The english language curriculum in four public schools in Cali: a multiple case study

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to describe the curricular structure of the English area of four public schools in the city of Cali, Colombia. Therefore, the curricula and syllabi of these four schools were reviewed. This is a qualitative study with a flexible multiple case study design with a holistic unit of analysis using documentary analysis.

The description of each case included the pedagogical model adopted by the school, the methodological approach to language teaching, and the description of the different curricular components (goals, contents, methodology, materials and evaluation) and how each one of them is formulated and articulated. As a result, we find that there are inconsistencies between the conceptual and the practical in the curricula, lack of articulation between the different curricular components (i.e., contents that do not correspond to the goals), lack of specificity in the description of the methodology, activities and assessment techniques and instruments. There was also a partial and disjointed integration of core curricular documents such as Basic Learning Rights and the Suggested Curriculum
for English. Some implications of the findings are discussed and some recommendations are presented to strengthen the teaching of English from the institutional documents of the schools.