Expanding global language education in public primary schools: the national English programme in Mexico

Abstract

The paper examines the recent national programme of English language instruction in the Mexican public primary schools, called the Programa Nacional de Inglés en Educación Básica (PNIEB). The programme, initiated in 2009 by the Ministry of Education as part of the national curriculum, represents the largest expansion of English teaching in Mexico's history, entailing the hiring of 98,000 new English teachers. It is the result of an explicit educational policy intended to prepare Mexicans for the twenty-first century by emphasising linguistic and digital abilities: meaning a massive increase of English and computer skills in public schools. The launch of the programme also coincides with a major reform of basic education, as well as the extension of compulsory education from 9 to 13 years. Nevertheless, implementing the English programme, nationally and simultaneously throughout Mexico's 32 states, presents considerable challenges for a public education system that is already under-resourced. The author describes the complexity of the programme in several local contexts. The Mexican programme is analysed as part of a growing trend to expand public primary English language teaching (PELT) in Latin America and developing countries as part of an educational policy to make them more economically competitive.

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