Page 234 - ENSEÑANZA DE INGLÉS EN ESCUELAS PRIMARIAS PÚBLICAS

DIRECCIÓN GENERAL DE INVESTIGACIÓN Y POSGRADO and length of classes. Classes are few and
234 Libro Digital Universitario 2014
too short in time, only 50 minutes per class

3 times a week, which was only 2 ½ hours

per week.
for the program in Chiapas. This has made
Besides the lack of materials, teachers
the teaching and learning processes more
did not have other resources such as Cd
difficult for everyone. Teachers started the
players, televisions and special classrooms
term with no books or materials, so they
for the English class, the latter preventing
had to create and adapt their own material,
teachers from being able to have materials
which implies a huge investment of time
on the walls or to exhibit students’ work.
and money. Some parents even complai-
Teachers also complained about the
ned that their children needed to make
lack of support from parents. They thought
photocopies for the English class.
that many parents did not cooperate or
Although the teachers receivedthe
support their children at home probably
materials by mid-term, this did not solve
because they did not care enough about
the situation because the books and mate-
their children’s education, or they conside-
rials were not at the level of the students’
red English unimportant since children do
English. For instance fifth and sixth grade
not get an official grade, or, even if inter-
books were designed under the assump-
ested, they could not help their children
tion that children had already taken four
because they do not know English them-
years of English, but many of the fifth and
selves.
sixth graders were taking English for the
Teacher B sustained that “parents are
first time.All the interviewed teachers con-
not really concerned and they don´t really
sidered this last issue to be a major pro-
care”. Parents’ usual answer is “I don´t
blem; in fact, they held that the program
know English so I don´t care if my child
was too ambitious in two senses: first, the-
does or doesn´t”. Teacher F mentioned that
proficiency level and secondly, the number
the lack of support from the rest of the tea-

chers and staff in that school had also been

Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas