The English in public elementary schools program of a Mexican state: a critical, exploratory study

Abstract

The quality of English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) instruction in elementary schools worldwide is an issue of concern for language policy and planning (LPP) scholars, as are examinations of power and ideologies operating in policy creation and implementation. This critical, exploratory study blends these two strands of inquiry by examining critically interview data on the implementation of a public elementary school EFL program in a Mexican state. Program staff and parents were interviewed in an attempt to identify instances of power struggle and ideology that would yield an initial description and data for further research. The results illustrate a number of trends in EFL teaching in Mexico that reflect and reproduce neoliberal ideologies. They also reveal the complexity of power dynamics within different government agents and how they affect language policy. It is suggested that a focus on these dynamics, which we call meso-policy, can yield useful data for LPP scholars to engage in actions tending toward the development of community policy.