Current Issues in
ELT at Peruvian Universities
By Mayra Yaranga
Nowadays, a great deal of attention is
paid to English tuition at schools. On one hand, schools offering intensive
English training; on the other, schools which still need great improvements;
however, what happens at university has been little explored. This article will
give us an insight into the aspects needing to be addressed.
Lack of fixed standards
Universities have only now begun to pay
attention to their students’ foreign language skills. As we know, there is no
single law stipulating what level of proficiency students should reach by the
end of their degree; in some cases just a certificate of studies will do,
though how much they have learnt is highly questionable. Besides, the reality
of universities is that they receive highly heterogeneous students in terms of
language proficiency, basically due to the situation explained above.
Universities deal with this in two ways: by establishing levels at a certain
point during the 5-year course, or by simply handing over the responsibility to
the students themselves.
Opportunities gone to waste
However, there are now a large number of
opportunities for university students and lecturers thanks to International
Relations Offices: international mobility programmes, international exchanges,
scholarships and so on. In many cases, the universities involved are from
English-speaking countries. What is happening? These opportunities are wasted–
because most of the times, applicants need to demonstrate a sound competence in
the foreign language, usually at B2 or C1 levels, which is far from what they
have attained. An example: when the 2013 Presidente de la República
Scholarships were awarded, the first three countries in the number of
scholarships were Spain, Argentina and Chile. English-speaking countries pale
in comparison. The point is, why are such brilliant opportunities missed? Would
it not be desirable for students to experience life and academic standards
abroad to complement their education?
General vs Academic English
In addition, we should ask ourselves:
What kind of English do university students need to learn? It is true that the
foundation is given by general English, but in reality, it is EAP (English for
Academic Purposes) which should be taught at some point. Naturally, this
involves a transition which needs to happen when the students are comfortable
enough with general English. The problem is, as explained above, that
university students are a highly heterogeneous group, and so it cannot be
guaranteed that after, say, two years of English tuition, everybody will be
prepared to undertake Academic English. This has to do, on one hand, with the
type of courses offered. Many universities offer courses of “specialised”
English (ESP) which mostly focus on professional terminology, but which fail to
develop all-round language competence. On the other hand, lecturers in charge
of English courses may need further training so that they raise their students’
awareness of the use of English in academic and professional contexts, and
taking advantage of their skills, gradually go from a receptive to a more
productive stage in order to better prepare them for any later opportunities.
We can conclude by saying that the task
of improving ELT at Peruvian universities is still in its infancy, but it is
good to see that some institutions are already taking steps to help their
students access different opportunities abroad.
References:
Asamblea
Nacional de Rectores e Instituto de Estadística e Informática (2010). II Censo Nacional Universitario. Lima, Perú: Dirección Nacional de
Censos y Encuestas.
Hyland, K. (2006). English for
Academic Purposes. Oxon,
England: Routledge.
Kuder, M; Lemmens, N & Obst, D.
(2014). Global Perspectives on
International Joint and Double Degree Programs. German Academic Exchange Service &
Institute of International Education.
Jenkins, J. (2014). English as a Lingua Franca in the
International University. Oxon,
England: Routledge.
Programa
Nacional de Becas y Crédito Educativo.(2013). Memoria
Anual 2013. Lima, Perú: Autor. Retrieved from: http://www.pronabec.gob.pe/inicio/publicaciones/documentos/memoria2013.pdf
Biodata
Mayra Yaranga (1985) has completed Doctorate
studies in Education at UNIFÉ; she holds a Master’s Degree in Media, Culture
and Identity from Roehampton University (London) revalidated by PUCP, a
Bachelor’s Degree in Education from UPCH and the Professional Title of
Licenciada from IPNM. Currently she works as a pedagogical specialist and
member of the research area for Universidad del Pacífico Language Centre. She
also coordinates the ESP courses and is Member of the Executive Commission on
Cooperation and International Relations at UNIFÉ. She has published papers in
the fields of English Language Teaching and Cultural Studies.
