On April 11, the ministers of Labor, Education and Economy of the government of Bernardo Arevalo received a document with a call to implement a strategy to strengthen the teaching of the English language in the country.
One of the main slogans of the document was that English be taught from public to private institutes is focused on technical and professional programs to enter the workforce. Also, that the level of teachers throughout the country be raised.
consulted Romelia MoVice Minister of Bilingual and Intercultural Education on how the institution will act, summarized that the immediate actions to implement the national English strategy in creating a technical team for the third language and strengthening the administrative-financial part of Mineduc.
This is an excerpt from the conversation with Prensa Libre.
What would be the short-term actions to accelerate the National English Strategy?
We analyzed what would be the route to follow and for that the Ministry of Education has created a technical team to respond to the demands and development of a third language and for that we can talk regarding two very immediate actions: ver what is the supply and demand for the development of this language and strengthen the technical, administrative and financial capacity of the Ministry of Educationbecause there is no team formed that speaks a third language.
In the medium term, we must work on teacher training based on the English course, since in the National Base Curriculum It is established that from the fourth grade of primary school, this teaching should begin and be strengthened in the basic cycle and later in the diagnosis in some specific careers. That is why the Ministry, as such, has an agreement with a university that is training teachers in how to teach it, that is, The methodology.
We have agreements with the United States Embassy, which just two Saturdays ago started the BI project in five departments of Guatemala, in departmental capitals and is training 140 teachers. It is aimed at teachers who already master English at an intermediate level and are being guided on how to teach the language, because we are aware that the fact of speaking one or two languages does not make me bilingual without being a good teacher. The latest is the update of the National Curriculum of Guatemala.
What are the possibilities of having a national diagnostic test to standardize the level of English in the country?
We are also in this line of action. We are believers in a rigorous and standardized evaluation system. We are looking at the possibility that we can have an initial and final evaluation but using the TOEFL or another evaluation system. We have it among our plans.
How many English academies are there in Guatemala and how many are accredited?
Have 86 educational institutions who teach English courses. We have 25 accredited, because in order to be able to accredit them through the General Directorate of Accreditation and Certification, they need to present themselves, which is the institutional educational project.
Is it possible through a national strategy to have that filter in which only accredited academies can provide the service?
Accreditation does not exactly have to be the responsibility of the Ministry of Education, but rather it is the institutions that must request it, and a file has been created with the minimum requirements that must be met. These are based on various legislative decrees and government agreements.s. So, to be able to talk regarding only these institutes being able to provide the English course service is impossible, given the demand and the coverage that must be covered.
How much might it cost to have all accredited academies and certified teachers?
Regarding the budget, on behalf of the Ministry, apart from presenting their institutional educational project, they must be monitored, cited, and the specifications that allow them to be accredited as an academic are met. I mightn’t give you a cost because it depends a lot on salary, travel, commuting, and impressions of the instruments. That is on the Ministry’s side, on the institutions’ side it would be different, because they would have to provide the minimum conditions, for example, teachers, materials, if they are in line with the Common European Framework and if they have institutional capacity.
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