The Role and Status of English in Spanish-Speaking Argentina and Its Education System

Melina Porto

doi:10.1177/2158244013514059

Abstract

There is a lot of controversy nowadays in the field of English Language Teaching (ELT) in the context of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) regarding the status and role of English in non-English speaking countries, in particular in developing countries, as well as in English-speaking countries with a history of colonialism. In these settings, the discourse of English as a form of imperialism requires a reconsideration of the role and status of English in the national school curriculum in primary and secondary school contexts. It also requires the exploration of the connections with nationalism and national identity, for within this discourse of imperialism, English tends to be seen as detrimental to the national identity, which education explicitly aims to form and develop through formal schooling.

Highlights

Much has been written about this topic in the field of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)
The aim of this article is to reflect on cultural and identity issues, as they relate to nationalism within the framework of education, considering the current status and role of English in Argentina
I illustrate with the example of the Falklands War (Guerra de las Malvinas) and its role in shaping the Argentine national identity in a school system that privileges compulsory English language teaching (ELT) in primary and secondary school since the new National Law of Education was passed in 2007

Summary

Introduction

Much has been written about this topic in the field of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). I continue to present a brief historical overview of education in general, with a specific focus on primary and secondary education This overview will be tinted by political and economic considerations, which have played a key role in shaping the direction of educational policies at the provincial and national levels in the country, especially in connection with nationalism. The Argentine Republic, is the second largest country in South America after Brazil It has a federal system of government comprised of 23 provinces and the autonomous city of Buenos Aires. I claim no comprehensiveness in what follows because this account cannot be other than partial Bearing this limitation in mind, the reader may benefit from knowing that Argentina was a Spanish colony until the Declaration of Independence in 1816, and that the Spanish language has been the national and official language since .

Objectives

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Conclusion