A Synthesis of EFL Research in Chilean High Schools: Research Shortage or Research Opportunities?

Abstract

This article is a configurative literature review that aims to synthesize available research on English as a foreign language education, undertaken specifically in Chilean high-school settings. Drawing on a pre-COVID-19 research corpus, I identified a limited number of concordant accounts (n = 23) published during the last decade. I used a critical interpretive synthesis methodology which yielded three research fields ranging from didactics to socio-structural problematics. The synthesis shows that the research addresses curricular aspects devoid of socio-political and historical contexts, emphasizing primarily teachers’ teaching tensions and challenges. Finally, I discuss the English as a foreign language research limitations and implications for the Chilean context, for which I suggest some innovations to broaden future inquiry critically.