Frustration and Hope: A Review of the Response Undertaken in National Education Programmes to Lower-Than-Expected Rates of Foreign Language Acquisition.

Abstract

This review and discussion focused on surveys and reports regarding the rate of foreign language acquisition and attainment within national compulsory education systems, academic analyses of the results obtained, and national programmes and initiatives designed to address the shortcomings revealed in them. The proposed reasons for lower-than-expected acquisition and attainment in foreign language learning within countries including the European Union, Colombia, Vietnam and Ecuador were reviewed in detail. These reasons, and the measures undertaken as a result to remedy these flaws, were evaluated through a comparison with recent academic research relating to these factors, and through com- parison between the different experiences revealed in the surveys and reports. These comparisons found that some of the measures undertaken were fit for purpose and were likely to yield some improvements in acquisition rate, although to a lesser extent than those projected by some of the national programmes, while identifying some aspects which have been overlooked. The conclusion highlighted in which aspects of the teaching
 and learning of foreign languages requires greater focus is needed in order to effect the desired changes.

Promoting EFL Learner Autonomy in a Teacher-Centered Culture through Video-Sharing and Collaborating in Online Forums

“…The lack of autonomy observed in the participants in this research is a symptom of the teaching-learning culture in Ecuador-and indeed, much of Latin America-, which is overwhelmingly teacher-centered and motivated by the desire to achieve certificates issued by teachers, often based on subjective criteria (Edwards, 2019;Yunga-Godoy, Loaiza, Ramón-Jaramillo, & Puertas, 2016). In an extensive report on the Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA) performance in Latin America, Chaia, Child, Dorn, Frank, Krawitz, and Mourshed (2017) consider a lack of individual growth mind-sets and a poorly developed ability to take responsibility for success in secondary-school students to be key factors limiting progress in PISA scores in the region.…”