The professional development of English language teachers in Colombia: a review of the literature

Areas and Findings in Language Teacher Professional Development

A growing body of literature has been devoted to promoting alternatives to help English language teachers in Colombia cope with their needs for professional development. Although the studies in this review considered questions that may be different in scope and complexity, concern with teacher professional development appeared to be at the core of all of them.

Language proficiency. In the literature on language teacher professional development in Colombia, teachers’ level of language proficiency has been widely considered a critical aspect in gaining teacher quality. The Colombian Ministry of Education argued that improving English teachers’ language level is one of the most noticeable needs to be addressed in the national context (Cely, 2007). Therefore, a series of general English courses and immersion programs offered by the Ministry, and often coordinated by local education authorities or higher education institutions, have been carried out to help English teachers in many different settings to improve their level of language proficiency (Colombian Ministry of Education, 2005). Interestingly, Table 1 shows that researchers have drawn attention to teachers’ language proficiency as determined by language tests, participants’ self-ratings, living and studying abroad experiences, and participation in professional development programs.

Table 1: Language Proficiency in Teacher Professional Development.

Cárdenas and Chaves (2013) revealed that there is a need to explore English teachers’ awareness of their language level using self-assessment and promoting more teacher-centered evaluations in which teachers are considered in their roles as language learners and become empowered by having a voice in the definition of their own proficiency level (Cárdenas & Chaves, 2013). The authors point out that this type of assessment “is one of the most participatory, democratic, and reflective possibilities that formative or informal evaluation offer” (p. 328). This view calls for a more active role of teachers in professional development programs aiming at enhancing language proficiency.

English teachers in Colombia are still in the process of building the proficiency levels sought by the Ministry of Education (i.e., CEFR level C1). However, since “policies are usually divorced from reality” (Shohamy, 2009, p. 46), massive diagnostic proficiency tests were not administered and studies of teachers’ working conditions were not conducted before establishing specific language policies (Cárdenas & Chaves, 2013). Unsurprisingly, the goals established by national bilingual program policies have not yet been accomplished. Another particular problem with current tests aiming at determining teachers’ English proficiency level is that they rely on computer or internet-based modes and this might affect the performance of teachers with limited computer skills. This new testing procedure, together with the fact that the assessment of listening and speaking skills is usually overlooked, might provide a less accurate view of teachers’ real proficiency in the language. This shows that appropriate conditions for professional development programs should be created and maintained if positive results are desired.

In reaction to the low English proficiency in the context of public education, Chaves and Guachapa (2016) implemented a professional development program with 63 teachers and reported that “language level progress was noticed as teachers started using more English and incorporating terminology related to tasks and CLIL; [while] their accuracy in pronunciation and vocabulary increased” (p. 13). These authors stress that since professional development is a good means to assure teacher quality, Colombian bilingualism policies should consider that the concept of teacher quality involves aspects beyond students’ and teachers’ results on language tests. In this sense, Chaves and Guachapa (2016) highlight four components of teacher quality (knowledge, practice, awareness, and image) that should be integrated in professional development initiatives. It follows that teacher development programs that combine language proficiency with other areas of the teaching profession might represent better opportunities for the enhancement of English teachers’ proficiency level. The previous studies develop the concept of professional development from a constructivist perspective in which teachers are expected to play a more active role and take center stage.

Research skills and reflective practice. Burns (2005) argues that reflecting critically and exploring a common problem in a specific context is necessary to gain understanding, create meaning, and improve educational practices. Not surprisingly, another series of studies in Colombia has been conducted to tackle language teachers’ needs related to research skills and reflective practice. The studies framed in this category generally rely on Diaz-Maggioli’s (2003), Montecinos’ (2003), Richards and Farrell’s (2005) conceptualizations of professional development as a process that entails teachers’ volunteer engagement, reflection, membership in communities of practice, transformations of reality, and new understandings of teaching and professional identity.

As depicted in Table 2, Clavijo, Guerrero, Torres, Ramírez, and Torres (2004) examined the process of innovation in language curriculum with a group of school teachers and observed that participants tended to think and reflect critically about their students’ needs and interests when planning and conducting curricular innovations. Likewise, Cárdenas’s (2004) study of the nature of English teachers’ research as part of a teacher education program similarly concluded that despite their limited background in doing research, their projects helped teachers to build a sense of empowerment in their profession. Findings in these two studies reinforced the importance of helping teachers see themselves as agents of change through the realization that their teaching could have a profound effect on their learners’ lives.

Table 2: Research Skills and Reflective Practice in Language Teacher Professional Development.

Similar to Castro and Martinez (2016), who found that classroom projects developed through collaborative action research positively impact in-service teachers’ reflective and research skills, Vergara, Hernández, and Cárdenas (2009) reported that through research seminars, project development, and communities of practice, teachers assume a better attitude toward identifying and solving problems in their educational contexts as well as building up the ability to work cooperatively and establish their cultural and professional identity.

Despite the benefits from conducting research, teachers are not always inclined to embark on that journey. Guerra, Rodríguez, and Diaz (2015) examined the impact of action research (AR) on the professional development of cooperating teachers in public schools during the academic practicum and reported that they “censored themselves to give opinions about students’ projects and did not value their expertise enough as school teachers and potential learners in AR processes” (p. 288). Cárdenas (2004) and Cárdenas et al. (2009) concluded that heavy workload, lack of institutional support, and paucity of knowledge hinder teachers’ involvement in research.

In contrast, teachers seem to get more easily involved in reflective processes. Jerez (2008) found that even though it was at first difficult for teachers to assume a reflective attitude, their active participation in a professional development program contributed to enhancing teachers’ awareness on the importance of reflection, and helped them to develop skills to be more reflective such as working with colleagues, sharing ideas, critically analyzing their actions, and evaluating the process they were following. Along similar lines, Chaves and Guachapa (2016) found that reflective skills are more effectively developed when teachers are exposed to a cycle of practice-reflection-theory as educators are able to critically assess and comprehend their practices and connect them with underlying principles.

The previous studies clearly embody the cooperative process view of professional development that stresses the importance of reflection, critical and analytical awareness, and the need to share classroom experiences and knowledge with peers as a catalyst for personal and professional growth. Various forms of action research (e.g., collaborative, exploratory, participatory) appear to be the most preferred approaches to research and reflective skills development. Even though Smith (2015) suggests that exploratory action research may be of help “as a gradualist approach, developed to be useful for induction into teacher-research in difficult circumstances” (p. 39), there is an urgent need to get institutional stakeholders involved in professional development programs if more positive outcomes are desired in the long run.

Teachers’ beliefs and identities. Although to a lesser extent, the area of teachers’ beliefs and identities has gained importance in the last few years. Exploring teachers’ identities, beliefs, and personal values contributes to understanding the decisions that teachers have to make as they engage with the teaching process and the position they assume as agents of change in the school system. Table 3 illustrates how school teachers’ experiences, beliefs, and knowledge of the socio-cultural and socio-political context have been seemingly undervalued by the Colombian Ministry of Education.

Table 3: Teachers’ Beliefs and Identities in the Context of Teacher Professional Development.

In investigating the voices of elementary school teachers regarding Colombian language policies, Quintero and Guerrero (2013) found that even though school educators are seen as the “non-knowers” that “implement” policies, they actually possess significant local knowledge that can contribute to the educational processes of the country. Torres-Rocha (2017) similarly explored the influence of the National Bilingual Program on the reconstruction of teacher identity and found that although “teachers knew about the language policies and language requirements, most of them did not feel that they had access to opportunities for development, demonstrating that power relations shape identity” (p. 12). Finally, Castañeda-Londoño (2017) claims that peer coaching as professional development represents an instance of reconstruction of teacher identity in regard to self-image, intimidation, self-understanding, and self-improvement. An outstanding finding of this study is that teacher-led professional development activities are seen as an opportunity for educators “to socialize their existing knowledge or their own constructions of theories and in-situ understandings” (p. 97). From this perspective, educators could be perceived as knowledgeable beings that can make significant contributions to the formulation of educational policies.

The findings from the studies above provide the English language teaching community with concrete evidence that the concept of Critical Professional Development (CPD) needs to be promoted among Colombian teachers. Kohli, Picower, Martínez, and Ortiz (2015) claim that CPD programs “are organized through shared power, where teachers are framed as experts and feel agency to co-construct the PD” (p. 16). Likewise, CPD prepares educators to develop their critical consciousness and transform teaching in a way that challenges that “model of education that treats teachers as empty receptacles” (Kohli et al., 2015, p. 3).

An integrated approach to teacher professional development. Other initiatives for the professional development of language teachers in Colombia reveal a combined or integrated approach. As Table 4 shows, three studies emphasize the significance of locally produced knowledge and the need of collaborative work between policy makers and teachers to generate more adequate teacher professional development programs for the Colombian context.

Table 4: Integrated Approaches to Language Teacher Professional Development.

To further illustrate this point, Ferri and Ortiz (2007) focused on the design of a holistic professional development program which sought to integrate strategies directed at improving teachers’ target language and reflective practice based on principles of theme-based instruction as part of an action research study. The authors reported that administrative support and educational policies that are sensitive to teachers’ needs and realities can help create adequate conditions for future professional development. This study has been one of the few that sought to combine the views of training and development (Richards & Farrell, 2005) since it aimed at integrating discrete and trainable aspects with more complex features of teaching.

Contrary to this, Cárdenas, González, and Álvarez (2010) claim that new proposals for professional development programs in Colombia should use teacher development and not teacher training. The way we see it, however, is that much has been said about how training and development serve different purposes when the tendency should be that “it is more useful to see [them] as two complementary components of a fully rounded teacher education” (Head & Taylor, 1997, p. 9). These two views give evidence of the complexity of teaching and remind us that knowing how to teach involves more than just following prescribed routines. It also requires thinking over the decisions that teachers make in class, and interpreting and reflecting on the interplay of factors that seem to govern the preparation of language teachers. Other considerations by Cárdenas et al. (2010) such as individual and social perspectives of learning and teaching, post-method approaches, creation of knowledge in school and social settings, and promotion of meaningful practices among teachers are, nonetheless, worthy of inclusion in the design of teacher development programs.

Viáfara and Largo (2018) reported that postgraduate programs, teachers’ number one option for continuing their preparation, facilitate teachers’ analysis of educational policies, their reflective skills, and curricular knowledge. More awareness of the relevance of doing classroom research to innovate, and the feeling of empowerment to be able to adjust institutional educational policies were other relevant findings in this study. These authors equally remark that postgraduate programs should include more issues about language education policy and program administration as well as employ more methods of inquiry that go in line with teachers’ contextual needs and working conditions.

The aforementioned studies converge on the idea that language teacher professional development should be defined in the light of principles such as particularity, practicality, and possibility (Kumaravadivelu, 2003). This implies that the design, planning, and implementation of professional development programs should consider aspects such as local contexts, teachers’ knowledge, practical personal theories, beliefs, and socio-cultural issues. Likewise, these studies call for the involvement and participation of institutional stakeholders in order to ensure continuity in research and sustainability of reflective and innovation practices once professional development programs are over.

Pedagogical skills and teaching approaches. The area of pedagogical skills and teaching approaches has not escaped the interest of teachers and teacher developers. As shown in Table 5, studies in this area have focused on using teachers’ study groups to develop knowledge, attitudes, and skills to teaching (Sierra, 2007), and to determine appropriate approaches to teaching English (Álvarez & Sánchez, 2005). The use of study groups in these projects proved to help participants update professional knowledge and expertise and build positive expectations regarding students learning.

Table 5: Pedagogical Skills and Teaching Approaches in Teacher Professional Development Programs.

Other studies in this area include looking at how a group of public school teachers used cooperative learning in their classes (López & Viáfara, 2007), and a teacher collaboration project to implement a language resource center at an institution (Rojas, 2008). These studies revealed that teachers’ self-encouragement for professional development emerged as a fundamental issue when they implemented cooperative learning in their institutions. Rojas (2008) showed that the main benefits in connection to teachers’ professional development, resulting from taking part in the teacher collaboration project, were social (e.g., communication and respect for others’ ideas) and pedagogical (e.g., spontaneity and self-confidence when teaching).

With respect to teaching methods and approaches, it appears that communicative language teaching is still the preferred approach to English language teaching not only in the setting studied by Álvarez and Sánchez (2005) but also in other contexts in Colombia (Zúñiga et al., 2009). In this regard, teacher development programs should expose teachers to other trends in language teaching methods and approaches including but not limited to content and language integrated learning, and literacy-based approaches.

The studies analyzed in this section suggest that group work has the potential to help teachers build professional communities of practice and offer a school-based approach for educators’ professional growth. However, three of these investigations (López & Viáfara, 2007; Rojas, 2008; Sierra, 2007) reported that the biggest challenge teachers have when trying to form study groups to collaboratively transform their pedagogical practices is the lack of institutional support and the existence of school policies that promote silent classrooms with students sitting in rows.

Emerging technologies. The use of emerging technologies in foreign language education has been of great interest to teachers and scholars in Colombia. However, most of the research conducted in this area has been at the level of teaching or facilitating the acquisition of specific language skills to groups of students across different levels of education (Galvis, 2011; Guerrero, 2012; Rojas, 2011; Velandia et al., 2012). In contrast, technology-mediated alternatives for language teacher professional development have been slightly less predominant. Table 6 shows that most studies in this area have sought to examine language teachers’ roles, beliefs, attitudes, and competences as well as teachers’ realization of the uses and benefits of specific technologies for language learning and teaching.

Table 6: Technologies and the Professional Development of Language Teachers.

In looking at the teacher’s role and interaction in an EFL reading comprehension distance web-based course, Muñoz and González (2010) found that in these new scenarios, teachers were called to play roles such as solving technical problems, providing immediate feedback, interacting with students in a nontraditional way, providing time management advice, and acting as constant motivators. Teachers similarly required training for these new roles and active participation in the analysis and construction of web-based learning environments. In another study, García and Rey (2013) explored teachers’ beliefs in connection to the implementation of technology-based activities in EFL classes and found that such activities contribute to promoting motivation, reinforcing topics already studied in class, and helping students achieve their learning outcomes. Nonetheless, many of the implemented activities “were oriented toward drilling exercises of grammar and vocabulary and listening and reading tasks” (p. 62) with limited opportunities for promoting interaction among the students. Teachers similarly play a rather passive role as they simply sit and wait for students to complete the given tasks.

McDougald (2013) also reported the influence of the integration of ICTs into graduate courses. Results showed that a growing number of teachers are using technological tools on a regular basis in their classrooms and the majority of them revealed high satisfaction in using digital technologies to motivate and build autonomy among their language learners. Participant-teachers also claimed to rely on technologies to help their students improve various aspects including pronunciation, fluency, and accuracy. Similarly, Pineda and Tamayo (2016) responded to teachers’ needs regarding the development of competencies involving e-moderation and the design of e-tivities to embed technology into their teaching. One particular feature of their professional development program that stood out was that it focused on both the instrumental use of the tools and their pedagogical use. The use of ICTs, particularly wikis, blogs, microblogs, e-mail communication, and forums in the professional development of in-service language teachers (Espitia & Clavijo, 2011; Fandiño, 2012) suggests that working with new technologies can have a positive impact on teachers’ practices, attitudes, and competencies.

Conversely, Viáfara (2011) argues that “the impact of these tools has not influenced the pedagogy of foreign languages as substantially as was predicted” (p. 210) and concludes that “teacher educators’ preparation to instruct practitioners in the use and subsequent integration of technology in classrooms stands as a priority” (p. 223). Other authors (Chaves & Guapacha, 2016; Sánchez & Chavarro, 2017) claim that most English teachers in public schools are not fully familiar with the use of ICTs or simply “lack the knowledge and skills regarding the use of technological resources” (Sánchez & Chavarro, 2017, p. 264), and that is why they turn to traditional resources. Thus, these authors call for the development of more digital literacies among teachers including the use of a blended learning approach in professional development initiatives if traditional conceptions of teaching are to be transformed. A final consideration observed in many of the previous studies relates to a growing awareness among language teachers that emerging technologies constitute an area of significant concern in their professional development. In fact, their beliefs in this regard “seemed to move from a rather technophobic posture, in which technology appears to be strange and difficult, to a technophilic position where the potentials and benefits of technology are acknowledged (Fandiño, 2012, p. 19).