Correo Electrónico
DNINFOA - SIA
Bibliotecas
Convocatorias
Identidad U.N.
Published
Students’ Agency in a Foreign Language Policy in Colombian Higher Education
El agenciamiento del estudiantado en una política lingüística de lengua extranjera en la educación superior colombiana
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15446/profile.v27n1.113292Keywords:
agency, foreign language, higher education, language policy (en)agenciamiento, enseñanza superior, lengua extranjera, política lingüística (es)
This qualitative ethnographic study investigates students’ agency of a language policy in a Colombian public university. Participants were 85 undergraduate students, and data collection involved document analysis, non-participatory observation, a questionnaire, and a portfolio. Three categories emerged from the analysis: acceptance, rejection, and ignoring. Regarding acceptance, the findings suggest that some students agreed with including English in the curriculum. Some other students expressed rejection related to the English class, the methodology, the evaluation proposal, and the course material. Other students ignored elements regarding their own role in the program, extra-class activities, and participation and attendance in class. Conclusions indicate that students are not passive recipients of language policies because they exercise agency differently at the micro level.
Este estudio etnográfico cualitativo investigó el agenciamiento de los estudiantes en la política lingüística de una universidad pública colombiana. Participaron 85 estudiantes universitarios y la recolección de datos incluyó análisis documental, observación no participante, un cuestionario y un portafolio. Se identificaron tres categorías: aceptación, rechazo e ignorancia. Algunos estudiantes están conformes con la inclusión del inglés en el plan de estudios, mientras que otros manifiestan rechazo hacia la clase de inglés, la metodología, la propuesta de evaluación y el material del curso. Además, algunos desconocen los elementos relacionados con su papel en el programa, las actividades extraescolares y la participación y asistencia a clase. En conclusión, los estudiantes no son receptores pasivos de las políticas lingüísticas, pues ejercen agencia de diferentes maneras a nivel micro.
References
Ahern, L. M. (2001). Language and agency. Annual Review of Anthropology, 30, 109–137. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.anthro.30.1.109
Alagozlu, N. (2012). English as a foreign language cul-de-sac in Turkey. Procedia: Social and Behavioral Sciences, 47, 1757–1761. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.06.896
Angrosino, M. V. (2015). Recontextualización de la observación. En N. K. Denzin y Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Manual de investigación cualitativa (Vol. 4, pp. 203–224). Gedisa Editorial.
Arnold, J. (2000). Affect in language learning. Cambridge University Press.
Ball, S. J., Maguire, M., Braun, A., & Hoskins, K. (2011). Policy actors: Doing policy work in schools. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 32(4), 625–639. https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2011.601565
Blommaert, J. (2010). The sociolinguistics of globalization. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511845307
Bonilla Carvajal, C. A., & Tejada-Sanchez, I. (2016). Unanswered questions in Colombia’s foreign language education policy. Profile: Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 18(1), 185–201. https://doi.org/10.15446/profile.v18n1.51996
Brown, J. (2015). Learner agency in language planning: A tripartite perspective. Language Problems and Language Planning, 39(2), 171–186. https://doi.org/10.1075/lplp.39.2.04bro
Bunce, P., Phillipson, R., Rapatahana, V., & Tupas, R. (Eds.). (2016). Why English? Confronting the hydra. Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781783095858
Canagarajah, S. (2006). Ethnographic methods in language policy. In T. Ricento (Ed.), An introduction to language policy: Theory and method (pp. 153–169). Blackwell.
Cárdenas, M. L. (2006). Bilingual Colombia: Are we ready for it? What is needed? [Paper presentation]. 19th Annual EA Education Conference, Perth, Australia.
Coffee, A., & Atkinson, P. (2003). Encontrar el sentido a los datos cualitativos: estrategias complementarias de investigación (E. Zimmerman, Trad.). Editorial Universidad de Antioquia. (Publicación original 1996)
Dandrea, F., & Lizabe, G. (Eds.). (2020). Internacionalización y gobernanza lingüística en el nivel superior: las lenguas extranjeras en contexto. Aportes para su estudio y desarrollo. UniRío. https://bit.ly/4fYPBzW
Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.). (2018). The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Dörnyei, Z. (1997). Motivational factors in the second language attainment: A review of research in Hungary. Acta Linguistica Hungarica, 44(1/2), 261–275.
Dörnyei, Z., & Taguchi, T. (2010). Questionnaires in second language research: Construction, administration, and processing (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203864739
Ekiz, S., & Kulmetov, Z. (2016). The factors affecting learners’ motivation in English language education. Journal of Foreign Language Education and Technology, 1(1), 18–38.
Fenton-Smith, B., & Gurney, L. (2016). Actors and agency in academic language policy and planning. Current Issues in Language Planning, 17(1), 72–87. https://doi.org/10.1080/14664208.2016.1115323
Flick, U. (2018). Triangulation. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (5th ed., pp. 444–461). SAGE Publications. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvddzffm.4
Fuentes, R. (2019). English learners’ appropriation of English language policy at a U.S. university. International Multilingual Research Journal, 14(3), 233–247. https://doi.org/10.1080/19313152.2019.1684422
Gazzola, M. (2012). The linguistic implications of academic performance indicators: General trends and case study. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 216, 131–156. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijsl-2012-0043
González, A. (2007). Professional development of EFL teachers in Colombia: Between colonial and local practices. Íkala, Revista de Lenguaje y Cultura, 12(1), 309–332. https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.ikala.2722
Hamel, R. E. (2013). El campo de las ciencias y la educación superior entre el monopolio del inglés y el plurilingüismo: elementos para una política del lenguaje en América Latina. Trabalhos em Linguística Aplicada, 52(2), 321–384. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0103-18132013000200008
Haugen, E. (1971). The ecology of language. The Linguistic Reporter Supplement, 25, 19–26.
Heck, R. H. (2004). Studying educational and social policy: Theoretical concepts and research methods. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Hornberger, N. H., & Johnson, D. C. (2007). Slicing the onion ethnographically: Layers and spaces in multilingual language education policy and practice. TESOL Quarterly, 41(3), 509–532. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1545-7249.2007.tb00083.x
Hornberger, N. H., & Johnson, D. C. (2011). The ethnography of language policy. In T. L. McCarty (Ed.), Ethnography and language policy (pp. 273–289). Routledge.
Johnson, D. C. (2013). Language policy. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137316202
Johnson, D. C., & Johnson, E. J. (2015). Power and agency in language policy appropriation. Language Policy, 14, 221–243. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-014-9333-z
Johnson, R. B., & Christensen, L. B. (2008). Educational research: Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed approaches (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Kaplan, R. B., & Baldauf, R. B. (1997). Language planning: From practice to theory. Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781800418059
Kaplan, R. B., & Baldauf, R. B. (2003). Language and language-in-education planning in the Pacific basin. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0145-7
Le Lièvre, F., Anquetil, M., Deivry-Plard, M., Fäcke, C., & Verstraete-Hansen, L. (Eds.). (2015). Langues et cultures dans l’internationalisation de l’enseignement supérieur au XXIe siècle. (Re)penser les politiques linguistiques: anglais et plurilinguisme. Peter Lang.
Levinson, B. A. U., Sutton, M., & Winstead, T. (2009). Education policy as a practice of power: Theoretical tools, ethnographic methods, democratic options. Educational Policy, 23(6), 767–795. https://doi.org/10.1177/0895904808320676
Liddicoat, A. J. (2013). Language-in-education policies: The discursive construction of intercultural relations. Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781847699152
Liddicoat, A. J. (2014). The interface between macro and micro-level language policy and the place of language pedagogies. International Journal of Pedagogies & Learning, 9(2), 118–129. https://doi.org/10.1080/18334105.2014.11082025
Liddicoat, A. J. (Ed.). (2018). Language policy and planning in universities: Teaching, research, and administration. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203732106
Liddicoat, A. J., & Taylor-Leech, K. (2021). Agency in language planning and policy. Current Issues in Language Planning, 22(1–2), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/14664208.2020.1791533
McCarty, T. L. (Ed.). (2011). Ethnography and language policy. Routledge.
McCarty, T. L. (2015). Ethnography in language planning and policy research. In F. M. Hult & D. C. Johnson (Eds.), Research methods in language policy and planning: A practical guide (pp. 81–93). Wiley Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118340349.ch8
Merriam, S. B. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass.
Merriam, S. B., & Tisdell, E. J. (2016). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation (4th ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
Miranda, N., & Echeverry, Á. P. (2010). Infrastructure and resources of private schools in Cali and the implementation of the Bilingual Colombia Program. How Journal, 17(1), 11–30.
Mourão Guimarães, R., & Machado Pereira, L. S. (2021). Mapeamento dos estudos sobre políticas linguísticas e internacionalização no Brasil: uma selfie. Fórum Linguístico, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.5007/1984-8412.2021.e72625
Pereira Rojas, S. I. (2013). Planificación y políticas lingüísticas en la enseñanza de lenguas extranjeras a nivel universitario: un análisis de percepciones. Lenguaje, 41(2), 383–406. https://doi.org/10.25100/lenguaje.v41i2.4975
Phillipson, R., & Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (1996). English only worldwide or language ecology? TESOL Quarterly, 30(3), 429–452. https://doi.org/10.2307/3587692
Phillipson, R., & Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (2018). Linguistic imperialism and the consequences for language ecology. In A. F. Fill & H. Penz (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of ecolinguistics (pp. 121–134). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315687391-9
Pinto, S. (2016). Políticas linguísticas nas universidades públicas portuguesas: discursos e práticas institucionais de formação e de investigação. Universidade de Aveiro.
Pinto, S., & Araújo e Sá, M. H. (2020). Políticas linguísticas de formação e de investigação em universidades públicas portuguesas: das tensões a eixos de reflexão-ação. Revista Lusófona de Educação, 47, 99–113. https://doi.org/10.24140/issn.1645-7250.rle47.07
Pujolà, J.-T. (Ed.). (2019). El portafolio digital en la docencia universitaria. Octaedro Editorial.
Ricento, T. (Ed.). (2001). Ideology, politics and language policies: Focus on English. John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/impact.6
Ricento, T. K., & Hornberger, N. H. (1996). Unpeeling the onion: Language planning and policy and the ELT professional. TESOL Quarterly, 30(3), 401–427. https://doi.org/10.2307/3587691
Schiffman, H. F. (1996). Linguistic culture and language policy. Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203273487
Shouhui, Z., & Baldauf, R. B. (2012). Individual agency in language planning: Chinese script reform as a case study. Language Problems and Language Planning, 36(1), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1075/lplp.36.1.01zha
Spolsky, B. (2004). Language policy. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511615245
Tao, J., & Gao, X. (2017). Teacher agency and identity commitment in curricular reform. Teaching and Teacher Education, 63, 346–355. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2017.01.010
Tollefson, J. W. (1991). Planning language, planning inequality: Language policy in the community. Longman.
Torrente Paternina, L. P. (2013). Diálogo democrático y políticas lingüísticas: una propuesta. Cuadernos de Lingüística Hispánica, (21), 55–70. DOI: https://doi.org/10.19053/0121053X.1949
Usma Wilches, J. (2009). Education and language policy in Colombia: Exploring processes of inclusion, exclusion and stratification in times of global reform. Profile: Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 11(1), 123–142.
Vila, F. X. (2015). Language policy in higher education in medium-sized language communities: An introduction. In F. X. Vila & V. Bretxa (Eds.), Language policy in higher education: The case of medium-sized languages (pp. 1–14). Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781783092765-003
Vivanco Cervero, V. (2010). Proyección internacional de la producción científica en español. Anales de Documentación: Revista de Biblioteconomía y Documentación, (13), 275–284.
Zhao, S., & Baldauf, R. B. (2012). Individual agency in language planning: Chinese script reform as a case study. Language Problems and Language Planning, 36(1), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1075/lplp.36.1.01zha
How to Cite
APA
ACM
ACS
ABNT
Chicago
Harvard
IEEE
MLA
Turabian
Vancouver
Download Citation
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Sergio Lopera , Nelly Sierra
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
You are authorized to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format as long as you give appropriate credit to the authors of the articles and to Profile: Issues in Teachers' Professional Development as original source of publication. The use of the material for commercial purposes is not allowed. If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.
Authors retain the intellectual property of their manuscripts with the following restriction: first publication is granted to Profile: Issues in Teachers' Professional Development.
