CLIL “Content and Language Integrated Learning” is an approach that has been gaining momentum in applied linguistics within the last few years. Although at first its implementation might appear to be something simple, as there is a tendency to think that for the successful application of CLIL based lessons it is only necessary to impart classes in English, in fact, there is a series of elements that language teachers and scholars should be take into consideration before reducing such an innovative approach to that simplistic view. Hence, in this reflective article I address some of the challenge and opportunities that may arise when implementing this innovative metho to language teaching with an especial emphasis on the Colombian context. Within the context of this reflective article, firstly I present a general theorization of the CLIL approach. Secondly, I reflect on three of the challenges as well as on three the opportunities for the implementation of said approach in our national context. Finally, I present the conclusions.

English as a lingua franca is a phenomenon that has been gaining importance in the last few years. In the international scenario, scholarly literature has already explored the possible benefits of incorporating ELF in the ELT field. In Colombia, however, the empirical and conceptual studies on this area are scarce. Keeping this in mind, this reflective article discusses the possibility of progressively incorporating ELF in the Colombian ELT. In the first place, what ELF is, is analyzed, and this and other terms that have been used to refer to this linguistic phenomenon are differentiated. Second, some of the areas that need to take into consideration (materials design, assessment practices, to mention a few) are presented if we want to integrate ELF in Colombian ELT. Finally, some conclusions are presented, as well as potential research scenarios regarding ELF

This paper reports a qualitative narrative study that explored the trajectories of English language teachers’ identities before and after their participation in a master’s program in English language teaching at a Colombian public university. After analyzing the data gathered through oral narratives and narrative interviews, results showed that teachers’ identities are part of an endless process nurtured by experiences at the academic, pedagogical, and personal levels. We found that such experiences were constantly cultivated and analyzed in the master’s seminars, which positively influenced the development of the participants’ identities by making them more reflective and critical practitioners. Most teachers reported developing higher levels of social commitment, critical-reflective engagement, and research-oriented practices due to their graduate academic experience.

In the last few years, Colombian ELT scholars have become aware of the importance of discourse for the dissemination of ideologies and agendas. As a result, the number of studies on this area has shown an unprecedented growth. Nevertheless, few investigations have explored and analyzed both sides simultaneously so as to display not only the types of hegemonic discourses that have permeated the field but also those which have recently emerged in response to such a situation. Considering these elements, this paper reports on a qualitative case study carried out with the purpose of analyzing the latest types of hegemonic discourses and discourses of resistance that have taken place in elt in Colombia. After analyzing the data gathered, which consisted of empirical and conceptual articles, as well as linguistic policies emitted by the Colombian Ministry of Education (men), the results showed that discourses revolving around bilingualism (understood as the English-Spanish relationship), identity, and native speakerism have been a recurrent aspect in the Colombian elt field. Yet, findings also suggest that, especially in the last decade, elt scholars have been resisting these discourses by promoting alternative ones that acknowledge initiatives in different areas of knowledge. In light of these aspects, it is recommended to keep resisting and promoting an agenda of decolonization so that alternative discourses, as is the case of those that acknowledge the incorporation of epistemologies that have been historically overlooked, continue gaining traction within the field.

This article review offers an overall description of the article "Research approaches in Applied lingusitics", written by Patricia Duff back in 2002. In the aforementioned article, the author discusses about the two main approaches to research in the field of applied linguistics which are the qualitative and quantitative approach. And provides, at the same time, a deeper analysis on the useful ways in which these two can be used, and how, by mixing them together, a mixed methods approach might emerge in order to make the investigation process more meaningful and better elaborated.