Language ideologies in English Language teaching: A multiple case study of teacher education programmes in Chile

Abstract

The current status of English as an international language is opening up the debate about what we understand as “subject matter English”. Traditional constructs in the English Language Teaching (ELT) profession such as the “native speaker”, “standard English”, and the culture of English are currently being questioned due to the growing number of users of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF). Research on Global Englishes has highlighted the need to abandon the current English as a Foreign Language (EFL) paradigm, which considers “standard English” and the “native speaker” as the norm, and adopt a global perspective of English that embraces the linguistic and cultural diversity of English, instead. However, ELT teacher education programmes have evidenced little engagement with these views, while teachers tend to show negative attitudes and resistance to change.

This study explored the beliefs that teacher trainers in three Chilean ELT programmes hold in relation to the global spread of English. It was expected that accessing these beliefs would reveal how ELT programmes in Chile approach this phenomenon, and also provide evidence of how these teacher education programmes adopt, preserve, or promote certain language ideologies in relation to English. Qualitative data were collected carrying out semi-structured interviews, observing teacher educators in the classroom, and analysing relevant documents. The findings reveal considerable tensions in the beliefs of these teacher educators within and across the three programmes, especially in relation to the goals of ELT instruction. Dominant language ideologies about English were often reproduced in the beliefs and practices of most of the participants. However, this study presents evidence of a growing resistance to the hegemony of idealised native speaker norms in the education of future teachers of English in Chile.

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