The document discusses recent policy and curriculum reforms regarding foreign language education in Colombia. It outlines laws and frameworks introduced between 1994 and 2019 that promote bilingualism and establish standards for English language teaching. These include the 1994 General Education Law requiring foreign language acquisition, curriculum guidelines for teaching foreign languages published in 1999, and English language standards introduced in 2006. The document also examines concepts of bilingualism, different types of bilingual education programs, and advantages of late bilingual education programs.

1. BILINGUALISM Enrique Arias
Castaño

2. RECENT POLICY AND CURRICULAR REFORMS
IN COLOMBIA
Ley General de Educación (1994)
“The acquisition of elements of conversation and reading in
at least one foreign language” (Article 21, m)
Lineamientos Curriculares: Idiomas Extranjeros (MEN, 1999)
Programa Nacional de Bilingüismo (PNB) (2004-2019)
Estándares Básicos de Competencia en Lenguas Extranjeras: Inglés
(2006)
Common European Framework (CEF) to measure proficiency of teachers
and learners (2004)

3. WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF
LEARNING A SECOND LANGUAGE?
Learning a second language provides a
number of advantages, not only for the
individual, but society itself.
COMMUNICATION ADVANTAGES
Wider communication (extended family,
community, international links,
employment)
Literacy in two languages.

4. CULTURAL ADVANTAGES
Broader cultural understanding and multicultural sensitivity,
“two language worlds of experience” (Baker, 2000)
Greater tolerance and social harmony
COGNITIVE ADVANTAGES
Thinking benefits (creativity, sensitivity to communication)
Greater problem-solving and analytical skills
PERSONAL ADVANTAGES
Raised self-esteem
Flexibility and adaptability
Confidence in social interactions
Greater interpersonal skills
CURRICULUM ADVANTAGES
Conceptual development in two languages
Transfer of academic skills across two languages.
Collaborative and cooperative learning

5. CONSIGA EL
MEJOR
PUESTO

8. Bilingualism
Definition
Maximalist Minimalist Functional
The almost native To have linguistic To use 2 or more
control of two abilities even in a languages in daily life,
languages minimal way over regular bases
Bloomfield, 1935 Macnamara, 1969
Grossjean, 1982
“Bilingualism as a countenance”
(Hornberger 1989)

9. Intensification Bilingual
• Subject (English) • Curriculum is articulated
through the 2 languages
• 10 Hours (content – language)
• Language as a “resource”
• Language as an aim
• Content is a way to
• Foreign language teachers
acquire the language
• Bilingual subjects –
• “Trained teachers” Specialists
• “no trained teachers”

10. Bilingualism
- Bilingualism as a social phenomenon
- Societal bilingualism
- Bilingualism as an element of cross cultural communication
or conflict
Bilinguality
-Bilingualism as an individual phenomenon
-Individual bilingualism
-Effects of bilingualism on mental processes

11. SOCIETAL BILINGUALISM
Interdisciplinary nature of bilingualism
Languages in contact
Common occurence of bilingualism
Domains of language use
Diglossia
Language shift

12. INDIVIDUAL BILINGUALISM
• More than the sum of two
monolinguals (Grosjean, 1985)
• Degree of bilingualism
• Language as a tool of cognitive
functioning
• Influence of feedback mechanisms
• Codeswitching in bilingual
development development

13. DEFINITIONS OF BILINGUALISM
Definitions based on levels of proficiency
(maximal and minimal)
-balanced bilinguals
-semilinguals
Definitions based on use (functional)
-conversational fluency (BICS)
-academic language competence (CALP)

14. CONCLUSIONS
What can we
formulate about
bilingualism in
Colombia and our
institutions?

15. TYPES OF BILINGUAL PROGRAMS
Total immersion program
% of 10 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 50 50 50
Lge 0
grade pre 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th
Bilingual process

16. TYPES OF BILINGUAL PROGRAMS 2
Partial immersion program
% of 75 75 75 75 75 75 50 50 50 50 50 50
Lge
grade pre 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th
Bilingual process

17. BILINGUAL HYBRID PROGRAM
% of 50 50 50 50 50 50 Intensfication program (with
Lge emphasis)
grade pre 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th
Bilingual process

18. EMPOWERMENT PROGRAM
 Team teaching strategy
Preview-review methodology
Bilingual contexts
Activities
Scenarios

20. 1.The Common Underlying Proficiency
Theory
2.Context Embedded and Context
Reduced Communication
(Cummins, 1981)

21. THE COMMON UNDERLYING PROFICIENCY
THEORY (THE ICEBERG ANALOGY)

22. CONTEXT EMBEDDED AND CONTEXT REDUCED
COMMUNICATION
Context embedded communication exists when
there is a good degree of contextual support in
communications, e.g. body language, gestures,
intonation etc.
Context reduced communication there are very
few clues to meaning outside language.

23. Development of context embedded
second language fluency
Length of time needed to achieve age-appropriate levels of
contexts-embedded language proficiency
Monolingual
child
Level of
language
proficiency
Second language
learner
Length of time

24. Development of context-reduced
fluency.
Length of time needed to achieve age-appropriate levels of
contexts-reduced language proficiency
Level of Monolingual
language child
proficiency
Second language
learner
Length of time

25. Taken from Castillo (2009) based on Cummins (1984)
BICS Basic Interpersonal No demandante
Communication Skills cognitivamente
Tareas simples, mecánicas,
Especialmente útil para
estudiantes con dificultades Ejercicios repetitivos como planas,
dictados, desprovistos de contexto,
poco significativos y poco
Los estudiantes demandantes a nivel cognitivo.
Bilingües deben
ser llevados a lo
largo de este eje
Reducida en
para asegurar la
Apoyada en contexto
comprensión
contexto
CALP Cognitive Academic
Language Proficiency
Los estudiantes deben siempre
tener tareas en este cuadrante.
Los estudiantes bilingües (Escritura de textos)
necesitan la mayor cantidad de
Cognitivamente
trabajo acá de manera que se
Demandante
asegure la comprensión
mediante procesos concretos y
ricos en contexto

27. DEFINITION OF BILINGUAL EDUCATION
“Bilingual education…a program where two
languages are used equally as media of
instruction”
(Romaine, 1989:216)

28. “The basic idea underlying immersion, a notion
borrowed from communicative language learning
theory, is that by using the target language as a
language of communication in authentic situations,
such as subject-matter instruction or any other form
of teacher-student or student-student
communication outside strictly instructional
contexts, students’ acquisition of the target language
will be improved”
(Heller,1990:73)

29. “Content based language teaching is an
approach to second language instruction
that involves the use of a second
language to learn or practise content”
(Met, 1998:35).

30. CONTENT-BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING:
A CONTINUUM OF CONTENT AND LANGUAGE
INTEGRATION
Content-driven Language-driven
Total immersion
Partial immersion
Subject courses
Subject courses/language teaching
Language classes based on thematic units
Language classes/use of content for
language practice

31. COMMON MYTHS ABOUT BILINGUAL
SCHOOLS
`True` bilingual schools have everything (or nearly
everything) taught in the foreign language – English
After a short time, children will develop into “balanced
bilinguals”; “two monolinguals in one person”
(Grosjean, 1985: 467)
Schools that employ native speakers of English as
teachers are better than schools that hire bilingual
Colombian teachers.

32. “As a result of globalisation and widespread use of
English worldwide, the term ‘bilingüismo’ has acquired
a different meaning in the Colombian context. It is
used by many . . . to refer almost exclusively to
Spanish/English bilingualism. . ”
“The teaching of other modern languages (e.g.
French . . .) has also been undermined by the spread of
English and by people’s increasing desire to ‘invest’ in
English”
(Valencia, 2005:1)

33. NATIVE SPEAKERS
Hiring native speakers as teachers is more expensive and may
lead to difficulties in training teachers and equipping
classrooms
Native speaker accents may seem too remote from the people
learners expect to communicate with
Native speakers may not possess some of the skills required by
bilingual speakers, such as those of translation and
interpreting
Many countries are revaluing the importance of hiring native
speakers of English as teachers due to changing needs and
aspirations of learners

34. ADVANTAGES OF LATE
BILINGUAL EDUCATION
PROGRAMMES
Older learners have the benefit of a well-developed L1
Older learners have the benefit of well-developed literacy skills in
their L1 which can facilitate the transfer of L2 literacy skills
(Cummins, 2000)
Self selection- student who voluntary choose bilingual education
at secondary level are likely to be highly self-motivated and
academically capable
Older learners learn more in a given unit of time than younger
learners, probably because of their superior academic,
cognitive and meta-linguistic ability (Carey, 1984; MacLaughlin,
1982; Fathman, 1975)