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Level of English in Colombian Higher Education: A Decade of Stagnation
Nivel de inglés en la educación superior colombiana: una década de estancamiento
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15446/profile.v23n1.83135Keywords:
achievement gains, educational policy, Colombian university students, Language tests, proficiency tests (en)estudiantes universitarios colombianos, mejoramiento educativo, política educativa, pruebas de inglés, pruebas de eficiencia (es)
This article analyzes the results of the Saber Pro, the state exam for students completing higher education, during 2007–2017 concerning the English language section. This analysis uses the reports and databases from the Instituto Colombiano para la Evaluación de la Educación (ICFES) repository and explains the policy in its historical context. The results warn of a quite worrying picture between the goals established by the Ministry of Education and the final achievements. The level of English of future Colombian professionals is not only very low but also without improvement from its beginnings in 2007 to 2017. As a conclusion, it would be necessary to review, from the universities’ perspective, the language educational policy and propose bottom-up structural alternatives that allow a sustained impulse in teacher training, methodology, and curricular and pedagogical organization.
En este artículo se analizan los resultados de la prueba Saber Pro, el examen de estado para estudiantes que terminan la educación superior, en el módulo de inglés del periodo 2007-2017. Este análisis utiliza los informes y bases de datos del Instituto Colombiano para la Evaluación de la Educación (Icfes) y proporciona un breve contexto histórico de la política educativa. Los resultados advierten un panorama preocupante entre las metas establecidas por el Ministerio de Educación Nacional desde el inicio de la prueba de inglés y los logros obtenidos. El nivel de inglés de los futuros profesionales en Colombia no solo sigue siendo muy bajo, sino que además no se observa mejoramiento importante. Como conclusión, se propone revisar desde las universidades la política educativa con alternativas estructurales que permitan un impulso a la capacitación docente, la metodología y la organización curricular y pedagógica.
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Copyright (c) 2021 Jorge Eliecer Benavides
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