Teaching English as an

International Language:
the Chilean context
Sandra McKay

In this paper, the author argues that when teaching English as an international
language, educators should recognize the value of including topics that deal
with the local culture, support the selection of a methodology that is
appropriate to the local educational context, and recognize the strengths of
bilingual teachers of English. Based on the results of a questionnaire given to
Chilean teachers of English, the author maintains that in Chile there is
growing support for such practices and attitudes. Nowadays many countries
where English is a required subject are confronting similar questions regarding
the use of the local culture in ELT .

Background Today, many contend that English is an international language (Crystal

1997; Graddol 1997). This is not because it is the most widely spoken
native language in the world, since by most estimates Mandarin has
three times as many native speakers as English, but rather because of the
growing number of speakers who are acquiring some familiarity with
English as their second or third language. In fact, Graddol (1999)
contends that in the not too distant future, second language speakers of
English will surpass the number of native speakers.
The increasing number of bilingual speakers of English means that
many speakers of English will be using English alongside one or more
other languages that they speak, and hence their uses of English may
be more specific and limited than monolingual speakers of English.
Because of this fact, Cook (1999) argues for the need to avoid
comparing bilingual speakers of English to native speakers, and rather to
recognize the many strengths of bilingual users of English who have a
rich linguistic repertoire to serve their communication needs. This
emphasis on the strengths of bilingual speakers of English is also being
heard in reference to bilingual teachers of English. Many bilingual
teachers of English themselves are pointing to the pedagogical
advantages they have in knowing their students’ culture and first
language, and in being models of successful language learners. (See
Braine 1999; Medgyes 1992; and Seidlhofer 1999 for an elaboration of
these advantages.)
The growing number of bilingual speakers of English, however, is not
the only important characteristic of English as an international
language (EIL ). Equally significant is the relationship that exists

ELT Journal Volume 57/2 April 2003 © Oxford University Press 139
 between EIL and the local culture. In defining an international language,
Smith (1976) maintains that in the acquisition of an international
language:
a learners do not need to internalize the cultural norms of native
speakers of the language,
b the ownership of an international language becomes ‘de-
nationalized’, and
c the educational goal of learning the language is to enable learners to
communicate their ideas and culture to others.
Smith’s early call for a need to denationalize the use of English has more
recently been emphasized by Kachru (1992), who argues that English
must now be dissociated from the colonial past, and not necessarily be
linked to ‘westernization’. In a similar manner, Widdowson (1994)
maintains that the time has now come for bilingual speakers of English
to assume ownership of English, using it for their specific purposes, and
modifying it to meet their needs.
The separation of EIL from any one culture has, I believe, important
implications for the teaching of EIL , among them the following:
π First, the cultural content of EIL materials should not be limited to native
English-speaking cultures. If one of the central educational goals of an
international language is to enable learners to communicate their
culture to others, then EIL materials should provide students with
the vocabulary and information to do this by including local cultural
content.
π Second, an appropriate pedagogy of EIL needs to be informed by local
expectations regarding the role of the teacher and learner. Presently, in many
countries where English is being learned as a second language, educators
look to countries where English is a native language for appropriate
methods. In the process of doing so, many Ministries of Education have
advocated the adoption of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT )
because it is widely used by native English-speaking teachers in their
own countries. However, I would argue that just as the content of EIL
materials must be separated from native-speaker models, so too must
EIL methodology, by allowing a locally appropriate pedagogy to be
implemented.
π Third, the strengths of bilingual teachers of English need to be recognized.
Those who see English as belonging to native speakers and native
English-speaking cultures frequently contend that first language
speakers of English are the most e¤ective teachers of English. Yet if EIL
has become ‘de-nationalized’, then it is time to recognize the many
strengths of bilingual teachers of English, particularly their familiarity
with the local culture.
Recently I received a Fulbright research grant to examine the teaching of
English in Chile. There, like many countries around the world, the global
status of English has resulted in English being a required subject in the
school curriculum, beginning in grade 7 through the end of high school
in grade 12. In view of my belief that the teaching of EIL should be

140 Sandra McKay

 informed by the assumptions listed above, I decided to investigate the
following questions:
1 What is the cultural content of widely used ELT textbooks in Chilean
primary and secondary schools? What cultural content do teachers
believe is appropriate for the teaching of English?
2 What ELT methodology is being advocated in Chilean schools? What
methodology do teachers believe is most appropriate for the teaching
of English?
3 How do Chilean English teachers view their own strengths and
weaknesses in relation to native English-speaking teachers?
Having been involved in teacher education programs in many countries,
I assumed that Chilean educators, like educators in many countries in
which I have worked, would support the use of native English-speaker
cultural content in ELT materials, would advocate the use of CLT
methods¡, and would express a lack of self-confidence in their own
teaching in relation to native English speakers. In general, this is not
what I found. Before discussing my findings, however, I will outline the
current Chilean Ministry of Education guidelines on the teaching of
English.

The Chilean English In 1998 the Ministry of Education presented an overall Chilean school
teaching context curriculum reform that specified teaching objectives for various fields of
study for primary and secondary schools (i.e. grades 1–12). These
objectives were incorporated in a national bill, making them the legally
binding basis for school reform in the public schools. The revised
English curriculum lists fundamental objectives for each year that
English is a required subject—from the last two years of primary school
(i.e. grades 7 and 8) to the final year of high school (i.e. grade 12). In
terms of the English curriculum, the Ministry maintains that the design
of the curriculum should reflect the role of English in the world today,
the scope of worldwide communication networks, the geographical and
regional characteristics of Chile, and the demands of the Chilean labor
market.
The major change in the curriculum is the emphasis given to receptive
skills (reading and listening) as opposed to productive skills (speaking
and writing). The program of study outlined by the Ministry specifies
that 40 percent of the English curriculum is to be devoted to developing
reading comprehension, 40 percent to listening comprehension, and 20
percent to speaking and writing. The rationale given for this division is
that, for most Chileans, English will be used to access the growing
amount of information available in that language, which will often be of a
technical nature, rather than for speaking or writing. The Ministry
believes that an emphasis on receptive skills reflects the local English
needs of Chilean youngsters, who will need English to partake in a global
economy and information network.
There is some evidence that in-service teachers of English are generally
pleased with the overall design of the reform. Farías (2000), for example,
in a survey of 64 high school teachers in the Santiago area, found that 78

Teaching English as an International Language 141

 percent of the teachers he surveyed support the objectives and content
outlined in the English reform. 85 percent of the teachers believe that the
changes are positive because the reform has encouraged them to change
their methodology and teaching objectives. Perhaps one of the main
reasons for many teachers’ satisfaction with the reform is that all
students in the public schools are given a textbook and cassette, called Go
for Chile (Mugglestone, Elsworth, and Rose 1999, 2000), which
implements the objectives specified by the Ministry of Education reform.
Go for Chile features a group of students from various countries who are
on board a ship sailing along the coast of Chile. The students on the ship
were selected by their countries to join this educational sea voyage
because of their academic ability. The scenario of the sea voyage enables
the textbook writers to deal with local places and concerns, as well as to
present information about the various countries represented by the
students on board the ship. The books introduce academic topics by
including texts and lectures on topics such as climate conditions in
various parts of Chile, and deals with learning skills such as
classification, brainstorming, and analysis. Hence, the textbooks, in
keeping with the Ministry guidelines, strive to develop students’ English
language skills primarily in reference to their need to use English to
process technical written texts, academic lectures, and presentations.

The teacher My research involved visiting numerous public and private primary
questionnaire and secondary English classes in various parts of Chile, interviewing
in-service and pre-service teachers of English, talking with teacher
educators at a variety of teacher education institutions, gathering
Ministry of Education documents related to English teaching, collecting
copies of widely-used textbooks, and surveying in-service teachers in
public and private schools. The overall purpose of my Fulbright
investigation was to examine the questions noted above regarding the
role of culture in Chilean ELT materials, the prevalent methodology used
in ELT , and attitudes toward native and non-native English-speaking
teachers. In this paper I will focus primarily on the results of a limited
questionnaire of Chilean English teachers regarding their opinions on
these topics.
In order to get a representative sample of in-service teachers,
questionnaires dealing with their opinions on these topics were
distributed to teachers in Santiago, as well as to teachers in smaller,
outlying communities (i.e. Copiapó and La Serena). The questionnaires
were given to teachers in public, semi-public, and private schools. Semi-
public schools in Chile are schools that receive public funds but are
allowed more diversity in their curriculum. For example, one semi-public
Chilean school devotes a good deal of its curriculum to music. The
questionnaire was given in Spanish to 50 English teachers: 29 teachers
from public schools, 10 from semi-public schools, and 11 from private
schools. The majority of these teachers (34) had been teaching English
for 5 years or more.

The cultural content In order to determine Chilean teachers’ views on the role of culture in
of ELT materials ELT materials, the following question were asked:

142 Sandra McKay

 1 Which type of cultural content would you prefer to use in your class?
A Content that deals with local Chilean places and people?
B Content that deals primarily with aspects of United States or British
life and culture?
C Content that deals with the life and culture of various countries
around the world?
WHY?
The majority of teachers preferred content that deals with the life and
culture of various countries around the world, although there was
support for the inclusion of local Chilean places and people. This was
especially true of the teachers in the public schools where Go for Chile
was being used. The following table illustrates the breakdown of
responses. (In some instances teachers selected more than one option.)
Teachers

Public Semi-public Private

Option A 7 1 2
Option B 9 1 1
Option C 14 8 10

Those who supported the use of Chilean cultural content gave reasons
such as ‘it is important to keep alive the Chilean culture in young people’,
and ‘to reinforce the values of our culture’. Those who supported the use
of content from native English-speaking countries cited the need to know
‘the origin of the language’. Finally, those who preferred the use of
various cultures o¤ered reasons like ‘This may help students feel that
they can use English everywhere and in any situation’, and ‘Students
have a global vision of the world in which they live.’

The use of Before the educational reform in 1998, teachers were encouraged by the
communicative Ministry of Education to use CLT methods. More specifically, they were
language teaching encouraged to make regular use of group work. In view of this situation,
methods several of the items on the questionnaire dealt with the topic of
communicative classrooms and group work.
When asked how often they use group work in their classes (‘every class’,
‘sometimes’, ‘rarely’, or ‘never’), the majority of teachers in the survey
(40) indicated they use it ‘sometimes’. When asked whether or not they
believe a class must use group work to be considered a communicative
classroom, the majority (33) felt that it was not necessary to have group
work. Teachers gave answers like the following: ‘Not necessarily because
you have communication between teachers and students or through a
video or tape. You can have the written part too’, and ‘The concept
communicative implies a sender, a message, and a receiver. For this, a
minimum of two people is needed. This can be the teacher with the class
in general. Therefore, to be communicative, the class does not have to be
participating in group work.’ Teaching in a public or private school made
little di¤erence in the response to these questions.

Teaching English as an International Language 143

 In general the teachers supported the social benefits of using group
work, but they also felt that using group work involves a number of
problems. When asked what they saw as the major advantages of using
group work, teachers responded with comments like ‘Students learn
respect and learn to listen’, ‘Students put social rules into practice’, and
‘It reinforces values such as respect, responsibility and teamwork.’ When
asked about the disadvantages of using group work, most teachers
referred to the problem of the large number of students in the classes,
the lack of physical space, the lack of time, discipline problems, and the
tendency of students to go o¤-task. Teachers wrote comments like ‘Each
group needs to be controlled so that all students work’, and ‘Generally
only a couple of students work while the students who don’t participate
get a grade that they don’t deserve.’
In my various one-to-one interviews with teachers, there was often a
sense of relief that under the new Ministry of Education guidelines there
was less pressure to use CLT , and specifically to use group work. As one
teacher from a large urban high school in Santiago put it, ‘Before the
reform, we were encouraged to use the communicative approach, but
how are you going to do this with 45 students and evaluate them?
Students don’t like to speak English.’ In general, I found that both the
Ministry of Education and the teachers are de-emphasizing the use of
CLT on the grounds that it is not appropriate to the local Chilean context
for the reasons noted above.

The role of Chilean In many countries, native speakers of English are frequently given
teachers of English preference in ELT job openings. In private language institutes, in
particular, administrators often believe that having native English
speakers as teachers makes their program more desirable. One
repercussion of this situation is that local bilingual English teachers may
feel they are not as competent. Fortunately, some bilingual teachers of
English (see, for example, Medgyes 1992) are challenging this notion.
By and large, Chilean teachers of English appear to recognize their
strengths as teachers. When asked who they would hire if they were a
director of a private English language institute in Chile—native English
speakers or Chileans—over half supported the hiring of Chileans,
though teachers in semi-public and private schools were more likely to
prefer native speakers, as shown in the following table.

Public Semi-public Private

Native speaker 14 7 10
Chileans 20 6 6

Those who would prefer to hire native English-speaking teachers gave

reasons like ‘My institution would be more prestigious and would have
teachers who teach pronunciation correctly’, and ‘Being private, it is
more attractive to my clients having native speakers.’ On the other hand,
those who supported the hiring of Chileans gave reasons like ‘Chilean
teachers know grammar better’, and ‘Chilean teachers know the
sociocultural reality.’

144 Sandra McKay

 When asked what they believe are the greatest strengths of native
English-speaking teachers, most of the teachers referred to native
speakers’ accurate pronunciation and fluency in the language, with
comments like ‘Native speakers’ pronunciation is correct, they are more
natural when they respond, and they know their own culture well.’ When
asked what they saw as the weaknesses of native English-speaking
teachers, many Chilean teachers referred to native English speakers’
unfamiliarity with the Chilean culture, and their lack of fluency in
Spanish. Teachers o¤ered comments like ‘They don’t know the culture
very well, and therefore do not understand their students’, and ‘They
don’t know the socioeconomic reality of Chile and the problems that are
present in the Chilean education system.’
When asked what they believe are the greatest strengths of Chilean
English teachers, the majority responded that Chilean teachers know the
culture and language of their students. Comments like the following
were typical: Chilean teachers have ‘knowledge of the education system
and culture’; they are ‘culturally connected with students’, and ‘closer to
the students because Chilean teachers know who the students are, and
how they behave’. Interestingly, in response to assessing their greatest
weaknesses, many teachers responded that the most serious weakness
they have is a limited opportunity for continuing education. In general,
Chilean English teachers view themselves as professionals who have
many strengths, but realize the importance of continued professional
development.

Conclusion I began this paper by arguing that English is an international language,

and because of this fact, English can no longer be linked exclusively to
native English-speaking cultures. Hence, there is no need, in the
teaching of EIL , to base the content of teaching materials, the choice of
teaching methodology, or the ideal teacher on native-speaker models.
Instead, each country in which EIL is being taught must take ownership
of the language, selecting teaching content and methods that are
appropriate to the local context. As Kramsch and Sullivan (1996) point
out, an appropriate pedagogy for the teaching of EIL depends upon local
ELT professionals thinking globally but acting locally.
Chile seems to be one country in which this is happening. Many
currently-used textbooks, especially the Ministry of Education approved
Go for Chile series, do not give primary emphasis to cultural content from
native English-speaking countries. In addition, although Chile has in the
past advocated the use of CLT , in the belief that it is a modern method
widely used in ELT in English-speaking countries, many Chilean
teachers, as well as the Ministry of Education, have concluded that some
aspects of the method, particularly its emphasis on group work, are not
e¤ective in the Chilean context. Finally, my interactions with Chilean
English teachers suggest that Chilean teachers recognize the strengths
they have as teachers because of their bilingualism, and their familiarity
with the local cultural context. In this way, Chile can provide a model for
the teaching of English as an international language. In general, Chilean
educators have taken responsibility for developing a pedagogy that is
appropriate to the local context, realizing that they are the ones who can

Teaching English as an International Language 145

 best develop a locally sensitive pedagogy that can help students learn an
international language.
Revised version received November 2001

Notes Mugglestone, P., S. Elsworth, and J. Rose. 1999,

1 I am using ‘method’ here in the sense that this 2000. Go for Chile, Books 1 and 2. Santiago, Chile:
term is used by Richards and Rodgers (1985), as Addison Wesley Longman.
involving three interrelated levels: approach, Richards, J. and T. Rodgers. 1985. ‘Method:
design, and procedure. approach, design, and procedure’ in J. Richards
(ed.). The Context of Language Teaching.
References Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Braine, G. (ed.) 1999. Non-native Educators in Seidlhofer, B. 1999. ‘Double standards: teacher
English Language Teaching. Mahwah, NJ : Lawrence education in the expanding circle’. World Englishes
Erlbaum. 18/2: 233–45.
Cook, V. 1999. ‘Going beyond the native speaker in Smith, L. 1976. ‘English as an international
language teaching’. TESOL Quarterly 33: 185–209. auxiliary language’. RELC Journal 7/2: 38–43.
Crystal, D. 1997. English as a Global Language. Widdowson, H. G. 1994. ‘The ownership of
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. English’. TESOL Quarterly 28: 377–88.
Farías, M. 2000. ‘EFL teachers’ reception of the
school reform’. Paper presented at the 6th The author
International Conference of IATEFL -Chile, Sandra McKay is Professor of English at San
Santiago, Chile. Francisco State University, where she regularly
Graddol, D. 1997. The Future of English. London: o¤ers a course on the teaching of EIL . She has
The British Council. been involved in teacher education programs in a
Graddol, D. 1999. ‘The decline of the native great variety of countries, including Hong Kong,
speaker’. AILA Review 13: 57–68. Hungary, Japan, Morocco, Singapore, and
Kachru, B. B. 1992. ‘Models for non-native Thailand, both as a Fulbright scholar and as an
Englishes’ in B. B. Kachru (ed.). The Other Tongue academic specialist for the United States
Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Information Service. Her most recent book is
Kramsch, C. and P. Sullivan. 1996. ‘Appropriate Teaching English as an International Language:
pedagogy’. ELT Journal 50: 199–212. Rethinking Goals and Approaches (Oxford: Oxford
Medgyes, P. 1992. ‘Native or non-native: Who’s University Press).
worth more?’ ELT Journal 46/4: 340–49. Email: [email protected]

Appendix
Survey questions
11 How long have you been teaching English?
A 1 – 2 years
B 3 – 5 years
C 5 or more years
12 In what kind of school are you presently teaching?
A public
B semi-public
C private
13 Where did you teach before this?
A public
B semi-public
C private

146 Sandra McKay

14 What grades are you presently teaching?
A 1–4
B 5–8
C secondary
15 Which type of cultural content would you prefer to use in your class?
A Content that deals with local Chilean places and people.
B Content that deals primarily with aspects of United States or
British life and culture.
C Content that deals with the life and culture of various countries
around the world.
WHY?
16 Which type of cultural content do you feel that your students like
best?
A Content that deals with local places and people in Chile.
B Content that deals primarily with aspects of United States or
British life and culture.
C Content that deals with the life and culture of various countries
around the world.
WHY?
17 Have you ever been asked questions about cultural information in a
textbook that you could not answer?
A Yes.
B No.
If yes, what did you do?
A I ignored the question.
B I quickly invented an answer.
C I told the students that I didn’t know but that I would try to find
out.
D Other: _____________________________________
18 How frequently do you use group work in your class?
A Every class.
B Sometimes.
C Rarely.
D Never.
19 What do you see as the major advantages of using group work in your
classes?
10 What do you see as the major disadvantages of using group work in
your class?
11 Do you believe students like using group work?
A Yes.
B No.

Teaching English as an International Language 147

 WHY?
12 Do you think a class must use group work to be considered a
communicative classroom?
A Yes.
B No.
WHY?
13 Are you encouraged to use group work in your class by colleagues or
supervisors?
A Yes.
B No.
EXPLAIN:
14 In terms of the Chilean context, what do you think are the greatest
strengths of native English-speaking teachers of English?
What are the greatest weaknesses?
15 What do you think are the greatest strengths of Chilean teachers of
English?
What are their greatest weaknesses?
16 What do you believe are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
17 If you were the director of a private language institute of English, who
would you try to hire primarily?
A Native English speakers.
B Chileans.
WHY?
18 Have you ever felt that you were discriminated against in hiring
because you were or were not a native speaker of English?
A Yes.
B No.
EXPLAIN:
19 Do you think native and non-native speakers of English are treated
di¤erently at your institution?
A Yes.
B No.
EXPLAIN:

148 Sandra McKay