Analysis of the Factors that Affect the

Development of Bilingualism in Colombia

Author: Yuly Andrea Gutiérrez Pacheco / Advisors: ChrissaLee Butler, Michelle Sands / Syracuse University, English Language Institute 2021

What factors affect the achievement of the goals proposed by public policies in Colombia in the field of bilingual education?
Proposed goals for secondary education according to public policies Challenges
Abstract SOURCE: Own scheme based on Ministry of Education, 2014 ▪ Establish institutional policies that facilitate
2015 – 2025
This poster presents the background of public National English the monitoring of bilingualism processes
policies in Colombia related to teaching Program Colombia (Fandiño et al., 2012).
2014-2018
English as a foreign language and the goals Colombia Very Well! ▪ Manage resources and spaces to enhance
proposed in each one. Subsequently, the 2010 – 2014 Bilingüe Program the learning of English (Miranda and
results obtained by secondary students and Program for
2013: 6% at B1 Echeverry, 2011).
the factors that have made the language Strengthening the
2004-2019 Development of 2025: 50% at B+ ▪ The intensification of English through more
acquisition process difficult are emphasized. National Competences in B2 from 2% to 8%
class hours and cross-curricular projects for
Foreign Languages A2 from 2% to 35%
1994 General Bilingual the use of the language in external contexts
Education Law Program (Galindo and Moreno, 2008).
Introduction 40% of students ▪ Teacher qualification in bilingual education
Teaching English as a foreign language has at level B1 is essential (Velazco, 2011).
Define a foreign 50% of students
been established in Colombia as an at level B1
language as a
educational priority. This language is
perceived as a lingua franca (Moscoso, Vega
mandatory Conclusion
subject in schools ICFES 2020 test results It is relevant to consider the structure of the
& Martínez, 2019) due to its wide diffusion in
Calendar A schools programs, the resources assigned for their
the fields of science, technology, economy,
tourism, among others. However, the country implementation, the curricular design, and the
has not yet reached the expected proficiency participation of stakeholders to reformulate
levels for communicating efficiently due to the public policies regarding bilingual
different factors. education in Colombia. In this sense,
understanding those factors is essential for
SOURCE: Graphic taken from ICFES 2021, p.189
In this regard, it has been identified that the promoting more suitable and successful
coherence of the programs, the programs.
infrastructure and resources, the curricular ▪ Continuity
design, and the role of stakeholders affect Coherence of programs ▪ Unrealistic goals
▪ Budget for implementation References
the achievement of the goals proposed by ▪ Fandiño-Parra, Y. J., Bermúdez-Jiménez, J. R., & Lugo-Vásquez, V. E. (2012).
Retos del Programa Nacional de Bilingüismo. Educación y Educadores, 15(3),
public policies in Colombia in the field of 363–381. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=5687366
bilingual education. Infrastructure and ▪ Lack of materials ▪ Galindo, A. y Moreno, L. (2008). Estructura, resultados y retos del programa de

Factors that ▪ Insufficient spaces bilingüismo colombiano 2004-2019. Revista de Investigaciones de la

resources ▪ Number of students
Universidad del Quindío, 18, 172-179.
▪ Instituto Colombiano para la Evaluación de la Educación (ICFES). (2021).
influence the Informe nacional de resultados del examen Saber 11° 2020 (vol. I).
▪ Ministerio de Educación Nacional. (2014). Programa Nacional de Inglés 2015 -
achievement ▪ Standardized proposals
2025. Documento de socialización.(p.112). https://www.ucn.edu.co/institu
cion/salaprensa/noticias/Documents/2014/Documento
of goals ▪ Adaptation to local context PROGRAMANACIONALDEINGLÉS2015-2025.pdf
Curricular design ▪ Miranda, N. y Echeverry, A. (2011). La gestión escolar en la implementación del
▪ Contact with the target language Programa Nacional de Bilingüismo en instituciones educativas privadas de Cali
(Colombia). ÍKALA revista de lenguaje y cultura, 16 (29), 67-125.
▪ Moscoso-Amador, M. D. L., Vega-Auquilla, M. V., & Martínez-Sojos, M. (2019).
La evolución del inglés como lengua franca, su enseñanza y aplicación en los
▪ Teacher training negocios. UDAAKADEM, 3, 93–114.

Stakeholders ▪ Parent involvement DOI: https://doi.org/10.33324/udaakadem.v1i3.204

▪ Velazco, M. (2011). On becoming bilingual: are we doing the right thing?
SOURCE: Own pictures taken at Colegio Llano Oriental ▪ Principal support Classroom implications of the National Bilingualism Program. Perspectivas en
educación, 3, 7-12.
Public school in Bogotá, Colombia SOURCE: Own scheme