure 1)
will help visualise the role of and support for 3. Multilingualism platform
multilingualism in the participating European
countries and highlight good practice. It will Multilingualism is an important underpinning
measure how these countries perform against factor in the European Unions oft-quoted call for
standards in 7 areas. unity in diversity. Deriving from a policy agreed
in 2008 the EU seeks to tap into the potential
The two-year project demonstrates how by of multilingualism to help it in its task to set up
working together EUNIC members can have a Civil Society Platform. This is a network of 27
a key influence on policy-making, drawing on European networks engaged in all aspects of
their own expertise and, just as importantly, by language. Members interests include writing,
attracting partners in pan-European consortia. publishing, teaching, qualifications, theatre,
FIGURE 1
artists, television, intercultural dialogue and In May 2011 sixteen EUNIC clusters, from
translators. EUNIC is a member and was invited Moscow to Madrid, Hanoi to Prague,
by the other members to chair the Platform. The participating under European Literature Nights,
Goethe Institut in Brussels leads for EUNIC. developed local programmes with partners with
a common theme showcasing new authors
Over the next two years the Platform will: recently in translation or not yet in translation,
and thus promote European literature across the
Issue a paper on current issues in multi- continent. In a programme focused on literature
lingualism with recommendations at European, and translation related to the Czech Republic
national, and local level. organised in Madrid, for example, EUNIC
explored the following themes:
Createanon-linemultilingualismobservatory
containing information on the key motivators Authors and translators of Czech literature into
and inhibitors of multilingualism, a catalogue
Spanish, differing in experience, age, geography
of best practice, and testimonials and video
and nationality. To understand this better we
clips by Ambassadors for Multilingualism
explored:
(celebrities, business world, sports persons,
politicians, journalists), and Where does the interest for translation from
Czech to Spanish originate?
C ommission fresh research into adult
language learning, pre-school language What is the nature of the interest in works
learning, and social/community language written by authors from a country whose fate
services for social inclusion. they only know second hand?
More details are available at http://poliglotti4. To what extent are they able to understand
eu/. By leading this platform EUNICs members the message of the work and mediate it into
place themselves at the forefront of public policy the target language, Spanish?
on languages in Europe.
What kind of interpretation is involved and
what literary enquiries do they make during
4. Literature and translation the process?
Literature and translation go hand in hand In London the EUNIC clusters three-year
with languages. Virtually all EUNIC members cooperation with the British Library and Arts
work with authors in a variety of ways, from Council England has resulted in a network
the straightforward speaking tour, to support being formed drawn from the complete range of
for literary festivals, and on-line engagements. those associated with literature and translation:
European Literature Nights 1 celebrates and writers, agents, publishers, promoters, festivals,
supports the translation of contemporary booksellers and of course translators, to develop
writing and work with publishers to increase the ways of increasing the range and number of
availability of European literature. translations of contemporary writing in the U.K.
1 http://www.literaturenight.eu/2011/en/praha/homepage.
227
El manejo de las lenguas nacionales, regiona- por medio de congresos nacionales e internacio-
les, minoritarias, inmigrantes y extranjeras es nales y de debates en lnea. El proyecto difundir
una cuestin espinosa a la que los gobiernos, el guas de buenas prcticas en la enseanza de
mundo empresarial y la sociedad civil de toda lenguas y la provisin de servicios multilinges,
Europa llevan aos enfrentndose. Tanto la glo- con el fin de mejorar la inclusin social y favorecer
balizacin como la necesidad de preservar las la competitividad de las empresas europeas.
identidades nacionales y regionales influyen en
las prcticas y polticas lingsticas. El incremen- Para sustentar la base terica del programa, se
to de la movilidad y la migracin nos obliga a llevar a cabo un anlisis comparativo de los lo-
repensar cules son los requerimientos lings- gros de los pases frente a la poltica europea de
ticos de nuestras sociedades, una cuestin a la multilingismo; se trata del Language Rich Euro-
que muchos pases han respondido dando prio- pe Index, disponible en ms de veinte lenguas
ridad a la inclusin social y el dilogo intercultu- tanto en versin impresa como en un portal web
ral. Sin embargo, la realidad es que esta postura interactivo. Este ndice estar formado por ms
no siempre ha sido respaldada por polticas y de doscientos indicadores y reflejar el uso de
prcticas que fomenten la diversidad lingstica lenguas nacionales, inmigrantes, regionales/mi-
y el aprendizaje de lenguas. La poltica europea noritarias y extranjeras en bases de datos y do-
de multilingismo ha servido de orientacin; cumentos sobre diversidad lingstica, as como
pero la participacin en ella ha sido desigual, en los mbitos de la educacin, los servicios y
la cooperacin en la adopcin de polticas ha espacios pblicos, las empresas y los medios
resultado difcil y los conocimientos no se han de comunicacin.
compartido de manera sistemtica. Adems,
todava no se han trazado las conexiones entre Mediante un proceso de intercambio de conoci-
la manera en que los sistemas educativos abor- mientos, la red podr desarrollar planes de accin
dan la enseanza de lenguas y los efectos que de alcance nacional, regional y local, con el fin de
esto produce en los medios de comunicacin, optimizar las polticas y prcticas lingsticas. Es-
el mundo empresarial y los servicios y espacios tos planes de accin se sintetizarn en un infor-
pblicos. me dirigido a la Comisin Europea que servir de
apoyo a la revisin de su poltica de multilingismo
El proyecto Language Rich Europe1 se propo- prevista para 2012.
ne abordar estos retos construyendo una red
interdisciplinar compuesta por unas mil dos- La Universidad St. Kliment Ohridski de Sofa es la en-
cientas personas procedentes de veinte pa- tidad blgara participante en el proyecto Language
ses de Europa implicadas directamente en el Rich Europe, cofinanciado por la UE y encabezado
diseo de polticas, y facilitando el intercambio por el British Council, en el que participan ms de
de conocimientos y la interaccin entre ellos treinta entidades de toda Europa.
fuente potencial de conflictos y divisiones (algo nes de la Unin Europea, en particular, afecta al
que, de hecho, ha quedado probado a lo largo terico compromiso con el rgimen multilinge.
de la historia). Si preguntramos al respecto a cualquiera de
los participantes habituales en las actividades
Sin embargo, es igualmente cierto que la demo- de alcance europeo reuniones de ministros,
cracia precisa de una lengua comn. A menudo seminarios, grupos de expertos o comits,
se acusa a la UE de sufrir un dficit democrtico, oiramos la misma respuesta con respecto al
que normalmente se atribuye a la falta de separa- ingls como lengua comn de facto, ya que
cin entre los poderes polticos, a una burocracia no de iure. El Parlamento y el Consejo Europeo
excesivamente hermtica y opaca, y al hecho de usan todas las lenguas oficiales en sus sesiones
que el poder ejecutivo no surge de la eleccin formales y documentos clave, pero esta norma
directa. La carencia de un foro democrtico en no se aplica en las situaciones menos forma-
el seno de la UE en el que pueda debatirse e les. En dos resoluciones adoptadas en 2006 y
intercambiar perspectivas no se suele mencio- 2008, respectivamente, el Parlamento Europeo,
nar, aunque puede defenderse que es uno de los
aun considerando que el multilingismo es una
factores que diferencian los procesos polticos
condicin sine qua non para la propia institu-
de la UE de los de la prctica democrtica tra-
cin y sus miembros, reconoca el alto coste de
dicional. El problema reside en que no est cla-
mantener un servicio tan amplio de traduccin e
ro en qu lengua podran los europeos celebrar
interpretacin; por ello, se introdujo el concep-
un debate general. La imposicin de una lengua
to de multilingismo pleno controlado como
desde las altas esferas sera intolerable para los
nico modo de mantener los costes del multi-
miembros de la Unin pues, como ya se ha men-
lingismo dentro de unos lmites presupuesta-
cionado, el tratado fundacional confiere un esta-
rios razonables2. La Comisin utiliza el francs
tus equivalente a todas las lenguas nacionales.
y el ingls como lenguas internas de trabajo;
Y sin embargo, parece que, si se quiere ejercer
los tribunales europeos usan el francs, aunque
una ciudadana participativa y plena dentro de
una sociedad democrtica, hacen falta foros de los demandantes, los demandados y los testi-
debate. Este ha sido uno de los principales ar- gos tienen derecho a usar su lengua nacional.
gumentos esgrimidos por los gobiernos de los Sin embargo, dada la posicin del ingls como
estados-nacin para justificar la centralizacin lengua dominante global, la mayor parte de las
e imponer una lengua nacional a expensas de reuniones de expertos que hoy da se celebran
las lenguas perifricas. El argumento de que los en el seno de la UE transcurren en ingls, y re-
electores necesitan comunicarse unos con otros, quieren redactar los documentos nicamente en
y tambin con el centro de poder, sigue siendo ingls.
vlido. Existe alguna solucin?
Retornando a nuestra historia, podemos vol-
El multilingismo pleno que parece haberse ver a preguntarnos si la eleccin de una lengua
acordado formalmente no es lo mismo que las dada tiene que ver nicamente con el contexto
prcticas multilinges adoptadas. La tensin de trabajo o si implica algo adicional. La siguien-
producida por la complejidad de las traduccio- te cita extrada de la nueva Estrategia Marco
nes e interpretaciones precisas en las institucio- para el Multilingismo es reveladora:
Es esta diversidad lo que hace que la Unin Eu- As, la necesidad de una lengua comn ha fo-
ropea sea lo que es: no un crisol en el que se mentado, de hecho, el uso de algunas lenguas.
funden las diferencias, sino una casa comn en la Tal vez el poder del ingls haya aumentado a
que la diferencia se celebra, y en la que nuestras raz de su expansin, pero las lenguas minorita-
muchas lenguas maternas constituyen una fuente
rias de la UE tambin han ganado cierto poder.
de riqueza y un puente hacia una mayor solidari-
Hace tres aos, el galico alcanz estatus oficial
dad y entendimiento mutuos.
en la UE, algo que el ministro de Asuntos Ex-
La lengua es la expresin ms directa de la cultu- teriores irlands, Dermot Ahern, celebr como
ra; es lo que nos hace humanos y lo que nos da un verdadero espaldarazo psicolgico para la
un sentido de la propia identidad. El Artculo 22 lengua irlandesa5. En el Parlamento de Irlanda,
de la Carta de los Derechos Fundamentales de la el galico solo se usa en un 2 % de los debates,
Unin Europea establece que la Unin deber res- pero esta lengua posee una relevancia poltica
petar la diversidad cultural, religiosa y lingstica.
que va mucho ms all de su uso. El galico
El Artculo 21 prohbe la discriminacin basada en
pas a ser en 2007 la 21. lengua oficial de la
diversos factores, entre ellos la lengua3.
UE. Encontramos una similar actitud y resonan-
cia pblica en Malta cuando el malts se con-
La lengua es solo uno de los componentes cul-
virti en lengua oficial de la UE. El acadmico
turales de la identidad nacional. La religin, la
malts Cassola lo expresaba en los siguientes
estructura familiar, la indumentaria, las artes, los
trminos:
medios de comunicacin o el deporte son otros
componentes que se suman para constituir una Lo que esto significa es que, en diez meses, nues-
comunidad imaginada de personas. Sin em- tra lengua nacional ser elevada al estatus de len-
gua oficial de la Unin Europea. As, se convertir
bargo, sera demasiado romntico aceptar la
en la nica lengua nacional europea de origen se-
nocin de que la lengua y la identidad nacional
mtico que obtenga estatus oficial en la UE, y se
soninseparables.Quelalenguaquesehabla situar al lado de lenguas mucho ms habladas
hoy en un pas sea la lengua nacional es visto en como el ingls, el francs, el espaol, el alemn,
ocasiones como algo contingente. Bien podra el italiano y otras6.
haber sido otra lengua; si hubieran variado los
factores histricos de cualquier pas, otra varie- La globalizacin, siendo uno de los mayores re-
dad dialectal podra haberse convertido en la tos de nuestros tiempos, tambin tiene implica-
lengua nacional. ciones en el terreno de las lenguas; esto puede
percibirse claramente en el estatus del ingls
Y sin embargo, como observaba de Tocque- tanto dentro de Europa como en el resto del
ville, El lazo de la lengua es, tal vez, el ms mundo, en la posicin de las lenguas coloniales
fuerte y duradero de los que pueden unir a la dentro de los estados que han obtenido la inde-
humanidad4. pendencia desde 1945, o en el del ruso dentro
de lo que fue la Unin Sovitica. Por un lado, evidentes para el viajero, no para los hablantes.
la globalizacin sustenta el estatus de esas len- Siempre sera posible comprenderse en los pun-
guas como herramientas para la comunicacin tos adyacentes7.
internacional y reafirma su papel en los reper-
Este era el esquema de interaccin social im-
torios lingsticos individuales. Por otro, como
perante en aquellos tiempos, pero el patrn de
vemos en la cita que acabamos de reproducir,
interaccin ha cambiado. Algunas de las carac-
las personas suelen considerar su lengua como
tersticas ms diferentes son las siguientes: la
un emblema de la identidad de su pas, y pro-
estrecha correlacin entre la movilidad simple
curan mantenerla viva y defenderla de las pre-
y el multilingismo hace precisa una herramien-
siones que supone el desarrollo de la comuni-
ta multilinge entre una lite y, por otra parte,
cacin por medios electrnicos. La cuestin es
la movilidad cotidiana tambin precisa de un
esta: lograr la globalizacin lingstica superar
multilingismo ajeno a la lite y ms extendido.
la idea de la lengua como reflejo de identidad
La necesidad de comunicarse entre distintas
nacional?
comunidades lingsticas es ms destacada
hoy de lo que ha sido jams. Los encuentros
Algunos conceptos clave han aparecido de ma-
multilinges son ms comunes que nunca. Las
nera recurrente en el debate; uno de los princi-
lenguas de Europa se encuentran hoy cara a
pales es la necesidad: dada la existencia, desde
cara con mucha ms frecuencia que en el pa-
los tiempos ms remotos, de distintas comu-
sado. Europa ha cambiado hasta hacerse irre-
nidades lingsticas, el uso del multilingismo
conocible.
siempre ha sido necesario. Este fenmeno sur-
ge y se mantiene por necesidad y contacto, e
En un nivel ms personal que institucional, el
impone otra necesidad: la de cruzar las barreras
multilingismo (i.e. plurilingismo)8 tiene mu-
lingsticas.
cho que ver con los patrones de interaccin
social. En este aspecto, algunas de las carac-
Sue Wright, investigadora britnica de polticas
tersticas distintivas del multilingismo actual
lingsticas, traza el siguiente panorama del
difieren radicalmente de las del multilingismo
pasado:
histrico. El multilingismo parece ser, en gran
Un viajero que se desplazara por el continuo medida, un asunto prctico, relacionado sobre
dialectal de las lenguas romances meridionales todo con los patrones de circulacin de perso-
podra partir de la costa de Portugal, atravesar nas; pero tambin pueden existir motivaciones
la Pennsula Ibrica, bordear la costa mediterr-
culturales y educativas que impulsen la am-
nea desde Perpin hasta Niza, cruzar los Alpes
pliacin del repertorio lingstico, aun cuando
y llegar hasta el mismo sur de Italia sin encon-
no haya ocasin o voluntad de usar esa nue-
trar dos pueblos adyacentes cuyos dialectos no
fueran mutuamente inteligibles. Lo mismo puede
va competencia en entornos de conversacin
afirmarse de otras familias lingsticas como la normales. Tambin se puede aceptar que la
cltica, la eslava o la germnica. Evidentemen- capacidad de cada individuo no ser igual en
te, los extremos del continuo dialectal diferiran las dos o tres lenguas que domine; puede pre-
enormemente; pero estas diferencias solo seran decirse que se extender solo en la medida en
que las circunstancias lo demanden (y su ca- La historia que relatbamos al principio muestra
pacidad lo permita). que la soberana que los estados miembros re-
claman a travs de sus leyes lingsticas a me-
Sin embargo, deberamos reconocer que el cre- nudo choca con la aplicacin de las leyes co-
ciente predominio del ingls, a menudo obser- munitarias. En muchos casos, las instituciones
vado con resentimiento desde diversos crculos de la UE rehsan referirse nicamente a la sub-
que proclaman la necesidad de preservar m- sidiariedad o al valor equivalente de las distintas
bitos libres de esta lengua, no est acompaa- versiones lingsticas (comercio electrnico, di-
do de ninguna seal que indique la inminencia rectivas sobre seguros, directivas sobre seguri-
de un cambio lingstico masivo del tipo de los dad alimentaria, patentes). Y lo que es ms,
esas supuestas competencias van a extenderse
sufridos por las lenguas perifricas durante la
gradualmente.
construccin de los estados-nacin. Aunque no
deja de incrementarse el volumen de trabajo y de
Es evidente que las lenguas oficiales se bene-
intercambios acadmicos expresados en ingls
fician de la elevacin de su estatus; gracias a
(como ocurra en su da con el latn y, ms tarde,
ello se integran activamente en todos los m-
con el francs), no se detecta ningn indicio de
bitos posibles de uso de la lengua, adems de
cambio lingstico al modo de la era nacionalista.
beneficiarse de las nuevas herramientas para la
Y hay otros acontecimientos, no asociados con
traduccin e interpretacin y de los programas
el ingls, que requieren atencin: la reaparicin formativos para el aprendizaje de lenguas. De
de lenguas regionales en la vida pblica (como el este modo, la UE se ha convertido en una ins-
gals, el cataln, el vasco o el galico) o la cada titucin que regula el uso de la lengua. Al favo-
en desgracia de algunas lenguas (como el ruso, recer algunas lenguas de gran alcance para la
que ha sido desplazado de la vida poltica y p- comunicacin, al impedir que algunas de ellas
blica en Estonia, Lituania y Letonia). La tendencia se debiliten y, sobre todo, al reavivar otras, se
tal vez ms significativa es que ya no parece in- ha convertido en un polo de cambio lingstico.
evitable que el nmero de estados monolinges Hoy da, la UE es un factor fundamental en la
en Europa se reduzca paulatinamente. El nacio- conformacin de la compleja realidad sociolin-
nalismo lingstico ha resurgido en el continente gstica de Europa.
con cierta virulencia, convirtiendo la lengua en un
mecanismo para la aceptacin o exclusin de La UE es, en s misma, un importante actor lin-
grupos determinados. A menudo este fenmeno gstico. En su calidad de eje entre lo que pien-
se est llevando a cabo usando el ingls como san los ciudadanos, lo que prevn las leyes y
medio de comunicacin. normativas y la realidad cotidiana, simplemente
no puede desatender sin ms las cuestiones re-
Deberamos admitir que la UE se est abs- lacionadas con las lenguas y la poltica lingstica.
teniendo de construir una poltica lingstica
El presente artculo ha sido reimpreso (y puesto al
comn, dejando que los estados miembros
da) con permiso del British Council y de su autora,
obedezcan el principio de subsidiariedad con
tras haber aparecido originalmente en Towards
ciertos elementos de descuido benevolente. a Language Rich Europe: Multilingual essays on
Pero han tenido alguna influencia las polticas language policies and practices, publicado por el
lingsticas de la UE? British Council en 2010.
Comisin europea (2005). Una nueva estrategia marco toCqueville, a. (de) (2001). Democracy in America.
para el multilingismo. COM (2005), pp. 596-final. Nueva York: Penguin Books.
mesa del parlamento europeo (2008). Cdigo de wright, s. (1999). A Community that can communicate:
conducta del multilingismo aprobado por la Mesa the linguistic factor in European integration, en D.
el 17 de noviembre de 2008. Disponible en: http:// Smith y S. Wright (eds.). Whose Europe? The Turn
www.europarl.europa.eu/pdf/multilinguisme/ towards Democracy. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers,
code_conduct_multilingualism_es.pdf. pp. 79-104.
235
The thorny issue of how to deal with languages To inform the thinking of the network a
national, regional, minority, immigrant and comparative analysis of countries performance
foreign is one which governments, business against European multilingualism policy will be
and civil society in countries across Europe conducted the Language Rich Europe Index,
have been facing for a number of years. available in over 20 languages in print and on an
Globalisation and the need to retain national interactive website. The Index will comprise over
and regional identity both have an impact 200 indicators and reflect use of official national,
on language policy and practice. Increased immigrant, regional/minority, and foreign
mobility and migration force us to re-think the languages in language diversity databases and
language requirements of our societies, and documents, and the fields of education, public
many countries have responded by prioritising services and spaces, business and the media.
social inclusion and intercultural dialogue.
However, the evidence shows that this has not A process of knowledge sharing will enable the
always been supported by language policies network to develop action plans at national, regional
and practices which promote linguistic diversity and local level to improve language policies and
and language learning. European multilingualism practices. These plans will be synthesised into
policy has provided guidance, but take-up has a report for the EC to support the review of its
been uneven, policy cooperation has proved multilingualism policy planned for 2012.
challenging, and knowledge has not been shared
Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski is the Bulgarian
systematically. Moreover, connections have not
partner institution contributing to Language Rich
yet been made between the way that languages
Europe, an EU co-funded project initiated by the
are approached in the education system and
British Council and delivered by over 30 partner
how this affects the media, business, and public
institutions across Europe.
services and spaces.
Some years ago the European Union and politicians and political scientists of integration.
Bulgaria were at odds over a purely linguistic There is a unique heroism within the European
issue how to spell the word euro. Bulgaria project voluntary and equal multilingualism
was trying to convince the EU to allow it keep of an unprecedented nature. Many previous
the Bulgarian term for the European currency, multinational entities (for example, the Roman
which is evro. Other EU member countries Empire, the U.S.S.R., Francophonie) have had at
had also demanded to keep their versions of least an element of oppression and a dominant
the term, but all requests had been denied. lingua franca by imposition. All other international
However, Italian, English, French, German and organisations (the United Nations, NATO, the
lots of other European languages also have Council of Europe) have a limited number of
different pronunciations of the word, which official languages.
cannot be a matter of legal regulation. The
European Central Bank required Sofia to unify However, according to many political scientists,
its approach to the common European currency language policy in the EU and language issues in
in line with the other countries. The current EU general have been largely neglected and avoided.
rules state the word euro must be identical for Political actors sidestep the question of language
all member states. Bulgaria said that evro was considering it a potentially contentious and
already part of the Bulgarian language made divisive issue (as it has proven to be in our story).
official by linguists as early as 1995 and if the
word euro was introduced to the language, But it is also equally true that democracy
it would be a completely new and artificial needs a shared language. The EU is often
doublet. The dispute involved different opinions accused of having a democratic deficit and this
on the correct Cyrillisation of the currencys is usually attributed to the lack of separation
name, in which the European Central Bank of political powers, to an overly secretive and
lawyers claimed authority and expertise. The EU unaccountable bureaucracy and to an executive
treaty with other European countries was about which is not directly elected. The EUs lack of
to be blocked and the dispute was only settled a democratic forum for an exchange of views,
to avoid the risk of blocking the new European persuasion and debate is not often mentioned,
Union Treaty in Lisbon. but it is arguably one of the factors that
differentiates the EUs political process from
Is this an isolated technical linguistic issue, traditional democratic practice. The problem is
whatever its domestic importance? How does it that there is no language in which Europeans
become a sensitive political issue in the context can decide to have a Europe-wide debate.
of the EU? To understand this we need to The top-down imposition of a language would
examine the multilingual character of the EU. not be tolerated within the Union. As already
mentioned, the founding treaty confers equal
The story could well start with another perceived status on all national languages. Nonetheless,
reality, in which the 23 official languages of the EU meaningful citizenship and participation in a
enjoy equal status, or with the unique character of democratic society seem to demand forums for
the EU as a multilingual organisation that has been debate. This used to be one of the strongest
reconfirmed with every step of its enlargement. It arguments of the governments of nation
can begin with the solid foundation of institutional states as they centralised, imposing a national
multilingualism in the construct of lawyers, language at the expense of the languages of
the periphery. The argument that an electorate If we go back to our story we can again ask
needs to communicate with itself as well as with the question is the choice of using a certain
the power centre is still valid. Is there a solution? language just a matter of the working context
or does it imply something additional? The
Full multilingualism, which seems to have been following quote from the New Framework
formally agreed, is not the same thing as the Strategy for Multilingualism comes to mind:
adopted practices of multilingualism. The strain of It is this diversity that makes the European Union
complexity in translation and interpretation in the what it is: not a melting pot in which differences
institutions of the Union in particular affects the are rendered down, but a common home in which
declared commitment to a multilingual regime. diversity is celebrated, and where our many mother
Ask any of the regular participants in events at tongues are a source of wealth and a bridge to
greater solidarity and mutual understanding.
European level, ministerial conferences, seminars,
expert groups and committee meetings, and you Language is the most direct expression of culture;
will hear a common answer concerning English it is what makes us human and what gives
as the de facto (if not de jure) common language. each of us a sense of identity. Article 22 of the
Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European
The Parliament and the Council of Ministers use
Union states that the Union shall respect cultural,
all official languages for formal sessions and
religious and linguistic diversity. Article 21 prohibits
key documents, but the rule does not apply in discrimination based on a number of grounds,
less formal situations. In its resolutions in 2006 including language.3
and later in 2008 the European Parliament,
considering multilingualism as a sine qua non for Language is but one cultural component of national
the Institution and its Members, recognised the identity. Religion, family structure, dress, the arts,
high cost involved in maintaining a vast translation the media, and sport form other components,
and interpretation service and introduced helping to constitute an imagined community
controlled full multilingualism as the only means of people. However, it would be too romantic
of keeping the costs of multilingualism within to subscribe to the idea of the inseparability
acceptable budgetary limits2. The Commission of language and national identity. It could be
uses French and English as its internal working considered a contingent fact that the language
languages; the European courts use French as spoken today is the language of the nation. Yet
their working language although the plaintiffs, it could have been another language. For various
defendants and witnesses have the right to use historical reasons another dialect variety could
their national language. But because of the role have become the language of any one nation.
of English as the dominant global language, most
Yet, as de Tocqueville observed:
of the expert meetings nowadays within the EU
institutions are actually conducted in English and The tie of language is perhaps the strongest and
require drafting documents only in English. most durable that can unite mankind.4
2 Bureau of the European Parliament (2008). Code of Conduct on Multilingualism adopted by the Bureau
on 17 November 2008. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/pdf/multilinguisme/code_conduct_multilingualism_en.pdf.
3 European Commission (2005).
4 de Tocqueville (2001), p. 40.
So the need for a common language has to keep their mother tongues alive and preserve
actually fostered the use of some languages. them against the pressures of the communication
English may have increased its power through shift manifested in the development of
enlargement, but the smallest languages in the electronically mediated communication. The
EU have also come into their own. Three years question is whether globalisation in language will
ago Gaelic achieved official EU status, which the outpace the national idea?
Irish foreign minister, Dermot Ahern, greeted as a
real psychological boost for the Irish language5. There are some key concepts that have recurred
In the Irish parliament, only 2 % of business in the discussion. One of the most central is
is conducted in Gaelic, but politically it has a necessity: given the existence, from earliest
resonance far beyond its use. It became the EUs times, of different language communities, there
21st official language from 2007. has always been a need for multilingual facility.
Multilingualism arises and is maintained through
Similar to this are the resonance and the
necessity and contact, and it imposes another
attitudes related to Maltese becoming an official
necessity that of crossing language barriers.
language of the EU. Cassola, the Maltese
academic, expressed them as follows:
Sue Wright, a British language policy researcher,
What this means is that in 10 months time our draws the following picture from earliest times:
national language will be elevated to the status
of an official language of the European Union. It A traveller moving through the Southern
will effectively become the only European national Romance continuum could journey from the
language of Semitic origin to attain official status western seaboard of Portugal, through the
in the EU. And it will be placed alongside much Iberian Peninsula, follow the Mediterranean
wider spoken languages such as English, French, coast from Perpignan to Nice, cross the Alps
Spanish, German, Italian and others.6 and go to the very south of Italy without finding
two adjacent villages whose dialects were not
Globalisation as one of the greatest challenges mutually comprehensible. The same truth holds
of our time has its implications concerning for the other dialect families, e.g. Celtic, Slavic,
language. It can be clearly seen in the status and Germanic. Of course the extremes of the
of English in Europe and in the world, in the continuum were very disparate but significant
status of colonial languages in the states that differences would be apparent only to the traveller,
not to the speakers. Comprehension could always
received independence since 1945, of Russian
be achieved at adjacent points.7
in the former Soviet Union. On the one hand,
globalisation sustains these languages status
as tools for international communication That was the governing pattern of social
and reaffirms their role in individual language interaction then; there is a different pattern
repertoires. On the other hand, as we see in the of interaction now. Some of its different
quotation above, people treat their languages as significant features are: the close correlation
emblematic of their countrys identity and seek between simple mobility and multilingualism
5 QuotedfromthepressinOctober2005aftertheIrishlanguagewasgivenofficialstatusintheEU.
6 QuotedfrominterviewsinthepressbeforeMaltasignedtheAccessionTreatytojointheEUinMarch2003,Malta
Today Archive 12 May 2002.
7 wright (1999), p. 84.
necessitates a multilingual facility among an registered. And other events, hardly associated
elite, daily mobility also accounts for a more with English, do happen and require attention:
widespread non-elite multilingualism. The need the reappearance of regional languages in
to communicate across speech communities public life (Welsh, Catalan, Basque, Gaelic);
is more salient today than ever before. complete reversals of linguistic fortune
Multilingual encounters are common more (Russian has been ousted from political and
than ever before. The languages of Europe find public life in Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia). And
themselves confronted by each other much probably the most important trend is that it
more than before. Europe has changed beyond does not appear inevitable that fewer states
recognition. will be monolingual in Europe. Linguistic
nationalism has surfaced in Europe and with
At the personal rather than the institutional some virulence, putting forward language as
level, multilingualism 8 has a great deal to a determiner for in- and out-groups. It is often
do with patterns of social interaction. In this actually conducted and carried out with the
respect some distinctive features of current use of and through English.
multilingualism are radically different to
historical multilingualism. Multilingualism seems It should be admitted that the EU is abstaining
largely a practical affair mostly concerned from constructing a common language policy,
with the patterns of movement of people, but leaving it to the member states following
also there might be cultural and educational the principle of subsidiary, with elements of
motivation that leads to expansion of the applying the notion of benign neglect. But
linguistic repertoire even if there is no desire has there been any linguistic influence of EU
or possibility to use the new ability in ordinary policies?
conversational ways. It is also feasible to accept
that an individuals ability in 2 or 3 languages Our story in the beginning shows the sovereignty
will not be equal. It could be predicted that it that member states claim through language laws
will extend just about as far as circumstances is frequently challenged with the implementation
(and ability) demand. of Community law. In lots of cases EU
institutions refuse to refer only to subsidiarity or
But it should be acknowledged that the to the equal value of different language versions
growing dominance of English, often viewed (e-commerce; directives concerning insurance;
with resentment from various circles that directives on foodstuffs; patents). Moreover,
proclaim the need for English-free territories, these asserted competences are bound to
is not accompanied with any signs of a extend gradually.
possible massive language shift of the type
that peripheral languages experienced in the It is obvious that official languages benefit
building of national states. Though larger and from status elevation; they are actively
larger amounts of scholarly work and exchange integrated in all possible domains of
is carried out in English (as it used to be in Latin language use. In addition they benefit from
and later French), no evidence of replication of the recent engineering tools for interpretation
the language shifts of the nationalistic era are and translation and from the educational
programmes for language learning. Therefore, a Language Rich Europe: Multilingual essays
the EU has become an institution regulating on language policies and practices, published by
language use. It has become a pole of language the British Council in 2010.
change in favouring some languages of
wider communication, in preventing language References
decline and more importantly in language
revival. It has become an important factor in Bureau of the European Parliament. (2008) Code of
shaping the rather complex sociolinguistic Conduct on Multilingualism adopted by the Bureau
reality in Europe. on 17 November 2008. http://www.europarl.
europa.eu/pdf/multilinguisme/code_conduct_
The EU is itself a linguistic actor and an multilingualism_en.pdf.
important one at that. It simply cannot opt out European Commission. (2005) A New Framework Strategy
of the linguistic arena and of language policy for Multilingualism, COM (2005), pp.596-final.
as an interplay between what people think, de Tocqueville, A. (2001) Democracy in America. New
what law and regulations include and what we York: Penguin Books.
actually do. Wright, S. (1999) A Community that can communicate:
the linguistic factor in European integration. In D.
This article has been reprinted (and updated) Smith and S. Wright (Eds.) Whose Europe? The
with the kind permission of the British Council Turn towards Democracy, pp. 79-104. Oxford:
and the author. It originally appeared in Towards Blackwell Publishers.
El ingls
y el espaol
en las Amricas
PART fOUR
English and
Spanish in the
Americas
245
A pesar de que la lengua espaola carece de segundo lugar mundial con Argentina, Espaa
estatus oficial en los Estados Unidos, en ese pas y Colombia en cuanto al nmero de hablantes
vive una de las poblaciones hispanoparlantes nativos del espaol, siendo superado solo por
ms grandes del mundo. El censo oficial de 2010 Mxico. Y si tenemos en cuenta los millones de
reconoce una poblacin hispana de 50,5 millo- personas de origen no hispano que han aprendi-
nes de una poblacin total de 308,7 millones, o do el espaol como segunda lengua por motivo
sea, un 16,4 % de la poblacin nacional (www. de estudios, trabajo, matrimonio, servicio social
census.gov). Esta cifra representa un ndice de u otras razones, Estados Unidos bien puede lle-
crecimiento de la poblacin hispana de un 43 % varse la medalla de plata incondicionalmente.
entre 2000 y 2010; durante el mismo intervalo,
la poblacin nacional creci en un 9,7 %, lo cual No es sorprendente que la mayora de las co-
indica que la tasa de crecimiento de la poblacin munidades hispanoparlantes estadounidenses
hispana es 4,4 veces mayor que el promedio provengan de pases vecinos y con fuertes lazos
nacional. Si la proporcin de hispanos que ha- histricos con los Estados Unidos. Los hablantes
bla espaol en los Estados Unidos es la misma de origen mexicano representan dos tercios de
que en 2000 (todava no se han dado a conocer los hispanoparlantes estadounidenses; siguen
las cifras de 2010), entonces por lo menos 40,2 en orden hablantes de origen puertorriqueo
millones de hablantes nativos de espaol viven (9 %), cubano (3,5 %), salvadoreo (3,4 %), domi-
en los Estados Unidos. Las cifras verdaderas nicano (2,8 %) y guatemalteco (2 %). Las princi-
sern ms altas, sobre todo en lo que respecta pales corrientes migratorias han sido canalizadas
a los inmigrantes que no renen los documen- por eventos sociopolticos especficos que sirvie-
tos migratorios necesarios para establecer la ron tanto como fuerza de expulsin de los pases
residencia legal. Algunas personas que respon- de origen como de atraccin hacia los Estados
den al censo prefieren no revelar el uso de otras Unidos. Aunque los mexicanos han entrado al
lenguas por diversos motivos, lo cual produce territorio estadounidense desde el momento en
cifras inferiores a las reales. Tambin hay que que las dos naciones compartieron una frontera
reconocer que la poblacin hispana inmigrada (con la transferencia del territorio de Luisiana en
desde el exterior crece ms rpidamente que la 1803), la primera gran ola de inmigracin unos
poblacin hispana nacida dentro de los Estados 1,5 millones de mexicanos surgi como resul-
Unidos; esto significa que el nmero de hispa- tado de la Revolucin mexicana de 1910-1920.
noparlantes crece an ms rpidamente que el Los programas de reclutamiento de braceros
crecimiento de la poblacin hispana en general. agrcolas que empezaron en 1942 atrajeron por
finalmente, es necesario tener en cuenta que lo menos a ocho millones de mexicanos, mu-
los datos del censo sobre el dominio lingstico chos de los cuales permanecieron en los Esta-
solo representan a personas a partir de los cin- dos Unidos, y el flujo de trabajadores migratorios
co aos de edad. Una cifra fiable de la cantidad ha continuado desde entonces. La inmigracin
de hablantes nativos del espaol en los Estados masiva de Puerto Rico a los Estados Unidos
Unidos estara por encima de los 45 millones. continentales empez en 1948 al iniciarse el
Desde una perspectiva global, y de acuerdo a las programa de industralizacin conocido como
estimaciones de las Naciones Unidas1, Estados Operacin fomento, que deriv en el desplaza-
Unidos puede estar efectivamente empatado en miento de unos dos millones de obreros a los
1 Vase http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/wpp2008/wpp2008_text_tables.pdf.
la /r/ final se pronuncia con frecuencia como /l/. uso de cualquier lengua que no sea el ingls,
Ninguno de estos procesos se encuentra en la pero estos gestos, que no reflejan el espritu
mayora de variedades mexicanas del espaol de un pueblo que saluda la bandera nacional
(Ghosh Johnson, 2005). Entre los centroameri- diariamente con la proclamacin de libertad
canos radicados en Estados Unidos es habitual y justicia para todos, tienen poco impacto
que desaparezcan los rasgos ms regionaliza- efectivo y ofrecen una irnica demostracin de
dos, por ejemplo, el pronombre de sujeto vos y la vitalidad del espaol y de otras lenguas de
las formas verbales correspondientes, aunque inmigracin en los Estados Unidos.
algunos centroamericanos producen combi-
naciones hbridas para expresar su identidad Con la excepcin de los inmigrantes recin lle-
tnica sin impedir la comunicacin con interlo- gados, casi todos los hispanohablantes en los
cutores de otros dialectos (Hernndez, 2002; Estados Unidos tambin hablan ingls y su pro-
Rivera-Mills, 2000). Al mismo tiempo se efecta duccin lingstica se caracteriza por los mis-
el desplazamiento del espaol hacia el ingls en mos cambios de cdigo, prstamos lxicos y
el transcurso de dos generaciones; en efecto, calcos sintcticos que se encuentran en otras
la lengua espaola en los Estados Unidos se comunidades bilinges a travs del mundo
renueva constantemente por medio de la inmi- (Lipski, 1985). El cambio de cdigo se refiere
gracin (Bills et al., 1995, 2000; Lipski, 2004). a la alternancia de dos lenguas en el trans-
Extrapolando a partir de los datos sobre des- curso de la misma conversacin, no solo con
plazamientos lingsticos transgeneracionales, si distintos interlocutores sino tambin con un solo
de repente cesara la inmigracin de pases his- interlocutor. En el habla coloquial los cambios
panoparlantes, la lengua espaola desaparece- de cdigo pueden producirse dentro de las ora-
ra eventualmente dentro de los Estados Unidos ciones, por ejemplo, Porque ella est going to
salvo en los enclaves tnicos ms concentra- have a baby y No s porque I never used it. Los
dos. Ya que es poco probable que esto suce- prstamos lxicos son palabras de una lengua
da en un futuro previsible, la lengua espaola introducidas en otra lengua, por ejemplo, el em-
siempre representar una importante presencia pleo de palabras inglesas como post office ofi-
lingstica en los Estados Unidos, cuyo impacto cina de correos o day care guardera infantil en
sociolingstico sigue creciendo. el espaol estadounidense y la insercin de pa-
labras espaolas como tapas y Cinco de Mayo
Despus del ingls, el espaol es la lengua que en el ingls hablado en los Estados Unidos. Los
ms se ensea en los Estados Unidos a nivel calcos sintcticos son traducciones literales de
primario, secundario y universitario; de he- modismos cuyo sentido no se puede deducir
cho, hay ms estudiantes de espaol que de directamente de su estructura; por ejemplo, la
todas las dems lenguas combinadas (Lipski, expresin inglesa to call back (devolver una lla-
2002). La prominencia de la lengua espaola mada telefnica) se traduce como llamar para
en los medios de comunicacin social, el dis- atrs entre hablantes bilinges. Los mismos in-
curso poltico, las dependencias del gobierno dividuos bilinges pueden decir: to change a
y el comercio ha provocado virulentas cam- check (cambiar un cheque) en ingls en vez
paas contra los inmigrantes y a favor de la de usar el verbo to cash. Dejando a un lado el
declaracin del ingls como lengua exclusiva espaol parcialmente adquirido de los hablan-
de los Estados Unidos. En algunas comuni- tes bilinges de herencia o de transicin (Lipski,
dades existen leyes que intentan restringir el 1996), no hay evidencia de la convergencia del
espaol hablado como lengua nativa y el ingls Bills, G. D. y vigil, N. (2008). The Spanish language of
en los Estados Unidos, ni de otras manifestacio- New Mexico and southern Colorado: a linguistic atlas.
nes de reestructuracin gramatical de la lengua Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
espaola (Silva-Corvaln, 1994). Es frecuente g HosH J oHnson , s. e. (2005). Mexiqueo? Issues
que se aplique la palabra spanglish al habla de of identity and ideology in a case study of dialect
los bilinges hispanos en los Estados Unidos, contact. Tesis doctoral indita, University of
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sos ms extremos de alternancia de lenguas, contact situation. Filologa y Lingstica, 28 (2),
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Press. .(2003). Spanglish: the making of a new American
o tHeguy, R., z entella , A. C. y l ivert , D. (2007). language. Nueva York: Harper-Collins.
Language and dialect contact in Spanish in New
zentella, A. C. (1990). Lexical leveling in four New
York: toward the formation of a speech community.
York City Spanish dialects: linguistic and social
Language, 83, pp. 770-802.
factors. Hispania, 73, pp. 1.094-1.105.
pratt, C. (2004). El espaol del noroeste de Luisiana:
pervivencia de un dialecto amenazado. Madrid: .(1997). Growing up bilingual: Puerto Rican children
Editorial Verbum. in New York. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
251
Despite the fact that Spanish has no official Guatemalan origin (2 %). Major immigration
status in the United States, either at the national trends have been largely shaped by specific
level or in individual states, the U.S. is home social and political events that both pushed
to one of the worlds largest Spanish-speaking people out of their homelands and drew them to
populations. The 2010 national census reported the United States. Although Mexicans had been
50.5 million self-reported Hispanic residents, crossing into the United States from the time the
out of a total population of 308.7 million (www. two nations came to share a common border
census.gov). This figure is some 16.4 % of the (approximately at the time of the 1803 Louisiana
national population, and represents a 43 % Purchase), it was the Mexican Revolution of
increase in the Latino population between 1910-1920 that brought the first large wave of
2000 and 2010; during the same period the Mexican immigration to the United States, as
total national population grew at a rate of many as 1.5 million. The Bracero farmworker
9.7 %, which means that the Latino population programme begun in 1942 also attracted at least
grew 4.4 times as fast as the national average. eight million Mexican labourers, many of whom
Assuming the same proportion speaks Spanish remained in the United States, and migrant farm
now as in 2000 (the 2010 figures have not yet workers have continued to immigrate ever since.
been disclosed), then the United States is home Large-scale immigration from Puerto Rico to
to at least 40.2 million native Spanish speakers. the mainland United States began in 1948 with
The real numbers are undoubtedly well over 45 the Operacin fomento/Operation Bootstrap
million, due to the under-reporting endemic to industrialisation programme and mainland labour
minority populations as well as the reluctance recruitment that attracted some two million
on the part of many respondents to place islanders to the northeastern states. The large
themselves in ethnic pigeonholes, and further Cuban migration to the United States began
exacerbated when unauthorised immigration following the 1959 Cuban revolution, reached
status is taken into account. Moreover, the another peak during the 1980 Mariel boatlift,
census data on language use only take into and continues to the present time. Salvadorans
account individuals five years of age or older. In and Guatemalans surged into the United States
practical terms, and not even considering the during the bloody civil wars of the 1980s, as did
uncounted millions of Americans of non-Latino a comparatively smaller number of Nicaraguans,
origin who also speak Spanish, the United driven out first by the Sandinista takeover and
States is effectively tied with Spain, Argentina, later by the U.S.-backed counter-revolution.
and Colombia for second place among the Dominican immigration is not a function of
worlds Spanish-speaking nations, with only discrete events but rather reflects the steadily
Mexico indisputably taking the gold medal. declining economic conditions of that nation.
Not surprisingly, the majority of Spanish- following established immigration patterns, each
speaking communities in the United States have Spanish-speaking group has gravitated towards
their origins in nearby countries and those with different regions of the country: Dominicans and
strong historical ties to the U.S. Speakers of Puerto Ricans in the industrial northeast, Cubans
Mexican origin currently represent two thirds of in south florida and the greater New York City
U.S. Spanish speakers, followed by Puerto Rican area, Salvadorans in Texas, California, and the
origin (9 %), Cuban origin (3.5 %), Salvadoran Washington D.C. area, and Guatemalans in
origin (3.4 %), Dominican origin (2.8 %), and florida, California, and the Pacific Northwest.
Mexicans have expanded immigration patterns attributable to specific groups (e.g. Otheguy
from the southwestern United States to include et al., 2007; Zentella, 1990; Lipski, 2010).
the midwest, northwest, southeast, and more Dialect leveling refers to the process by which
recently the northeastern states. Lipski (2008) traits specific to individual dialects are avoided
provides an overview of Spanish-speaking when different dialects of a language come
groups in the United States. into contact, as well as to the adoption of
some specific dialect traits by speakers of
Not all varieties of Spanish in the United States other dialects in contact environments. In the
are the result of immigration. The massive United States dialect leveling is evidenced by
territorial expansions of the 19th century cases such as more uniform pronunciation of
absorbed several established Spanish speech word-final /s/ and /r/ by speakers of widely
communities. The Louisiana Purchase of divergent dialects, such as Puerto Ricans and
1803 brought into the Union descendants of Mexicans in New York and Chicago: Puerto
Canary Islanders who had settled in what is Ricans frequently pronounce final /s/ as h
now southeastern Louisiana in the late 18th or eliminate it altogether and often pronounce
century (Lipski, 1990a), and an even older final /r/ as l, whereas most Mexicans do not
speech community in northwestern Louisiana alter the pronunciation of /s/ and /r/ (e.g. Ghosh
descending from detachments of soldiers from Johnson, 2005).
New Spain (Mexico) who were left behind in
the early 18th century (Lipski, 1990b; Pratt, Highly regionalised traits such as the second
2004). The 1836 Texas independence war and person singular subject pronoun vos and its
the 1848 Mexican-American War incorporated accompanying verb forms often disappear,
an estimated 80,000 Spanish speakers into although some Central Americans have
the expanding U.S. territory, giving rise to the developed hybrid combinations that allow them
Mexican-American saying, we didnt cross the to express their ethnic identity without impairing
border; the border crossed us. As a result of this communication with other Spanish speakers
territorial conquest, the United States is home (e.g. Hernndez, 2002; Rivera-Mills, 2000).
to the oldest surviving variety of Latin American At the same time, language displacement
Spanish, the traditional dialect of New Mexico towards English usually takes place within two
(Bills and Vigil, 2008), resulting from Spanish generations after immigration to the United States;
settlements beginning in 1598. The Spanish- in effect the Spanish language in the United
American War of 1898 incorporated Puerto Rico States is constantly replenished by continued
as a United States territory, although massive immigration (Bills et al., 1995, 2000; Lipski, 2004).
immigration from the island to the mainland did Extrapolating from data on trans-generational
not occur until half a century later. language shifts, if immigration from Spanish-
speaking countries were to cease, the Spanish
Within the United States, Spanish-speaking language might eventually be replaced by English
communities tend to retain the dialectal traits in the United States, except perhaps in some
of the respective countries of origin, although highly concentrated ethnic enclaves. Since there is
in multi-ethnic cities such as Chicago, Detroit, little chance that immigration to the United States
Washington D.C., Boston, New York, and Los will diminish in the foreseeable future, Spanish
Angeles there is evidence of dialect leveling will remain a major linguistic presence, whose
as well as linguistic innovations not directly demographic strength continues to increase.
Spanish is also the most commonly taught Leaving aside the incompletely acquired
language other than English at the elementary, Spanish of heritage language speakers or
secondary, and university level, with enrolments transitional bilinguals (e.g. Lipski, 1996), natively
far outstripping all other foreign languages spoken Spanish in the United States shows no
combined (Lipski, 2002). The prominence of convincing signs of convergence with English or
Spanish in mass media, political discourse, other forms of restructuring (e.g. Silva-Corvaln,
government agencies, and commerce has also 1994).
fueled virulent anti-immigrant and English-
only campaigns, and in some communities The term Spanglish is sometimes applied to
laws attempting to restrict the use of languages the speech of Spanish-English bilinguals in the
other than English have been passed. These United States, but this word suggests a hybrid
reactions, while reflecting unfavourably on a third language that does not exist. Even in
people committed to liberty and justice for all the most intense bilingual code-switching both
(the final phrase of the salute to the national the Spanish portions and the English segments
flag), ironically reflect the vitality of Spanish and are fully grammatical within the respective
other immigrant languages in the United States, languages; bilingual speech does not result
and have little impact on actual linguistic usage. in combinations not found in either language.
Although some scholars and activists have
Except for recent arrivals, most Spanish speakers suggested that Spanglish (taken to mean
in the United States do also speak English, and code-switching) is the proper characterisation
engage in the same code-switching, lexical of U.S. Latino speech (e.g. Stavans, 2000,
borrowing, and loan translations found in other 2003; Morales, 2002; Zentella, 1997), this word
bilingual communities (e.g. Lipski, 1985). Code- is more often used in a pejorative sense (Lipski,
switching refers to the alternation between two 2007), carrying the factually incorrect inference
languages in the same conversation, not only that Spanish-English bilingualism is somehow
with different speakers but also when speaking different from other normal language contact
to a single interlocutor. In colloquial speech environments throughout the world. In reality,
code-switching may occur within a sentence, as the continued replenishment of Spanish through
in Porque ella est going to have a baby, and No immigration as well as the presence of hundreds
of Spanish-language radio and television
s porque I never used it. Lexical borrowing is
stations, newspapers, school programmes,
the adoption of words from one language into
public political discourse, and social services
another, as when Spanish speakers use English
ensures the linguistic integrity of Spanish in the
words such as post office or day care and English
United States.
speakers use Spanish words such as tapas and
Cinco de Mayo. Loan translations on the other
hand involve literal translations of idiomatic
expressions from one language to another; thus
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257
espaol, supuso, transcurridos menos de veinte vez ms lejos por el francs; en algunas regio-
aos desde su implantacin, su salida casi total nes, debido a migraciones histricas, encontra-
del espacio educativo, en el que permanecieron mos alemn, italiano, japons e incluso polaco o
nicamente el ingls y/o, en menor medida, el ucraniano. Es inusual poder cursar dos lenguas
francs. extranjeras en un centro pblico, aunque s es
cada vez ms comn en los privados, especial-
En 1996, se promulga la nueva LDB, que de- mente en los ms reputados, en cuyo caso la
vuelve a la lengua extranjera el carcter obliga- oferta mayoritaria es ingls y espaol. En algu-
torio a partir del quinto curso de la Enseanza nos casos, la red pblica ofrece idiomas en los
fundamental. En la prctica, la situacin vara llamados Centros de Lenguas, normalmente
poco en esta etapa respecto a lo que exista fuera del horario curricular formal. En general la
hasta entonces, es decir, la preponderancia casi red pblica no da a estas materias la importan-
absoluta del ingls; sin embargo, en la Ensean- cia que suelen tener en los sistemas educativos
za Media se introduce la posibilidad de estudiar modernos.
una segunda lengua extranjera como optativa,
lo cual ofrece un importante campo de creci- Considerando que desde el quinto curso de En-
miento al espaol. seanza fundamental los alumnos han de estu-
diar una lengua extranjera, que casi siempre es
A la hora de escoger el idioma como materia el ingls; teniendo en cuenta que en 2009 las
obligatoria o como optativa, los Parmetros matrculas en esa etapa y en la Enseanza Me-
Curriculares Nacionais de Lngua Estrangeira dia sumaban3 22.747.909; y aadiendo a esta
consideran factores histricos y de relevancia cifra 1.100.000 alumnos de Pre-escola (Escuela
internacional en favor del ingls y el espaol; Infantil) privada (normalmente con ingls) y 1,5
asimismo, mencionan las lenguas indgenas y el millones de alumnos que lo cursan en las clases
francs por motivos locales o tradicionales. de Educacin para Jvenes y Adultos (EJA) de
la Enseanza Media, no es arriesgado pensar
La situacin ha cambiado notablemente con la que el nmero de estudiantes de ingls en Bra-
aprobacin de la denominada Ley del espaol 2, sil es de 25 millones de (potenciales) alumnos,
que establece para los centros la obligato- aproximadamente.
riedad de ofertar el espaol en la Enseanza
Media y de hacerlo, opcionalmente, tambin en Por lo que respecta al espaol los nmeros son
los cuatro ltimos aos de la Enseanza fun- menos precisos, pero partiendo de los datos
damental. La obligatoriedad no se extiende a del Anuario del Instituto Cervantes 2009, y valo-
los alumnos, que pueden escoger espaol u rando los avances registrados desde entonces
otra lengua extranjera. en algunos estados (Amap, Amazonas, Espi-
rito Santo, Rondonia, So Paulo o Tocantins),
Como consecuencia de esta evolucin, hoy podemos estimar que en la Enseanza Media,
la prctica totalidad de los centros no univer- sumando red pblica estatal y municipal, y red
sitarios, pblicos o privados, imparten ingls y, privada, lo estudian alrededor de 2,7 millones de
como segunda lengua, espaol, seguido cada alumnos, lo que supone casi el 30 % del total.
En la Enseanza fundamental, donde el es- treinta y que se generalizaron a partir de los se-
paol es optativo, resulta imposible hacer una senta. Desde inicios de los noventa, estos cen-
estimacin de las matrculas ya que la compe- tros entran en lo que poco a poco va constitu-
tencia es casi exclusivamente municipal y no se yendo un importante mercado: el espaol. Hoy,
publican datos oficiales. No obstante, tambin cualquier anuncio de una academia de idiomas
se han producido algunos avances, y considera- que uno pueda ver en Brasil recoge que el cen-
mos que el nmero de alumnos puede ser algo tro da clases de ingls y espaol. Resulta impo-
superior al de la Enseanza Media. sible saber el nmero de academias con cursos
libres; extraoficialmente se calcula que Brasil es
Si esto es as, habra en torno a 5,5 millones el pas nmero uno del mundo en escuelas de
de alumnos brasileos estudiando espaol en ingls, con ms de 10.000, estimndose que el
centros educativos no universitarios. total de alumnos puede estar entre uno y dos
millones, aunque para algunos esta cifra podra
La todava desigual importancia del espaol y el elevarse hasta unos improbables veinte millo-
ingls se refleja tambin en el nmero de cole- nes. Para el espaol los nmeros son bastante
gios ingleses (19) y espaoles (2) existentes ms moderados tanto en la cantidad de cen-
en Brasil. tros de enseanza como, especialmente, de
alumnos.
Sin embargo, resulta sorprendente que, si es-
timamos que en la educacin preuniversitaria Con independencia del idioma enseado, la
puede haber un 70 % de alumnos de ingls, un problemtica de su profesorado es, quizs,
20 % de espaol y un 10 % que estudian am- lams grave, ya que estas escuelas suelen te-
bas lenguas, en las pruebas de acceso a la uni- ner un cuadro de profesores no preparado para
versidad (Vestibular y ENEM) el porcentaje4 de la labor que realizan; algunos tienen el espaol
alumnos que optan por el espaol es superior, o el ingls como lengua nativa, pero carecen de
o muy similar, al de los que eligen ingls. Ello es formacin acadmica; otros tienen la formacin,
debido al aumento del inters por el espaol, pero no cuentan con la necesaria fluidez en la
pero tambin a un importante problema de fon- lengua a ensear. En todo caso cabe destacar
do causado por la precariedad de la ensean- que se trata de un sector en fuerte expansin
za de idiomas en Brasil. Y es que, debido a la debido, entre otros motivos, a la prxima cele-
baja calidad, muchos estudiantes de ingls, es- bracin en Brasil de acontecimientos como el
pecialmente de escuelas pblicas, acaban op- Mundial de ftbol (2014) o los Juegos Olm-
tando por realizar la prueba de espaol, por ser picos (2016). En el caso del ingls, se calcula
para ellos una lengua ms cercana al portugus. un crecimiento de en torno al 10 % anual; para
el espaol este incremento ha de ser mayor al
Esta ineficacia en la enseanza de idiomas en partir de un menor nmero de alumnos; val-
buena parte de las escuelas, unida a las ne- ga como ejemplo que en el periodo transcu-
cesidades del mundo actual, ha generado una rrido entre septiembre de 2009 y septiembre
proliferacin de los llamados cursos livres de de 2010, las matrculas de los diversos cen-
lenguas, normalmente en rgimen de franquicia, tros del Instituto Cervantes de Brasil han au-
que ya existan para el ingls desde los aos mentado un 36 %.
4 De los 4,6 millones de inscritos para el ENEM de noviembre de 2010, 57 % escogieron espaol y 43 % ingls.
5 Vase http://blog.catho.com.br/2010/06/07/catho-online-identifica-que-ingles-e-espanhol-impactam-no-
valor-de-salario/.
en el contexto actual lo que conlleva limitar, Ferreira BarCelos, A. M. (2006). Narrativas, crenas
cuando no excluir, de la educacin plurilinge e experincias de aprender ingls. Revista
los centros con menos recursos o ms aleja- Linguagem & Ensino, 9, 2, pp.145-175.
dos de los grandes ncleos urbanos, ambas F inardi , K. y F errari , L. (2008). Reflecting on the
lenguas presentan un prometedor futuro, espe- English(es) taught in Brazil. Revista Crop: Revista
cialmente si se adoptan las medidas adecua- da rea de Estudos Lingsticos e Literrios em
das para que Brasil se enfrente a las demandas Ingls, 13, pp. 205-214. Universidade de So
Paulo. Disponible en: http://www.revistacrop.
derivadas de los acontecimientos de la prxima
com.br/. ltima consulta: enero, 2011.
dcada.
leFFa, V. J. (1998). O ensino das lnguas estrangeiras
no contexto nacional. Revista Contexturas/
Ensino Crtico da Lngua Inglesa, 4.
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B entez p rez , P. y M artnez -C aCHero l aseCa , . (2006). Histria do Ensino de Lnguas no Brasil:
(2009). El espaol en Brasil: situacin actual y Avanos e Retrocessos. Revista HELB, ao I,
perspectivas de futuro. El espaol en el mundo. nmero I. Disponible en: http://www.helb.org.br/.
Anuario del Instituto Cervantes 2009. Madrid: ltima consulta: diciembre, 2010.
Boletn Oficial del Estado e Instituto Cervantes. Martnez-CaCHero laseCa, . (2009). La enseanza del
CoelHo, H. S. H. (2006). possvel aprender ingls espaol en el sistema educativo brasileo: situacin
na escola? Crenas de professores sobre ensi- y posibles actuaciones. Real Instituto Elcano (ARI)
no de ingls em escolas pblicas, en M. H. V. 140. Disponible en: http://www.realinstitutoelcano.
Abraho y A. M. f. Barcelos (coords.). Crenas e org/. ltima consulta: enero, 2011.
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na formao de professores. So Paulo: Pontes literatura inglesa: uma histria do ensino de ingls
Editores. no Brasil (1809-1951). Disertacin de Mestrado,
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263
grade in basic education. In reality, the situation in the so-called Language Centres, usually
was little changed from what already existed, in an extracurricular schedule. Generally, the
that is, the almost complete dominance of public system does not give these subjects
English; but at secondary level, the possibility of the importance that they are usually granted in
a second foreign language was introduced as modern education systems.
an option, which provided an opportunity for the
teaching and learning of Spanish. In the case of English, considering that it is
obligatory from 5th grade in basic education, the
In the selection of foreign languages (either as an number of students enrolled in 20093 (including
obligatory or optional subject), the Parametros in high school) totals 22,747,909. To this can be
Curriculares Nacionais de Lingua Estrangeira added a further 1.1m students in private Pre-
made reference to historical factors of world- Escola (pre-school education) and 1.5 million
wide relevance, which favoured English and of EJA4 in secondary, giving a total of 25 million
Spanish. But it also mentioned the importance potential students.
of offering Indigenous languages (and french)
in the areas where they had been traditionally for Spanish, the numbers are less precise, but
spoken. based on the data from the Anuario del Instituto
Cervantes 2009, and the registered advances
The situation notably changed when the in some states (Amap, Amazonas, Rondonia,
approval of the so-called Spanish Law 2 was So Paulo or Tocantins), we can estimate that
passed, establishing that schools must offer at secondary level, (including the public system
Spanish at secondary level, and optionally, [local and regional] and the private system) about
in the last four years of primary level. This is 2.7 million students study Spanish, at least 30 %
mandatory for schools, but not for students, of the total. In primary education, where Spanish
who can still choose which foreign language is only optional, it is not possible to have a
they want to learn among those available in reliable estimate of numbers. Nevertheless,
their schools. we can speculate that the number of students
might be somewhat greater than at secondary
As a consequence of this evolution, today almost level. Therefore, we can speculate around
all schools, public or private, offer English, with 5.5 million Brazilian students learn Spanish in
the second language offered being Spanish, various educational (non-university) centres. The
followed some way behind by french. In some unequal importance of Spanish and English is
regions, because of historical immigration, we also reflected in the number of English schools
find German, Italian, Japanese and even Polish (19) and Spanish schools (2) currently existing
or Ukrainian. It is not common to see two foreign in Brazil.
languages being offered in a public school, but
the incidence is increasing and almost invariably Interestingly, if we look at pre-university
the two languages are English and Spanish. In education, probably 70 % of students study
other cases, the public system offers lessons English, 20 % Spanish and 10 % study both
languages. But in the entrance exams for educational sector for a number of reasons, such
university (Vestibular and ENEM), the percentage5 as the next celebration in Brazil of the World Cup
of students who choose Spanish is very similar (2014) or the Olympics (2016). In the case of
to those choosing English. That is partly because English, it is calculated that its growth is about
of the growth of Spanish, but also because of 10 % yearly. for Spanish, this growth looks
a significant problem which directly influences higher; indeed, during the period September
the learning of foreign languages in Brazil, and 2009-2010, enrolments of the various Institutos
this is the poor quality of teaching, especially in Cervantes in Brazil have grown by 36 %.
the public schools. As a result, many students
choose to do the Spanish exam because it is a The presence of English and Spanish is not
more similar language to Portuguese. limited only to the educational domain; it is also
reflected in the social and cultural life of Brazil.
This inefficacy in the teaching of language Since the 1930s, the presence of English has
combined with the necessities of the current been clear in Brazilian life, both in terms of the
world economy, has generated a spread of worlds of commerce and work, and also very
the so-called cursos livres, which already evident from the influence of (largely) American
existed for English from the 1930s. At the film and music. The Brazilian elite, who have
start of the 1990s, these educational centres usually admired the French ways, have now
began to develop a market for the teaching given themselves up to the American way of
of Spanish. Today, any advertisement for a life. This tendency was intensified after World
language academy which one can see in War II with an influx of different missions of
Brazil mentions that the centre teaches both American cooperation, directed to strengthen
English and Spanish. It is impossible to know the relationship between Brazil and the U.S.,
the precise number of academies with cursos and achieved its high point in the 1970s, as we
livres, but it is thought that Brazil is the top can see in Caetano Velosos song:
country in the world for English schools, with
Baby
more than ten thousand, with an estimated 1-2
Voc precisa aprender ingls
million students. However, for some observers
this number could be as high as 20 million. for Baby, baby, I love you
Spanish, the numbers are much lower, both Baby, baby, I love you
in number of educational centres, and more
especially in the number of students. In truth, the influence of English is pretty much
constant, promoted by official institutions from
The problem of teaching quality is particularly English-speaking countries and by private
common, and especially so in these centres, informal mechanisms.
because the staff tend to be under-qualified and
inexperienced native speaker teachers, combined In the case of Spanish, we might think that
with other non-native speakers who lack fluency because of border factors (Brazil has seven
and communicative language (but often have borders with countries whose official language
a strong grasp of grammar and structure). In isSpanish), the social and cultural presence of
any case, it is clear that this is a fast-expanding Spanish would be common. But this has not
5 from 4.6 million enrolled for the ENEM November/2010, 57 % chose Spanish, and 43 % English.
been the case until recently. Today, two Hispanic economic importance continues to grow. This
countries have educational networks for the should include making language learning more
promotion and diffusion of Spanish language available and socially and economically inclusive,
and culture in Brazil Instituto Cultural Brasil/ as well as promoting multilingual education in
Argentina (headquarters in Curitiba and Rio de poorer, rural centres.
Janeiro) and Instituto Cervantes with centres in
So Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Braslia,
Curitiba, Porto Alegre and Belo Horizonte. In the
last decade, along with traditional mechanisms References
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from what we have seen, we can conclude Boletn Oficial del Estado and Instituto Cervantes.
that today both English and Spanish constitute Coelho, H.S.H. (2006) possvel aprender ingls na
the basis for international communication in escola?. Crenas de professores sobre ensino de
Brazil, and that the relationship between them ingls em escolas pblicas. In M.H.V. Abraho
should not be viewed as antagonistic, but rather and A.M.f. Barcelos (Eds.) Crenas e ensino
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dominance of English in every area that we formao de professores. So Paulo: Pontes
have examined. English and Spanish, though Editores.
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But they also share the value that the Brazilians espanhola. Disertacin de Mestrado, Universidade
put on both languages as commercial and de So Paulo.
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in the way the labour market functions in Brazil e experincias de aprender ingls. Revista
with professionals who are competent in Linguagem & Ensino, 9, 2, pp.145-175.
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average6. English(es) taught in Brazil. Revista Crop: Revista
da rea de Estudos Lingsticos e Literrios em
It may be concluded that even though Brazilian Ingls 13, pp. 205-214. Universidade de So
educational laws appear not to give the teaching Paulo. http://www.revistacrop.com.br/images/
of languages the importance they deserve, both stories/edicao13/v13a17.pdf. Last accessed:
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Brazilians, especially if the proper measures are Leffa, V.J. (1998) O ensino das lnguas estrangeiras
applied so that Brazil can meet the economic no contexto nacional. Revista Contexturas/Ensino
and social demands of the next decade as its Crtico da Lngua Inglesa, 4.
6 http://blog.catho.com.br/2010/06/07/catho-online-identifica-que-ingles-e-espanhol-impactam-no-valor-de-salario/.
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M.C. (2006) Histria do Ensino de Lnguas no literatura inglesa: uma histria do ensino de ingls
Brasil: Avanos e Retrocessos. Revista HELB, no Brasil (1809-1951). Disertacin de Mestrado,
AnoI. http://www.helb.org.br/. Last accessed: faculdade de letras, Universidade Estadual de
December, 2010. Campinas. http://www.unicamp.br/iel/memoria/
Martnez-Cachero Laseca, . (2009) La enseanza projetos/teses/tese19.doc. Last accessed:
del espaol en el sistema educativo brasileo: January, 2011.
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org/. Last accessed: January, 2011. ingl.html. Last accessed: December, 2010.
Oportunidad de negocio
y factor humano: la hispanidad
estadounidense en perspectiva
espaola
Jaime Malet
269
En los ltimos aos se ha estado hablando has- pital del pas a una enorme presencia en la Ad-
ta la saciedad sobre la oportunidad que supone ministracin federal, y una presencia cada vez
el mercado hispano para las empresas espao- ms relevante en el Congreso, en el Senado, y
las en los EE.UU. El mercado estadounidense tambin, por vez primera, en la Corte Suprema
de origen hispano agrupa una poblacin que con la juez hispana Sonia Sotomayor.
podra ser similar a la espaola, entre 36 y 50
millones de almas, una horquilla muy laxa, ya Ms significativo que este auge, muy ligado a la
que la cifra final depende de aadir los residen- aritmtica poltica y a los intereses de los par-
tes ilegales (mal contados), a los legales y de tidos, es el auge econmico de los hispanos,
tomar o no en consideracin a los habitantes que ha sido enorme en las ltimas dcadas.
de Puerto Rico, que como se sabe no es un Desde rentas bajsimas, como corresponde a
estado de la Unin sino un estado libre asocia- una minora de inmigrantes, los hispanos han
do latino en el que la presencia del idioma ido aumentando su capacidad de compra y su
espaol es abrumadoramente mayoritaria. estatus social a ritmos acelerados desde hace
una dcada. Ya no es solo la minora cubana,
En todo caso, se trata de un mercado en ex- que en gran parte vino exiliada por razones pol-
pansin cuantitativa y cualitativa. Cuantitativa- ticas con algunas propiedades o, al menos, con
mente porque la hispana es la minora que ms esmerada educacin. Es tambin el hispano de
aumenta: no solo las familias catlicas hispanas Centro o Sudamrica de segunda generacin,
tienen una mayor prole, sino tambin la fronte- cuyos padres llegaron a los Estados Unidos con
ra entre Estados Unidos y Mxico es la frontera escasos medios y que, tras una vida de trabajo
ms grande y permeable del mundo, y tambin y privaciones, han podido educar a sus hijos en
una de las que tienen diferencias ms acusadas las mejores universidades del mundo, lo que les
de renta per cpita. Por muchas leyes antiinmi- ha permitido competir en igualdad de condicio-
gracin que se promulguen, por mucho refor- nes con los anglosajones en una tierra plaga-
zamiento de la polica fronteriza y de los siste- da de oportunidades. Se ha creado una clase
mas de seguridad en la frontera, la emigracin media hispana, y este es un hecho de enorme
latinoamericana, especialmente mexicana, a los trascendencia. Todos los analistas coinciden en
EE.UU. no parar de crecer en los prximos sealar que en muy pocos aos la capacidad
aos mientras la frontera siga siendo tan ex- de compra de los hispanos estadounidenses
tensa (y las diferencias de calidad de vida tan superar el PIB de Espaa (ya ha superado el
acusadas). de Mxico), convirtindose Estados Unidos, por
lo tanto, en la primera nacin hispanohablante
Pero es adems un mercado en expansin en trminos de PIB.
cualitativa, en cuanto la minora hispana es la
que ms progresa en capacidad de compra e Qu significa todo esto para Espaa? Espaa
influencia poltica. Los tres primeros estados a nunca tuvo una emigracin consistente hacia
nivel poblacional California, Texas y florida los EE.UU. Aunque las cifras de origen del Cen-
tendrn mayora de poblacin hispana en un par so estadounidense que se elabora cada cierto
de dcadas, y eso supone una enorme influen- tiempo han sealado muy dispares nmeros de
cia poltica en esos estados, pero tambin en estadounidenses de origen espaol, lo cierto
Washington. Ya hoy los hispanos han pasado de es que en los grandes movimientos migrato-
una posicin prcticamente irrelevante en la ca- rios europeos de los siglos xix y xx los espao-
les emigraron al sur y al centro del hemisferio, bin porque es la lengua de preferencia en las
nunca al norte. En Estados Unidos hay descen- escuelas y los centros universitarios de todo el
dientes de ingleses, de irlandeses, de italianos, pas. Esto s supone oportunidades comerciales
de alemanes, de franceses, de rusos que sin y de inversin. Algunos medios importantes y
renunciar a su nacionalidad llevan sus orgenes algunas editoriales espaolas as lo han enten-
con orgullo, y que han tenido mucho que ver dido lanzando productos o labrando alianzas
con el posicionamiento de empresas, productos con medios estadounidenses (hispanos o no),
y servicios de sus pases originarios en el gran y hay que aplaudir esa estrategia que tiene todo
mercado estadounidense. el sentido desde un punto de vista comercial.
Puede ocurrir lo mismo con los hispanos y Es- Ahora bien, incluso en este reducto idiomtico,
paa? Claramente, el momento es distinto y la hay que ser conscientes de que el espaol en
situacin es otra. En primer lugar, la de los his- los Estados Unidos, como el espaol en el res-
panos es una comunidad heterognea y com- to del mundo, nunca podr medirse de igual a
pleja. Ms del 60 % son de origen mexicano, y igual con el ingls, que se ha convertido en el
el resto proviene de un mosaico de pases diver- verdadero esperanto de nuestra poca. Una
sos de Centroamrica, Sudamrica y el Caribe. lengua no es importante solo por el nmero de
Tienen diferentes costumbres y culturas, los liga la gente que la habla, sino por la influencia en las
solo un idioma comn y algn ancestro, ms diferentes disciplinas sociales y cientficas que
o menos lejano, que provena de la Pennsula ejercen quienes escriben y leen en ella. En este
Ibrica. Como consecuencia de ello, y en se- sentido, sera un error creer que la importancia
gundo lugar, los hispanos no se reconocen ni se numrica de la hispanidad confiere dispensa a
reconocern nunca con Espaa como los italo- Espaa para seguir siendo uno de los pases
americanos se reconocen con Italia o los esta- desarrollados con menor conocimiento del idio-
dounidenses de origen irlands con Irlanda. Sus ma ingls una lacra incomprensible para un
costumbres no son las de Espaa, su cultura pas que se jacta de ser la segunda o tercera
tampoco tiene orgenes espaoles, al menos de potencia turstica del mundo. Si queremos
modo directo, aunque en su mayora conservan influir en el mundo, no solo debemos dedicar
la religin catlica y el apego a valores de familia esfuerzos a la influencia del espaol y de otras
y, en algunos casos, a rutinas de ocio en cierta lenguas peninsulares en el mundo, sino tambin
medida ajenas al mundo anglosajn. dedicar todos los recursos posibles para que las
nuevas generaciones de espaoles conozcan
Por todo ello, la oportunidad del auge hispano ms y mejor el idioma de Shakespeare.
en los Estados Unidos va a ser muy diferente
a lo que muchos han augurado. El mercado Los hispanos de Estados Unidos, que como se
hispano como tal no existe en Estados Uni- ha sealado son cada vez ms numerosos e in-
dos. Existe un mercado mexicano, otro cubano, fluyentes, no deben hacernos olvidar que sus
otro puertorriqueo, otro dominicano, etc. Cada lites se americanizan rpidamente, y aunque
origen tiene sus costumbres y sus hbitos ali- nos estn permitiendo un acceso en espaol
menticios. Sin embargo, s existe un mercado hasta hace pocos aos inaudito a centros
cultural del espaol. El espaol es el idioma de de influencia poltica, social y econmica, estas
moda en los EE.UU., no solo porque lo hable lites leen mayoritariamente en ingls y hablan
la minora ms mayoritaria y en auge, sino tam- en ingls en los negocios.
Esto no quiere decir que la oportunidad del empresa. Pero para la prxima dcada, esta es-
auge de lo hispano en los EE.UU. se circuns- trategia tiene que calar hondo en nuestros em-
criba al mbito cultural. Por el contrario, este presarios y en nuestros polticos.
auge supone una oportunidad histrica en mu-
chos otros mbitos si no erramos en nuestra Varios son a nuestro juicio los retos histricos
estrategia. Las clases dirigentes hispanas en los que tiene Espaa con relacin a la primera po-
EE.UU. se saben parte del pas ms poderoso tencia mundial. Por un lado, conseguir que las
de la Tierra. Los hispanos que han llegado a po- pymes espaolas se afiancen en el mercado es-
sicionarse en el engranaje poltico o empresarial tadounidense. Por otro, que la marca del pas
en los Estados Unidos pueden mirar a Espaa tenga visibilidad en los medios y connotaciones
con simpata y respeto, pero cualquier intento positivas en la opinin pblica. Y por ltimo,
de influir polticamente en la comunidad hispana afianzar la inversin estadounidense directa en
desde Espaa en favor de uno u otro partido nuestro pas con inversiones de nuevo cuo
solo puede caer en saco roto e incluso resultar que incrementen la importante pero a nuestro
contraproducente. juicio inestable e insuficiente capacidad de las
multinacionales estadounidenses en Espaa. El
Cul debe ser entonces el enfoque estratgi- mundo hispano estadounidense es, a nuestro
co? Las empresas espaolas, y tambin la Ad- juicio, la llave a todos estos retos.
ministracin de nuestro pas, tienen que pensar
en el colectivo hispano estadounidense funda- Uno de los mayores problemas para la inter-
mentalmente en trminos de recursos humanos. nacionalizacin de las pymes espaolas es la
Algunas de las empresas espaolas han llevado crnica escasez de cuadros intermedios con
a cabo una importantsima labor en Estados conocimientos de idiomas y disponibilidad para
Unidos en estos ltimos siete aos. Sin apenas desplazarse. Por ello, estas empresas deben
presencia relevante anterior, las grandes cons- apoyarse en el colectivo hispano estadouniden-
tructoras, los bancos, las empresas energticas, se para encontrar directivos para sus filiales,
algunas grandes empresas del sector de la ali- distribuidores y agentes para sus productos,
mentacin, de la moda y de la tecnologa, han licenciatarios para sus patentes, y tambin abo-
apostado fuertemente por el primer mercado gados y todo tipo de consultores. Por otra par-
mundial en estos aos, lo que en este ltimo te, la prctica ausencia de Espaa en los me-
periodo de crisis les est generando resultados dios estadounidenses y el bajo perfil de muchas
muy positivos. Algunas de estas empresas se empresas espaolas puede encontrar un canal
han concentrado en mercados mayoritariamen- de oportunidades de visibilidad en grupos de
te hispanos (por ejemplo, en el sector bancario influencia, polticos, universitarios y mediticos
hay una batalla por ganar el enorme mercado distribuidos en todo el pas, donde las lites his-
de remesas y la confianza de los hispanos ms panas tengan un papel ms relevante, y donde,
desfavorecidos) y algunas otras han apalancado por lo tanto, exista una posicin de partida ms
su estrategia en contratar para sus filiales altos favorable hacia nuestro pas. Crear una marca
directivos hispanos y en utilizar recursos ajenos de calidad que englobe productos y servicios de
(consultores, abogados, miembros de lobby) de nuestra denominacin de origen es fundamental
ese origen. Esto se ha hecho hasta ahora mu- porque ser espaol no otorga hoy en da nin-
chas veces de una forma desordenada, casi sin guna ventaja competitiva a nuestras empresas,
buscarlo y sobre todo al nivel particular de cada productos y servicios.
Por ltimo, el auge de lo hispano tiene tambin de las multinacionales estadounidenses em-
que servirnos para vender mejor Espaa como piezan a existir hispanos de enorme influencia
destino de inversin directa. En Espaa existen que tienen un cierto sentimiento de afecto hacia
unas 500 empresas estadounidenses con in- nuestro pas, por su asociacin ms o menos
versiones relevantes, y aun suponiendo en su directa con sus ascendientes familiares o cultu-
conjunto la mayor inversin extranjera en el pas, rales. Poco se sabe de la importancia del factor
son un nmero muy inferior al de otros muchos humano en las decisiones empresariales, pero
pases de nuestro entorno (ms de 12.000 filia- lo que est claro es que cuando hay que decidir
les estadounidenses en el Reino Unido, ms de dnde establecer una fbrica, un centro logsti-
5.000 en Alemania o francia). En los cuadros co o de I+D, los sentimientos cuentan, y mucho.
Business opportunities
and the human factor:
Hispanidad in the U.S.
a Spanish perspective
Jaime Malet
275
In recent years there has been a lot of talk about Sonia Sotomayor to the bench by President
the opportunities for Spanish companies in the Obama.
U.S. Hispanic market. This population, made up
of nearly 50 million people if illegal residents More significant and relevant to the upward
and the residents of the Commonwealth of mobility and political presence in pure numbers
Puerto Rico, where the Spanish language and party interests is the rise in Hispanic
dominates, are considered is similar in size to economic power. The socio-economic rise of
Spains total population. Hispanics in the U.S. has been enormous in
recent decades. from low minimum wages,
T h e H i s p a n i c m a r k e t i s g ro w i n g b o t h common to immigrant workers, Hispanics have
quantitatively and qualitatively. In terms of increased their buying power and social status
numbers, the Hispanic minority is one of the at a rapid pace. Not only the Cuban minority,
fastest growing populations due to higher who came to the U.S. with some means of
fertility rates and the proximity of the border support and a high level of education, but now
with Mexico: one of the longest and most the second generation of other immigrants
from Central and South America, educated in
permeable borders in the world, with one of the
top U.S. universities, are now competing on an
most marked differences in per capita income
equal footing with Anglo-Saxons, in the land of
between both sides. Notwithstanding the
great opportunities.Analysts agree that in a few
passage of numerous anti-immigration laws, and
years the purchasing power of U.S. Hispanics
the strengthening of border patrols and controls,
will exceed the GDP of Spain (it has already
Latin American immigration continues to grow,
surpassed Mexicos), thus converting the U.S.
particularly Mexican immigration. This growth
into the first-ranked Spanish-speaking nation in
will not stop in the coming years while the border
terms of GDP.
remains as extensive, and extreme differences
in standards of living between the U.S. and its
What does this mean for Spain? Spain never
Latin American neighbours continue.
experienced a consistent pattern of emigration
to the U.S. Although the U.S. Census statistics
The Hispanic market is also in expansion
over time have shown different figures, the
qualitatively in terms of both its growing
reality is that most of the Spanish migration of
purchasing power and political clout. The three the nineteenth and twentieth centuries flowed
largest states in the U.S. in terms of population to the southern and central hemispheres and
California, Texas and florida will have a not to the north. In the U.S. there are English,
Hispanic majority within a few decades, and Irish, Italian, German, french and Russian
this means growing political influence not only descendants who could express pride in their
in their respective states but also potentially origins and heritage. This helped them position
in Washington D.C. Today, Hispanics have the companies, products and services of their
overcome their previous practically irrelevant countries of origin in the large American market.
position politically to achieve significant political
weight reflected in Washington D.C., in the Can the same apply to Hispanic citizens and
federal Administration, in Congress, the Senate Spain? Clearly, the times and the situation are
and most recently in the U.S. Supreme Court different. first, Hispanics are a heterogeneous
with the appointment of the first Hispanic Justice and complex community. More than 60 % claim
Mexican origins and the rest are a mosaic of language. Spain cannot continue to indulge
diverse Central, South American and Caribbean itself into being the developed country with the
countries with different customs and cultures least developed English language skills an
joined only by a common language and some incomprehensible condition for a country that
ancestor, more or less distant, that came ranks the second or third world power in tourism
from our land. As a result, Hispanics do not just because of the size and importance of
acknowledge and will never recognise Spain, the Hispanidad. If Spain wants to be present
as Italian-Americans connect with their mother abroad, we cannot just dedicate our efforts to
country Italy or an American of Irish descent promoting to the world of Spanish and other
does with Ireland. Their customs are only peninsular languages. We also need to focus
remotely the same, although a majority retains our resources so that the next generation
the Catholic religion, adheres to family values of Spaniards has a better knowledge of the
and, in some instances, to leisure time activities language of Shakespeare.
somewhat different from the Anglo-Saxon world.
It must not be forgotten that Hispanics in the
for all these reasons, the Hispanic boom in U.S. who, as noted above, are more and more
the U.S. will be very different from what many influential and numerous, have also experienced
predict. A Hispanic market as such does not a fast paced Americanisation of their elites. This
exist; there is a Mexican market, a Cuban market, in turn has provided an entre for the Spanish
a Puerto Rican market, a Dominican market, language into centres of political, social and
etc. Each community has its distinct culture economic power unprecedented in recent years,
and gastronomy. However, a Spanish cultural but these elites will read, speak and use English
market does exist. Spanish is the in language in in business.
the U.S., not only because it is the language of
the booming minority, but also because it is the This is not to imply that the rise of the Hispanic
preferred foreign language to study in schools community in the U.S. is restricted only to
and universities. This opens a window of the cultural arena. On the contrary, this boom
opportunity for sectors of the Spanish economy. provides business opportunities for Spain in
A number of important media organisations and many areas if the right strategy is applied.
some Spanish publishers have understood this The first thing to know is that most Hispanics
potential and are launching products or forming in the U.S. are proud to be a part of the most
alliances with American media companies.This powerful nation on earth. Those Hispanics who
initiative and strategy should be applauded from have arrived at positions of power in politics
a commercial and business point of view. and business can look to Spain with affection
and respect, but any attempt to exert political
However, even with this language stronghold, influence through them will be surely ignored or
Spanish, in the U.S. as in other countries, will even received with contempt.
never measure up to English or be on equal
footing with English, the true Esperanto of our What should the strategic approach be? Spanish
times. A language is not only important due to companies together with the government have to
the number of people who speak it, but because consider the U.S Hispanic community mostly in
of how it influences the different disciplines that terms of human resources. A number of Spanish
are expressed in writing and orally through the firms in the last seven years have made a huge
push in this direction. Without any past experience chronic shortage of middle managers with
in the U.S. market, large construction firms, banks, language skills who are able and willing to
energy companies as well as the food, fashion travel. Spanish companies might rely on the
and technology sectors have bet on growth collective Hispanic American community to
in the biggest world market, most obtaining source managers for subsidiaries, distributors,
positive results even during this economic crisis. and agents for their products, licensees for
Some of these companies have focused on their patents, as well as lawyers and all types of
predominantly Hispanic markets. for example, consultants. Given the virtual absence of Spain
in the banking sector there is a huge battle to in the U.S. media and the low profile of many of
capture the remittance market and gain the trust its businesses there, Hispanic elites in politics,
of disadvantaged Hispanics. Other companies media and the academia may also be seen
have focused their strategy on recruiting senior as an opportunity to have a more relevant role
management from the Hispanic community and to extend more positive perceptions of the
for their subsidiaries and also outsourcing country. Today, the brand Made in Spain does
(consultants, lawyers, lobbyists) to Hispanics. To not imply any significant advantage for Spanish
date, these strategies have occurred in a rather companies, products or services.
random manner, with each company developing
its own initiatives. In the coming decade this Lastly, the rise of the Hispanic community and its
strategy must go deeper and extend to a larger influence must also serve to foster and promote
circle of entrepreneurs and politicians. Spain as a destination for direct investment.
There are approximately 500 U.S. companies
There are several historical challenges that our with important investments in Spain, making the
country has in relation to the U.S. first, Spanish U.S. our largest foreign investor. However, this
small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) number is much lower than many neighbouring
need to become entrenched in the American countries enjoy (e.g., over 12,000 in the United
market. In addition, Spain as a brand needs to be Kingdom, 5,000 in Germany or france). In
visible in the media and supported in a positive the boardrooms of many U.S. multinationals,
way via public opinion. finally, American direct Hispanics are beginning to exert enormous
investment in Spain needs to be strengthened to influence; many of them probably hold Spain
increase the important but insufficient capacity in great affection. Little is known about the
of the American multinationals already installed importance of the human factor in business
in Spain. The U.S. Hispanic market is key to all decisions, but what is clear is that when a
of these challenges. company needs to decide on where to establish
a factory, a logistics centre or a research and
O n e o f t h e b i g g e s t p ro b l e m s f o r t h e development centre, these feelings may come
internationalisation of Spanish SMEs is the into play.
279
extranjeras. Segn la Comisin Econmica para cado natural. Defino mercados naturales como
Latinoamrica (CEPAL) con sede en Chile, si aquellos que comparten lengua, estn prxi-
consideramos las ventas de las quinientas ma- mos geogrficamente y tienen lazos histricos
yores empresas en la regin, desde el 2000 la comunes3. Segn este criterio, la regin ibero-
cuota de las locales privadas y pblicas no hace americana es un mercado natural que comparte
ms que aumentar en detrimento de las multina- una historia comn de ms de 500 aos y dos
cionales de fuera de la regin. Desde entonces lenguas mayoritarias que son similares, espaol
asistimos a una nueva etapa de internacionaliza- y portugus. Las lenguas son formidables ba-
cin de las firmas latinas, en la que se convierten rreras de entrada, y poder moverse dentro de
en multinacionales globales. Algunas de ellas una zona donde todos los ejecutivos puedan
han triunfado en Europa o Estados Unidos. entenderse sin necesidad de formacin adicio-
nal ni de traductores es una gran ventaja com-
Latinoamrica tiene una poblacin de 650 millo- petitiva. La lengua facilita el intercambio cultural
nes, si incluimos los 33 millones de hispanos en y el flujo de informacin dentro de los merca-
Estados Unidos. La regin tiene un valor nominal dos naturales. Los ejecutivos de las empresas
del producto interior bruto (PIB) de casi 4 billones conocen mejor esos pases dentro de su mer-
de dlares (millones de millones). El poder adqui- cado natural, las necesidades y los gustos de
sitivo de este mercado es enorme1. Unos 360 los consumidores, el marco legal o el contexto
millones de personas en el mundo hablan espa- econmico. No debemos subestimar la facilidad
ol como lengua materna y casi 420 millones la para el traslado de ejecutivos y sus familias en-
hablan en todo el mundo. Segn Wikipedia, es la tre pases con el mismo idioma. La aclimatacin
segunda lengua ms hablada del mundo como es mucho ms fcil.
lengua materna (junto con el ingls) despus del
chino mandarn. Si consideramos el nmero de As como Latinoamrica fue el primer destino
usuarios de Internet2, el espaol es la tercera de las empresas espaolas durante su interna-
lengua con 137 millones, por detrs de los 495 cionalizacin en los noventa, las empresas la-
millones de usuarios de habla inglesa y los 407 tinas usan Espaa como la puerta de entrada
que hablan chino. Muy por encima del japons, el a Europa. La cadena de restaurantes de comi-
alemn, el rabe o el francs. El portugus apa- da rpida guatemalteca Pollo Campero y la de
rece en quinto lugar con 77 millones de usuarios. restaurantes peruana Astrid y Gastn utilizaron
Madrid como primer enclave para su posterior
expansin europea. Las empresas brasileas
4. El poder del mercado natural como Petrobrs y la minera Vale entraron en
frica por los pases de habla portuguesa An-
Uno de los factores clave del xito de estas em- gola y Mozambique y en Europa por Portugal,
presas latinas ha sido el proceso de internacio- donde el Banco Ita tiene su sede central euro-
nalizacin que han iniciado dentro de su mer- pea y Embraer hizo su mayor adquisicin.
1 Si aadimos el PIB de los hispanos de Estados Unidos llegamos a un PIB de casi 7 billones de dlares. China tiene
un PIB nominal de 4,9 trillones en 2009.
2 Para datos acualizados, vese http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats7.htm.
3 Puede encontrarse ms informacin sobre mercados naturales en Casanova (2000). Lazos de familia:
las inversiones espaolas en Iberoamrica. Foreign Affairs en espaol, 2 (2), pp. 67-85.
Disponible en: http://www.foreignaffairs-esp.org/20020501faenespessay8472/lourdes-casanova/.
El mercado hispano en Estados Unidos repre- hculo de comunicacin en las empresas brasi-
senta un mercado natural para las empresas leas. Otras multinacionales latinas globales han
mexicanas. La cerveza Corona del Grupo Mode- adoptado polticas flexibles bilinges y utilizan el
lo es la marca extranjera lder en Estados Unidos. espaol y el ingls como lenguas de trabajo y
Las telenovelas mexicanas que produce Televisa para la comunicacin externa.
son las de mayor audiencia en las cadenas his-
panas norteamericanas como Univisin. Algunos Sin embargo, si repasamos los mensajes de
grupos mexicanos como el de materiales de la los artculos de la prensa econmica, los con-
construccin Cemex o la empresa de pan Bimbo sejos de consultoras y las enseanzas de las
nacieron y tienen sus sedes centrales en Monte- escuelas de negocios, la mentalidad imperante,
rrey, muy cerca de la frontera estadounidense. como deca Krugman hace veinte aos es que
La proximidad de Texas aumenta la familiaridad aquellas empresas que triunfan son las que han
entre los productos y servicios de ambos lados adoptado el ingls. Al mismo tiempo que un
de la frontera y, por tanto, facilita enormemente dominio del ingls sin acento se equipara a
la internacionalizacin al norte del ro Grande. un saber hacer internacional, empieza a hacer-
se un hueco la necesidad del dominio de varias
lenguas por parte de la lite empresarial.
5. El nuevo socio lingstico:
el espaol como lengua Todas las lenguas reflejan el poder de las co-
de negocios munidades que lo hablan. Estamos ante un
gran cambio de paradigma que no ha hecho
Otros de los hitos en este proceso de interna- ms que empezar y que se va a acelerar en los
cionalizacin de las empresas latinas eran el ini- prximos cinco aos. El sur reclama la igualdad.
cio de la cotizacin en la Bolsa de Nueva York Latinoamrica ha dado pasos significativos para
y la adopcin del ingls como lengua de comu- recuperar su autoconfianza a nivel poltico y em-
nicacin interna y externa de la empresa. Am- presarial. La competencia a todos los niveles,
bos eventos se consideraban como parte de la incluido el lingstico, no ha hecho ms que co-
mayora de edad. Los empleados de Cemex menzar. La iniciativa de algunas multinacionales
deben ser bilinges en ingls y su lengua nativa. hispanas de mantener el espaol como lengua
Es una paradoja que el dominio del espaol, la de comunicacin refleja un trato de igualdad
lengua nativa de la mayora de su personal y de que los pases emergentes reclaman.
todos los miembros del consejo de direccin, no
sea un requisito para trabajar en la empresa. Sin Cuando, parafraseando a Krugman, podamos
embargo, y como un signo de los tiempos, la decir, si quieres triunfar en el mercado latino
poltica lingstica empresarial est cambiando y habla espaol, se habr conseguido la ma-
empresas iberoamericanas como el Banco San- yora de edad del espaol en el mundo em-
tander requieren que sus empleados dominen presarial. El espaol ser, por fin, una ventaja
el espaol. Y el portugus sigue siendo el ve- competitiva.
285
1. English, the lingua franca as mobile telephony, the GSMA, of the best
ofbusiness scientific conferences and publications. And
80 % of the content on the World Wide Web is in
In April 1999, Paul Krugman published an article English, indeed the lingua franca of the Internet.
in the American magazine Fortune entitled Want
growth? Speak English. The world economy To be part of the global elite you need to be
was recovering from the crisis in Southeast proficient in English. The lack of mastery of this
Asia and Russia, Japan was trying to navigate language in a politician, executive or scientist is
through its lost decade, and Germany was today considered a disability to be hidden. Some
focused on the reconstruction and reintegration experts say that the difficulties experienced in the
of East Germany. Ten years after the fall of the internationalisation process of Latin American
Berlin Wall, Krugman stressed the supremacy of companies is due to the lack of English proficiency
the U.S. economy and the strength of Canada, among middle managers of these companies.
Ireland, Australia and the U.K., which in his view Governments of non-English speaking countries
could be attributed to the fact that English had have embarked on large investments to educate
become the undisputed lingua franca of the children in English from an early age.
business world, and English-speaking countries
had a competitive advantage over non- Nevertheless, the emergence of other economic
English speaking ones. The article ends with a and political power nodes carries with it the
premonitory sentence, Enjoy it while it lasts. increasing power of other languages. Chinese
is the most spoken language in the world, and
In the second decade of the new millennium, China is the country with the largest number
the world born out of this new and much of Internet users globally, nearly doubling the
bigger crisis is multipolar and multilingual. The second largest, the United States. Three Chinese
power of English as the universal language is websites, Baidu, Qq and Sina, are among the
still undeniable. Although English is the native twenty with highest Internet traffic in the world.
In British and American schools, where until
language of only 7 % of the global population,
recently only Spanish was taught as a second
one out of five people in the world uses it as a
language, interest in Chinese has doubled in the
second language. English defeated the power
last four years. What role will the languages from
of German in pre-war times and the power of
the new economic powers play in the new world
french more recently. English represents the
of tomorrow? Will they represent a competitive
American economic power, the unquestionable
advantage as English does today? The economic
supremacy of U.S. multinationals, of its think
power of those countries and the strength of their
tanks, scientific research centres, universities,
companies give us a part of the answer.
technology companies and, ultimately, the
power of the American brand image. We find
the best magazines, newspapers and television 2. The new power of emerging
news channels in English, and so are the most countries: from the Washington
influential blogs, such as the Huffington Post, Consensus to the Latin
and the biggest social networks, such as American Consensus
facebook. English is the language of prestigious
events such as the World Economic forum, of To get out of the current crisis, the European
the largest congress of industrial sectors such Union and the U.S. are calling upon the emerging
markets as engines of growth and funders of Pacific, a new Latin America, which used to be
recovery. The Western World expects them to the backyard of the U.S., is influenced more from
represent 70 % of global growth, and they are the South than from the North. Governments
already causing their power to be felt at the are taking a leading role in reshaping corporate
political, economic and business levels. At the power. In Brazil, the help comes from the
political level we have evolved from the G8 to the National Development Bank (BNDES) and public
G20. The power of China, India and Latin America pension funds such as the one of the Banco
can be seen everywhere. Three Latin Presidents do Brasil, Previ. In 2009, BNDES was Brazils
are present in the G20 meetings, and the region largest lender and the total amount of its loans
established last february the Community of Latin doubles the size of those of the Inter-American
American and Caribbean States (CEALC) without Development Bank to the whole region. The era
the traditional European and American tutelage. of emerging countries has only just started. The
Brazil, the new Latin American leader, is one of power is moving from the Atlantic to the Pacific,
the largest emerging economies behind China as from North to South.
well as the second largest American economy.
It leads the G20 group in the negotiations of At the business level, the number of
the World Trade Organization and it is also part multinationals from emerging countries has
of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and Chinese) quadrupled since 1995. They are now 93 (19 %
and BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) of the total) in the 2010 ranking of the Global
informal country groups. 500 of the American magazine Fortune. As a
sign of the times, the U.S. had the lowest ever
At the economic level, we have moved from number of companies (139) in the list this year.
the Washington Consensus to the Beijing Petrochina and Brazils Petrobras are in the
Consensus and the Latin American Consensus. first and fifth places in the ranking of biggest
To overcome the so-called lost decade of the companies in the world by market capitalisation.
80s, Latin American governments needed the Innovation is no longer the monopoly of Western
help of the International Monetary fund and the companies, and Indias Tata and Reliance,
World Bank. These multilateral organisations Brazils Petrobras and Chinas BYD Company,
imposed in the 90s a development model Haier Electronics Group, and China Mobile
known as the Washington Consensus with are among the most innovative enterprises of
falling tariffs, deregulation of the markets and a the world in the ranking published by Boston
major programme of privatisations. Consulting Group in collaboration with the
American magazine Business Week.
With the new millennium came the revival of
China and a paradigm shift. While the West,
which imposed the liberal economic model in 3. The new global companies from
developing countries, is discussing whether Latin America
their crisis is of a V or W shape, China applies
the economic accelerator with a model in which The growth in Asia has intensified the demand for
the public and the private sectors are working raw materials and the subsequent rise in prices.
in harmony and submit to one another, as Countries rich in natural resources, including those
appropriate. The Beijing government has the last in Latin America, have benefited enormously from
word and everyone willingly agrees. Across the this escalating demand. China has become the
1 US$ 7 trillion, if we add the nominal value of gross domestic product (GDP) from the Hispanic population. China
had in 2009 a nominal value of gross domestic product (GDP) of US$ 4.9 trillion.
2 http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats7.htm/ for updated data.
3 for more information on natural markets, please refer to Casanova, L. (2002). Lazos de familia: las inversiones
espaolas en Iberoamrica, in Foreign Affairs en espaol, 2 (2), pp. 67-85. http://www.foreignaffairs-esp.
org/20020501faenespessay8472/lourdes-casanova/.
countries Angola and Mozambique. Portugal is in Brazilian companies. Other multinationals from
where the Brazilian Banco Ita is headquartered the Ibero-American region have adopted a more
in Europe, and where Embraer made its largest flexible language policy and use Spanish and
acquisition outside its home country. English as working languages and for external
communication.
The U.S. Hispanic market represents a natural
market for Mexican companies. The beer Corona However, if we look at the messages from the
from Grupo Modelo is the leading foreign brand business press, consultancy firms and the
in the U.S. Mexican soap operas produced by teachings of business schools, the prevailing
Televisa are the ones with the largest audience mentality, as Krugman said twenty years ago,
in the U.S. Some Mexican groups such as the is that to be successful companies need to
building materials company Cemex and the adopt English as the communication language.
bread-making Bimbo were born and have their While knowledge of English (with no accent
headquarters in Monterrey, near the U.S. border. from your native language), is still equated
The proximity of Texas increases the familiarity with international know-how, we start hearing
between the goods and services at both sides advocates of the need to master several
of the border and thus greatly facilitates the languages to be part of the business elite.
internationalisation to the north of Rio Grande.
All languages reflect the power of the
communities who speak them. This is a major
5. The new linguistic partner: paradigm shift that has only just begun and will
Spanish as a business language accelerate over the next five years. The South
calls for equality. Latin America has taken
Some other milestones in the internationalisation significant steps to regain its confidence levels in
of Latin companies include an Initial Public politics and business. Competition at all levels,
Offering on the New York Stock Exchange, including language, has only just begun. The
and the adoption of English as the language initiative of Hispanic multinationals to maintain
of internal and external communication. Both Spanish as the language of communication
events were seen as part of the coming of age. reflects that emerging trend.
Some Latin companies went as far as removing
Spanish, the native language of most of its staff In paraphrasing Krugman, when we are in a
and members of the board, as a requirement position to say Do you want global growth?
to work in the company. However, as a sign Speak Spanish (and other languages), only
of the times, this language policy is changing, at that moment will we be close to achieving
and companies such as Banco Santander the coming of age of Spanish in the current
require employees to be fluent in Spanish. And business world. Spanish will have finally become
Portuguese is still the vehicle of communication a competitive advantage.
La lengua
y el desarrollo social
y econmico
part five
Language and
social and economic
development
293
tabLa 1
Indicadores econmicos de pases segn su lengua oficial, 2008
Estructura comercial
N. de (porcentajes sobre Cifras de 1996 PIb PPP Poblacin
Idioma
pases el total de exportaciones (comparativas) (mil US$) (millones)
mundiales)
1 Segn la clasificacin realizada por el centro de investigacin francs centre dtudes prospectives et
dinformations internationales (cepii), se pueden identificar los siguientes grupos de pases que comparten
el mismo idioma oficial: ingls (australia, canad, Gran Bretaa, Hong Kong, india, irlanda, Kenia, nigeria,
nueva Zelanda, pakistn, filipinas, Singapur y estados Unidos); espaol (argentina, Bolivia, chile, ecuador,
espaa, Mxico, per, paraguay, Uruguay y venezuela); francs (Luxemburgo, costa de Marfil, camern, francia
y Gabn); portugus (Brasil y portugal); y chino (china y taiwn). vase http://www.cepii.fr.
2 vase http://www.cepii.fr/anglaisgraph/bdd/chelem.htm/.
grfICo 1
Exportaciones mundiales por grupos lingsticos, 1996-2008
(porcentaje sobre el valor total)
30,00 %
25,00 %
20,00 %
15,00 %
10,00 %
5,00 %
0,00 %
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
tabLa 2
Diez principales mercados destino de las exportaciones de pases anglfonos,
1996 y 2008 (mil US$)
1996 2008
total total
exportaciones 1.348.344,87 exportaciones 2.968.595,58
mundiales mundiales
concentran alrededor del 40 % de las exportacio- espaola en la lista. entre 1996 y 2008 ape-
nes en naciones de habla inglesa y el 60 % en pa- nas ha habido un cambio del uno por cien-
ses de habla no inglesa; sin embargo, en el caso to en dichos niveles de concentracin, pero
de los hispanohablantes, estos solo destinan el en cada grupo lingstico la variacin ha sido
10 % de sus exportaciones totales a pases de en direcciones opuestas: los pases de habla
habla hispana. De hecho, los principales socios inglesa han aumentado la diversificacin de
comerciales para los pases hispanohablantes sus exportaciones hacia los pases de habla
son los pases de amrica del norte o europa. no inglesa, mientras que los pases hispano-
hablantes han ampliado la concentracin de
Dentro de los diez primeros mercados del sus exportaciones hacia los pases de habla
ranking (tabla 3) no hay ningn pas de habla espaola.
tabLa 3
Diez principales mercados destino de las exportaciones de pases hispanohablantes,
1996 y 2008 (mil US$)
1996 2008
total total
exportaciones 280.170,23 exportaciones 921.272,06
mundiales mundiales
en tercer lugar, hay que sealar la aparicin re- ausencia doce aos antes entre los diez merca-
pentina de china como uno de los diez merca- dos ms importantes.
dos objetivos ms importantes para las exporta-
ciones de ambos grupos de pases. en el caso por ltimo, se puede tambin concluir que am-
de los pases anglfonos, china ha pasado de bos grupos de pases tienden a concentrar sus
la dcima a la tercera posicin. en 1996, chi- flujos de exportacin en mercados vecinos y
na concentraba el 4,65 % de lasexportaciones pases grandes, pero cules son los verdade-
totales de los pases de habla inglesa, mientras ros determinantes de estos flujos comerciales?
que en 2008 china ya recibi el 7,56 %. en el Qu importancia tienen las lenguas como fac-
caso de los pases de habla hispana, china ocu- tores determinantes de la direccin de estos in-
p la quinta posicin enesta fecha, frente a su tercambios econmicos?
grfICo 2
Calidad institucional de los pases de la muestra, 2007
2
1,5
MarrUecoS
veneZUeLa
arGentina
coLoMBia
paraGUaY
ecUaDor
paKiStn
fiLipinaS
Ucrania
tUrQUa
vietnaM
arGeLia
1
niGeria
MXico
BoLivia
eGipto
BraSiL
tneZ
cHina
rUSia
per
inDia
0,5
DinaMarca
finLanDia
SUiZa
SUecia
paSeS BaJoS
canaD
aUStria
aUStraLia
irLanDa
aLeMania
Gran Bretaa
SinGapUr
BLGica
HonG KonG
eStaDoS UniDoS
francia
Japn
cHiLe
portUGaL
eSpaa
HUnGra
repBLica cHeca
taiWn
eSLovaQUia
UrUGUaY
Grecia
itaLia
iSraeL
poLonia
0,5
1,5
6 La calidad institucional es un indicador agregado elaborado como la media de tres dimensiones legales para cada
pas: eficiencia gubernamental, estado de derecho y control de la corrupcin. Kaufmann, Kraay y Mastruzzi (2009).
embargo, estn ocurriendo cambios en la es- que mejoren y aseguren marcos legales favora-
cena internacional y otros grupos lingsticos bles para el comercio internacional.
estn incrementando su importancia relativa en
trminos econmicos y tambin lingsticos, por
ejemplo, aquellos de habla china. todo parece Referencias bibliogrficas citadas
indicar que los pases hispanohablantes deben
mejorar su situacin econmica y el marco le- H ofstede , G. (2001). Cultures Consequences:
Comparing Values, Behaviours, Institutions, and
gal de sus naciones para estimular an ms los
Organisations across Nations. thousand oaks:
intercambios comerciales internacionales, as
Sage publications.
como potenciar el conocimiento de lenguas ex-
Jimnez, J. c. y narbona, a. (2011). El espaol en los
tranjeras.
flujos econmicos internacionales. Madrid: ariel,
coleccin fundacin telefnica (en preparacin).
La lengua es sin duda un factor cultural clave
K aufmann , D., K raay, a. y m astruzzi , m. (2009).
para mejorar el conocimiento de los mercados
Governance Matters viii: aggregate and individual
extranjeros y para reducir la distancia psicolgi- Governance indicators for 1996-2008. World
ca entre los socios comerciales, acercndolos y Bank Policy Research Working Paper, 4978.
hacindolos ms atractivos para la entrada de L inders , G. J., s aLanGen , a., d e G root , H. L. f. y
los productos domsticos. Sin embargo, las ins- beuGeLsdiJK, s. (2005). cultural and institutional
tituciones siguen siendo elementos importantes, determinants of bilateral trade flows. Timbergen
y es necesario continuar con reformas legales Institute Discussion Paper, ti 2005-074/3.
301
patterns of world growth have been dramatically have suddenly decreased, generating a vicious
affected by the international economic crisis, circle of unemployment and inflation.
damaging both developing and developed
economies. even by 2008, early on in the crisis, table 1 shows an aggregated number of
industrialised countries growth rates had fallen economic indicators when countries are
to 0.8 %, and developing countries growth rates classified into language groups 1. two main
averaged 5.6 %, for both the lowest rates in over trends can be identified: firstly, that english-
seven years. china, virtually alone, bucked this speaking countries have decreased their
trend with strong growth reported at 9 %. the dominance in world exports; and second, that
situation has improved only marginally into 2011 chinese-speaking countries have doubled them.
with several major economies stagnating or in 1996, english-speaking countries generated
reported to be in recession. Many are struggling 26.25 % of the worlds exports while chinese-
to cope with internal economic conditions that speaking countries amounted for only 5.52 %.
slow down their recovery processes even further However, in 2008 english-speaking countries
Spain being a good example of this, along with had reduced exports by 7 percentage points
Greece and ireland. Lower levels of demand whilst chinese-speaking countries now generate
due to weaker private consumption and trade around 11 % of total world exports. By keeping
contraction have caused a decrease in total steady levels of population and production
production. Moreover, primary product prices (GDp in purchase parity power) over time,
tabLE 1
Economic Indicators by Language groups (2008)
1 according to the classification elaborated by the centre dtudes prospectives et dinformation (cepii),
thefollowing official language country groups can be identified: english (australia, canada, Great Britain,
Hong Kong, india, ireland, Kenya, nigeria, new Zealand, pakistan, philippines, Singapore and United States);
Spanish (argentina, Bolivia, chile, ecuador, Spain, Mexico, peru, paraguay, Uruguay and venezuela); french
(Luxembourg, ivory coast, cameroon, france and Gabon); portuguese (Brazil and portugal), and chinese (china
and taiwan). http://www.cepii.fr.
2 http://www.cepii.fr/anglaisgraph/bdd/chelem.htm/.
CHart 1
World Exports by Language groups, 1996-2008 (percentage of the total value)
30.00 %
25.00 %
20.00 %
15.00 %
10.00 %
5.00 %
0.00 %
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
changes in trade constitute one of the most clearly seen (tables 2 and 3). However, the
important economic and political challenges relative importance of this country for each
for countries. Balance of payment and sales on specific language group is different. in 2008, the
foreign markets have to be one of the keys for United States accounted for 17 % of the total of
economic recovery. exports of the english-speaking group, but 35 %
381617p281h1
of the exports of Spanish-speaking countries.
chart 1 describes the evolution of exports over
Secondly, considering the concentration
a 13-year period. Graphically speaking, besides
of exports by linguistic grouping, there is a
the two above mentioned trends, three out of
significant difference between these two groups.
these six language groups (Spanish, french and
english-speaking countries concentrate around
portuguese) are relatively steady and maintain
40 % of exports in english-speaking nations and
their contribution to total world exports.
60 % in non-english speaking states; however,
in the case of Spanish-speaking countries, only
10 % of their total exports are sent to other
1. Spanish, english Spanish-speaking states. in fact, the major trade
and international trade partners for Spanish countries are nations from
north america or europe.
in this section we will identify some trends of
Spanish- and english-speaking countries within Within the top 10 of Spanish-speaking export
the multilateral trade system over the last few markets (table 3), there are no Spanish-speaking
years. firstly, the important role of the United countries on the list. Between 1996 and 2008,
States as the major global import zone no there has only been a change of 1 percentage
matter where the exports come from can be point in each language group whereby english-
tabLE 2
top 10 English-Speaking Countries Export Markets, 1996 and 2008 (thousands US$)
1996 2008
speaking countries have increased export of english speaking countries; yet in 2008
diversification towards non-english speaking it received 7.56 %. in the case of Spanish-
countries, and Spanish-speaking countries have speaking countries china ranked in 5th position,
increased the export concentration towards whilst not even making the top 10 twelve years
Spanish-speaking countries. earlier.
thirdly, the sudden appearance of china in both finally, we may also conclude that the countries
cases as one of the ten most important export of both language groups tend to concentrate
target markets by both Spanish-speaking and their export flows in large neighbouring
english-speaking countries stands out. in the countries. But what are the real determinants of
case of english-speaking countries, china has these trade flows? How important is language
moved from the 10th to 3rd position. in 1996 in determining the direction of these economic
china attracted just 4.65 % of total exports exchanges?
tabLE 3
top 10 Spanish-Speaking Countries Export Markets, 1996 and 2008 (thousands US$)
1996 2008
there have been many empirical studies trying to the foundation of gravity models derives
uncover the main determinants of international ultimately from newtons seminal work on the
trade. traditional economic theory used to earths gravitational force. this physical law
focus on competitive advantages, specialisation applies to economic analysis in the following
forces, national endowment factors and so on. way: two countries might exchange an
in fact, countries economic exchanges depend economic flow (trade, investment or migration)
on many different internal and external non- depending on two basic variables their
economic factors. Gravity models allow us to economic size and their distance as well
consider many new determinants of international as other factors that could either weaken or
trade flows, such as geographical location and strengthen this exchange. although these
models have been criticised in the past due to the importance of language in international
the relative weakness of their theoretical basis, trade. When two countries speak the same
recent studies have developed more rigorous language, bilateral exports increase by 186 % in
economic explanations and, as a result, gravity comparison with two other commercial partners
models are now much more appropriate who do not share the same tongue. the
empirical tools for economic analysis. complete specification, adding variables which
control for other cultural and institutional factors
Both cultural and institutional 3 factors have within the econometric model, corroborates this
become fundamental issues for this empirical hypothesis.
approach. Using this methodology, it is
possible to evaluate the relative importance finally, the gravity model tries to identify the
of variables such as religion, colonial links, specific role of both Spanish and english as
cultural4 and institutional distance, or determinants of international trade flows, by
institutional quality. Language, in particular, monitoring other variables included in the
appears to have a greater pervasive effect in econometric analysis. Sharing english as the
promoting trade. this variable is statistically official language increases bilateral trade flows by
meaningful in all econometric analyses and it 144 %, while sharing Spanish does so by 389 %.
is clearly an underlying force for international By investigating the domestic characteristics
exchanges. of each language group, such as the level of
economic development, cultural distance, or
Jimnez and narbona 5 (forthcoming) have more importantly, institutional quality, it could
applied a gravity model to panel data to study be said that the Spanish language is a more
bilateral trade flows (bilateral exports) among 51 effective factor in stimulating bilateral trade with
countries between 1996 and 2007. this sample other Spanish-speaking countries because it
is statistically representative, i.e. it includes exercises greater significance than the economic
countries from all continents and it focuses and institutional handicaps (institutional and
on more than 87 % of the total world exports regulatory) of Spanish-speaking countries.
volume. Moreover, it considers nations with
different official languages, specifically eleven chart 2 shows the institutional quality ranking
english-speaking countries and eleven Spanish- for 2007. institutional quality is an aggregate
speaking countries. indicator elaborated as the average of three
legal dimensions: government effectiveness,
the basic gravity equation including variables rule of law and control of corruption. Seven
for economic size (GDp and GDp per capita), out of eleven english-speaking countries are
geographical distance (physical distance and above the sample average, while in the case of
border effect), plus two additional dummy the Spanish-speaking countries there are only
variables for regional links and language three (chile, Spain and Uruguay). Moreover,
provides us with the first results for validating the other eight Spanish-speaking countries
CHart 2
Institutional quality of sample countries (2007)
2
1.5
pHiLippineS
veneZUeLa
arGentina
Morocco
coLoMBia
paraGUaY
ecUaDor
rUSSian
UKraine
vietnaM
aLGeria
panaMa
1
niGeria
tUrKeY
MeXico
tUniSia
BoLivia
BraZiL
eGYpt
cHina
perU
inDia
0.5
DenMarK
finLanD
SWitZerLanD
SWeDen
netHerLanDS
canaDa
aUStria
aUStraLia
ireLanD
GerManY
UniteD KinGDoM
SinGapore
BeLGiUM
HonG KonG
UniteD StateS
france
Japan
cHiLe
portUGaL
Spain
HUnGarY
cZecH repUBLic
taiWan
SLovaKia
UrUGUaY
Greece
itaLY
iSraeL
poLanD
0
0.5
1.5
have negative values for this aggregate that Spanish-speaking countries need to
indicator, demonstrating how harmful the improve their economic and legal frameworks to
institutional framework is for doing business in stimulate international exchanges, and not least,
these countries and how important language their general knowledge of foreign languages.
381617p281h2
(Spanish) is for increasing the trust of culturally
close international investors. this is much more Language is clearly a key cultural factor to
significant than is the case in english-speaking enhance knowledge of foreign markets and
countries. to reduce the psychological distance between
trade partners, making them closer and more
attractive for domestic products. However,
3. conclusions institutions and regulatory frameworks clearly
still matter and it is necessary to institute legal
international trade has traditionally been reforms and to ensure a good business climate
concentrated in english-speaking countries for international trade.
(and, in general, in industrialised economies).
However, new changes in the international
scene have appeared and other linguistic References
groups, such as chinese, are increasing their
relative importance in economic if not in linguistic Hofstede, G. (2001) Cultures Consequences:
terms. the evidence presented here indicates Comparing Values, Behaviours, Institutions, and
Organisations across Nations. thousand oaks: individual Governance indicators for 1996-
Sage publications. 2008, World Bank Policy Research Working
Jimnez, J.c. and narbona, a. (forthcoming) El Paper, No. 4978.
espaol en los flujos econmicos internacionales. Linders, G.J., Salangen, a., de Groot, H.L.f. and
Madrid: ariel, coleccin fundacin telefnica. Beugelsdijk, S. (2005) cultural and institutional
Kaufmann, D., Kraay, a. and Mastruzzi, M. (2009) determinants of bilateral trade flows, Timbergen
Gover nance Matters viii: aggregate and Institute Discussion Paper, TI 2005-074/3.
el espaol de la ciencia:
la identidad en crisis?
ignacio ahumada
309
el panorama que nos ofrece el llamado Siste- es innegable que los objetivos de produccin
ma espaol de ciencia y tecnologa ha cam- e internacionalizacin de la investigacin desa-
biado radicalmente en las ltimas dcadas. rrollada en espaa alcanzan cada vez mayores
Las causas no solo habra que buscarlas, con logros, cotas ms elevadas de impacto.
tratarse de un activo de primera magnitud,
en la exclusividad del apoyo institucional por espaa, en materia de produccin cientfica,
parte de los poderes pblicos. La iniciativa se encontraba situada hace ahora apenas
privada ha desempeado tambin, aunque en un ao en el noveno lugar a escala mundial,
muy escasa medida, un papel que en ningn segn recoge el proyecto de Ley de la cien-
caso deberamos obviar ni dejar de reconsi- cia, la tecnologa y la innovacin (proyecto de
derar hoy. Y con ellos, el elemento clave de Ley, 2010, 4). Si, por el contrario, acudimos
todo este proceso: el investigador y, con l ahora a la Web of Knowlodge, de thomson
y en l, la voluntad creadora, la conciencia reuters, y dentro de ella a essential Scien-
de desarrollo cientfico como piedra angular ce indicators, podremos comprobar cmo la
del desarrollo econmico y del bienestar, por visibilidad internacional se sita en un honro-
una parte, y de la consolidacin cientfica y so undcimo lugar con 311.693 documentos,
cultural como nacin, de otra. fue proverbial correspondientes a los diez ltimos aos de
la gesta de nuestros cientficos de la edad nuestra produccin1. Los ms exigentes no
de plata. en aquella ocasin se sentaron las voy a negarles sus razones denostaran sin
bases de nuestro sistema. Haba tanto por duda las cifras por considerarlas insuficientes.
hacer! el despegue se llev a cabo con la ti-
midez de los recin iniciados. La situacin ac- nada ms elocuente y halageo para los in-
tual, sin embargo, es por completo diferente y vestigadores espaoles, en general, que los
sumamente prometedora, siempre y cuando datos ofrecidos por la Web of Science (WoS),
los apoyos institucionales respondan con ob- tambin de thomson reuters, sobre la difu-
jetividad a proyectos, en realidad, necesarios sin y el impacto de la literatura cientfica que
e innovadores. se desarrolla hoy en espaa2.
1 La preceden pases de nuestro entorno como alemania (732.114), el reino Unido (651.486),
francia (520.913) e italia (399.384). como ndice de referencia valgan los datos registrados
para la produccin de los estados Unidos: 2.852.902. Debo sealar que del mbito
de las ciencias sociales y humanas solo se recogen trabajos correspondientes a Social Sciences,
General y Economics & Business. Disponible en: http://sauwok.fecyt.es/apps/additional_resources.
consulta realizada el 20/05/11.
2 Los datos que manejamos se recogen en los estudios anuales que realiza el grupo de investigacin
acUte, del consejo Superior de investigaciones cientficas, bajo la direccin de la profesora
isabel Gmez caridad (Gmez et al., 2010). La WoS, en otro orden de cosas, presenta
su informacin a partir de Science citation index expanded (Scie), Social Sciences citation index (SSci)
y arts & Humanities citation index (aHci). adems de esto, se han consultado las bases de datos
espaolas iSoc e icYt, y las memorias anuales del cSic para complementar los indicadores
WoS (Gmez etal., 2010, 3). Deseo, por ltimo, dejar constancia de mi gratitud a la profesora
Mara Bordons por su ayuda y comentarios sobre los materiales que recoge el informe
de referencia.
en apenas veinte aos, y con mediciones triena- mentos) frente a los pocos ms de 40.000 que
les, hemos estado a punto de lograr en la citada se contabilizaban entre 1990 y 1992, esto es,
web la cota de los 170.000 documentos dentro se ha cuadruplicado la presencia espaola en
del ltimo trienio (2007-2009: 167.850 docu- la WoS (tabla 1).
tabLa 1
Evolucin de la produccin cientfica del CSIC y de Espaa por trienios
(WoS, 1990-2009)
N. de documentos Incrementos ( %)
trienios
CSIC Espaa CSIC Espaa
3 Debe tenerse en cuenta que, por tratarse de un estudio propiciado por la agencia estatal consejo Superior
de investigaciones cientficas (cSic), los datos de produccin se ofrecen en paralelo (cSic frente
al resto de las instituciones espaolas). en este trabajo, sin embargo, presento mis consideraciones
a partir de los datos totales.
nos interesa ver ahora la distribucin de los ma- Las reas de medicina clnica (74.521 docu-
teriales atendiendo a las diferentes reas cient- mentos) y biomedicina (56.231 documentos)
ficas y, en concreto, en el sexenio comprendido ocupan los puestos de preferencia internacio-
entre los aos 2004 y 2009. Se cuenta para nal, seguidas por las de ingeniera y tecnolo-
este ltimo periodo con un total de 326.032 ga (44.074 documentos), a las que se suma
documentos incorporados a la WoS. como es agricultura, biologa y medio ambiente (41.899
evidente, ni todas las disciplinas o reas de co- documentos). el ndice de impacto 4 medio,
nocimiento gozan del mismo predicamento ni cifrado en este periodo en las referencias co-
despiertan el mismo inters fuera de nuestras rrespondientes al ao 2006, se corresponde
fronteras. el proceso de seleccin internacional con las cifras siguientes: 2,979 %, 3,494 %,
de nuestra produccin cientfica lo dicta primor- 1,635 % y 1,936 %, respectivamente. Debe
dialmente la innovacin, la aportacin de datos tenerse en cuenta, para finalizar, que Journal
fehacientes a la descripcin de fenmenos de Citation Reports, nuestra fuente, no registra el
inters general, la consecuente necesidad de factor de impacto (fi) del rea de humanida-
contrastar y comparar resultados similares, etc. des (tabla 2).
tabLa 2
Produccin e impacto de Espaa por reas (WoS, 2004-2009)
factor N. de Porcentaje
Porcentaje
de N. de citas de
reas total arts. de
impacto citas por artculos
artculos
2006 artculo sin citas
agricultura, biologa y
41.899 38.628 18,40 1,936 215.280 5,57 26,18
medio ambiente
4 el factor de impacto es una medida que refleja el nmero medio de citas de artculos publicados
en revistas cientficas o de ciencias sociales. Se utiliza como ndice de la importancia relativa
de las publicaciones en su campo.
5 en el campo cientfico, el rabe fue la verdadera lengua de la ciencia desde el siglo viii hasta el siglo xiii, cuando
el espaol se convirti en vehculo de diseminacin del saber de los estudiosos rabes por europa (n. del e.).
tabLa 3
Distribucin de la produccin cientfica de Espaa por idiomas (WoS, 2004-2009)
italiano 4 4 3 10 26 13 60 0,02
cataln 2 1 2 17 3 16 41 0,02
rumano 4 1 2 3 1 0 11 0,00
chino 3 1 1 1 1 2 9 0,00
polaco 1 1 0 1 3 0 6 0,00
ruso 0 1 3 0 0 1 5 0,00
checo 0 0 0 0 4 0 4 0,00
croata 1 0 1 1 0 1 4 0,00
eslovaco 1 0 1 1 0 0 3 0,00
rabe 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0,00
Gals 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 0,00
eslovenio 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0,00
Holands 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0,00
Latn 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0,00
Serbio 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0,00
Se observa un 90,78 % en lengua inglesa frente Sin embargo, an hemos de dar un paso ms:
a un 8,84 % en lengua verncula. Las cifras en qu lengua escogen nuestros cientficos cuan-
el resto de las lenguas carecen de relevancia si do publican en revistas espaolas? Los datos
tenemos en cuenta los objetivos que nos guan disponibles se refieren exclusivamente a la co-
en este trabajo. munidad cientfica del cSic, pero no dudo en
que puedan ser extrapolables al resto de los caso que nos ocupa, las cifras manejadas no
investigadores espaoles: el 67,50 % de los tra- son transferibles desde ningn punto de vista
bajos emplean el espaol frente al 28,83 % que al espaol general, en donde afortunadamente
se acogen al ingls (tabla 4). nuestra lengua goza de una salud envidiable.
nos referimos solo y exclusivamente al empleo
en referencia a incrementos con respecto a de la lengua inglesa como vehculo de transmi-
aos precedentes, he aqu los datos que ofrece sin de la ciencia en disciplinas muy concretas.
el informe que nos ocupa: La realidad como es bien sabido difiere
sustancialmente en reas como las de ciencias
entre 2004 y 2008 el nmero de documentos pu-
blicados por los investigadores del cSic en revis-
humanas, sociales excepcin hecha de econo-
tas espaolas se increment en un 39 %, obser- ma y negocios y, de momento, en otras reas
vndose un mayor crecimiento en los documentos de las ciencias experimentales y de la tecnologa.
en ingls (incremento del 54 %) que en los escritos
en espaol (30 %). (Gmez etal., 2010, 31)
4. La documentacin especializada
Los datos corroboran una vez ms la mxima en internet
de todos conocida: las lenguas no se imponen,
es una sutil casustica la que determina bien en la descripcin y estudio de las diferentes
su encumbramiento, bien su condena. en el lenguas se suma, con especial incidencia en la
tabLa 4
Lenguas de los documentos del CSIC en revistas espaolas (total de documentos)
(WoS, 2004-2009)
total % total
% total
Idiomas 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 revistas revistas
CSIC
espaolas espaolas
espaol 191 172 116 242 248 246 1.215 2,72 67,50
ltima dcada, la variable que determina su pre- La informacin especializada que nos propor-
sencia y uso en la red de redes, en internet. La ciona la red abarca tanto los recursos del mbi-
comunicacin por este medio entre los distintos to acadmico como profesional. en los estudios
usuarios hispanohablantes nativos y hablan- sobre el espaol, lengua de la ciencia, tan de-
tes de espaol como segunda lengua no deja cisivo es el uno como el otro. Hemos de aadir
ni dejar de tener incidencia en el desarrollo la informacin orientada por el camino de la ba-
tanto de la lengua general como de las lenguas nalizacin de la ciencia, esto es, aquella que se
especializadas. no conviene por esto olvidar dirige al usuario no especializado, pero que se
que contamos con una literatura cientfica de beneficia de los avances cientficos.
alto nivel (monografas, artculos de investiga-
cin, informes, etc.), pero a la vez se produce con el nimo certero de garantizar, en la medida
una literatura cientfica de divulgacin (orienta- de sus posibilidades, la informacin rigurosa so-
cin didctica) o que, dadas las repercusiones bre las distintas especialidades, se public por
de la investigacin en la sociedad, debe llegar al cuenta del centro de informacin y Documen-
lector o usuario no especializado (banalizacin tacin cientfica del cSic La informacin espe-
de la ciencia). cializada en Internet (2001), con una segunda
edicin en 20067. a esta iniciativa sobre la se-
La comunidad de usuarios que emplea el es- leccin rigurosa y fiable de fuentes de informa-
paol en internet ascenda, en junio de 2010, cin especializada se ha de aadir el desarrollo
a 153,3 millones. nuestra lengua ocupaba del corpus iberia.
entonces el tercer lugar entre las diez lenguas
de mayor uso (Top 10 languages). La prece- el corpus iberia es una herramienta informtica
den, como es bien sabido, el ingls (536,6) y creada entre 2008 y 2009 en el seno del cSic
el chino (444,9)6. La cifra supone un 7,8 % del para los estudios sobre el espaol como lengua
total de usuarios. La misma fuente estima un de la ciencia en la sociedad del conocimiento. Se
nmero aproximado de hablantes de 420 millo- trata de un corpus textual panhispnico sobre
nes. Hemos de aadir a esto que el nmero de el discurso cientfico-tcnico en espaol (1985-
pginas, por ejemplo, en Google ascenda en hoy). Si bien los primeros textos tienen su origen
octubre de 2009 a la friolera de 675 millones en 1985, la mayor profusin de los mismos data
(rojo y Snchez, 2010, 116). estos datos, en del presente siglo. Los documentos anteriores al
cualquier caso, apabullan, a la vez que encierran ao 2000 se han incorporado como referencia
no pocas dificultades para enfrentarse a ellos y para los estudios de carcter lexicolgico.
distinguir con objetividad lo que es realmente de
inters en el mbito especializado frente a aque- Los objetivos que persigue son los siguientes:
llo que simplemente no lo es. (a) recopilar el mayor nmero posible de docu-
6 Las cifras que vamos a manejar estn tomadas del informe que ofrece internet World Stats sobre datos cerrados el
30 de junio de 2010. Disponible en: http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats7.htm. consulta realizada el 22/05/11.
Debe tenerse en cuenta que, segn advierte Guillermo rojo, es necesario manejar estas estadsticas
conprecaucin dado que se basan en relaciones indirectas entre datos procedentes de fuentes
diversas, y, adems, hacen atribuciones globales de caractersticas lingsticas de la poblacin a los pases
(rojo y Snchez, 2010, 58-59). para conocer la situacin del espaol como lengua general en internet
hasta el ao 2009, vase rojo y Snchez (2010, 101-154).
7 Los editores de este directorio preparan una 3. edicin actualizada prevista para 2012
(Maldonado y rodrguez, 2006).
mentos cientficos escritos en espaol, (b) ac- el espaol o el italiano8. nos encontramos ante
tualizar permanentemente con la produccin una debilidad de nuestra lengua como vehculo
cientfica de ltima hora, (c) indexar los docu- de comunicacin cientfica.
mentos incorporando la mayor cantidad de
informacin lingstica posible y (d) crear una Hemos visto anteriormente cmo la medicina
herramienta til a travs de una interfaz de con- clnica (74.521 documentos) y la biomedicina
sulta lo ms verstil, potente y sencilla posible (56.231 documentos) cuentan con el mayor n-
(ahumada etal., en prensa). dice de trabajos publicados en ingls en la WoS.
Dos revistas espaolas de amplio impacto a ni-
el corpus iberia est concebido como un expo- vel mundial (Revista Espaola de Cardiologa y
nente de primera magnitud sobre la situacin y Revista Espaola de Reumatologa) optaron en
uso del espaol como lengua cientfico-tcnica 2002 por la edicin bilinge espaol-ingls. nos
en su dimensin panhispnica (ahumada etal., encontramos ante una fortaleza de nuestra len-
2010). gua como vehculo de comunicacin cientfica.
8 no es nada distinto, con respecto a la lengua espaola, de lo que rige en international Standard organization
(iSo) para la edicin de sus normas: ingls y francs, exclusivamente. el comit aen/ctn 191 terminologa,
de la agencia espaola de normalizacin y certificacin (aenor), se encarga de la traduccin, revisin
y adaptacin de las normas iSo a la lengua espaola (normas Une), de cuyo comit es miembro el autor
de este trabajo.
tcnica, de trascendental importancia nos G mez , i., b ordons , M., m oriLLo , f., m oreno , L. y
situemos donde nos situemos en la configu- GonzLez-aLbo, B. (2010). La actividad cientfica
racin histrica y sincrnica de una lengua mi- del CSIC a travs del Web of Science. Estudio
bibliomtrico del periodo 2004-2009. Madrid:
lenaria y en boca de ms de seiscientos millo-
consejo Superior de investigaciones cientficas
nes de hablantes (nativos y L2); no en vano, fue
(cSic)-centro de ciencias Humanas y Sociales
aquel castellano del siglo xiii la primera lengua
(ccHS)-instituto de estudios Documentales sobre
moderna de europa en configurarse como len-
ciencia y tecnologa (ieDcYt). Disponible en:
gua de la ciencia. http://digital.csic.es/handle/10261/32097.
internet WorLd stats (2011). Disponible en: http://
www.internetworldstats.com/stats7.htm.
Scientific Spanish:
identity in crisis?
ignacio ahumada
319
1 ahead of Spain are eU countries such as Germany (732,114), the United Kingdom (651,486), france (520,913)
and italy (399,384). the figure recorded for the United States- 2,852,902- serves as a benchmark. i should note
that the only works included from the Social and Human Sciences are those corresponding to Social Sciences,
General and Economist & Business. http://sauwok.fecyt.es/apps/additional_resources.do?highlighted_
tab=additional_resources. Last accessed: 20/05/11.
2 the data i am using can be found in the annual studies performed by the acUte research group of the Spanish
national research council (cSic) under the direction of professor isabel Gmez caridad (Gmez et al., 2010).
on the other hand, the WoS presents its information based on the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE),
the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) and the Arts & Humanities Citation Index (AHCI). in addition, we have
consulted [] the Spanish databases iSco and icYt and the annual cSic reports to complement the WoS
indicators (Gmez et al., 2010, p. 3). finally, i would like to express my gratitude to professor Mara Bordons
for her help and feedback on the materials included in the reference report.
tabLE 1
Evolution of scientific literature produced by the Spanish National resource Council
(CSIC) and Spain according to three-year periods (WoS, 1990-2009)
N. of Documents Increases ( %)
three-year
periods
CSIC Spain CSIC Spain
were added to the WoS in total. as readers will the selection process for Spanish science
be well aware, not all disciplines or knowledge research disseminated internationally is primarily
areas enjoy the same prestige or attract the determined by innovation, the contribution
same interest outside of Spain. in this regard, of reliable data to describe phenomena of
3 it is important to keep in mind that these publication data are presented in parallel (cSic compared to the
remainder of Spanish institutions) because the study was funded by a government agency, the Spanish national
research council (cSic). for this article, however, i base my considerations on the total figures.
widespread interest, the consequent need to respectively. as a final note, we should keep in
contrast and compare similar results, and so on. mind that Journal Citation Reports, our source,
does not record the impact factor (if) for the
the areas that receive the highest preference Humanities (table 2).
in terms of international dissemination are
clinical Medicine (74,521) and Biomedicine
(56,231), followed by engineering and 3. Under the yoke
technology (44,074), and agriculture, Biology of internationalisation
and environmental Sciences (41,899). the
average impact rates4, calculated for this period Historically, in europe Latin was the international
according to references from 2006, measure: language par excellence of scholarship and
2.979 %; 3.494 %; 1.635 % and 1.936 % literature until well into the 18th century 5 .
tabLE 2
Production and Impact of Spanish articles by Subject (WoS, 2004-2009)
N. % art
N.
fields total art % art If 2006 Cits./ w/o
Citations
art. cits.
engineering and technology 44,074 43,045 20.51 1.635 183,667 4.27 33.74
4 the impact factor (if) is a measure reflecting the average number of citations to articles published in science and
social science journals. it is frequently used as a proxy for the relative importance of a journal within its field,
with journals with higher impact factors deemed to be more important than those with lower ones.
5 in the field of science, arabic had been the first truly universal language from the 8th century right through
to the 13th century, when Spanish became increasingly important in disseminating arab scholarship across large
parts of europe. (editors note).
the industrial revolution helped to bring superseded. the language in which that work
about a greater democratisation of scientific reaches the scientific community is no more than
communications, which in turn engendered a means; it is not the final goal. the researchers
numerous debates in favour of the vernacular primary objective is to be an active participant in
languages which were representing new that scientific community.
technological advancements. this happened
at different times across europe, starting from Writing in english forces us to adapt the
the late 18th century in the U.K. and somewhat structural parameters that govern our own
later in the 19th century in Spain. in the 1880s, writing (in other words, the composition of so-
even esperanto was being promoted as a called scientific discourse), however much it
replacement for Latin. in 1920s Spain, the may pain us to admit it. in linguistic analyses
Spanish engineer Leonardo torres Quevedo of scientific literature we differentiate between
designed a pan-Hispanic project to unify Spanish romance, eastern and anglo-Saxon discourses;
for scientific writing. of that huge undertaking, we talk about excessive theorisation in Germanic
the Spanish American Technological Dictionary discourse as opposed to the fragmentation of
(1926-1930), only the first six sections of romance discourse. nonetheless, Spanish
the first volume were ever published. at the researchers natural selection processes gear
close of the Second World War, the state of them towards adopting the standards which
europe was not conducive to sterile debates govern anglo-Saxon argumentative and scientific
about which language should replace Latin. discourse (Bernrdez, 2008, pp.63-74).
Given the force of unparalleled scientific and
technological discoveries and advancement in in this regard, what do the numbers tell us about
the U.K. in the 19th century and increasingly in the choices Spanish scientists make when it
the United States in the 20th century, as well as comes to publishing their final research results?
the countrys economic prosperity, the debate the following data analysis was conducted by
about the language of science and business the acUte research group headed by professor
was resolved in just under a quarter of a century Gmez caridad and made public on the WoS
in favour of english. the europe of copernicus, (table 3).
vitoria, newton, Descartes, Linnaeus, pasteur,
ehrlich and peral, was brought into line under the results speak for themselves: 90.78 % of
the dominance of english. the use of english the publications are in english, as compared
as the language for scientific communication with 8.84 % in Spanish. the figures pertaining
and dissemination anticipated the notorious to other languages are not relevant for the
phenomenon which would come to be known purposes of this study.
as globalisation by more than three decades.
Going one step further: what language do
these general factors are not the only ones which Spanish scientists choose when they publish
have brought us to where we are today. another in Spanish journals? the data available come
decisive factor, of course, is each researchers exclusively from findings regarding the cSics
conscientia: their reflection on the role of science scientific community, but they can surely be
in general and the place of their specific work. extrapolated to the Spanish research community
researchers have to face their true capabilities as at large: 67.50 % of articles use Spanish, while
individuals and the possibility of their work being 28.83 % use english (table 4).
tabLE 3
Distribution of scientific documents produced in Spain by language (WoS, 2004-09)
italian 4 4 3 10 26 13 60 0.02
catalan 2 1 2 17 3 16 41 0.02
romanian 4 1 2 3 1 0 11 0.00
chinese 3 1 1 1 1 2 9 0.00
polish 1 1 0 1 3 0 6 0.00
russian 0 1 3 0 0 1 5 0.00
czech 0 0 0 0 4 0 4 0.00
croatian 1 0 1 1 0 1 4 0.00
Slovak 1 0 1 1 0 0 3 0.00
arabic 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.00
Welsh 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 0.00
Slovenian 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0.00
Dutch 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0.00
Latin 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0.00
Serbian 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0.00
With regard to increases compared to previous increase in documents in english (54 %) than
years, the report in question tells us that between in Spanish (30 %). all of this data corroborates
2004 and 2008 the number of documents a widely recognised truth: languages cannot
published by cSic researchers in Spanish journals be imposed. rather, a subtle combination of
rose by 39 %. of these, there was a greater causes determines their position at the top or the
tabLE 4
Languages used in CSIC documents in Spanish journals (total documents)
(WoS, 2004-2009)
total % total
% total
Languages 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Sp. Spanish
CSIC
Jrnls. Journals
Spanish 191 172 116 242 248 246 1,215 2.72 67.50
bottom. in terms of the present study, the figures the last decade: the network of all networks,
being considered are by no means transferable to the internet. this means of communication
the state of Spanish in general, where, fortunately, between different types of usersboth native
it is thriving. the issue solely boils down to the Spanish speakers and speakers of Spanish as
use of english as a vehicle for the transmission a second language (L2)is currently impacting,
of science in very specific disciplines. the reality and will continue to impact, the development
differs substantially in the Humanities and social
of both general and specialist languages.
sciences (with the exception of economics and
therefore, it is important to remember that
business), and, for the time being, in other areas
scientific literature is not only produced in highly
such as experimental and technological sciences.
specialised forms (monographs, research
articles, reports, etc.), but also for the purposes
4. Specialised documentation of broad dissemination (with a didactic focus).
on the internet Moreover, given the potential repercussions of
new research on society, scientific literature
there is another important variable which must often needs to reach readers and users
be considered in the description and study with little or no level of specialist knowledge
of different languages, and even more so in (watered-down science).
as of June 2010, the community of those using a data-processing tool for the study of Spanish
Spanish on the internet had reached 153.3 as a language of the sciences in the so-called
million members. at the same time, Spanish knowledge society. it is a pan-Hispanic body
ranked third in the top ten languages, only of texts about Spanish scientific and technical
surpassed, as one would imagine, by english discourse (1985-present). While the earliest texts
(536.6m) and chinese (444.9m)6. this figure date to 1985, the vast majority were composed
comprises 7.8 % of the total amount of internet in this century. the pre-2000 documents are
users with a steadily increasing number of mainly included as a reference for the purposes
pages in Spanish: for example, in october 2009 of lexicological studies.
Google held an astonishing 675 million (rojo
and Snchez, 2010, p.116). on the one hand, Corpus Iberia is designed to serve as a first-
these numbers are overwhelming. on the other rate indicator of the status and usage of
hand, they make it very difficult to objectively Spanish as a scientific and technical language
differentiate between what is truly of interest in a (ahumada, 2010). its objectives are four-fold:
given area of specialisation, and what is not. the (a) to compile the greatest number possible
specialist information available on the internet of scientific documents written in Spanish;
spans resources from both the academic and (b) to stay continuously up-to-date with the
professional spheres. Both are equally relevant latest scientific research being produced; (c)
in terms of studying Spanish as a scientific to include the greatest amount of linguistic
languageand then there are watered-down information possible when indexing documents;
scientific texts aimed at informing generalist and (d) to create a useful tool thanks to a search
readers about scientific advances. interface which is versatile, powerful, and simple
(ahumada, porta and rosal, forthcoming).
in 2001, the Scientific information and
Document center of the cSic published
Specialized Information on the Internet, with a 5. conclusion
second edition released in 2006. this directory
is specifically aimed at ascertaining, by all means in addition to the general considerations
possible, where we should look for the most expounded above regarding, on the one hand,
rigorously obtained information about different Spanish researchers decisions to disseminate
areas of specialisation7. their work in english and, on the other hand, the
overwhelming quantity of specialist information
Corpus Iberia is a similar initiative geared at available on the internet and the efforts that
selecting and identifying specialised information institutions and researchers are making to keep
sources with rigour and reliability. this was Spanish alive as a language of the sciences,
created between 2008 and 2009 by cSic as there are a few more points worth noting.
6 these figures have been taken from the internet World Stats report on data closed as of June 2010:
http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats7.htm. Last accessed: 22/05/11. it is important to keep in mind that,
as Guillermo rojo warns us, we should use these statistics with caution, since they are based on indirect
relationships between data coming from different sources and, moreover, they make global attributions
of linguistic characteristics from local populations to countries (rojo and Snchez, 2010, pp. 58-59). for the status
of Spanish as a general language on the internet, see rojo and Snchez, 2010, pp. 101-154.
7 the editors of this directory are preparing a 3rd updated edition, scheduled for 2012 (Maldonado and rodrguez, 2006).
ever since its creation, the european patent scientific and technical identity. it is an essential
office (Munich convention of 1973) has component of the languages diachronic and
recognised english, french and German as its synchronic development and composition
three official patent-processing languages. the from any point of viewa language which,
debate surrounding the future of patents in the incidentally, is over one thousand years old
exclusive sphere of the european Union has and spoken by around 530 hundred million
resumed in recent months, and the resulting people worldwide (native and L2 speakers). as
provisional regulations still include what they
it happens, 13th century Spanish was also the
consider to be an old continent tradition.
first modern european language to take shape
obviously, this represents a clear disadvantage
as a language of the sciences in castilea fact
for ec languages such as Spanish and italian. it
we should not easily forget.
constitutes a low point for Spanish as a vehicle
for scientific communication8.
8 as far as Spanish is concerned, this is no different from international Standard organisation (iSo) norms in force
for the editing of their regulations: english and french, exclusively. the aen/ctn 191terminology committee
under the Spanish Standardisation and certification agency (aenor) is in charge of translating, revising
and adapting the iSo regulations to Spanish (Une regulations). this author belongs to that committee.
Maldonado Gonzlez, . and rodrguez Yunta, Generales (Congreso de los Diputados), Serie a.
L. (eds.) (2006) La informacin especializada 80-1, pp. 1-43.
en Internet. Directorio de recursos de inters
rojo, G. and Snchez, M. (2010) El espaol en la Red.
acadmico y profesional. 2nd edition, Madrid,
consejo Superior de investigaciones cientficas. Madrid, ariel-fundacin telefnica.
329
el presente artculo reflexiona sobre el impacto mente reservado a las lites urbanas, y esta
que ha tenido la decisin de introducir el ingls forma de capital lingstico se niega a los nios
como lengua extranjera en centros de primaria provenientes de entornos menos privilegiados. el
del mundo entero, en pases tan diversos como artculo concluye proponiendo que si la asigna-
chile, indonesia o vietnam, y de la marcada tura de ingls entra en el currculo de primaria,
tendencia a introducir la asignatura de ingls lo haga en los ltimos cursos del ciclo y que se
en cursos cada vez ms tempranos, ya que centre a partes iguales en la comprensin inter-
muchos pases la establecen como obligatoria cultural y en la competencia comunicativa; de
a partir del primer curso. Su justificacin a nivel otro modo, la enseanza de este idioma contri-
nacional suele basarse en argumentos econ- buir a aumentar an ms la disparidad entre el
micos, puesto que los distintos gobiernos de- logro educativo de ricos y pobres.
fienden que el dominio del ingls es clave para
la competitividad del pas en un mundo globa-
lizado. normalmente argumentan que, dado 1. Justificacin de la enseanza
que la enseanza del ingls en Secundaria no del ingls como lengua extranjera
ha producido los niveles deseados de compe- en la educacin primaria
tencia y es bien sabido que los nios de corta
edad adquieren otras lenguas con ms facilidad Los gobiernos de numerosos pases del mun-
que los de mayor edad, la enseanza de lenguas do estn introduciendo la asignatura de ingls
debe comenzar lo antes posible. este artculo como obligatoria en la etapa de primaria e in-
pone en tela de juicio esos argumentos y resalta cluso antes (Baldauf et al., 2007; nunan, 2003).
que, aunque la decisin poltica de introducir la La justificacin de esta medida presenta dos
asignatura de ingls en el currculo de primaria dimensiones principales. La primera es de ca-
tiene implicaciones de largo alcance, a menudo rcter econmico, relacionada con la competiti-
se toma sin tener en cuenta la disponibilidad de vidad econmica global o regional, y emana del
los recursos humanos y materiales necesarios hecho de que la globalizacin y la internacio-
para su implementacin. el resultado de esto en nalizacin del comercio han convertido el ingls
el mbito escolar es que los tutores de primaria en la lengua franca (mundial) y, cada vez ms,
a menudo se ven obligados a realizar grandes en la segunda lengua nacional de facto en mu-
esfuerzos para ensear en el mejor de los ca- chos estados (Baldauf et al., 2007, 2). Kariya y
sos una lengua que les resulta muy poco fa- rappleye (2010, 34) aluden al discurso sobre
miliar; o que docentes que se han formado para la necesidad de cultivar un nivel mucho ms
ensear ingls a alumnos de Secundaria acaban alto de habilidades lingsticas en ingls entre
dando clase a alumnos ms jvenes, recurriendo la poblacin general a medida que el ingls se
a tcnicas lectivas poco adecuadas a su edad. convierte en la lengua franca de una sociedad
por otra parte, la notable disparidad entre los ni- internacional emergente, como reaccin ima-
veles de logro educativo de los centros urbanos ginada a la globalizacin antes que como un
y bien dotados de recursos, con un alumnado efecto real. en realidad, los gobiernos no
proveniente de entornos socioeconmicos privi- acaban de explicar cmo va a mejorar la com-
legiados, y los centros rurales, con un alumnado petitividad econmica el que los nios aprendan
de sectores desfavorecidos, ha provocado que ingls; pero podemos conjeturar que, dada la
el dominio del ingls se convierta en un marca- primaca de esa lengua en el mbito del comer-
dor social. este dominio va quedando gradual- cio internacional, existe la impresin de que los
nios deben comenzar antes su aprendizaje que es mejor comenzar la enseanza de la len-
con el fin de conseguir una mayor fluidez, espe- gua extranjera mientras las mentes de los alum-
cialmente en muchos pases en los que reina el nos an estn receptivas a su adquisicin, antes
descontento con el nivel de ingls que poseen de un supuesto periodo crtico tras el cual sus
los alumnos cuando acaban la etapa de Secun- mecanismos de adquisicin lingstica dejan
daria. por ejemplo, en chile, las estadsticas de de funcionar. Se trata de una postura que recibe
2004 mostraban que al acabar la Secundaria, un gran apoyo popular. en una encuesta reali-
solo el 5 % de los alumnos han alcanzado un ni- zada en vietnam a padres de alumnos sobre la
vel de ingls que pueda considerarse adecuado introduccin del ingls en los centros de prima-
para su futuro ingreso en el mercado de trabajo ria, Hayes (2008b) hall que la mayora de los
o para estudiar en el extranjero (Matear, 2008, encuestados prefera que comenzara en el pri-
136). en corea, un documento del Ministerio de mer curso y que ninguno opinaba que debiera
educacin, ciencia y tecnologa afirmaba que empezar ms tarde de tercero por las razones
en contraste con el alto nivel de atencin pbli- que acabamos de citar.
ca y con la inversin de recursos destinados a la
enseanza del ingls, los coreanos solo han al- Y sin embargo, los argumentos que defienden la
canzado hasta ahora un nivel relativamente bajo introduccin del ingls como lengua extranjera
de competencia lingstica, con una brecha cre- en los centros de primaria adolecen de errores
ciente entre los distintos entornos geogrficos y de base.
las distintas clases sociales (Hayes, 2008a,3),
lo que refleja la influencia cada vez mayor del
entorno socioeconmico en los logros acad- 2. errores en los argumentos
micos generales de los alumnos de todo el pas econmicos
(Byun y Kim, 2010).
resulta imposible encontrar datos empricos
La segunda dimensin de esa justificacin se que relacionen el dominio del ingls de los ciu-
deriva de los estudios sobre la adquisicin de dadanos de un pas con su competitividad eco-
la primera lengua y la adquisicin simultnea de nmica. Los datos recogidos en el IMD World
dos lenguas en los nios bilinges, que conclu- Competitiveness Yearbook (Anuario de Compe-
yen que el principio de cuanto ms jvenes, titividad Mundial del IMD) de 2007, por ejemplo,
mejor es vlido para la enseanza de lenguas sitan a Japn en el puesto 51. de la escala
extranjeras. esta posicin argumenta que los de competencia Lingstica del ingls, con una
nios de corta edad adquieren su primera len- puntuacin media en el iBt toefL (prueba del
gua sin esfuerzo aparente, independientemente toefL en lnea) de 65, claramente por debajo
de cul sea la lengua y de la calidad del aporte de la media mundial de 78 puntos; y, sin em-
lingstico que reciben. adems, se da por su- bargo, Japn era en aquel momento y lo ha
puesto que todos los nios con un desarrollo sido hasta poca muy reciente la segunda
considerado como normal adquieren compe- economa mundial. en cuanto a la educacin,
tencia en su primera lengua o lenguas. Y, lo que el anuario del iMD no se centra exclusivamen-
es ms, los nios que estn expuestos a dos te en el nivel de ingls como dato clave para la
lenguas desde su nacimiento adquieren la mis- competitividad econmica, sino que reconoce la
ma competencia en ambas y no las mezclan. importancia de aumentar la calidad de la educa-
as, quienes defienden esta postura concluyen cin en todos los niveles primaria, Secundaria
y Superior, de forma que las etapas ms avan- uno de los diecinueve indicadores de la seccin
zadas se sustenten sobre los logros educativos educacin que, a su vez, no es ms que uno
obtenidos en las anteriores. de los cinco indicadores de que consta el enca-
bezado Infraestructuras, que es solo uno de los
resulta difcil pensar en competitividad e innova-
cuatro factores que se consideran para situar a
cin tecnolgica sin considerar la educacin. La
educacin se ha convertido en un requisito previo los pases en los ndices de competitividad eco-
para ingresar en la economa basada en el conoci- nmica1. Y, por supuesto, aun cuando acep-
miento, mientras que la tecnologa se ha converti- tramos que el dominio del ingls es esencial
do en el requisito previo para difundir la educacin para el desarrollo econmico, esto no implicara
en la sociedad. La excelencia en las competen- necesariamente que la lengua deba ensearse
cias bsicas que se requiere en un buen sistema desde los primeros cursos de primaria, sino que
educativo de primaria y Secundaria es importante; quienes ingresen en el mercado laboral debern
pero, por s sola, no basta para hacer ascender a aprenderla en algn momento. Y ningn estudio
un pas en la escala de la competitividad nacional,
demuestra que este aprendizaje sea imposible
a no ser que se vea correspondida por la excelen-
para un adulto suficientemente motivado (Mari-
cia en la educacin superior en los campos de la
nova-todd et al., 2000).
tecnologa y la gestin. vietnam, por ejemplo, es
uno de los pases con mejor nivel de habilidades
matemticas en los alumnos de primaria y Secun-
daria. Sin embargo, sus carencias en la educacin 3. errores del argumento
superior frenan la competitividad del pas. (135) cuanto ms jvenes, mejor
1 vase http://www.imd.ch/research/publications/wcy/upload/in_List07.pdf.
aprendizaje y sugieren que las condiciones de del ingls como lengua extranjera en la etapa de
adquisicin natural del lenguaje son muy difciles primaria no aumenta necesariamente las posibi-
e incluso imposibles de reproducir en el aula. lidades de que los alumnos dominen esa lengua
as, comentan lo siguiente: al acabar su educacin formal. por otra parte,
el contexto en que se realiza el aprendizaje es
Los nios que aprenden una lengua en un entorno importante. en los entornos lectivos, y especial-
informal suelen tener ms tiempo para dedicarlo al
mente en la educacin obligatoria, intervienen
aprendizaje. a menudo disponen de ms oportu-
otros factores de peso como, por ejemplo, los
nidades para escuchar y usar la lengua en contex-
materiales usados, el nivel de formacin y el gra-
tos en los que no se ven presionados para hablar
de forma fluida y correcta desde el principio del do de compromiso de los docentes, e incluso la
aprendizaje. Y, lo que es ms, los esfuerzos imper- actitud pblica hacia la lengua que se ensea.
fectos que realizan en sus comienzos suelen ser
elogiados o, cuando menos, aceptados. (60-61) Dados los errores de los que parecen adolecer
los argumentos que apoyan la enseanza del
el disponer de tiempo para el aprendizaje y el ingls como lengua extranjera en la etapa de
gozar de suficiente exposicin a la lengua son, primaria, resulta sorprendente que tantos pa-
pues, factores clave. Y, sin embargo, en los cen- ses persistan en esta poltica educativa. por otra
tros de primaria de muchos pases, el tiempo parte, las investigaciones acerca del impacto
lectivo dedicado al ingls es sorprendentemente real de la introduccin del ingls como asigna-
bajo para el objetivo generalizado de incremen- tura obligatoria en los centros de primaria de di-
tar la fluidez: taiwn ofrece a los alumnos una versos pases en los que esta lengua apenas se
o dos horas semanales a partir de 1., corea usa en la vida diaria deberan hacer reflexionar
ofrece una hora semanal en 3. y 4. y dos ho- ms an a las autoridades educativas.
ras en 5. y 6., Malasia ofrece solo una hora
y media a la semana a lo largo de toda la eta-
pa de primaria, y china ofrece entre ochenta 4. el impacto de la enseanza
minutos y dos horas a partir de 3.. incluso el del ingls en la etapa de primaria
tiempo lectivo que se dedica en Hong Kong al
ingls, claramente superior (de cuatro a seis ho- al comienzo de este captulo, en los comen-
ras semanales), no es necesariamente suficiente tarios sobre la enseanza del ingls en corea,
para influir de forma significativa en el dominio hemos aludido a un importante motivo de preo-
del ingls por parte de los alumnos. Hong Kong cupacin: la brecha creciente entre los distin-
aparece en el 12. puesto en otro ndice de tos entornos geogrficos y las distintas clases
competencia en lengua inglesa (education first, sociales que est apareciendo en el aprendi-
2011), lo que supone un dominio moderado zaje de ingls. en otras palabras, el dominio del
(es interesante resaltar que este pas aparece ingls se est convirtiendo cada vez ms en pa-
en el segundo lugar del ndice de competitividad trimonio de los grupos de nivel socioeconmico
mundial de 2010). La experiencia acumulada en elevado que residen en los entornos urbanos. el
muchos pases confirma la conclusin de Light- anlisis que hace Matear (2008) de las polticas
bown (2000, 448) de que no se puede alcanzar y las prcticas educativas en chile revela que
un dominio de la lengua comparable o cercano el programa el ingls abre puertas, puesto en
al de un hablante nativo dedicndole solo una marcha por el Ministerio de educacin que
hora diaria. as pues, el introducir la enseanza ha ampliado la enseanza obligatoria del ingls
de los seis cursos en que se imparta anterior- riencia en el marco del sistema descentralizado
mente a ocho cursos, introducindolo en 5. y que contempla el ingls como una asignatura
6. de primaria, no est abriendo puertas local del currculo de primaria, la provincia de
a todos los alumnos por igual. Matear (2008, Yakarta estableci en julio de 2008 que esta
141) afirma que existe una fuerte correlacin asignatura fuera obligatoria desde primero en
entre la procedencia social y los logros educati- sus 2.252 centros de primaria, a los que asis-
vos en ingls, y que las principales barreras al ten 850.000 alumnos y 27.000 profesores.
aprendizaje efectivo y a los logros acadmicos esta decisin se adopt tras una preparacin
en ingls [] parecen derivar del entorno so- mnima y los centros escolares se vieron obli-
cioeconmico, del ambiente domstico y de los gados a cumplirla como mejor pudieron. Dado
menores niveles de capital cultural que presen- que antes de 2008 la asignatura de ingls no
tan los nios de familias humildes. era obligatoria en primaria, los docentes no
haban recibido ninguna formacin previa para
La situacin que se observa en chile se repro- ensear esta lengua y muchos centros tuvieron
duce en muchos otros lugares. en un estudio que contratar profesores temporales para cu-
de la educacin en la provincia indonesia de brir las necesidades urgentes; as, a principios
riau, coleman et al. (2004, citado en Lamb y de 2009, solo el 10 % de los docentes que en-
coleman, 2008, 196) comentan que la ense- seaban ingls en los centros de primaria eran
anza del ingls parece ser un sistema que da fijos y el 90 % restante eran temporales (Hayes,
prioridad a ciertas zonas de la provincia, espe- 2009). Los profesores dependan de cursos
cialmente a los centros urbanos. es tambin un de formacin continua para adquirir los cono-
sistema que dota de ms recursos a aquellos cimientos y herramientas docentes necesarios
centros escolares en los que estn matricula- para la enseanza de idiomas, pero la nica
dos los nios provenientes de familias de clase oferta sistemtica de formacin disponible para
media. Lamb y coleman (2008) llegan a con- los centros de Yakarta eran cursos de un mes
clusiones similares acerca de indonesia en su para unos ochenta o cien profesores al ao. es-
conjunto (que, con sus 243 millones de habitan- tos cursos estaban muy valorados entre los do-
tes, es el cuarto pas ms poblado del mundo) y centes, pero, dado su ritmo y capacidad, para
afirman que el acceso al ingls y la inversin en que un solo profesor de cada centro asistiera a
esta lengua estn limitados por las desigualda- ellos habran hecho falta entre veintids y vein-
des en la distribucin del capital cultural, social tiocho aos; y para que asistieran los 27.000
y econmico y que a no ser que se introduz- profesores implicados habran sido precisos
can cambios radicales en el currculo, a largo entre doscientos setenta y trescientos cuarenta
plazo, la generalizacin del ingls puede servir aos (eso, suponiendo que no se abrieran ms
nicamente para hacer ms profundas esas centros escolares mientras tanto). para compli-
desigualdades (189). tambin se reproducen car an ms las cosas, solo los profesores fijos
a escala nacional los tres grandes obstculos podan inscribirse en estos cursos organizados
para el aprendizaje del ingls que coleman et por el ministerio, lo que dejaba fuera automti-
al. (2004) identificaban en riau: la falta de do- camente al 90 % de las plantillas de los centros.
centes cualificados; la escasa exposicin a la no resulta sorprendente que, tras una reunin
lengua inglesa; y la falta de oportunidades para de sondeo mantenida a finales de 2008, los di-
que los alumnos practicaran la lengua, incluso rectores de varios centros escolares redactaran
en el entorno lectivo. Y a pesar de esta expe- una larga lista de obstculos y preocupaciones,
todos relacionados con los tres problemas prin- Se podra argumentar que indonesia es un pas
cipales identificados por coleman et al. (2004), de recursos limitados, entorpecido por un bajo
que deseaban elevar al ministerio. entre ellos se nivel de desarrollo econmico combinado con
contaban los siguientes: una alta densidad poblacional, si no fuera por-
que podemos encontrar una situacin similar
1. el currculo debe hacerse llegar a todos los
en pases con un mayor desarrollo econmico
centros.
como corea y taiwn. Butler (2009, 24) afirma
2. Se precisa un programa de formacin para que en corea y taiwn, la introduccin oficial
docentes. del ingls como lengua extranjera en la etapa
3. el programa de formacin ha de referirse a de primaria parece haber disparado el gasto
los materiales lectivos que los docentes de- de las familias en clases privadas de ingls. Los
beran usar en sus clases. profesores ya han empezado a observar una
brecha creciente en el rendimiento de los alum-
4. Los docentes necesitan ayuda no solo para
nos en esta asignatura dependiendo del estatus
mejorar su nivel lingstico, sino para apren-
socioeconmico de sus progenitores y de la re-
der metodologas de enseanza del ingls
gin en la que residan, brecha que es atribuible
en primaria, incluyendo tcnicas para eva-
a las diferencias en la oferta de clases privadas
luar a nios de corta edad.
de ingls fuera del entorno escolar. Siendo as
5. Deben desarrollarse materiales de ensean- las cosas, la enseanza del ingls a los alumnos
za y aprendizaje adaptados a las aulas de de primaria no solo no abrir puertas, sino que
primaria. contribuir a que sigan estando firmemente ce-
6. es necesario formar a los supervisores y rradas para los hijos de las familias ms humildes.
los directores para asegurarse de que es-
tos dos grupos de profesionales ofrecen un
apoyo consistente y apropiado a los espe- 5. conclusin
cialistas de ingls.
el presente artculo no pretende sugerir que la
7. Hace falta debatir en ms profundidad la enseanza del ingls est fuera de lugar en los
medida de introducir la asignatura de ingls centros de primaria. no obstante, las investiga-
desde primero, especialmente en lo que ciones indican que los nios obtienen un mejor
respecta a su implementacin y a sus im- desempeo educativo si se les ensea y se les
plicaciones prcticas, as como la decisin alfabetiza en su primera lengua, antes de co-
adoptada en el mbito estatal de introducir menzar la educacin en una lengua extranjera.
la asignatura de ingls desde cuarto. Una vez que hayan sido alfabetizados adecua-
8. Hasta el momento, introducir la enseanza damente en su primera lengua, durante el resto
del ingls desde el principio de la etapa de de la etapa de primaria se podr atender a las
Secundaria obligatoria no ha dado buenos muchas razones que aconsejan la enseanza
resultados. a no ser que los alumnos reci- de lenguas extranjeras una de las cuales, y
ban una enseanza adecuada, adelantar no la menor, es la necesidad de acrecentar el
la introduccin del ingls desde primero entendimiento intercultural en un mundo sumido
de primaria solo servir para incrementar en conflictos. Y sin embargo, si el fin ltimo
el tiempo de mala enseanza que reciban. del aprendizaje del ingls sigue siendo incre-
(Hayes, 2009, 6) mentar la fluidez o competencia comunicativa,
como proclaman invariablemente los currculos coLeman, H., asoKo, H., azHar, f., HoLLoWay, K., Lamb,
oficiales, es muy posible que estos esfuerzos M., saGimin, WedeLL, M., W ieGand, p. y yarmiati
solo faciliten el xito de los nios procedentes (2004). Survey of Education in Riau 2003-4.
de entornos socioeconmicos privilegiados, ni- Leeds: School of education, University of Leeds.
os que ya poseen un capital social significati- Hayes, D. (2008a). Primary English language teaching
vamente mayor que el de sus pares de entornos in VietNam. informe indito. Hani: British council.
desfavorecidos. tambin es muy posible que .(2008b). Teacher development visioning workshop
este empeo acabe por detraer recursos a otras for the Ministry of Education, Science and Techno-
tareas mucho ms urgentes como, por ejemplo, logy. informe indito. Sel: British council.
universalizar el acceso a la educacin primaria .(2009). Jakarta DKI primary English in-service pilot
y a la alfabetizacin, algo que sigue siendo inal- training plan. informe indito. Yakarta, indonesia:
canzable para millones de personas. como dice British council.
Bruthiaux (2002, 292), para los habitantes ms internationaL institute for manaGement deveLoPment
pobres de muchos pases, la educacin ms (iMD) (2007). World Competitiveness Yearbook
bsica sigue siendo una quimera y la enseanza 2007. Lausana, Suiza: international institute for
del ingls una extravagancia irrelevante. no Management Development.
sera lgico cambiar esta situacin antes de em- K ariya , t. y r aPPLeye , J. (2010). the twisted,
pearnos en extender la enseanza del ingls a unintended impacts of globalisation on Japanese
la etapa de primaria, especialmente en un curso education, en e. Hannum, H. park e Y. K. Butler
tan temprano como primero? (eds.). Globalisation, Changing Demographics,
and Educational Challenges in East Asia.
Research in Sociology of Education, 17. Bingley,
Referencias bibliogrficas citadas reino Unido: emerald, pp. 17-63
Lamb, M. y coLeman, H. (2008). Literacy in english
baLdauf, r., yeo-cHua, S. K. c., Hoa, n. t. M., Hamid, and the transformation of self and society in post-
o., Wu, H., Li, M., sunGGinGWati, D., Graf, J. y Soeharto indonesia. International Journal of
ota, K. (2007). Successes and failures in language Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 11, pp.189-
planning for European languages in Asian nations.
205.
Discurso inaugural del 5. nitobe Symposium,
Sophia University, tokio, 2 de agosto. L i G Ht b oWn , p. M. (2000). anniversary article.
classroom SLa research and second language
brutHiaux, p. (2002). Hold your courses: Language
teaching. Applied Linguistics, 21, pp. 431-462.
education, language choice, and economic
development. TESOL Quarterly, 36, pp.275-296. LiGHtboWn, p. M. y sPada, n. (1999). How languages
b utLer, Y. G. (2009). teaching english to young are learned. 2. ed. oxford: oxford University press.
learners: the influence of global and local factors, marinova-todd, S. K., marsHaLL, D. B. y snoW, c. e.
en J. enever, J. Moon y U. rahman (eds.). Young (2000). three misconceptions about age and L2
learner English language policy and implementation: learning. TESOL Quarterly, 34, pp. 9-34.
International perspectives. reading, reino Unido:
m atear, a. (2008). english language learning and
Garnet publishing, pp. 23-29.
education policy in chile: can english really open
Byun, S. y Kim, K. (2010). educational inequality in
doors for all?. Asia Pacific Journal of Education,
South Korea. the widening socioeconomic gap in
28, pp. 131-147.
student achievement. Research in the Sociology
of Education, 17 Globalization, Changing nunan, D. (2003). the impact of english as a global
Demographics and Educational Challenges in language on educational policies and practices
East Asia. emerald Group publishing Limited, pp. in the asia-pacific region. TESOL Quarterly, 37,
155-182. pp.589-613.
337
this paper discusses the impact of decisions communicative competence if its teaching
to introduce english as a foreign language (efL) is not to lead to even greater disparity in
into primary schools worldwide in countries educational achievement between rich and
as diverse as chile, indonesia, and vietnam poor.
with a significant trend towards the teaching of
english at ever younger ages, many countries
mandating it a compulsory subject from Grade1. 1. the rationale for teaching
the arguments for this at the national level are english as a foreign language
usually founded on an economic rationale, with inprimary school
governments maintaining that proficiency in
english is key to the countrys competitiveness in Governments throughout the world are introducing
a globalised world. typically, they then argue that english as a compulsory subject into primary
since english teaching at the secondary level has schools and at ever earlier grades (Baldauf et al.,
not produced the desired levels of proficiency 2007; nunan, 2003). the rationale for this seems
and since it is well-known that young children to have two main dimensions. the first dimension
learn languages more easily than older children, is economic, related to global or regional economic
teaching should begin as early as possible. the competitiveness, stemming from the fact that,
paper will question these arguments and also globalisation and world trade have made english
note that policy decisions to introduce english the [worlds] lingua franca and increasingly the de
into the primary curriculum have far-reaching facto second national language in many polities
implications but are often made without (Baldauf et al., 2007, p.2). Kariya and rappleye
consideration of the availability of human and (2010, p. 34) refer to:
material resources for their implementation. the discourse about the necessity of cultivating a
the result at school level is that primary class far greater level of English language abilities among
teachers often find themselves struggling to the general population as English becomes the
teach or do not teach a language with which lingua franca of an emergent international society
they have very little familiarity; or that teachers
trained to teach english in secondary schools as an imagined response to globalisation
end up teaching young children in ways which rather than a real effect. Quite how teaching
are not age-appropriate. further, significant english to children will improve economic
achievement disparities between well-resourced competitiveness is not generally explained by
urban schools attended by socio-economically governments but we can surmise that because
privileged groups and poorly resourced urban of the primacy of the language in international
and rural schools attended by the disadvantaged commerce it is felt that children need to begin
have led to english acting as a marker of social their study earlier in order to achieve greater
differentiation. increasingly, knowledge of english fluency, especially as there are widespread
is the preserve of urban elites, and this form of concerns in many countries with the english
linguistic capital is denied to children from less- language levels achieved by students when they
privileged backgrounds. the paper concludes leave secondary school. for example, in chile,
by suggestingthat if english has a place in 2004 test statistics showed that, By the end
the primary curriculum it should be in the later of secondary school just 5 % of students had
stages of the primary cycle and should focus achieved a level of english considered adequate
as much on intercultural understanding as on for future employment or study abroad,
(Matear, 2008, p. 136). in Korea the Ministry of nonetheless, there are major flaws in these
education, Science and technology expressed arguments for teaching english as a foreign
the view that: language in primary schools.
e-business is transacted, but, as the report age and acquisition, Marinova-todd et al.
notes, many countries lag behind in the (2000, p.9) note that, age differences reflect
e-business race, and in many cases, the differences in the situation of learning rather than
e-business laggards are at the bottom of the in capacity to learn. they do not demonstrate
competitive rankings (p. 143), i.e. lack of any constraint on the possibility that adults
english correlates with other poor competitive can become highly proficient, even native-like,
rankings but does not cause them. So it would speakers of L2s. Lightbown and Spada (1999)
appear that facility in english is important also highlight the importance of the conditions
in this one area but that other indicators of a of learning, intimating that naturalistic conditions
nations general economic competitiveness are difficult, if not impossible, to replicate in the
are more important for the development of its classroom. they comment:
economic standing, i.e. high quality education
Younger learners in informal language learning
from primary through secondary to tertiary
environments usually have more time to devote
levels. indeed, english proficiency is but one to learning language. They often have more
of 19 indicators for education which is itself opportunities to hear and use the language in
just one of the five infrastructure indicators environments where they do not experience
of economic competitiveness, in turn one of strong pressure to speak fluently and accurately
four key factors in assessing rankings1. and, of from the very beginning. Furthermore, their early
course, even if one were to accept that english imperfect efforts are often praised or, at least,
is critical for economic development, this does accepted. (pp. 60-61)
not necessarily mean that it should be taught
from the early stages of primary schooling, time to learn and sufficient exposure to the
simply that people entering the workforce may language are thus key factors. Yet, in primary
need to acquire it at some stage in order to schools in many countries, the instructional
secure employment. there is no convincing time devoted to english is surprisingly low
evidence that this cannot be achieved by adults given the aims of increased fluency: taiwan
with sufficient motivation (Marinova-todd et al., offers students 1-2 hours a week from Grade
2000). 1; Korea 1 hour a week in Grades 3-4 and 2
hours in Grades 5-6; Malaysia just 90 minutes
a week throughout primary school; and china
3. flaws in the younger the better between 80 minutes and 2 hours from Grade
argument 3. even the larger amounts of instructional time
allotted in Hong Kong (4-6 hours) may not be
the younger the better argument is often sufficient to have any significant impact on
predicated on a misunderstanding of first childrens english language development. Hong
language acquisition or the acquisition of two Kong ranks only 12th in another index of english
or more languages by bi/multilingual children in proficiency (education first, 2011), a moderate
naturalistic contexts which is then misused to proficiency level (though, interestingly, it ranks
support the claim that a foreign language cannot 2nd in the World competitiveness index for
be mastered after the age of puberty (Marinova- 2010). experience in many countries bears out
todd et al., 2000). in a review of research into Lightbowns (2000, pp. 448) conclusion that,
1 http://www.imd.ch/research/publications/wcy/upload/in_List07.pdf.
one cannot achieve native-like (or near native- extended compulsory english from 6 to 8
like) command of a language in one hour a years encompassing Grades 5 and 6 of
day. thus, it does not automatically follow that primary school, really does not have the effect
beginning to teach english as a foreign language of opening doors for everyone. instead,
at primary level will increase the chances of Matear (2008, p. 141) concludes that there
children having mastered the language by the is, a strong correlation between social
time they leave formal education. further, the background and achievement in english and
context of learning is important. in instructional that, the principal barriers to effective learning
settings, particularly in compulsory education, and achievement in english [...] appear to be
other important factors come into play, such rooted in the socio-economic background,
as the materials used; the levels of training of home environment, and the lower levels of
teachers; the commitment of the teachers; cultural capital presented by children from low
and even public attitudes towards the target income families.
language.
the chilean experience is repeated elsewhere.
Given that the arguments used in support of in a survey of education in the indonesian
the teaching of english as a foreign language province of riau, coleman et al. (2004, cited
in primary schools seem to be flawed, the in Lamb and coleman, 2008, p. 196) note
persistence of this educational policy in many that the teaching of english, seems to be a
countries is surprising. in addition, such system which gives priority to certain parts of
evidence as does exist regarding the actual the province, especially urban centres. it is also
impact of introducing english as a compulsory a system which provides better resources to
subject into primary schools in a variety of those schools which are attended by children
countries where the language is little used in from more middle-class families. Lamb and
the local environment should give policy makers coleman (2008) come to similar conclusions for
further pause for thought. indonesia as a whole (which, with a population
of some 243 million people, is the fourth largest
nation in the world), commenting that access
4. the impact of teaching english to and investment in english is, constrained by
in primary schools inequalities in the distribution of cultural, social
and economic capitals and noting that, Unless
a major issue of concern has been alluded radical curriculum changes are introduced, the
to in the remark on english teaching in Korea spread of english may in the long-term only
at the start of this chapter, i.e. that there is a serve to deepen these inequalities (p. 189).
widening gap between geographic locations also replicated more widely in the country are
and social classes with respect to levels the three major concerns for english teaching
of achievement in english. in other words, in riau raised in coleman et al. (2004), viz. a
greater levels of achievement in english are lack of qualified teachers; a lack of exposure
increasingly becoming the preserve of higher to the language; and a lack of opportunities
socio-economic groups in urban locations. for students to practise, even in class. Yet, in
Matears (2008) analysis of policy and practice spite of this experience, within the decentralised
in chile reveals that the Ministry of educations framework in which english is regarded as a
english opens Doors programme, which local content subject in the primary school
curriculum, the province of Jakarta mandated 4. teachers need help, not just with language
the compulsory teaching of english from Grade improvement, but also with methodology for
1 in July 2008 in its 2,252 elementary schools primary english, including appropriate ways
with 27,000 teachers and 850,000 students. of assessing young children.
this decision was taken with minimal preparation
5. teaching-learning materials for the primary
and schools were left to manage as best they
english class need to be developed.
could. as english had not been a compulsory
subject at primary school prior to 2008, teachers 6. Supervisor and principal training is needed
had not been trained to teach the language to ensure that these groups offer consistent
during their pre-service training and many and appropriate support to primary english
schools recruited temporary teachers to meet teachers.
their urgent needs, such that in early 2009 only 7. further discussion of the policy decision
10 % of teachers teaching english in primary to start teaching english from Grade 1
schools were permanent teachers, with 90 % is needed, particularly with respect to
temporary (Hayes, 2009). teachers were reliant implementation of the policy and its practical
on in-service training for knowledge and skills of implications, and in relation to the national
how to teach languages but the only systematic policy to begin the teaching of english from
training on offer for Jakarta schools was a one Grade 4.
month course for between 80-100 teachers
every year. the course was highly regarded 8. Historically, teaching english from the
beginning of Junior High School has
by teachers but, at that rate of attendance it
been ineffective. Unless children receive
would take between 22 and 28 years for just
good teaching from Grade 1 there will be
one teacher in each school to receive the
even more ineffective language teaching
training, and between 270 and 340 years if
throughout a childs school career.
all 27,000 teachers were to receive it (without
Hayes, 2009, p. 6
allowing for any school growth in that period).
a complicating factor was that only permanent one might argue that indonesia is a resource-
teachers were eligible to receive training constrained country, hampered by low levels
provided by the Ministry, leaving 90 % ineligible. of economic development allied to its huge
Little wonder that, in a focus group meeting late population, but the situation is similar in
in 2008, elementary school principals had a long countries with greater levels of economic
list of concerns and requests, resonating with development, such as Korea and taiwan. Butler
the three major concerns expressed in coleman 2009, p. 24 reports that:
et al. (2004), which they wished to be raised with In Korea and Taiwan, the official introduction of
the Ministry, amongst which were: EFLPS [English as a Foreign Language in Primary
Schools] appears to have escalated the household
1. the curriculum needs to be circulated to all
expenses associated with English lessons
schools.
outside of schools. Teachers have already begun
2. a training programme is needed for teachers. observing substantial achievement gaps among
primary school learners according to their parents
3. the training programme should refer to SES [socio-economic status] and by region due
teaching materials which teachers should to the differing levels of private English lessons
use in their own classes. available to learners outside of their schools.
can be given later in the primary cycle to the Byun, S. and Kim, K. (2010) educational inequality in
many sound educational reasons for teaching South Korea. the widening socioeconomic gap in
student achievement. Research in the Sociology
foreign languages in schools, not least the need
of Education, Volume 17 - Globalization, Changing
for increased intercultural understanding in a
Demographics, and Educational Challenges in
world mired in conflict. Yet, if the ultimate goal East Asia, pp.155-182. emerald Group publishing
of english language learning remains increased Limited.
fluency or communicative competence, as coleman, H., asoko, H., azhar, f., Holloway, K., Lamb,
official school curricula invariably proclaim, M., Sagimin, Wedell, M., Wiegand, p. and Yarmiati.
then the effort is most likely to result in success (2004) Survey of Education in Riau 2003-4. Leeds,
only for children from higher socio-economic U.K.: School of education, University of Leeds.
groups, those children who already possess Hayes, D. (2008a) Primary English language teaching
significantly more social capital than their in Viet Nam. Unpublished report. Hanoi, viet nam:
less well-off peers. it is also likely to divert British council.
resources away from more urgent goals, such . (2008b) Teacher development visioning workshop
for the Ministry of Education, Science and
as achieving universal primary education and
Technology. Unpublished report. Seoul, Korea:
basic literacy for all, something which remains
British council.
remote for many millions of the worlds poor. as
. (2009) Jakarta DKI primary English in-service
Bruthiaux (2002, p. 292) comments, for deeply
pilot training plan. Unpublished report. Jakarta,
poor populations in many countries, education indonesia: British council.
of the most basic type remains a pipe dream,
international institute for Management Development
and english language education an outlandish (iMD). (2007) World Competitiveness Yearbook
irrelevance. Surely that needs to be changed (2007). Lausanne, Switzerland: international
before we commit ourselves to compulsory institute for Management Development.
english teaching in primary schools, especially Kariya, t. and rappleye, J. (2010) the twisted,
as early as Grade 1? unintended impacts of globalisation on Japanese
education. in e. Hannum, H. park and Y.K. Butler Lightbown, p.M. and Spada, n. (1999) How languages are
(eds.) Globalisation, Changing Demographics, and learned. 2nd edition. oxford: oxford University press.
Educational Challenges in East Asia. Research in Marinova-todd, S.K., Marshall, D.B. and Snow, c.e.
Sociology of Education, 17, pp. 17-63. Bingley, (2000) three misconceptions about age and L2
U.K.: emerald. learning. TESOL Quarterly, 34, pp. 9-34.
Lamb, M. and coleman, H. (2008) Literacy in english Matear, a. (2008) english language learning and
and the transformation of self and society in education policy in chile: can english really open
post-Soeharto indonesia. International Journal of doors for all? Asia Pacific Journal of Education,
Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 11, pp. 189- 28, pp. 131-147.
205. nunan, D. (2003) the impact of english as a global
Lightbown, p.M. (2000) anniversary article. classroom language on educational policies and practices
SLa research and second language teaching. in the asia-pacific region. TESOL Quarterly, 37,
Applied Linguistics, 21, pp. 431-462. pp.589-613.
345
1 con sus 238 millones de habitantes (BpS 2010), indonesia es el cuarto pas ms poblado del planeta, mientras
que pakistn, con unos 176 millones (Statistics Division, 2011), ocupa el sexto lugar. estas cifras oficiales
tienden a ser menores que las estimaciones de agencias internacionales como las naciones Unidas
o el Banco Mundial.
2 Los clculos efectuados por el pew forum suponen que la poblacin total de ambos pases es mayor
que la reflejada en las estadsticas oficiales.
3 rahman afirma que las estimaciones del Summer institute of Linguistics acerca de pakistn estn exageradas,
ya que en algunos casos consideran como lenguas diferentes lo que son, en realidad, denominaciones distintas
para una misma lengua. as, estima que la cantidad real es de 61 lenguas (rahman, 2010a, 21).
4 para obtener este porcentaje, se ha dividido el nmero de hablantes nativos de indonesio (bahasa Indonesia)
(22.800.000, Lewis, 2009) entre la poblacin total de indonesia, de acuerdo con el censo del ao 2000
(206.300.000 habitantes, vase http://www.bps.go.id/tab_sub/view.php?tabel=1&daftar=1&id_subyek=12¬ab=1).
Los demgrafos de otros pases calculan que este censo infravalora el volumen real de la poblacin del pas; si
estn en lo cierto, el porcentaje de hablantes nativos de indonesio ser an menor.
5 reporters sans frontires, 2010. cuanto ms abajo est un pas en la lista, menor es la libertad de prensa que se
goza en l. como informacin de contexto, diremos que espaa se sita en el puesto 39. y el reino Unido, en el
19..
6 fund for peace, 2010. cuanto ms arriba est un pas en la lista, mayor es su consideracin como estado fallido.
como informacin de contexto, diremos que el reino Unido se sita en el puesto 161. y espaa, en el 151..
diplomticos en todo el sureste insular de asia el indonesio se percibe como una lengua sim-
y fue el vehculo lingstico mediante el cual se ple y, por tanto, poco digna de orgullo (2008,
propag el islam. 190), mientras que Heryanto afirma que la lite
indonesia considera a esta lengua menos de-
posteriormente, el rgimen colonial holands sarrollada que otras (2006, 57).
eligi el malayo como alternativa al neerlands
en los debates parlamentarios cuando se esta- es importante destacar que el xito del indone-
bleci el primer parlamento de las indias orien- sio como lengua nacional ha tenido un precio,
tales neerlandesas a principios del siglo xx. en ya que otras lenguas del pas han sido do-
la dcada de 1920, esta lengua fue elegida minadas o apartadas por ella (alisjahbana,
como medio de unificacin por el naciente mo- 1984, 49). Segn Kaplan y Baldauf (2003, 95),
vimiento de liberacin opuesto al dominio neer- las autoridades han mostrado una preocupa-
lands, ya que consideraban que no provocara cin escasa o nula hacia el declive de las len-
antagonismos entre los abundantes grupos guas regionales, se ha dado una carencia de
tnicos de indonesia; para ello la renombra- nuevas obras de literatura seria en las lenguas
ron como bahasa Indonesia, esto es, lengua regionales y las universidades no han sabido
de indonesia. a continuacin, esta lengua fue atraer estudiantes que desearan estudiarlas. as
sometida a un rpido proceso de codificacin, pues, las otras lenguas de indonesia han dejado
estandarizacin, modernizacin e introduccin de desarrollarse y estn quedando confinadas
en mbitos de uso en los que previamente no a dominios de uso que se estrechan progresi-
haba aparecido (por ejemplo, en novelas). ir- vamente. con escasas excepciones, las dems
nicamente, de 1942 a 1945 se dio un periodo lenguas del pas han desaparecido de los cen-
especialmente intenso de desarrollo del indo- tros educativos.
nesio, coincidiendo con la ocupacin del pas
por parte de los japoneses. para cuando el pas el urdu, la lengua de los musulmanes del norte
obtuvo de nuevo la independencia en 1945, el del subcontinente indio, estuvo asociado du-
indonesio se haba extendido hasta tal extremo rante muchos aos a los dominadores mongo-
que se usaba en los mbitos parlamentario, ju- les de la regin (rahman, 1999). La adminis-
dicial y educativo. tracin colonial britnica adopt una poltica de
dos lenguas: el acceso al ingls quedaba res-
el xito logrado por indonesia en su rechazo tringido a una lite reducida compuesta por los
de la antigua lengua colonial y en el desarrollo cuadros gobernantes y administrativos locales,
de un idioma autctono como lengua nacional mientras que la educacin ofrecida al resto de
es ampliamente reconocido. Kaplan y Baldauf la poblacin (en la medida en que se les ofreca
apuntan que el ascenso de la lengua nacional algn tipo de educacin) se imparta en hindi-
de indonesia, de ser una lengua regional de urdu. esta poltica produjo las siguientes con-
escala relativamente menor [] a una lengua secuencias:
modernizada usada de manera general en indo-
El ingls se convirti en la lengua de poder y
nesia y toda su regin es un gran triunfo poltico
prestigio.
y lingstico (2003, 99). a pesar de este logro,
la poblacin indonesia contempornea parece Con algunas excepciones notables, las len-
contemplar su lengua nacional con bastante indi- guas autctonas fueron prcticamente aban-
ferencia. Lamb y coleman han observado que donadas.
Los musulmanes del norte de la India queda- pales consecuencias de estatus privilegiado del
ron desligados de las races persas y rabes urdu ha sido la resistencia tnica a esta lengua.
de su cultura. (2010a, 22-23)
7 Las llamadas public schools (escuelas pblicas) del reino Unido son, en realidad, costosos centros privados
enlos que se forman nios de un sector muy reducido de la poblacin britnica, as como un nmero
creciente de nios procedentes de las lites sociales de otras partes del mundo.
un rpido aumento en el nmero de estos en indonesia, por otra parte, el ingls es la pri-
centros privados de bajo coste. Su oferta va mera lengua extrajera y como tal constituye
dirigida a padres de la clase trabajadora ms una asignatura importante en el currculo de Se-
alta y de clase media-baja con aspiraciones cundaria. a pesar de ello, esta lengua no cum-
de ascenso social, que no pueden permitirse ple ningn papel oficial en la sociedad indonesia
pagar las tasas impuestas por los centros de y no se habla de manera generalizada. tal vez
lite. Su reclamo principal es la afirmacin de sea an demasiado pronto para saber si se est
que ofrecen enseanza en ingls, aunque empezando a desarrollar una variedad indonesia
esta afirmacin es a menudo dudosa. del ingls (coleman, 1987). no obstante, existe
en el pas un gran inters hacia esta lengua, es-
Madrazas: esta es una categora de institu-
cin educativa muy heterognea. Las ma- pecialmente en las zonas urbanas, y se detecta
drazas proporcionan una educacin orienta- la percepcin generalizada de que el ingls es
da principalmente a los estudios religiosos; la lengua de la modernizacin y la clave de la
algunas son totalmente gratuitas y, por tan- prosperidad material.
to, atraen a sectores muy pobres de la po-
blacin; su lengua vehicular es el rabe, el Sin embargo, los habitantes de indonesia no
urdu o ambas8. gozan de un acceso igualitario al aprendizaje
del ingls:
Shamim (2011) ha descrito el sistema de educa-
propagado por el gobierno, demandado por los
cin en distintas lenguas existente en pakistn
empresarios, difundido por los medios de co-
como una situacin de apartheid lingstico.
municacin, impuesto por los centros escolares
rahman tambin habla de un apartheid edu-
y fomentado por los padres, (el ingls) ocupa un
cativo entre los centros de lite que ofrecen
espacio importante en la incipiente concepcin
educacin en ingls y los centros pblicos con
del mundo de muchos jvenes indonesios, sobre-
educacin en urdu a los que asiste la gran masa pasando con mucho su utilidad prctica en la vida
(2004, 74). en otros lugares, rahman describe diaria [] el nivel de inversin que los jvenes in-
la situacin con tintes catastrficos: donesios dedican a esta lengua [] est limitado
por las desigualdades en la distribucin del capital
[...] al apoyar la lengua inglesa a travs de un cultural, social y econmico [] a largo plazo, la
sistema educativo paralelo y elitista, la lite diri- generalizacin del ingls puede servir nicamente
gente de pakistn acta como aliada de las fuer- para hacer ms profundas esas desigualdades.
zas de la globalizacin, al menos en lo que se (Lamb y coleman, 2008, 189)
refiere a la hegemona del ingls. Las principales
consecuencias de esta poltica son el debilita-
De manera ms o menos simultnea a la pre-
miento de las lenguas autctonas y la rebaja de
paracin del presente artculo, el gobierno de
su estatus. esto, a su vez, perjudica a la diversi-
indonesia introdujo un nuevo tipo de centros
dad lingstica y cultural, debilita an ms a los
desposedos e incrementa la pobreza, colocan- estatales en el sistema educativo. esta modi-
do los trabajos mejor remunerados en manos de ficacin ha supuesto que, en cada uno de los
la lite internacional y la lite de habla inglesa de quinientos distritos del pas, al menos cuatro
las periferias. (2010a, 30) centros ya existentes se conviertan en inter-
8 para una descripcin exhaustiva de las distintas categoras de instituciones educativas existentes en pakistn,
vase rahman (2004).
national Standard Schools (un centro de pri- ningtyas, 2010) y por propiciar la percepcin
maria, uno de la primera etapa de Secunda- de que el indonesio es menos valioso que el
ria, otro de la segunda etapa de Secundaria y ingls (Syukri, 2011).
uno ms de formacin profesional). entre las
caractersticas que distinguen a los internatio- as, en ambos pases el ingls ha adquirido un
nal Standard Schools (o iSS) de los centros valor simblico muy significativo y se ha con-
educativos convencionales se cuentan las si- vertido o est en proceso de hacerlo en la
guientes: lengua de una porcin reducida y poderosa de
la lite social.
El uso del ingls como lengua vehicular, al
menos en las asignaturas de ciencias y Ma-
temticas.
5. poltica lingstica
La libertad para cobrar tasas. y estabilidad social
La recepcin de subvenciones muy genero-
pinnock (2009) seala que, si la lengua vehi-
sas provenientes de la administracin central,
cular usada en el entorno lectivo es la lengua
la regional y la de distrito.
nacional y si solo una pequea minora de la
La libertad para ser muy selectivos con los poblacin usa esa lengua en el mbito familiar,
alumnos. el efecto en la prctica es que se deniega a
por todo ello, se puede afirmar que las iSS la mayora de los nios el acceso a la educa-
constituyen un nuevo tipo de centros educati- cin en la lengua con la que se sienten ms
vos de lite que, al menos en parte, utilizan el cmodos. De acuerdo con sus estimaciones,
ingls como lengua vehicular. como tales, ya el 91,62 % de la poblacin de pakistn y el
se han convertido en la primera eleccin para 90,37 % de la de indonesia tienen lenguas ma-
los hijos del alto funcionariado y de los secto- ternas que no se usan en el sistema educativo
res ms adinerados de cada distrito. coleman (2009,50).
concluye diciendo que las iSS constituyen un
subsidio considerable para el sector ms prs- esta brecha entre la lengua escolar y la familiar
pero de la sociedad (2011,104) y seala la iro- es un factor determinante en las bajas tasas de
na de que los principales beneficiarios de este escolarizacin. Y, aun en el caso de los nios
subsidio sean precisamente aquellos que ms escolarizados, la separacin entre las dos len-
fcilmente pueden costearse cursos privados guas puede hacer que no se formen de manera
de ingls, mientras que los que necesitan de provechosa. el fracaso a la hora de proporcionar
manera ms urgente el ingls para sobrevivir educacin a los nios en edad escolar conduce,
(esto es, los trabajadores que emigran de indo- en ltima instancia, a la aparicin de una masa
nesia a oriente prximo y otras partes del su- de jvenes sin cualificaciones, desempleados y
reste de asia) carecen de medios para acceder frustrados. pinnock identifica cuarenta y cuatro
a la enseanza privada de lenguas extranjeras pases en esta situacin, entre los que se cuen-
(coleman, 2011,105). tan indonesia y pakistn.
se da una brecha lingstica entre el hogar y la a lo largo de este artculo se han examinado
escuela, se produce un alto riesgo de exclu- las consecuencias sociales de descuidar las
sin dramtica del sistema educativo en las lenguas autctonas, de marginar las lenguas
zonas rurales [y] pocas probabilidades de que nacionales y de restringir el acceso a la edu-
se obtenga el objetivo de Desarrollo del Mile- cacin en ingls a las minoras privilegiadas de
nio que postula la generalizacin de la educa- estos dos pases asiticos. evidentemente, el
cin primaria entre todos los nios del mundo valor utilitario que posee el ingls en el contexto
(pinnock, 2009,27). esta categora incluye a de muchos pases en vas de desarrollo es in-
treinta y cuatro pases, entre los cuales estn dudable (vase, por ejemplo, coleman, 2010).
indonesia y pakistn. pero no se est afirmando aqu que el ingls
carezca de valor; antes bien, lo que deseamos
La situacin se hace todava ms severa en pa- poner de manifiesto es que el acceso a esta
ses con un alto nivel de fragmentacin lings- lengua debe ser equitativo; que no debe usar-
tica, ya que en ellos se da el riesgo adicional se como un medio para excluir o discriminar a
de que la mala adecuacin de la lengua lectiva grupos sociales determinados; y que el papel
contribuya a largo plazo a la aparicin de inesta- del ingls dentro del sistema educativo debe
bilidad poltica, social y econmica, y a la crea- considerarse de forma integral, conjugndolo
cin de divisiones entre los grupos lingsticos y con la lengua nacional y con todas las dems
tnicos (pinnock, 2009,27). en esta categora lenguas autctonas.
se encuentran diecinueve pases, entre los cua-
les podemos citar a indonesia y pakistn. Las implicaciones de no hacerlo pueden ser
muy graves.
por ltimo, pinnock identifica once pases que,
de manera adicional a todas las caractersticas
ya expuestas, presentan adems un alto nivel
de fragilidad o conflictividad. en estos pases, Referencias bibliogrficas citadas
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como indonesia parecen ser vulnerables por concept?. The Language Teacher, 11 (14), pp.
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divisiones sociales. language-development.
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355
1 With 238 million people (BpS, 2010), indonesia is the fourth largest country in the world, whilst pakistan, with
approximately 176 million people (Statistics Division, 2011), is in sixth place. these official population figures tend
to be lower than the estimates made by international agencies such as the United nations and the World Bank.
2 the calculations made by the pew forum assume total populations which are larger than those shown in official
figures.
3 rahman says that the SiL estimate for pakistan is exaggerated because several language names actually refer
to the same language. He believes that the correct number is 61 (rahman, 2010a, p.21).
4 this is the number of native speakers of Bahasa indonesia 22.8 million (Lewis, 2009) - calculated as a percentage
of the total population of indonesia according to the 2000 census 206.3 million (http://www.bps.go.id/tab_sub/
view.php?tabel=1&daftar=1&id_subyek=12¬ab=1). foreign demographers believe that the 2000 census
underestimated the true size of the population. if this is the case then the percentage of native speakers of Bahasa
indonesia is even lower.
Both countries have had the experience of being there are also as one might expect some
colonised by european nations. the Dutch first significant differences. for example, although
established trading posts on the west coast of the national languages of both countries are the
Sumatra and the north coast of Java in the early first languages of only small minorities, in other
17th century. the British presence in india also respects the histories of Bahasa indonesia and
began with the establishment of trading posts Urdu have been rather different.
in the early 17th century. expansion of influence
covering the territory of india as it is today Bahasa indonesia is a relatively new language.
took place over the following two centuries. Malay was originally the language of island
However, the British did not achieve control of communities in the straits between the Malay
the provinces which constitute contemporary peninsula and Sumatra and of other Malay
pakistan until the 1840s. communities in the region. Later, for many
centuries, it became the lingua franca for
B o t h I n d o n e s i a a n d P a k i s t a n h a v e
trading and diplomatic purposes throughout
experienced military regimes in the past,
insular Southeast asia and was the medium for
indonesia for a period of 32 years until 1998
disseminating islam.
and pakistan intermittently until 2008. Both
countries are now democratic, but there are Later still, Malay was selected by the Dutch
continuing challenges to the sustainability of colonial regime as an alternative to Dutch
their democratic systems. for use in debates when the first parliament
Although the media are highly critical of of the Dutch east indies was established
government in both countries, the 2010 5 at the beginning of the 20th century. Malay
press freedom index ranks indonesia 117th was then chosen by the nascent anti-Dutch
from 178 countries in terms of press freedom, liberation movement in the 1920s as a
whilst pakistan is ranked 151st . unifying medium which would not antagonise
any of the indonesias many ethnic groups;
The 2010 Failed States Index places Pakistan
for this purpose, it was renamed Bahasa
at number 10 and indonesia at number 61
indonesia, the language of indonesia. the
from 177 countries 6. in the failed States
language then underwent a rapid process of
index, pakistan scores particularly poorly
codification, standardisation, modernisation
for its security apparatus, whilst indonesias
and introduction into realms of use where it
worst area of performance is in the uneven
had previously been unknown (for example,
economic development experienced by
novels). ironically, a particularly intense period
different sectors of society.
of development of Bahasa indonesia occurred
between 1942 and 1945 when indonesia was
3. national languages occupied by the Japanese. By the time of
independence in 1945, Bahasa indonesia had
Besides the demographic, linguistic, historical grown to such an extent that it was employed
and political parallels between the two countries, in parliament, the law courts and schools.
5 reporters sans frontires (2010). the lower the ranking the less press freedom a country enjoys. for comparison,
Spain is in 39th place and the U.K. is 19th in the list.
6 fund for peace (2010). the higher the ranking the nearer a country is to being a failed state. for comparison
the U.K. is in 161st position and Spain is 151st.
the success achieved by indonesia in rejecting english was restricted to a small elite cadre of
the former colonial language and developing local rulers and administrators whilst education
an indigenous tongue as the national language for the rest of the population (in so far as it
is widely acknowledged. Kaplan and Baldauf was provided at all) was delivered through the
suggest that: medium of Hindi-Urdu. the consequences of
this policy were that:
The rise of Indonesias national language
from a relatively small regional language ... to a English became the language of power and
modernised language widely spoken in Indonesia prestige.
and the region is a major political and linguistic
W ith some notable exceptions, local
triumph. (2003, p.99)
languages were largely neglected.
Despite this success, the public in contemporary The Muslims of North India were cut off
indonesia appears to be largely indifferent to its from the persian and arabic sources of their
national language. Lamb and coleman have culture.
observed that Bahasa indonesia is widely
The Hindus of North India were distanced
perceived to be a simple language and
from the Sanskrit origins of their culture. as
consequently nothing to be particularly proud of
early as the 1880s, a British colonial official
(2008, p.190), whilst Heryanto claims that the
criticised this policy, noting that as a result of
indonesian elite believe their language to be less
its introduction, education was ... degraded
developed than other languages (2006, p.57). by us [the British] from an object of mental
and moral culture to a means for purely
it is important to note that there has been a price worldly ambition.
to be paid for the success of Bahasa indonesia Leitner, 1882:ii
as a national language. this is that the other
languages of indonesia have been dominated in india today, Urdu is just one of the 75 different
or pushed aside (alisjahbana, 1984, p. 49). languages taught in schools and one of the
according to Kaplan and Baldauf (2003, p.95), 31 languages used as media of instruction
the government has shown little concern (Meganathan, 2011). in contemporary pakistan,
over regional language decline; there has however, Urdu is the national language and
been a lack of new major literature in regional also the medium of instruction in state schools.
languages and there has been a failure by the But, in the context of pakistan, Urdu is also the
universities to attract students to study these first language of the Mohajirs, the descendants
languages. the other languages of indonesia, of the Muslim refugees who left india at the
then, have stopped developing and are time of partition in 1947 and who settled in
contracting into ever narrower domains of use. large numbers in the province of Sindh and,
With only a few exceptions, the other languages in particular, in the city of Karachi. Whereas
have disappeared from indonesias schools. Urdu was chosen as the national language for
its ethnic neutrality, in fact the opposite has
Urdu, the language of the Muslims of northem occurred. as rahman explains:
india, was associated for many centuries with ... since a very powerful section of the
the Mughal rulers of north india (rahman, bureaucracy (being Mohajirs) spoke Urdu as its
1999). the British colonial administration in mother tongue, there was an element of cultural
india adopted a two language policy; access to hegemony concerning the special status of Urdu.
... One major consequence of Urdus privileged establishment of low-cost private schools
status has been the ethnic resistance to it. which charge modest fees; they aim to cater
(2010a, pp.22-23) for aspirational upper working class and lower
middle class parents who are unable to afford
the fees demanded by the elite schools. their
4. the role of english main selling point is their claim to be english
medium, but these claims must be treated
We come now to the position of english in with care.
pakistan and indonesia. in pakistan, english is
the language of government, the military and Madaris: a very heterogeneous category of
higher education. it is the language of power institution, madaris (plural of madrassa) provide
and the language of an elite class that has an education with a major orientation towards
dominated the country since independence. a religious studies; some charge no fees at all
distinctive pakistani variety of english exists and and so are attractive for the very poor; the
has been described (rahman, 2010b). medium of instruction is arabic and/or Urdu8.
Schools in pakistan fall into four categories, the Shamim (2011) has described the current
defining characteristic of which is the medium of language-in-education system in pakistan as
instruction that is used: being one of linguistic apartheid. rahman,
too, talks of educational apartheid between
Elite private schools: modelled on the British the english-medium elite schools and the Urdu-
public school 7 system; fees are extremely medium schools for the masses (2004, p.74).
expensive; the medium of instruction is
elsewhere, rahman describes the situation in
english.
cataclysmic terms:
State schools: they serve the mass of the ... by supporting English through a parallel system
population; there are no fees; the medium of elite schooling, Pakistans ruling elite acts as an
of instruction in most parts of the country is ally of the forces of globalisation at least as far as
Urdu, but Sindhi is used in schools in Sindh the hegemony of English is concerned. The major
whilst pashto is used in schools in Khyber consequence of this policy is the weakening of local
pakhtunkhwa. in 2010 the Government of languages and the lowering of their status. This,
pakistan decreed that english should be in turn, opposes linguistic and cultural diversity,
used as the medium of instruction for the weakens the have-nots even further and increases
poverty by leaving the best-paid jobs in the hands
teaching of science and mathematics in these
of the international elite and the English-using elite
schools from the primary level, although there
of the peripheries. (2010a, p.30)
are almost no teachers who possess the
language skills required for this.
in indonesia, on the other hand, english is the
Non-elite English-medium schools: in recent first foreign language and is an important
years there has been a rapid increase in the subject on the secondary school curriculum.
7 the so-called public schools in the U.K. are expensive private schools which provide an education for the children
of a very small proportion of the British population and, increasingly, for the children of elite social groups from
other parts of the world.
8 for a comprehensive discussion of the different categories of education institution in pakistan, see rahman (2004).
at about the same time that this article was being in both countries english has acquired very
prepared, the Government of indonesia introduced significant symbolic value and has become, or
a new type of state school into the education
is in the process of becoming, the language of a
system. the government decreed that in each of
small and powerful elite section of society.
the 500 districts in the country at least four existing
schools were to be converted into international
Standard Schools (one each at primary, junior
5. Language policy and social
secondary, senior secondary and vocational
secondary levels). the characteristics which mark
stability
the international Standard Schools (iSS) as distinct
pinnock (2009) points out that, if the medium
from mainstream state schools include:
of instruction in schools is the national language
The use of English as the medium of instruction,
and if only a small minority of the population
at least in science and mathematics.
use that language at home, then in effect the
The freedom to charge fees. majority of children are being denied access to
The provision of extremely generous subsidies education in the language with which they are
from the central, provincial and district levels most at ease. She estimates that 91.62 % of
of government. the population of pakistan and 90.37 % of the
population of indonesia speak mother tongues the core of pinnocks argument, then, is that,
which are not used in education (2009, p.50). excluding linguistic communities from education
because they do not understand the language
this gap between the languages of home and used to teach contributes to political instability
school contributes to poor participation rates in and conflict (2009, p.8). Both pakistan and
education. the home-school language gap may indonesia are seen to be vulnerable in this way.
also mean that even if children are in school they in addition, we have argued that the creation
may not be learning much of value. a failure to of exclusive english-medium zones within
educate school-age children leads eventually the education systems of these two countries
to the creation of a body of uneducated, exacerbates social division.
unemployed and frustrated young people.
in this paper we have examined the social
pinnock identifies 44 such countries, among
consequences of neglecting indigenous
which are indonesia and pakistan.
languages, marginalising national languages
and restricting access to english-medium
the situation is more acute in less developed
education to privileged minorities in two major
countries with large rural populations. in such
asian countries. of course, there is no doubting
contexts, if there is a language gap between
the utilitarian value which english has in many
home and school, then there is a high risk of,
developing country contexts (see, for example,
dramatic exclusion from education in rural areas
coleman 2010). the argument here is not that
[and] little chance of achieving the Millennium english is not valuable. rather, we wish to
Development Goal of primary school completion argue that access to english must be equitable;
for all, (pinnock, 2009, p. 27). thirty-four english must not be used as a means to exclude
countries fall into this category, among which or discriminate against particular social groups;
are indonesia and pakistan. and the role of english in the education system
must be considered holistically, together with the
the situation becomes even more severe national language and with all other indigenous
in countries with a high level of linguistic languages.
fractionalisation. in these countries, there is an
additional risk of, inappropriate school language the implications of doing otherwise are severe.
contributing to long term political, social and
economic instability and divisions along linguistic
and ethnic lines, (pinnock, 2009, p. 27).
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La educacin multilinge:
retos y recomendaciones
Susy ndaruhutse y Jelena plantak
365
Las dos lenguas ms estudiadas en el mundo acadmico, entre ellas Southern and eastern
son el ingls y el espaol (Woodard-Maderazo, african consortium for Monitoring Quality (Sa-
2007) y ambas estn viendo cmo su estatus cMeQ ii), trends in international Mathematics
de lengua franca se refuerza de forma constan- and Science Study (tiMSS) y progress in inter-
te. La existencia de lenguas transnacionales de national reading Literacy Study (pirLS) indican
prestigio presenta beneficios claros, ya que que, para los alumnos escolarizados, el hecho
facilita el camino a la comprensin, la asocia- de que su primera lengua no sea la usada en el
cin y la cooperacin en el mundo empresarial, mbito escolar tiene un fuerte impacto negati-
financiero y educativo, y sienta las bases de la vo (vase Mothibeli, 2005; cueto et al., 2008;
comunidad. Sin embargo, el rpido avance de Mullis et al., 2008).
las lenguas globales tambin crea una brecha
ms concreta: la existente entre aquellos que Los estudios internacionales sobre aprendizaje
dominan el ingls o el espaol y aquellos otros (vanse, por ejemplo: alidou et al., 2006; Ben-
que no lo hacen. para los sistemas educativos son, 2004; cummins, 1998; cummins, 2000;
de todo el mundo, esto se est convirtiendo en Heugh, 2002, 2005a, 2005b; Jhingran, 2005;
un problema de importancia creciente. McLaughlin, 1992; Save the children, 2009; SiL
international, 2008; UneSco, 2006; UneSco,
el idioma es un eslabn perdido que est 2007; Walter, 2009; y Williams, 1998) demues-
afectando al acceso a la educacin y a los es- tran que, en los primeros aos de escolariza-
tndares de logro educativo en los pases en cin (educacin infantil y primaria), la ensean-
desarrollo. como demuestran los estudios lle- za en una lengua distinta a la materna exige un
vados a cabo por el cfBt education trust y esfuerzo excesivo para muchos de los alum-
Save the children, no se trata simplemente de nos, especialmente si se enfrentan tambin
extender la enseanza de lenguas de prestigio a otros condicionantes como la situacin de
a la mayora de los alumnos, sino de compren- pobreza, las deficiencias del entorno educativo
der que las lenguas pueden ser tanto un meca- o la escasa o nula cualificacin acadmica de
nismo de acceso como una barrera (pinnock, sus progenitores. estas investigaciones tam-
2009 y 2011). bin muestran que el aprendizaje de los nios
se basa en la asociacin de nuevos conoci-
Un estudio realizado sobre casi ciento sesenta mientos a conceptos que ya les resultan fami-
grupos lingsticos residentes en diversos pa- liares en su propia lengua y que este proceso
ses (Smits etal., 2008) muestra que la variable se dificulta sobremanera cuando se introduce
de que los nios sean o no educados en su pri- repentinamente una lengua poco familiar en el
mera lengua, o lengua materna, tiene una gran entorno escolar. Segn las investigaciones de
influencia en la asistencia o absentismo escolar la UneSco (1953), el aprendizaje en la lengua
del alumno, especialmente en las zonas rurales. materna es la mejor opcin para optimizar los
adems, el hecho de que la lengua utilizada resultados acadmicos, las habilidades de ra-
para impartir el currculo educativo sea diferente zonamiento crtico, la confianza en uno mismo
a la que muchos alumnos usan en sus familias y el desarrollo social.
puede reducir su rendimiento escolar, sobre
todo si los nios no tienen acceso regular a esa el hecho de que un gran nmero de nios, es-
lengua fuera del mbito educativo. Diversas pecialmente en pases en vas de desarrollo,
evaluaciones transnacionales del rendimiento est siendo educado en una lengua ajena tie-
ne como consecuencia la exclusin o el escaso Muchos de los pases con mayor diversidad
rendimiento educativo de un alto porcentaje de lingstica usan una sola lengua nacional o
alumnos. con toda probabilidad, esto retrasar internacional para escolarizar a sus alum-
el desarrollo econmico de estos pases y di- nos. estos pases, denominados a menudo
ficultar su capacidad para convertirse en ac- pases de alta fragmentacin lingstica,
tores clave de la economa del conocimiento presentan 54 millones de nios no escola-
global debido a la pobre competencia de sus rizados, lo que equivale a un 58 % de sus
habitantes en una segunda lengua, a menudo nios en edad de recibir educacin primaria
internacional (pinnock, 2009). y a un 72 % de todos los nios no escolariza-
dos del mundo (alesina et al., 2003; Lewis y
estos problemas se pueden abordar eficaz- Lockheed, 2006; UneSco, 2008). estas es-
mente proporcionando a los alumnos al menos tadsticas proporcionan una slida base para
seis aos de educacin en su lengua materna, defender que la lengua de escolarizacin se
con una introduccin gradual de otras lenguas convierta en una prioridad para todas las po-
desde una etapa educativa temprana. este en- lticas educativas que pretendan responder a
foque, que se est adoptando cada vez ms en los objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio y a las
una gran variedad de entornos, supone que los metas marcadas por el programa education
nios comiencen la escolarizacin en su primera for all (efa). Los pases de alto riesgo, en los
lengua y que empiecen a aprender la segunda que la eleccin de la lengua usada en el entor-
en un momento posterior. el xito de esta estra- no escolar puede tener graves consecuencias
tegia se refleja en una mayor competencia en la para el acceso a la educacin y los logros de
lengua materna de los alumnos, un mayor de- los alumnos, as como secuelas a largo plazo
sarrollo de las habilidades en la segunda lengua para el desarrollo econmico y poltico, son
y un mejor rendimiento en todas las reas curri- aquellos que padecen:
culares (Walter, 2009; Dumatog y Dekker, 2003).
Sin embargo, no existe un consenso generali- alto nivel de fragilidad poltica o conflictividad,
zado sobre el valor de la educacin bilinge o
elevada fragmentacin lingstica,
multilinge basada en la lengua materna1 para
superar las deficiencias educativas relacionadas bajo nivel de desarrollo, con gran porcentaje
con la lengua usada en el mbito escolar. de poblacin rural,
1 La educacin multilinge basada en la lengua materna (o MtBMLe, segn sus siglas en ingls) es un tipo
deeducacin bsica activa y centrada en los alumnos que comienza en la lengua materna y va introduciendo
gradualmente otra u otras lenguas, de manera estructurada y ligada a la comprensin lograda por los alumnos en
su primera lengua o lengua materna. este enfoque supone que la enseanza se imparta principalmente en lengua
materna durante al menos seis aos, de manera paralela a la introduccin de otras lenguas, para obtener
resultados educativos ptimos (pinnock, 2009).
alta proporcin o cantidad de alumnos sin ac- (incluso en el aprendizaje de una segunda
ceso a la educacin en su lengua materna. lengua).
estas recomendaciones no siempre son fciles deben presentar a los lderes polticos y admi-
de cumplir, ya que puede aparecer un rechazo nistrativos resultados obtenidos en programas
a la idea de la enseanza en lengua materna en piloto o en pases con contextos similares que
diversos niveles. Los investigadores del cfBt demuestren que el uso de la lengua materna
education trust y Save the children, en sus como lengua vehicular durante el mayor n-
conversaciones con docentes, personal de di- mero de cursos de primaria posible, mientras
versas onG y estudiosos, detectaron el miedo se introduce gradualmente la segunda lengua,
recurrente (compartido por las autoridades, los ayuda a los alumnos a aprender la segunda
equipos directivos de los centros y los padres lengua de manera ms rpida y efectiva. Del
de alumnos) a que la reduccin en el uso de mismo modo, esos alumnos presentan un me-
la segunda lengua en las escuelas hiciera a los jor resultado en las pruebas de logro, ya que
jvenes menos competentes en lenguas que su comprensin conceptual es ms alta y eso
pueden tener un estatus privilegiado a nivel re- hace que la segunda lengua les resulte ms f-
gional, nacional o internacional. Los funciona- cil de captar.
rios locales, especialmente en vietnam, temen
poner en prctica cualquier poltica educativa Los proyectos multilinges tambin pueden
sin aprobacin del gobierno central. tambin verse obstaculizados por los cambios constan-
se dan problemas para la contratacin de do- tes en el personal docente mientras se prue-
centes competentes en las lenguas maternas ban y establecen los nuevos enfoques educati-
de los alumnos y dudas en cuanto al coste de vos. este problema puede abordarse mediante
poner en funcionamiento sistemas multilin- el desarrollo de directrices claras para la im-
ges complejos. en ltima instancia, el mayor plementacin de las nuevas polticas y la for-
problema es la falta de demanda por parte de macin en cascada para desarrollar la capa-
las altas esferas de los sistemas educativos cidad de la plantilla y los actores comunitarios
(pinnock, 2011). en todos los niveles. el xito de los esquemas
multilinges se ve extremadamente favoreci-
el principal motivo del fallo de los programas do si se encuentran y forman adecuadamente
de educacin multilinge parece ser la falta de docentes que puedan usar con seguridad la
concienciacin y comprensin sobre su ver- lengua materna de los alumnos, especialmente
dadera importancia (pinnock, 2011). as, se en los primeros cursos. es crucial convencer a
Bilingual Education in Sub-Saharan Africa. pars: What to Do About It. Washington D.c.: center
association for the Development of education in for Global Development.
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banco mundiaL (1995). Costs and Benefits of Bilingual Quality of Basic Education in Zambia. pars:
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b enson , c. (2004). The Importance of Mother about Second-Language Learning: What Every
Tongue-Based Schooling for Educational Quality. Teacher Needs to Unlearn. educational practice
Documento de antecedentes para el Global report 5. Santa cruz: University of california.
Monitoring report del efa 2005. pars: UneSco.
m otHibeLi , a. (2005). Cross-Country Achievement
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Inequalities: The Cognitive Skills Gap for Children to 2002. A Quantitative Analysis of Education
in Four Countries. oxford: Young Lives. Disponible Systems in Southern and Eastern Africa.
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Multilingual education:
challenges and recommendations
Susy ndaruhutse & Jelena plantak
373
the top two most studied languages in the remain in education, there is a strong negative
world are english and Spanish (Woodard- impact on educational achievement if their first
Maderazo, 2007), both steadily increasing their language is not used for teaching and learning
status as powerful global linguae francae. the (see Mothibeli, 2005; cueto etal., 2008; Mullis
result of prestige cross-national languages etal., 2008).
has some clear benefits: oiling the wheels of
understanding, of partnership and collaboration international research on childrens learning (for
in business, finance and education and example, alidou etal., 2006; Benson, 2004;
creating the basis of community. Such a rapid
cummins, 1998; cummins, 2000; Heugh, 2002,
establishment of global languages, however,
2005a, 2005b; Jhingran, 2005; McLaughlin,
also creates a more concrete divide between
1992; Save the children, 2009; SiL international,
those with english/Spanish and those without.
2008; UneSco, 2006; UneSco, 2007; Walter,
for education systems worldwide, this is an
2009; and Williams, 1998) demonstrates that
increasingly important problem.
in the early years of schooling (pre-school and
Language is the missing link in work to improve primary), teaching in a language which is not
access and standards of education attainment the mother tongue of children is often very
across the developing world. as research demanding for children to deal with, especially
carried out by cfBt education trust and Save when they face other challenges such as
the children has illustrated, the issue is not one poverty, poor learning conditions and they
of just more prestige language education for the have parents with little or no formal education.
many, but of understanding that language can this research also shows that children learn
be both an enabler and a barrier (pinnock, 2009; best when linking new knowledge to concepts
pinnock, 2011). that are already familiar to them in their own
language; this becomes more challenging when
evidence from a multi-country study of nearly an unfamiliar language is suddenly introduced
160 language groups by Smits etal. (2008) during schooling. evidence from UneSco
found that whether or not a child is taught in their (1953) demonstrates that learning in the mother
first language, or mother tongue, has a strong
tongue is the best option for children in relation
impact on whether that child attends school,
to learning outcomes, critical thinking skills,
with the impact being seen most strongly in
confidence and social development.
rural areas. in addition, the language used
to deliver the school curriculum reduces the
providing primary schooling in an unfamiliar
educational performance of many of those who
language to many children particularly in
do not use it at home, particularly those who
developing countries, is resulting in the exclusion
do not have regular access to it outside school.
a range of multi-country international learning or underperformance of large numbers of these
outcomes assessments, including the Southern children. this is likely to delay the economic
and eastern african consortium for Monitoring growth of such countries and their ability to be
Quality (SacMeQ ii), the trends in international key players in the global knowledge economy
Mathematics and Science Study (tiMSS) and due to their failure to achieve second language
the progress in international reading Literacy (often international language) competency
Study (pirLS), indicate that for children who (pinnock, 2009).
these problems can be addressed successfully Goals and education for all targets. High risk
by providing at least six years of mother tongue countries, where language of instruction may
education, with gradual introduction of other have severe consequences for education
languages from an early stage. this approach access and achievement, as well as longer
is being progressively adopted in a range of term economic and political fallout, include
settings, with significant success where children those with:
being taught in their first language and having
High levels of fragility or conflict
second language introduced at the later stage
improves mother tongue competency, second High linguistic fractionalisation
language skills and overall performance across
Less developed countries with large rural
the curriculum (Walter, 2009; Dumatog and
populations; and
Dekker, 2003). However, there is not a strong
enough consensus over the value of mother Large numbers or proportion of population
tongue-based bilingual or multilingual education1 without access to education in mother
to deliver the shifts that are needed to overcome tongue.
the education failures that are being experienced
in relation to school language. alesina et al. (2003) found that divisions
between ethnic and linguistic groups contribute
Many of the worlds most linguistically diverse significantly to weaker institutions and slow
countries use a single national or international economic growth, while Stewart etal. (2006)
language for schooling. these countries, argue that all forms of social exclusion can
often referred to as highly linguistically potentially lead to violence.
fractionalised, account for 54 million out-of-
school children equivalent to 58 % of primary- in many low and middle-income countries,
school aged children and 72 % of out-of- education systems face many challenges
school children worldwide (alesina et al., including poor quality teaching, poor school
2003; Lewis and Lockheed, 2006; UneSco, infrastructure with limited equipment and
2008). these statistics provide an important teaching/learning materials, large class sizes,
rationale for language of instruction to be a and many children facing poverty and poor
strong priority for education strategies focused health. in light of this, inappropriate language
on reaching the Millennium Development of instruction is relatively easy to remove and
1 Mother tongue based multilingual education (MtBMLe) is a learner-centred, active basic education which starts
inthe mother tongue and gradually introduces one or more other languages in a structured manner, linked
tochildrens existing understanding in their first language or mother tongue. teaching predominantly in the mother
tongue for at least six years, alongside the development of other languages, is required for this approach to deliver
high quality learning outcomes (pinnock, 2009).
placing language at the centre of international cummins, J. (1998) Beyond Adversarial Discourse:
endeavours to improve the reach and quality of Searching for Common Ground in the Education
education for the most affected countries. of Bilingual Students. presentation to the california
State Board of education.
When planned and resourced well, mother . (2000) BICS and CALP. http://www.iteachilearn.
tongue-based bilingual or multilingual education com/cummins.bicscalp.html.
can have a substantial positive impact on DfiD. (2008) Africa Factsheet. London: DfiD.
education access and quality. the evidence is Dumatog, r. and Dekker, D. (2003) First Language
clear that failing to start this process is taking a Education in Lubuagan, Northern Philippines.
severe toll on educational access and delivery Manila: SiL international. http://www.sil.org/
of outcomes in many countries. international asia/ldc/parallel_papers/dumatog_and_dekker.
collaboration is urgently required to support these pdf.
processes. Language is not an issue limited to Dutcher, n. (2003) Promise and Perils of Mother
a few communities, a few groups, or a few Tongue Education. Washington D.c.: centre for
countries. it affects every aspect and outcome applied Linguistics.
of education systems worldwide. for millions of Heugh, K. (2002) The Case Against Bilingual and
children, mother-tongue education represents Multilingual Education in South Africa. praeSa
one of the biggest gateways to achieving quality occasional papers no. 6. pretoria: praeSa.
education and the opportunity of a better life. . (2005a) Mother tongue education is Best. HSRC
Review 3/3. September 2005. pretoria: Human
Further papers on the topic of multilingual education Sciences research council.
Mullis, i., Martin, M. and foy, p. (with olson, J., Policy Implications. oxford: centre for research
preuschoff, c., erberber, e., arora, a. and Galia, on inequality, Human Security and ethnicity
J.) (2008) Chapter 4: Students Backgrounds and (criSe).
Attitudes Towards Mathematics. chestnut Hill,
UneSco. (1953) The Use of Vernacular Languages in
Ma: tiMSS & pirLS international Study center,
Education. paris: UneSco.
Boston college.
. (2006) promoting Literacy in Multilingual Settings.
patrinos, H. and velez, e. (1996) Costs and Benefits
Bangkok: UneSco.
of Bilingual Education in Guatemala: A Partial
Analysis. Human capital Development Working . (2007) Advocacy Kit for Promoting Multilingual
paper no. 74. Washington D.c.: World Bank. Education: Including the Excluded. Bangkok:
UneSco.
pinnock, H. (2009) Language and Education: The
Missing Link. reading: cfBt and Save the . (2008) Improving the Quality of Mother Tongue-
children. Based Literacy and Learning: Case Studies
from Asia, Africa, and South America. Bangkok:
. (2011) Reflecting Language Diversity in Childrens
UneSco.
Schooling: Moving From Why Multilingual
Education to How. reading: cfBt and Save the Walter, S. (2009) Looking for Efficiencies in Mother
children. Tongue Education in Guatemala. Dallas: Graduate
Save the children. (2009) Steps Towards Learning: institute of applied Linguistics.
A Guide to Overcoming Language Barriers in Williams, e. (1998) Investigating Bilingual Literacy:
Childrens Education. London: Save the children. Evidence from Malawi and Zambia. Serial no. 24.
SiL international. (2008) Why Languages Matter: London: DfiD.
Meeting Millennium Development Goals Through Woodard-Maderazo, J. (2007) Spanish: Second
Local Languages. Dallas: SiL. Most Studied Language Worldwide. vivirlatino
Smits, J., Huisman, J. and Kruijff, K. (2008) Home (online) on 27 april 2007. http://vivirlatino.
Language and Education in the Developing World. com/2007/04/27/spanish-second-most-studied-
Background paper for the efa Global Monitoring language-worldwide.php. Last accessed:
report 2009, overcoming inequality: Why 31/03/11.
Governance Matters. paris: UneSco. World Bank. (1995) Costs and Benefits of Bilingual
Stewart, f., Barron, M., Brown, G. and Hartwell, M. Education in Guatemala. Hco Dissemination note
(2006) Social Exclusion and Conflict: Analysis and no. 60. Washington D.c.: the World Bank.
Instituto Cervantes
Los paralelismos entre el mundo que habla ingls y el mundo que habla espaol son mltiples
y relevantes: se trata de dos mbitos lingsticos internacionales, con importantes comunidades
herederas de procesos descolonizadores, con gran capacidad para dar a conocer sus patrones
culturales y con una notable aceptacin de sus lenguas para su aprendizaje y uso en muy diversos
mbitos comunicativos. Las diferencias entre ambos mundos, por otra parte, son patentes en tr-
minos cuantitativos o cualitativos, pero no por ello deben interpretarse como causa para la disputa
de espacios lingsticos. Los datos que esta obra ofrece, abundantes y diversos, son la mejor
fotografa de la presencia internacional de nuestras lenguas en diferentes dominios geogrficos y
sociopolticos. El deseo del Instituto Cervantes, sin embargo, no es que estas pginas queden en la
pura descripcin, sino que los datos sean punto de partida para la reflexin responsable y para el
establecimiento de criterios operativos e institucionales con la mirada puesta en el futuro.
Los estudios y anlisis que aqu se han reunido, todos ellos firmados por prestigiosos expertos en
sus respectivas materias, presentan con claridad las fortalezas de nuestras comunidades lings-
ticas en diversos campos: social, econmico, poltico, cultural. Estos puntos fuertes se revelan en
la demografa, en el volumen de las transacciones comerciales o en la influencia de las lenguas
para establecer puentes de comunicacin entre naciones. As, nuestra obra permite entresacar,
como primera conclusin, que la coexistencia del ingls y el espaol podra interpretarse desde un
planteamiento ecolingstico, donde las comunidades de hablantes se insertan en ecosistemas con
necesidades y expectativas sociolingsticas diferentes. Tampoco es descartable la interpretacin
desde un modelo satelital, en la lnea de la propuesta hecha por Louis-Jean Calvet desde los aos
noventa, en la que el ingls ocupa una posicin hipercentral y el espaol se instala en una segunda
rbita, en convivencia con decenas de lenguas centrales y perifricas. A partir de esta interpretacin,
los territorios hispanohablantes han de ser conscientes de la posicin que ocupa su comunidad
lingstica y responsabilizarse de sus acciones polticas y econmicas, por las repercusiones que
tienen sobre el ecosistema o sobre el conjunto orbital, y ms cuando algunos especialistas apuntan
a la progresiva consolidacin internacional de cinco grandes lenguas durante las prximas dcadas,
entre las que estn el espaol y el ingls, junto al chino, el hindi y el rabe.
380
Los informes de este Word for Word / Palabra por palabra tambin ponen de manifiesto las debili-
dades de la lengua espaola en el contexto idiomtico internacional. Su dficit de uso y aprecio en
el mbito de las tecnologas, la ciencia y la edicin, as como en los organismos internacionales es
evidente, especialmente en los europeos. En este caso, no se trata de conseguir que se deje de es-
cribir en otras lenguas para pasar a la escritura en espaol; se trata de no depreciar la investigacin,
la ciencia y la edicin que se produce en espaol, comenzando por los propios pases hispanoha-
blantes y por los organismos a los que pertenecen, y se trata de saber que la comunicacin inter-
nacional no fluye en un solo plano, sino en planos superpuestos con distinto grado de penetracin
social y profesional, que incluyen desde la comunicacin entre selectos grupos de cientficos, hasta
la divulgacin masiva de conocimientos, pasando por la comunicacin en reuniones sectoriales y
publicaciones de muy diferentes alcances.
Hay an una tercera conclusin general que no desmerece en nada a las anteriores. El anlisis de la
realidad internacional revela las bondades del conocimiento de idiomas y la enorme dimensin de un
dominio conjunto de las lenguas inglesa y espaola, si bien no tienen por qu ser estas las nicas.
Todos ganamos sabiendo ms lenguas, especialmente cuando responden a nuestras necesidades
y expectativas, y todos ganamos adoptando una actitud de receptividad y aproximacin hacia otras
culturas, como la anglo o la hispana, evidentemente, pero tambin hacia las culturas con las que
estas conviven. No parece posible un acercamiento entre pueblos y personas si el aprendizaje de
los idiomas no va acompaado de un conocimiento y reconocimiento de sus respectivas culturas.
381
British Council
Word for Word / Palabra por palabra ana a un grupo de expertos pensadores y profesionales con
un diverso rango de intereses y experiencias para arrojar luz sobre los factores clave en el desarrollo
del ingls y el espaol como lenguas globales, sobre cmo funcionan las lenguas de forma aislada y
en contacto con la economa global, y especular sobre su impacto futuro a medida que esta cambia
hacia nuevas reas de preponderancia.
Word for Word / Palabra por palabra estudia estas cuestiones desde muchas perspectivas y orien-
taciones: desde el enfoque de los reguladores; tocando cuestiones relativas al sistema educativo
como consecuencia de decisiones de polticas pblicas; haciendo un esquema de cmo cambia la
lengua a lo largo del tiempo y de la forma en que est ntimamente ligada a la identidad; compren-
diendo cmo afecta a las oportunidades econmicas de los individuos y empresas; y examinando
cmo interaccionan el ingls y el espaol con otras lenguas, tanto dentro de las fronteras de los
pases en donde se hablan tradicionalmente como ms all de estas.
Estas orientaciones son las que hacen de Word for Word / Palabra por palabra una recopilacin tan
original. Nuestros excelentes colaboradores esclarecen considerablemente el paisaje de la lengua
y la sociedad, tanto desde una perspectiva ascendente como descendente. Los colaboradores
formulan crticas que cuestionan ciertas polticas educativas que privilegian a las lites en pases
en desarrollo, delinean las oportunidades que ofrece el multilingismo en la UE y examinan de qu
forma el dominio de la lengua inglesa y espaola, como lenguas globales, puede ofrecer ventajas
significativas a estudiantes que se desplazan dentro y entre mercados.
Todas las lenguas cambian a lo largo del tiempo. El cambio en la lengua, como en la sociedad,
es un proceso inevitable. Aunque algunas pueden resentirse por ello, en la mayora de los casos
se trata de una forma de refrescar y darles nuevo vigor, y de proveer nuevas y sutiles diferencias
de expresin que refuerzan nuestra habilidad para comunicarnos y enriquecer nuestra visin de la
vida, las literaturas y las culturas (en sentido amplio) del mundo.
Comprender cmo cambian las lenguas en el tiempo es importante para organizaciones como el
British Council y el Instituto Cervantes, quienes consideran que la promocin y el apoyo a la en-
seanza y aprendizaje efectivos del ingls y el espaol es central para sus respectivas misiones.
El British Council Espaa tiene como objetivos apoyar y mejorar la enseanza y el aprendizaje del
ingls en todo el pas, servir de fuente de capacitacin y, cuando sea apropiado, actuar como la
autoridad que convoca y modera el debate y la discusin sobre buenas prcticas y formas de com-
partirlas de manera efectiva.
382
Esta creencia subraya nuestro compromiso con el proyecto Language Rich Europe, propuesto con
tanta claridad en varios de los trabajos de esta publicacin. Language Rich Europe se propone
llevar a cabo un anlisis del multilingismo a travs de veinte pases europeos y despus comparar
los resultados con el ndice de polticas y prcticas sobre multilingismo creado por ellos. Estos
resultados estarn disponibles en ms de veinte lenguas y se publicarn en papel y en una pgina
web interactiva. A travs de este proyecto tenemos como objetivo captar la atencin de dirigentes
de gobiernos, de las empresas y de la sociedad de toda Europa, con el fin de poner de manifiesto la
situacin actual de las lenguas, subrayar las buenas polticas y las buenas prcticas para contribuir
en el diseo de normativas bien informadas, para inspirar a quienes toman decisiones un nuevo
enfoque sobre la lengua al demostrar su importancia en las sociedades estables y prsperas, y para
motivar a ms estudiantes y ms usuarios de muchos idiomas.
Cuando decidimos, junto con el Instituto Cervantes, comenzar el camino que llev a la publicacin
de Word for Word / Palabra por palabra, nuestra meta era recoger datos y encargar una investiga-
cin que potenciara una conciencia pblica ms fuerte sobre lo que est ocurriendo en un rea tan
importante y estimulara el debate sobre cmo se podra trabajar en comn en el futuro para llevar
este proyecto adelante. Ha sido gratificante ver cmo esta iniciativa ha ayudado a cristalizar y ex-
pandir nuestro propio conocimiento de las cuestiones y ha provocado una serie de discusiones en
ambas organizaciones sobre los temas clave, como lengua e identidad, lengua y desarrollo social,
y la lengua como habilidad y herramienta para el crecimiento econmico y el desarrollo personal.
Esperamos con entusiasmo su respuesta, que se apasionen con la discusin y, a la luz de esta
primera empresa compartida, decidan cul es la mejor manera de seguir desarrollando la experien-
cia de Word for Word / Palabra por palabra para contribuir an ms a este debate tan importante.
Me gustara finalizar expresando nuestra gratitud a todos los autores, editores y colegas del British
Council y del Instituto Cervantes que han trabajado en este proyecto durante varios meses. Word
for Word / Palabra por palabra no habra sido posible sin su esfuerzo conjunto.
Rod Pryde
Director del British Council Espaa
383
British Council
Word for Word / Palabra por palabra brings together an expert group of thinkers and practitioners
with a diverse range of interests and experience to shed light on the key drivers for the development
of English and Spanish as global languages; how the languages work in isolation and in contact in
the global economy; and speculate on their future impact as the basis of the global economy shifts
increasingly to new areas of dominance.
Word for Word / Palabra por palabra considers these issues from a range of perspectives and
orientations from the perspective of policy makers; tackling issues in the education system as a
consequence of policy decisions; charting how language shifts over time and is intimately bound
up with identity; understanding how language affects economic opportunities for individuals and
companies; and examining how English and Spanish interact with other languages both within the
boundaries of the countries where they are traditionally spoken and beyond.
It is these orientations that make Word for Word / Palabra por palabra such an original compilation.
Our excellent contributors illuminate much of the landscape of language and society both from a
bottom-up and a top-down perspective. They deliver challenging critiques of those education policies
which privilege elites in the developing world. They outline the opportunities that multilingualism
offers in the EU, and examine how proficiency in English and Spanish as global languages can offer
significant advantages to students moving within and between markets.
All languages change over time. Change in language, like change in society, is an unavoidable
process. While it may occasionally be regretted by some, more often it is a means of refreshing
and reinvigorating a language, and of providing new and extremely subtle differences of expression
which strengthen our ability to communicate with each other and enrich our appreciation of the life,
literatures and cultures (in the widest sense) of the world.
Understanding how languages change over time is important for organisations such as the British
Council and the Instituto Cervantes, who both see promotion of and support to effective teaching
and learning of English and Spanish as central to our respective missions. British Council Spain aims
to support more and better teaching and learning of English across the country, to act as a source
of expertise of relevance to all and, where appropriate, as the convening authority brokering debate
and discussion about best practice and ways to share this effectively.
At the same time, we delight in seeing the advent of an increasingly multilingual world in which
people are increasingly choosing to express themselves through multiple identities and to make
choices about the various communities to which they wish to belong. We strongly share the view that
language and identity are closely intertwined, that language is the most direct expression of culture,
384
This belief underpins our commitment to the Language Rich Europe project, set out with such clarity
in a number of the papers in this publication. Language Rich Europe aims to conduct an analysis of
multilingualism across 20 European countries, and will go on to compare the results in the Language
Rich Europe Index on multilingual policies and practices. This will be made available in over 20
languages and published in print form and on an interactive website. Through the project we aim to
capture the attention of leaders in government, business and society across Europe to illustrate the
current situation, to highlight good policy and practice to enable informed policy choices, to inspire
a new language focus among decision makers by demonstrating the importance of languages in
stable and prosperous societies, and to motivate more learners and users of many languages.
When we decided with the Instituto Cervantes to start down the path which led to the publication
of Word for Word / Palabra por palabra our aim was to gather data and to commission the research
which would promote both stronger public awareness of what is happening in this important area,
and to stimulate debate on how best we might all work together in future to take this forward. It has
been gratifying to see how this initiative has helped to crystalise and expand our own understanding
of the issues, and has provoked a series of discussions in both organisations on the key issues of
language and identity, of language and social development, and of language as a skill and as a tool
for economic growth and personal development.
We look forward very much to seeing your response, to involving you in the discussion and, in the
light of this first shared venture, deciding how best to build on the experience of Word for Word /
Palabra por palabra to contribute further to this key debate.
I would like to close by expressing our gratitude to all the authors, the editors and colleagues at the
British Council and Instituto Cervantes who worked on this project over several months. Word for
Word / Palabra por palabra would not have been possible without their collective efforts.
Rod Pryde
Director British Council Spain
385
Instituto Cervantes
The parallelisms between the English-speaking and the Spanish-speaking worlds are multiple
and important: these are international linguistic realms with large communities that are heirs to
decolonisation processes, with a considerable capacity to make their cultural patterns known and a
notable acceptance of their languages as vehicles to be learned and used in diverse communicative
fields. On the other hand, while the differences between these two worlds are obvious in quantitative
and qualitative terms, they must not be interpreted as a cause for dispute over linguistic spaces.
The information that this volume offers, which is abundant and varied, is the best photograph of the
international presence of our languages in different geographic and socio-political domains. The
Instituto Cervantes desire, however, is not that these pages be limited to pure description, but that
the information be a point of departure for responsible reflection and the establishment of operating
and institutional criteria with an eye to the future.
The studies and analyses that have been gathered here, all written by prestigious experts in their
respective fields, clearly present the strengths of our linguistic communities in various areas: social,
economic, political and cultural. These strengths are shown in demography, in the volume of business
transactions or in the influence of the languages on the building of bridges of communications
between nations. Thus, our book aims to extract, as an initial conclusion, that the coexistence of
English and Spanish could be interpreted from an ecolinguistic standpoint, where the communities
of speakers are found in ecosystems with different needs and sociolinguistic expectations. Nor can
we rule out an interpretation from the standpoint of a satellite model, in line with the proposal made
by Louis-Jean Calvet in the 1990s, in which English holds a hypercentral position and Spanish is
installed in a second orbit in cohabitation with dozens of central and peripheral tongues. Based
on this interpretation, the Spanish-speaking territories must be aware of the position occupied
by their linguistic community and assume responsibility for their political and economic actions,
because of the repercussions they have on the ecosystem or on the orbital group. This is even
more consequential when some specialists point to the progressive international consolidation of five
major languages over the coming decades, among which are Spanish and English, together with
Chinese, Hindi and Arabic.
Precisely the transcendence of the coexistence of English and Spanish both between them
and with many other languages is another aspect of this volume that merits examination. The
functions that English and Spanish perform in the communities that use them as their main
instruments of communication, as linguae francae or languages of encounter, correspond to some
well contextualised factors: the choice of a language as a communication vehicle in a community is
never gratuitous, nor is it guided by interests outside the expectations of the speakers themselves. In
those communities where Spanish and English coexist, it is interesting to note how social spaces are
386
The reports presented in Word for Word / Palabra por palabra also reveal the weaknesses of the
Spanish tongue in the international linguistic context. Its relative absence of use in the technological,
scientific and publishing fields, as well as in international organisations, is evident, especially in the
European ones. In this case, it is not a question of stopping people from writing in other languages to
achieve a shift to writing in Spanish. Rather, it is a matter of not depreciating the research, science and
publications that are produced in Spanish, starting with the Spanish-speaking countries themselves
and the organisations to which they belong. It entails knowing that international communication does
not flow on only one plane, but on overlapping planes with varying degrees of social and professional
penetration, which include everything from communication between select groups of scientists to the
mass spreading of knowledge, communication in sectoral meetings and widely varying publications.
There is a third general conclusion that merits as much attention as the previous ones. The analysis of
international reality reveals the positive aspects of knowing languages and the enormous importance
of a joint mastery of English and Spanish although they need not be the only ones. We all benefit
by knowing more languages, especially when they respond to our needs and expectations, and we
all gain by adopting an attitude of receptiveness and rapprochement to other cultures, such as the
Anglo-Saxon or the Hispanic culture, obviously, but also toward the cultures with which they coexist.
A rapprochement between peoples and individuals does not seem possible if the learning of foreign
languages is not accompanied by a knowledge and a recognition of their respective cultures.
In the case of the Anglo-Saxon and the Hispanic, this knowledge and recognition have been in
practice for centuries. As early as the 16th century, works were published with a surprisingly
practical turn to help the British learn Spanish, and it is no accident that the first translation of Don
Quijote was into English in 1612, by Thomas Shelton. From the 18th century onwards there was a
proliferation of publications to enable Spaniards interested in learning English to do so with greater
ease. These are proof of a rapprochement that this book has tried to make evident word by word.
We trust that it will be useful to readers interested in our languages and, as the subtitle of Minsheus
Dialogues in Spanish (1599) said, that our book will not [be] unpleasant to any other reader.
387
389
Latinoamrica, un proyecto conjunto entre INSEAD del Imperio Britnico en 1995 por sus servicios a la
y la OCDE. Es miembro del Comit Asesor de la lengua inglesa. Es autor, coautor y editor de ms
Unin Europea y Brasil, y del Consejo Asesor de 120 obras. Sus libros incluyen The Cambridge
del World Economic Forum para el futuro de las Encyclopaedia of the English Language, English
comunicaciones mviles. as a Global Language y The Stories of English. Es
miembro (Fellow) de la Academia Britnica.
John Clegg es un consultor independiente
residente en el Reino Unido. Anteriormente trabaj Janet Enever es profesora de Enseanza y
en la Escuela de Enseanza de Lengua Inglesa, en Aprendizaje de Lenguas en la Universidad de
la Universidad de Thames Valley. Se especializa en Ume, en Suecia, desde septiembre de 2011.
educacin en ingls como medio de instruccin en Es doctora en polticas lingsticas en Educacin
Primaria y Secundaria. Colabora con profesores, Primaria. Ha trabajado como maestra de Primaria
colegios y autoridades educativas de Europa en Reino Unido, como profesora de ingls como
en el desarrollo del mtodo AICLE, en frica, lengua extranjera en Polonia y Hungra y, durante
Oriente Medio y Asia en programas de educacin los ltimos diez aos, como Senior Lecturer
bilinge y en ingls, y en el Reino Unido en en la Universidad London Metropolitan, donde
educacin multicultural. Disea material docente coordinaba el mster Primary ELT: Policy &
de ingls como lengua extranjera para el cantn Practice, colaboraba en el programa de mster
de Zurich, en Suiza. En la actualidad es consultor en enseanza de ingls como lengua extranjera
jefe del programa acadmico de profesores de (TESOL) y supervisaba el trabajo de los estudiantes
matemticas y ciencias en ingls de Catar. de doctorado. De 2007 a 2010 fue coordinadora
de un importante programa de investigacin de
Hywel Coleman es Honorary Senior Research tres aos financiado por la Comisin Europea
Fellow en la Escuela de Educacin de la Universidad sobre aprendizaje temprano de lenguas en Europa
de Leeds (Reino Unido), y miembro vitalicio de dicha (ELLiE, www.ellieresearch.eu). Sus principales
universidad. Es responsable de las Conferencias intereses de investigacin y consultora se basan
de Lengua y Desarrollo (Language & Development en polticas de lenguas en primaria y en el impacto
Conferences, www.langdevconferences.org) y editor de la globalizacin en la oferta de lenguas en
de las actas de dos de estas conferencias. Hywel contextos educativos.
est interesado en la formacin del profesorado y
en las polticas lingsticas para la educacin en Mara Jos Ferrari es profesora asociada de
pases en vas de desarrollo. Ha llevado a cabo Pensamiento Crtico en la Universidad Instituto de
proyectos de consultora para el British Council, Empresa (IE), en Segovia, Espaa. Anteriormente
el Departamento de Desarrollo Internacional del trabaj en la Universidad de Columbia, Estados
Gobierno Britnico, el Banco Mundial, el Banco Unidos, donde recibi su doctorado en Estudios
Asitico de Desarrollo, la Fundacin Soros y la Hispnicos en 2009. Es licenciada en Filologa
Fundacin Aga Khan en frica, Oriente Medio y Hispnica y en Derecho por la Universidad Complu-
Asia. Ha recibido la Orden del Imperio Britnico por tense de Madrid. Ha impartido cursos sobre
su labor educativa en Indonesia, donde reside. Lingstica terica y aplicada, Estudios culturales,
Historia intelectual y Literatura, y ha trabajado como
David Crystal es profesor honorario de Lingstica profesora de espaol como lengua extranjera.
en la Universidad de Bangor (Reino Unido), y trabaja Es autora de artculos sobre literatura, lingstica
desde su residencia en Holyhead, en el norte de aplicada y polticas de educacin lingstica en
Gales, como escritor, editor, conferenciante y revistas y libros especializados.
comentarista en los medios. Es uno de los mayores
expertos del mundo en la lengua inglesa. Estudi Arlene Gilpin ha trabajado en educacin y en la
Ingls en University College London, donde se enseanza de lingstica aplicada durante ms
especializ en Estudios sobre la lengua inglesa. de cuarenta aos. Fue profesora en la Escuela
Posteriormente ingres en la vida acadmica, de Posgrado de Educacin de la Universidad de
primero en Bangor y despus en Reading, donde se Bristol, donde desarroll un innovador programa
convirti en profesor de Lingstica. Recibi la Orden de mster utilizando mtodos de consulta con
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Arlene Gilpin has worked in education and Asia Pacific Journal of Education, Language
applied linguistics teaching for over 40 years. Teaching Research, RELC Journal, System
For many years she lectured at the University of and TESOL Quarterly.
Bristol Graduate School of Education, where she
developed an innovative Masters programme, John M. Lipski is Edwin Erle Sparks Professor
using methods of consultation with students, of Spanish Linguistics at Pennsylvania State
employers and future students that only now are University. He has taught at Newark State College/
beginning to become standard practice. She has Kean College of New Jersey, Michigan State
had close links with countries in East Asia (Malaysia University, the University of Houston, the University
and Singapore) and has worked extensively in India of Florida, and the University of New Mexico. His
and Pakistan, usually on projects working directly research interests include Spanish phonology,
Spanish and Portuguese dialectology and
with teachers in resource-poor environments.
language variation, and the African contribution
She has had a long commitment to the well-
to Spanish and Portuguese. His books include
being of international students, and spent eleven
Linguistic aspects of Spanish-English language
years working with other academics in the Tuning
switching; Fontica y fonologa del espaol de
Project, funded by the European Commission, to
Honduras; Latin American Spanish; El espaol
implement the Bologna Declaration in fact as well
de Amrica; A history of Afro-Hispanic language;
as intention for the benefit of students. She has
and Varieties of Spanish in the United States.
been involved with collaborative projects in Europe,
He is the author of more than 250 articles on all
Latin America, Russia, Georgia, the Middle East,
aspects of linguistics, language, and literatura.
and Africa focusing on quality issues in education
He has served as editor of Hispanic Linguistics,
provision, and has published widely on teacher
associate editor of Hispania, and is currently
education. She is currently a Senior Expert at the
editor of a Georgetown University Press series on
Tuning Academy at the University of Deusto in
Hispanic linguistics.
Spain.
ngel Lpez Garca has been Professor of General
Steve Green is a senior British Council officer Linguistics at the University of Valencia since 1981.
and has over 30 years experience in international His doctoral research was in Romance philology.
cultural relations, most recently as Team Leader He is the author of several books, including El
for the Presidency of the Network of the European boom de la lengua espaola (2007); The neural
Union National Institutes of Culture (EUNIC). He is basis of language (2007); La lengua comn en
a frequent contributor to European cultural policy la Espaa plurilinge (2009); Pluricentrismo,
conferences and debates. hibridacin y porosidad en la lengua espaola
(2010); and Anglohispanos (2010). He has been
David Hayes is currently Graduate Program
a visiting professor at the universities of Virginia,
Director, Department of Applied Linguistics, Brock
Minnesota, Mainz, Tucumn, and Aarhus, and he
University, Canada. He has extensive experience has been awarded several prizes during his career
of training English teachers and teacher-trainers in - the xIII Premio Anagrama for Essay in 1985; the
South and South-East Asia, working on bilateral VIII Premio Constitucin for Essay in 1990; and
educational development projects funded by the the Prix Honor Chave de lAcadmie Franaise
U.K. Governments Department for International in 2001. He is a correspondiente of the Academia
Development and managed by the British Council. Norteamericana de la Lengua Espaola and
He has published widely on English language member of the Academia Aragonesa del Catal.
teacher development, in which he holds a PhD.
Another of his current research interests is the Humberto Lpez Morales, born in Havana in
lives and careers of non-native speaking teachers 1936, is Secretary-General of the Asociacin de
of English and he has recently published on Academias de la Lengua Espaola (Association
this topic in the Harvard Educational Review, of Academies of the Spanish Language), holds a
396
397
Jaime Otero is Senior Analyst at the Real Instituto national governments and as programme director
Elcano de Estudios Internacionales y Estratgicos. of national development strategies. He worked as
From 1990 to 1998 he was Programme Coordinator a teacher and trainer in ELT for many years and
and subsequently Deputy Director at the Instituto remains an external assessor for the University of
de Cuestiones Internacionales y Poltica Exterior. Cambridges DELTA qualification. He has edited
Until September 2003 he was head of the Instituto several collections of papers on language and
Cervantes in Utrecht, Netherlands. He writes policy/planning papers and has authored a number
and lectures regularly on cultural diplomacy and of textbooks. He is currently a senior consultant
the role of languages in international affairs. He with GIZ and the World Bank advising on education
is the editor of several books, including El peso capacity development in S Asia.
de la lengua espaola en el mundo (coordinated
by the Marqus of Tamarn) and Lenguas Maria Stoicheva is Associate Professor at the
en el ciberespacio: el espaol en perspectiva Department of European Studies, Sofia University
comparada (with Hermgenes Perdiguero). With St. Kliment Ohridski. Her doctoral research and
Francisco Moreno he is the author of a series of interests are in philosophy of language, analytical
studies on Demolinguistics, including the Atlas de philosophy and social and political philosophy. She
la lengua espaola en el mundo. He is currently is also involved in work in language policy, European
preparing a book with Elvira Marco on cultural dimensions of education, the comparative study of
management. education and language policies in the context of
European integration and cooperation. She also
Jelena Plantak has worked for the research team conducts studies in the area of language and
at CfBT Education Trust for more than three years. identity. She has been a member of the Bureau
She writes and edits research reports as well as of the Council of Europes European Language
providing direct support to the management Portfolio Validation Committee and of several EU
of research and development projects. She independent expert groups.
is responsible for dissemination of research
publications and has recently been one of the Teresa Tinsley was until recently a Director of
authors of a literature review titled, What lasting CILT, the U.K. National Centre for Languages,
educational benefits can be created from Mega where she was responsible for planning, delivery
Events?. Jelena has an MA degree in Human and communications. During her 8 years in that
Rights from Kingston University. role she led the development of many aspects
of the organisations work, including publishing,
Philip Powell-Davies is an educationist and social research, PR and the promotion of languages.
development specialist with a research background She directed the EUs ELAN research project
in the governance of international education policy on the economic value of languages to European
in developing country contexts, and the qualitative business, and was co-leader of the Council
analysis of organisational change and capacity of Europes VALEUR (Valuing all Languages in
building, particularly in the public sector. He holds Europe)project. Before joining CILT in 1992 she
a PhD in international aid policy as well as other was a staff member of the Spanish Embassy in
degrees in applied linguistics, social development London and was instrumental in developing the
management and governance. He has research promotion of Spanish as a foreign language in the
interests in language policy and language and UK. She is the author of several books including
development. He has been a senior manager an adaptation/translation of a Spanish Grammar,
and country director of international organisations and regularly contributes to press and journals.
as well as holding senior advisory positions with She now works in a freelance capacity.
398
ISBN 978-84-680-0791-5
9 788468 007915
examines the social, economic and political impact
of Spanish and English in the world today. The book explores a broad range of
issues, from language policy and its inuence on the state of language learning
in schools, and the language dimensions of student mobility in Europe and