Guiding Question: What are the motivations for learning English in Colombia, especially in the primary grades?

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I chose this guiding question because as an ESOL teacher, I wanted to be able to come home and reflect on the motivations of my own students to learn English. I believe that motivation and engagement are key to student learning. I wondered if perhaps the motivations of Colombian students could help me better engage my immigrant students in the United States, to support their English language development.

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From the perspective of primary-grades students, English is as fun as their teacher makes it. The students I spoke with were excited about English for the same reasons children might be excited to learn math or reading. They enjoyed the activities their teachers planned (songs, chants, and stories), were motivated by a sense of accomplishment and pride in their capabilities, and generally treated English like any other subject.

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Beginning in the upper elementary grades, the Colombian students I met were excited and nervous to practice their English with me, a native speaker. Many referenced pop culture as a reason to learn English; they want to be able to understand TV and movies from the Anglophone world. (Notably, music was not included in this "pop culture" motivation - the students I spoke with unanimously preferred Colombian/Latino music to English-language music.) 

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Secondary students had more complex motivations for learning English. The most frequent that I heard was related to opportunity. English is an entrance requirement for many higher education programs and careers in Colombia. Regardless of what they plan to study, students need a strong English score to get into a university. As Colombia continues to grow its tourism, banking, and international business sectors, English is an increasingly important job skill as well. Students know this, and the role of English in opening future doors is a major motivation for their studies.

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Another layer for why high school students want to learn English is its status as a world lingua franca. I met many students who want to travel and live abroad, and not just in Anglophone countries. For example, one student dreamed of going to Korea and said she already communicates online with Korean peers using English. 

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Primary students in Colombia are learning English because the adults around them have prioritized it. The Colombian Ministry of Education has rolled out a Bilingualism Initiative that promotes English proficiency as a key goal. As a result, primary schools have begun including English in the curriculum nearly universally. Whereas in the past most highly trained English teachers were in secondary grades, many are moving to lower grades, and general education primary teachers are obtaining additional English training.

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The Colombia Field Experience has given me a new perspective on my job teaching English to speakers of other languages. I hope to bring home a strong sense of students' home languages as positive funds of knowledge. So often, ESOL students are unintentionally treated as lacking, as having deficits in English, when really they are undertaking the most monumental task. I hope to give my students joy and fun with English! Rather than being forced upon them oppressively, I would like English to be something they can actively choose to pursue. I'm so glad this was my guiding question, because continuing to ask it in my own teaching context will inform my instruction for the rest of my career.

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