The Role and Status of English in Spanish-Speaking Argentina and Its Education System

Abstract

There is a lot of controversy nowadays in the field of English Language Teaching (ELT) in the context of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) regarding the status and role of English in non-English speaking countries, in particular in developing countries, as well as in English-speaking countries with a history of colonialism. In these settings, the discourse of English as a form of imperialism requires a reconsideration of the role and status of English in the national school curriculum in primary and secondary school contexts. It also requires the exploration of the connections with nationalism and national identity, for within this discourse of imperialism, English tends to be seen as detrimental to the national identity, which education explicitly aims to form and develop through formal schooling. KeywordsArgentina, nationalism, imperialism, Malvinas war, English as a foreign language, identity by guest on June 5, 2016 Downloaded from

Research on English language teaching and learning in Argentina (2014–2018)

“…On this occasion 115 publications were analysed in terms of topic and research methodologies. First, ELT in Argentina is briefly described (for a detailed report see Porto 2014 andPorto et al 2016).…”

“…Last, we synthesise commonalities and differences in terms of topics and research practices with the previous review (Porto et al, 2016) and put forward implications for future reviews and empirical studies. considered, in practice English is almost exclusively selected as the foreign language of instruction given its international status (Porto, 2014). The private sector may include other languages and offer provision in more than two or three languages at the same time.…”

English language teaching in Uruguay

“…This issue covered five of the continent's more populous countries (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru) to help fight the ‘characterizations of South America as a uniform continental block, as culturally and linguistically monolithic’ (Friedrich & Berns : 85) and established a need for more research in English Language Teaching (ELT) in South America. More than a decade later, Melina Porto (: 4) in writing about ELT in Argentina noted that ‘while the experiences in other areas of the world regarding ELT are well‐documented [and she cites several sources], the description of the situation in Latin American countries tends to be underrepresented’, echoing Friedrich and Berns's summation focused on South America. This article seeks to add to the slowly growing body of research on ELT in South America with a focus on one of the South American countries most overlooked in international journals, Uruguay.…”

English language education in primary schooling in Argentina

“…As described in Porto (2014), many political, ideological, economic, cultural and other forces have played a role throughout history in the development of Argentina's system of education. What follows is a brief overview.…”