Local Epistemological Perceptions that Underlie EFL Literature and Teaching Practices in Colombia

Main Article Content

Martha Isabel Bonilla-Mora
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8823-2505
Johanna Patricia López-Urbina
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1293-8042

Abstract

This study aims to understand the local and updated epistemological perceptions of the teaching and learning of English as a foreign language (EFL) in Colombia from the voices of English language university teachers. This qualitative research emerges as part of a hermeneutical perspective which allowed the authors to analyze experiences, perceptions, and understandings of teachers in the foreign language-teaching field. Data collection instruments included a literature review using framework matrices and semi-structured interviews. After data analysis, three categories emerged: Pertinence and Relevance of Teaching and Learning of EFL, Teaching and Learning of EFL, and The State of Bilingualism. The study concludes with the recommendation of promoting the teaching and learning of foreign languages based on contextualized necessities of Colombia. We draw attention to the cultural and linguistic diversity in our country. In addition, we raise awareness among preservice teachers towards an epistemological reconstruction that involves the ecology of knowledge, engaging them in critical knowledge and practices from outside the Eurocentric vision. 

Article Details

How to Cite
Bonilla-Mora, M. I., & López-Urbina, J. P. (2021). Local Epistemological Perceptions that Underlie EFL Literature and Teaching Practices in Colombia. HOW, 28(2), 11–31. https://doi.org/10.19183/how.28.2.598
Section
Research Reports
Author Biographies

Martha Isabel Bonilla-Mora, Universidad Santo Tomas

She is an EFL teacher and researcher at Licenciatura en Lengua Extranjera Inglés at Universidad Santo Tomás, Colombia. She holds a master’s degree in education from Universidad Pedagógica Nacional. Her research works mainly core on the narratives about the English teaching and learning contexts in Colombia

Johanna Patricia López-Urbina, Universidad Santo Tomas

She is a teacher at Licenciatura en Lengua Extranjera Inglés at Universidad Santo Tomás, Colombia. She holds a BA in Philology and Languages and a Master’s Degree in Education. She has worked with teachers and pre-service teachers in the rural and urban areas in Colombia.

References

Bastidas, J. (1989). El método ecléctico. Revista Hechos y Proyecciones del Lenguaje, 31-38.

Bastidas, J. A. (2017). More than half a century teaching EFL in Colombian secondary schools: Tracing back our footprints to understand the present. HOW, 24(1), 10-26. https://doi.org/10.19183/how.24.1.348

Bonilla Carvajal, C. & Tejada-Sánchez, I. (2016). Unanswered questions in Colombia’s foreign language education policy. Profile Issues in Teachers` Professional Development, 18(1), 185-201. https://dx.doi.org/10.15446/profile.v18n1.51996

Bonilla, M., López, J., & Caro, H. (2018). Teaching and learning English as a foreign language in a pluricultural context: A historical and normative Colombian background. ICERI2018 Proceedings, 8653–8663. https://doi.org/10.21125/iceri.2018.0592

Cárdenas, M. L. (2006). Bilingual Colombia: Are we ready for it? What is needed? Proceedings of the 19th Annual English Australia Education Conference. http://qa.englishaustralia.com.au/index.cgi?E=hcatfuncs&PT=sl&X=getdoc&Lev1=pub_c07_07&Lev2=c06_carde

Castañeda-Peña, H., Rodríguez-Uribe, M., Salazar-Sierra, A., & Chala-Bejarano, P. A. (2016). Narrative events of pre-service teachers at the end of their teaching practicum with regard to their pedagogical advisor: Learnings reported. Signo y Pensamiento, XXXV(68), 52–64.

Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. Sage.

Colombia Aprende (2016). Plan Nacional de Bilingüismo: Conozca el Plan Nacional de Bilingüismo. https://aprende.colombiaaprende.edu.co/es/colombiabilingue/86689

Creswell, J., & Miller, D. (2000). Determining validity in qualitative inquiry. Theory into Practice. Educational Practice, (Summer), 124-130. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15430421tip3903_2

Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry & research design choosing among five approaches (2nd ed.). SAGE.

Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry & research design choosing among five approaches (3rd ed.). SAGE.

Fandiño-Parra, Y. J. (2014). Bogotá bilingüe: Tensión entre política, currículo y realidad escolar. Educ. Educ. 17(2), 215-236.

Ferraris, M. (1996). History of hermeneutics (Luca Somigli, Trans.). Humanities Press.

Gómez Sará, M. M. (2017). Review and analysis of the Colombian foreign language bilingualism policies and plans. HOW, 24(1), 139-156. https://doi.org/10.19183/how.24.1.343

González, A. (2007). Professional development of EFL teachers in Colombia: Between colonial and local practices. Íkala, Revista de Lenguaje y Cultura, 12(18), 309-331.

González, A. (2010). English and English teaching in Colombia: Tensions and possibilities in the expanding circle. In A. Kirkpatrick (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of world Englishes (pp. 332-351). Routledge.

Granados-Beltrán, C. (2018a). Revisiting the need for critical research in undergraduate Colombian English language teaching. HOW, 25(1), 174-193. https://doi.org/10.19183/how.25.1.355

Granados Beltrán, C. (2018b). La interculturalidad crítica en los programas de formación inicial de docentes de las lenguas extranjeras en el contexto colombiano contemporáneo. [Doctoral dissertation, Universidad Santo Tomás]. CRAI USTA http://hdl.handle.net/11634/15503

Guerrero Nieto, C. H., & Quintero Polo, Á. H. (2009). English as a neutral language in the Colombian national standards: A constituent of dominance in English language education. Profile: Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 11(2), 135–150.

Guerrero, C. H., & Maturana, L. M. (2011). Teaching English in times of the National Bilingual Program in some state schools: Linguistic and pedagogical factors. Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal, 13(2), 74-87.

Guerrero, C. H. (2010). The portrayal of EFL teachers in official discourse: The perpetuation of disdain. Profile: Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 12(2), 33–49.

Hakuta, K. (2009). Bilingualism. In L. R. Squire (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Neuroscience (pp. 173–178). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-008045046-9.01877-5

Junca, J. (2016). El bilingüismo en el contexto colombiano. In C. A. Camacho Sanabria (Ed.), Reflexiones para una epistemología del saber pedagógico (pp. 93-110). Ediciones Unisalle. https://doi.org/10.19052/238237206

Kumaravadivelu, B. (2016). The decolonial option in English teaching: Can the subaltern act? TESOL Quarterly, 50(1), 66-85. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.202

Ministry of National Education (1994). Ley 115. Santafé de Bogotá, Colombia Ministry of National Education (2006). Estándares Básicos de Competencias en Lengua Extranjera: inglés [Cartilla 22]. Imprenta Nacional

Ramírez, L. D. (2015). Foreign language education in Colombia: A case study. Perceptions of Foreign Language policy. Lambert Academic Publishing.

Rincón, J., & Clavijo-Olarte, A. (2016). Fostering EFL learners’ literacies through local inquiry in a multimodal experience. Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal, 18(2), 67–82. https://doi.org/10.14483/calj.v18n2.10610

Robayo-Acuña, L. M., & Cárdenas, M. L. (2017). Inclusive education and ELT policies in Colombia: Views from Some PROFILE Journal Authors. Profile: Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development,19(1), 121–136. https://doi.org/10.15446/profile.v19n1.61075

Soleimani, N. (2018). ELT teachers’ epistemological beliefs and dominant teaching style: a mixed method research. Asian. J. Second. Foreign. Lang. Educ. 5, 12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40862-020-00094-y

Scotland, J. (2012). Exploring the philosophical underpinnings of research: Relating ontology and epistemology to the methodology and methods of the scientific, interpretive, and critical research paradigms. English Language Teaching, 5(9), 9-16. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/elt.v5n9p9

Usma Wilches, J. A. (2009). Education and language policy in Colombia: Exploring processes of inclusion, exclusion, and stratification in times of global reform. Profile: Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 11(1), 123-141.

Valencia, M. (2013). Language policy and the manufacturing of consent for foreign intervention in Colombia. Profile: Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 15(1), 27-43.

Vez, J. M. (2010). Paradigmas en la enseñanza de lenguas extranjeras. Asociación Europea de Profesores de Español. Del XLV Congreso Internacional de la AEPE. Congreso llevado a cabo en la ciudad de la Coruña, España.

Watson‐Gegeo, K. (2004). Mind, language, and epistemology: Toward a language socialization paradigm for SLA. The Modern Language Journal. 88, 331-350.