https://doi.org/10.15446/profile.v22n1.

82105
Teaching English to Young Learners in Mexico: Teachers’
Perceptions About Their Teaching Contexts

La enseñanza del inglés para jóvenes estudiantes en México:

las percepciones de los profesores acerca de sus contextos de enseñanza

1Tania Millán Librado*

2Nora M. Basurto Santos**
Universidad Veracruzana, Veracruz, Mexico

This paper discusses the perceptions that six English language teachers, from public schools in the south
region of the state of Veracruz in Mexico, have about their particular teaching contexts. A qualitative
approach was adopted, and main data collection was through semi-structured interviews. The results
show that all teachers have mostly negative perceptions about their teaching conditions. It was concluded
that urgent action is needed on the part of the government to improve the English as a foreign language
scenario, especially now when the introduction of English as a foreign language has been proposed at
even earlier ages in all levels of education in the country.

Key words: English for young learners, English language teaching, Mexico, working conditions.

Esta investigación describe las percepciones que tienen seis maestros de inglés de escuelas públicas
de la región sur del estado de Veracruz en México acerca de sus propios contextos de enseñanza. Se
decidió adoptar un enfoque cualitativo y entrevistas semi estructuradas para la recolección de los datos.
Los resultados muestran que la mayoría de las percepciones que los maestros tienen son negativas y se
concluyó que las autoridades deben tomar medidas urgentes para mejorar el panorama de la enseñanza
del inglés especialmente ahora que se ha propuesto que el inglés sea obligatorio en todos los niveles de
educación básica en el país.

Palabras clave: condiciones laborales, enseñanza del inglés, inglés para jóvenes, México.

This paper reports some of the findings of a bigger research project focused on “Researching and Creating Opportunities for Continuous
Professional Development for English Teachers Working With Young Learners in Mexico”. Funded by conacyt as part of the programme
“Estancias Postdoctorales en el Extranjero Vinculadas a la Consolidación de Grupos de Investigación y Fortalecimiento del Posgrado
Nacional” (epe 2018-2019).
* E-mail: [email protected]
** Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]
How to cite this article (apa, 6th ed.): Millán Librado, T., & Basurto Santos, N. M. (2020). Teaching English to young learners in Mexico:
Teachers’ perceptions about their teaching contexts. Profile: Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 22(1), 125-139. https://doi.
org/10.15446/profile.v22n1.82105.

This article was received on September 4, 2019 and accepted on October 18, 2019.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons license Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
4.0 International License. Consultation is possible at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

Profile: Issues Teach. Prof. Dev., Vol. 22 No. 1, Jan-Jun, 2020. ISSN 1657-0790 (printed) 2256-5760 (online). Bogotá, Colombia. Pages 125-139 125
 Millán Librado & Basurto Santos

Introduction stakeholders of public education in Mexico about what

The Secretariat of Public Education in Mexico efl teaching is like in an informed way so that they can
(Secretaría de Educación Pública en México, sep in be in a position to develop and propose a policy and
Spanish) launched a new educational reform in 2017. the planning of English in education in the Mexican
One of the main goals of this reform was to introduce context that respond to the needs of all our students and
the teaching and learning of English in all levels of teachers accordingly. Furthermore, this study is expected
compulsory education in Mexico: from pre-school to to contribute to the development and/or improvement
preparatory education. The reason behind introducing of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes for
English from very early stages is that: English teachers in universities and Escuelas Normales
The Secretariat of Public Education wants you [students] to be in Mexico, as the results could help them decide what
bilingual when you finish your preparatory education so that you can or cannot be done in their schools given the actual
can express yourself in Spanish and English in a natural way. Thanks working conditions in Mexican schools. Therefore, the
to your knowledge of English you will be able to communicate research question guiding the current study was: What
with more people in the world and discover new cultures. (sep, are the teachers’ perceptions regarding their efl classes
2017, translated from Spanish) in their particular teaching contexts?
In order to answer this question, we decided to
In order to reach this goal, many English teachers will adopt a qualitative approach where interviews were the
be needed, especially English language teachers who will main instrument of data collection. We will describe
need to be prepared to effectively teach English to young the relevant literature that informed the conceptual
learners in the Mexican context. Research conducted in framework and then the research procedure in the
public schools where English has been an official subject method section below. Finally, the findings and conclu-
for decades has shown that there still exist problems sions are provided.
in teaching and learning English in secondary and
preparatory education (Basurto Santos, 2010; Basurto Literature Review
Santos & Gregory Weathers, 2016; Ramírez-Romero &
Sayer, 2016). Moreover, research carried out to find out EFL in Mexico
how other English programmes implemented before, We live in a globalised world where the exchange
such as the National English Program in Basic Education of information and communication are everyday
(pniep in Spanish) in primary schools in Mexico, has necessities. In our modern world, when we find a group
shown that an effective change in the provision of English of people whose native languages are very different and
as a foreign language (efl) has not taken place as had they want to communicate with each other, we are likely
been expected by all parties involved in the processes to witness that these people will use the English language
of teaching and learning English. This paper presents as the main means of communication. English has
a small-scale research which is part of a larger project positioned itself as a hyper-central language according
funded by the Consejo Nacional para la Ciencia y la to Calvet (as cited in Moore, 2012). In fact, it is the only
Tecnología (conacyt). hyper-central language that exists in the world. Taking
The main focus of this study was to examine the this into consideration, one sees it is not surprising then
realities of the teaching and learning of efl in public that it is the foreign language most schools choose to
schools in a context where teachers’ voices have to date include in their curricula (Yano, 2009) in countries
been unheard. This study is expected to inform the where English is not the official language.

126 Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Ciencias Humanas, Departamento de Lenguas Extranjeras
 Teaching English to Young Learners in Mexico: Teachers’ Perceptions About Their Teaching Contexts

Mexico, a country that shares one of the largest of basic education level (Székely, O’Donoghue, & Pérez,
borders with the United States of America, is not the 2015), they finish basic education without being able to
exception to this phenomenon. Even though English use English efficiently. Székely et al. (2015) argue that
has been present in the curricula of Mexican schools when it comes to English, “the education system does
since 1960 (British Council, 2015), it has not received not fulfil its duty of promoting the right to have good
adequate attention to obtain better academic results. This quality education” (p. 94, translated from Spanish).
lack of attention can also be noticed by examining how In every education system, teachers are key actors
proficient Mexican citizens are in English. According who should not be overlooked. In Mexico, to become
to Education First’s1 (2018) English Proficiency Index, an English teacher, there are no strong regulations
Mexico currently ranks #57 out of 88 countries in yet. According to Calderón (2015), in some schools
English proficiency levels. This result might come as a we can find English teachers who do not hold a bach-
shock considering that since 2009 there have been three elor’s degree. In many cases, they are people who were
different English programmes created specifically for the deported from the United States after living there for
basic education level. The problem, according to Reyes a period of time. On the other hand, there are many
Cruz, Murrieta Loyo, and Hernández Méndez (2012), is universities that offer a bachelor’s degree in efl across
that they lack a clear course of action. Even though they the country. Ramírez-Romero and Sayer (2016) admit
are consistent with international trends, the feasibility that there have been tremendous improvements in the
to have them fully functioning in a complex context quality of the ba programmes in efl offered in public
such as Mexico is not an easy task. In their research, and private universities in Mexico. However, most of the
Basurto Santos and Gregory Weathers (2016) discovered teachers teaching in basic education schools in Mexico
that teachers think that the people in charge of creating have studied at Escuelas Normales where the main aim
those programmes are out of touch with the reality of is teaching in general and they hardly ever prepare
Mexican public schools. Therefore, the actions discussed English teachers. Some of these Escuelas Normales only
in the programmes cannot be applied to every context. offer a degree for the teaching of English at the lower
Ramírez-Romero and Sayer (2016) claimed, discussing secondary level. But for the ones who will teach at the
the National English Program in Basic Education, primary school level, for example, the preparation
that the government did not set “general or binding seems to be insufficient. According to Roux (2012) for
commitments or linguistic legislation or policy that in-service English teachers, the training consists of
sheltered the program” (p. 11). This statement could “the accumulation of hours in short isolated courses
also be applied to the other programmes. Furthermore, and the gathering of certificates and diplomas” (p. 191).
they also added that these programmes cannot thrive She also adds that some of the practices taught in these
unless attention is paid to more complex issues such courses are becoming obsolete and that authorities
as state policies and teacher training. These two are need to direct their attention to new developments in
more important in the long-term than “the form and the efl field. Quezada (2013) conducted research in
props.”2 For this reason, even though students receive five different Mexican states with efl teachers. They
over 1,000 hours of efl instruction during all the years complained about lack of materials, school support,
and students’ and parents’ negative attitudes. This was
not exclusive of rural areas given that the research was
1 A private company that teaches foreign languages across
the world. carried out in different environments. For Banks (2017),
2 Ramírez-Romero and Sayer (2016) refer to this as the admin- authorities at the top are not familiar with what being
istrative aspects of a program/reform/strategy.

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 Millán Librado & Basurto Santos

an English teacher entails: “foundational knowledge, “can transcend beyond the limitations of quantitative
skill set, and teaching contexts” (p. 18). Finally, all these research” (Rubel & Atieno, 2017, p. 54).
studies carried out in Mexican schools have highlighted
the need to carry out more research in real contexts Research Site and Participants
to inform the stakeholders and all people interested in This research took place in three different contexts
improving the quality of efl teaching and learning in in the south region of the state of Veracruz, Mexico: One
Mexican classrooms. is an important city and port with a population of over
230,000 inhabitants. The second is also a city although
Method it is smaller than the first in terms of population. Like
As the title of this paper suggests, the focus was the first place, violence is also incredibly common
on teachers’ perceptions of efl in Mexican public nowadays. The third place is semi-urban with a small
education, more specifically on their own working population with not many schools and there is a large
environments. Therefore, a qualitative research was drop-out rate between lower and upper secondary
deemed the most appropriate because it provides the schools. Most families live in low-income housing.
adequate methods that enable researchers to discover Six efl teachers working in lower secondary and
and understand teachers’ perceptions. As Kardorff upper secondary public schools were the participants.
and Steimke (as cited in Schmitt, 2001) state: “qualita- Three of them have a degree in English from the main
tive research claims to describe life-worlds from the public university in the state of Veracruz, Mexico.
inside out; from the point of view of the people who The other three studied in different institutions such as
participate” (p. 3). The qualitative approach has many Escuelas Normales but have also taken courses in the
advantages, such as its focus on context, its use of State University. Their ages range from 29 to 59 years
an emergent design and the use of thick description old and they have between 2 and 25 years of teaching
(Sallee & Flood, 2012). Furthermore, it appears that it experience (see Table 1).

Table 1. Participants’ Information

Participants’
Alison Karla Daniela Martha Pedro Raul
Pseudonyms
Age 42 41 29 59 39 52
Years of EFL
teaching 20 19 2 20 7 25
experience
Universidad Normal uv celex (Centro de delex uv
Institution
Veracruzana Superior de Lenguas Extranjeras) (Departamento
attended to
(uv) Tamaulipas Politécnico and de Lenguas Ex-
get a degree
some courses at the tranjeras) at the
in English
uv in Minatitlan uv in Xalapa
Does not b2 b2 a2 Does not know Does not
English level
know know
Lower Lower Lower Upper secondary Upper Lower and
Work place secondary secondary secondary level secondary level Upper second-
level level level ary level

128 Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Ciencias Humanas, Departamento de Lenguas Extranjeras
 Teaching English to Young Learners in Mexico: Teachers’ Perceptions About Their Teaching Contexts

Data Collection Methods Findings

Given that this paper sought to learn teachers’ per- After a thorough analysis of the participants’
ceptions, it was decided that semi-structured interviews responses, three categories emerged: (1) efl Syllabi,
were the best option to obtain the data. According to (2) Teaching Conditions, and (3) Students and Parents’
Gill, Stewart, Treasure, and Chadwick (2008), semi- Attitudes according to the efl participants. It is worth
structured interviews “consist of several key questions noting that these findings seem to be consistent with
that help to define the areas to be explored, but also allow the discoveries of the studies presented in the literature
the interviewer or interviewee to diverge in order to review chapter. However, as stated before, efl teachers in
pursue an idea or response in more detail” (p. 291). This this region of Mexico had not been given the opportunity
type of interview also allows the discovery of information to be heard. Therefore, it is expected that their voices
that is of particular relevance to the participants, but will be taken into consideration when new reforms to
that might have been overlooked by the researcher (Gill efl teaching and learning are launched in the future.
et al., 2008). However, it is worth noting that in order
for interviews to accomplish their goal, the research- EFL Syllabi
ers should attempt to establish a good atmosphere or Syllabi are a fundamental part of the English
rapport. In order for this to be possible, Tania, one of language teaching (elt) field since they serve as a guide
the researchers, learnt and made every effort to listen for teachers. They spare them the uncertainty of what
attentively to each of the interviewees without voicing contents to cover, how to cover them, what grammar
her own views on the subject being researched (Richards, structures, and so on. However, it is important that
2003). For the interviews, a guide was designed (see they match the needs of the teaching context in which
Appendix a) to remind the interviewer what topics they will be implemented. In Mexico, according to
to cover and, at the same time, provide some flex- what teachers expressed, the official efl syllabuses are
ibility needed when the face to face interviews were not ideal because the goals established appear to be
conducted. Following all the ethical considerations (de unfeasible and they also appear to neglect important
Laine, 2000; Delamont, 2002), participants gave their learning skills. Some of the problems teachers have faced
permission to audio-tape the interviews; they were also regarding the language programmes they are asked to
informed that a pseudonym would be employed. They follow are presented and discussed below.
were offered the choice to read the transcripts and were Mismatch with reality. Teachers expressed that the
asked about the place, time, and language in which syllabi they are asked to follow are out of touch with
they preferred to be interviewed. All interviews were reality because they consider them to be too advanced
transcribed verbatim using a three-column template for students. Teachers blamed this situation on the fact
(Richards, 2003) which proved to be very useful for that, for most of the students, the lower secondary level
doing the preliminary analysis (see Appendix b). The is their first contact with English. Daniela expressed that:
process of the data analysis adopted was “thematic The contents of the program are good but students do not have the
content analysis.” We focused on the content of the previous knowledge they should have acquired in primary school. This
teachers’ experiences looking for similar themes, then is what makes it hard to teach them the content. (02.03.19:027-029)3
we grouped them in categories and searched “for pat-
terns of association between them” (Barkhuizen, 2015,
3 The information provided in brackets in all interview extracts
pp. 99-100). We present those categories that emerged refers to the day, month, and year when the interview was carried out
from this process in the following section. followed by the number of the turn lines where those particular extracts
can be found in the transcripts.

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 Millán Librado & Basurto Santos

The mismatch between the syllabus and the real given the reality of the students in public education
efl students’ knowledge was highlighted by all the in Mexico.
participants. They all expressed that even though the Not enough grammar. Teachers also showed their
language programme may be well organised and be dissatisfaction with the contents of the syllabi because,
presented in an excellent way, the syllabi imposed upon apparently, they are too focused on a communicative
them by the authorities do not work given the kind of approach and not enough on grammar. This result came
students who attend public schools in their contexts. as a shock given that most teachers in other research
Karla further explains that: studies complain about programs being too grammar-
Students do not take English since kindergarten and primary school. oriented (Basurto Santos, 2010; Borijan, 2015). Karla’s
So, when they enter lower secondary, they have no knowledge of words show this:
the language. I start teaching them the abc’s and for example, if I I think we’re wrong in that aspect, because when students do their
want to teach them how to ask for the time in English, for example, exams to enter high school, they’re not going to do an oral exam,
I have to explain first how you say the time in Spanish. If you want they have to write. So, we have to teach them how to write and a
to teach them how to write sentences, you have to explain how to little bit of grammar. Grammar is something that we should not
write them in Spanish first. (03.03.19:013-020) skip. (03.03.19:028-033)

The goals that the government expect from lower A plausible reason for Karla’s complaint is that
secondary school students is that they should be able to the efl teachers may feel more comfortable with
read literature and write different types of essays (sep, a very traditional way of teaching instead of other
2017) but teachers do not think this is possible in the language approaches where oral and listening skills
Mexican education system. This is the reason why they are required not only from the students but from
emphasized the importance of teaching English to kids teachers as well. Teachers, not only in this study but
from kindergarten or primary school so that when they in prior research publications, have acknowledged
reach lower secondary, they are more prepared. Raul, their lack of oral-aural and even written skills (see the
for example, said kids need to start learning English participants’ level of efl in Table 1). Daniela added
in primary school: that “the 2017 program focuses more on a social aspect
Researcher 1: Which level do you consider should receive more and leaves grammar aside. The program is not bad
attention? but as a teacher, I would not leave grammar aside
Raul: All levels, but most importantly, primary school because I because I think it is fundamental” (02.03.19:078-081).
think that it is at this level where students acquire certain habits Likewise, for Raul, even though the new approaches
that will help them in their lives as students. (04.03.19:062-066) seem to be better, he seems to feel more comfortable
teaching English by using the grammar-translation
In order to do this, they said the government method:
should invest more in providing more resources to Researcher 1: Do you think the elt scenario is better now?
schools and hiring real efl teachers. It is hard to Raul: In some aspects, it has improved but now it is more focused on
predict whether this will happen anytime soon given everyday situations. More focused on a communicative approach,
that austerity is one of the biggest policies of the whereas in the past it was more focused on translation. In the past,
current federal government. Nonetheless, it is clear the teaching was through translation. So, I think we learned better
that the contents of the syllabi should be examined and in the past. Even though translation is not a modern method, I
perhaps adjusted should the goals be too ambitious think we learned better. (04.03.19:022-029)

130 Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Ciencias Humanas, Departamento de Lenguas Extranjeras
 Teaching English to Young Learners in Mexico: Teachers’ Perceptions About Their Teaching Contexts

As we can observe, three teachers expressed English Strategy4 (announced in 2017) and the one
the same worry, even though all of them belong to announced this year5 (2019) by the current Secretary
different learning generations. These answers may of Education. Regarding this topic, all of them rejected
come as a surprise to some; however, it is certainly the second and favoured the first one. They think that
important to discover what the root of the problem a platform is not the most adequate teaching method
is. On the one hand, it is argued that efl instruction and emphasized the need to hire specialized teachers
should not return to the grammar-translation method or offer good training to in-service teachers. They
days because it makes students too dependent on expressed that the platform would not work unless it
translating everything (Kong, 2011). On the other is accompanied by other features. They also mentioned
hand, grammar cannot be overlooked because, as that they suspected this strategy came from someone
Chang (2011) pointed out: “without grammar, words who was not familiar with the different efl contexts
hang together without any real meaning or sense” in Mexico. Pedro mentioned that:
(p. 21). It appears that teachers would like to have I don’t think anyone can teach something they don’t know, so I
access to a more integral syllabus, one that covers think this strategy comes from someone who doesn’t know about
the four language skills equally and not one where this field. (31.03.29:138-140)
the scale is tipped to focus on one in particular.
However, if this is to be achieved, students must Daniela, on the other hand, said she thought it was
receive more efl instruction than they do. Alison, a good idea, but it would be difficult to implement it in
for example, commented that her students get only Mexico because it lacks the infrastructure:
three hours of English instruction per week. With Teachers should have the knowledge, so they are able to offer
this time constraint, it appears to be difficult to give feedback to students. So, it’s better to train teachers than replace
students access to all four skills. Nevertheless, another them with machines. (02.04.19:120-121; 130-131)
plausible explanation for this complaint about the lack
of enough focus on grammar and translation in the The teachers’ views show that they are sceptical of
new syllabuses might be owing to the fact that these the use of a platform to learn English. As a matter of
teachers have been teaching efl by concentrating fact, the government has already tried to use a platform,
mainly on grammar rules and translation and for called Enciclomedia,6 for the teaching of English in
a long time. Therefore, they might have a limited primary schools in the past. This program was piloted
understanding of the communicative approach which in 13 states and lasted only six years (2005-2011). It failed
focuses more on the spoken language rather than on
explicit grammar rules and which does not include
translating from the target language to the students’ 4 Strategy announced by the former Secretary of Education,
Aurelio Nuño, where it is stipulated that aspiring teachers from the
mother tongue. The shift from a grammar-translation Escuelas Normales (schools where the majority of future teachers study)
method to efl teaching to a communicative approach would be prepared in order to teach English to children at the basic
education level.
requires a long and well-organized teacher training 5 This is not a strategy per se but more of a statement made by
period and it definitely cannot happen overnight as the current Secretary of Education, Esteban Moctezuma. He announced
the creation of a platform that any primary school teacher could use
expected by the authorities. to teach English to kids even if they do not know English. However, it
Recent National Programmes for efl. Teachers appears to be at its early stages, and he did not disclose more details
about it.
were also asked to share their views on the latest 6 Software containing the books, used by kids in the last two
programs launched by the government, the National years of primary school, in their digitized version. Teachers and students
had access through an electronic blackboard.

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 Millán Librado & Basurto Santos

because, according to Ramírez-Romero and Sayer workshops, the amount of support teachers receive to
(2016), it was rooted on the mistaken assumption that improve their language abilities, the infrastructure of
both teachers and students could learn English at the classrooms, amongst others, are all factors that have the
same time without any guidance. They also pointed out power to make teachers feel they are well-equipped to
that teachers were not able to offer feedback or clear help their students in the learning of English.
any doubts, as Daniela mentioned. Lack of opportunities for teacher training/devel-
In terms of the first strategy, the responses were opment. Regarding the training aspect, most teachers
slightly more positive, but most participants said it said they do not receive regular training. They explained
would only work in a few teaching contexts. Alison, that the only training they are usually offered is con-
for example, expressed that she would support this cerning pedagogical facets, as Banks (2017) pointed
only if teachers were properly trained and not just out. However, when it comes to English, the training
on the surface level. Raul concurred that this strategy is scarce or absent. Three teachers expressed that they
could only work if teachers received adequate training. have not been supervised for a long time. Karla and
However, according to his own experience, teachers Raul specifically said that they have not received any
are not trained well enough in the Escuelas Normales: training in the last 15 years, which made them feel a
According to some experiences of teachers who graduated from strong dissatisfaction and frustration towards their
the Escuelas Normales, their English isn’t so good. . . . I know some teaching contexts. These feelings, they explain, are trig-
teachers who graduated from there, they’re good teachers but their gered by the realisation that they cannot improve their
level is not as high, but if they prepared them better it would be teaching because there is neither help nor support to
great. (04.04.19:226-231) make them aware of areas they might be failing at and
that need improving. These are Alison’s and Martha’s
As observed, the common thread in these opinions voices on this issue:
is that most teachers agree that adequate teacher training They have given us courses about how to improve our teaching and
is of paramount importance. In fact, this is needed some of them are good, but the reality is way different. When you
more than anything else. It is evident that without arrive to the classroom, we do not have the material and the groups
training, an initiative will always stay at the surface they present [in the courses]. Those courses have nothing to do with
level no matter how well-structured it might be on what we face in the classroom. (Alison, 02.03.19:144-148; 140-141)
paper (Ramírez-Romero & Sayer, 2016). It is hard to I think university teachers are the ones who are properly trained
predict the fate of both of these programmes given the but, in my case, it has been my own [every day teaching] experience.
outcomes of the previous strategies. Unfortunately, (Martha, 01.03.19:080-081)
there is not enough research carried out about teachers’
perceptions concerning these two strategies given that For this reason, teachers have to look in different
they are very recent. Therefore, the perceptions presented places to find their own resources. Karla, for example,
here cannot be compared. resorts to the internet to discover new trends in the
teaching of English or new strategies. This lack of
Teaching Conditions training appears to be best reflected precisely on the level
Teaching conditions are also an important element of proficiency teachers have. Regarding the participants
in the education system. A good teaching and learning of this study, most of them admit to having an a2 and b2
environment will always be beneficial to both teach- level of the Common European Framework Reference
ers and students. The frequency of teacher training for Languages (cefr). This contradicts what Calderón

132 Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Ciencias Humanas, Departamento de Lenguas Extranjeras
 Teaching English to Young Learners in Mexico: Teachers’ Perceptions About Their Teaching Contexts

(2015) stated about the ideal level for an English teacher. we have outlined here, this does not appear to happen
He expressed that lower-secondary teachers should in practice. Teachers need to be trained, evaluated,
have a c1 level. However, three teachers in this research and given feedback continuously. It is unrealistic to
do not even know what their English language level is. expect for students to reach a b2 level by third grade
In fact, two were not aware of the cefr. Nevertheless, in lower secondary schools if teachers feel that their
teachers are mindful of this fact and they actually shared English level is not the necessary to help students to
their discontent with their level. Karla, for example, achieve what is stipulated in the official documents.
pointed out that she has a b2 level, which she had to Nonetheless, despite this bleak scene, teachers—or at
find out on her own because the school she works at least the participants of this study—are tackling this
never provided the resources for her to do so. The b2 problem by taking action themselves. Karla and Alison
level is the level students are supposed to reach when are two examples. They both took the initiative to find
they leave the lower secondary level. Therefore, she out their English level on their own. Karla, through
finds it difficult that students reach this level because the cenni7 exam and Alison commented that she will
teachers themselves appear to be “stuck” in this level. travel to Canada to take one. Such endeavours are to be
It is noteworthy to highlight the participants’ aware- applauded because they do it with their own economic
ness of the aspects that they need in order to improve resources, which is a clear sign of their passion for
their level of English. In general, they agreed that their profession.
teachers should find ways to continue their learning Lack of adequate resources. Besides the scarce
of English, especially their command of the spoken training, efl teachers expressed that they also experience
language. For example, Martha said they should interact a lack of teaching materials and a deficient infrastructure
with native speakers to obtain real-life practice: in their classrooms. It is widely known that in order
Most teachers have a basic level and it is only theoretical. They should to teach English, many resources are needed such as
interact with people who speak it and practice it. (01.03.19:066-067) books, computers, and recorders, among other elements.
Many teachers in this research do not have access to
Raul said that teachers should show more com- most of these objects. Alison’s words represent all the
mitment to obtain a more advanced level of English participants’ experiences:
than they have because most of them do not have The books we ask for are never available in the school. In just one
the level expected for them to be in front of a group. classroom we have two or three different books. (02.05.19:104-105)
Pedro also agreed with this statement. These opin-
ions are consistent with what Reyes Cruz et al. (2012) For Pedro and Raul, the lack of resources is not
criticized about the lack of expertise on the part of only about books, but they would like to have special
teachers. They explained that most of them did not spaces to improve the teaching and learning of the
necessarily study to become teachers. This scenario foreign language:
fosters an unhealthy environment for professional I can only speak for myself but in the school I work at, I do not
development. efl teachers, it seems, are not a priority have the resources that I would like to have. For example, I’d like to
for authorities in both the federal and state education have an audio-visual room or an English laboratory. The students
sectors or at least it seems so in this part of the state
of Veracruz. This contradicts what is discussed in the
7 Certificación Nacional de Nivel de Idioma (National Certification
different programs created by the sep where there are of a Language Level) is an instrument that measures the level people
sections that cover the aspect of teachers’ training. As have of a foreign language. It is the equivalent in Mexico of the cefr.

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 Millán Librado & Basurto Santos

do not have material, books, or a guide. We work with the material Students’ and Parents’ Attitudes
that we make. (Pedro, 01.05.19:123-128) Given that students and their parents also play
If the government really wanted to put emphasis on teaching a large role in the efl field in the public education
English, they would support us with the materials. When we have sector, teachers also shared their perceptions on the
listening activities, I have to take my own equipment. But if we had attitudes that both students and parents show towards
an English laboratory it would be better. (Raul, 04.03.19:034-039) English. Unfortunately, they complained that students
show apathy most of the time. For Martha, the prob-
Karla also sheds light on the differences between lem is rooted in the fact that most of the students
public schools and private schools, arguing that the are not completely aware of the importance English
latter have better teaching conditions. In the following has globally and how much they could benefit from
extract she illustrates this scenario: learning it:
The thing is . . . for starters, a private school teacher has around 13 Students are unable to reach an advanced level because it requires
or 20 students in their classroom. We get sent saturated groups of a lot of effort and because they are not aware of how relevant it is
over 40 students. For example, in the other school, I have groups and what learning English represents. (31.03.19:055-057)
of 52 students. So, having to control 52 students is complicated.
Besides, a private school teacher has many advantages. Since they The students’ apathy is disheartening for teachers
are private schools, they have computers and they say they work because it demotivates them to keep looking for strat-
with platforms, because I have talked to some of them. Students egies so that their students can learn better. Paprock
upload their homework there. . . . Here, in public schools we do (as cited in Madero, 2019) mentions that the students’
not have that and the students we get come from low-income attitudes represent an intrinsic factor in the education
families. I see it as a win if a student brings to school a dictionary, system; thus representing a significant component when
their notebook, and some colour pencils because so many of them it comes to teachers’ dissatisfaction with their work. Raul,
cannot even afford colour pencils. (03.03.19:088-106) for example, expressed that he has witnessed that most
students are forced by their parents to attend school,
All the issues that the participants pointed out which makes the teaching of English very difficult since,
above are a reflection of the lack of support from the as Martha pointed out, it is not a top priority for both
government. Two teachers even mentioned corruption students and parents alike:
as one of the reasons why their teaching conditions and Most students do not like the subject [English] and it does not matter
efl instruction in general are not to be improved. It is how many strategies we look for, very few show real interest. We
hard to say whether this is true, although given Mexico’s notice this because many students are forced by their parents to
and Veracruz State’s long-time corruption scandals, it go to school . . . they do not really go because they want to learn.
would not be surprising. However, whatever the case This makes the teaching and learning difficult. (04.03.19:076-081)
may be, it is undeniable that strict measures should
be taken in order to improve what has been failing for Karla explained that she has noticed that the students
a long time. Needless to say, efl teachers are not the who show more enthusiasm are the ones who attended
only ones experiencing hardships. Even so, given that either private schools or took private lessons before
learning English is extremely beneficial to Mexico’s entering the lower secondary level. According to her,
economy, it is definitely a sector worth prioritizing this happens because as they have to take English from
since it appears to be one of the most neglected in the a young age, they feel more confident in their skills and
public education system in our country. thus, show more enthusiasm in the classroom:

134 Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Ciencias Humanas, Departamento de Lenguas Extranjeras
 Teaching English to Young Learners in Mexico: Teachers’ Perceptions About Their Teaching Contexts

They feel more confident when they have taken courses . . . They present in the efl field in Mexico’s public educa-
also are more intelligent in other subjects. (03.03.19:151-154) tion in the south region of the state of Veracruz.
The teachers’ voices highlighted several aspects that
In the same vein, Raul commented that in his impinge on their work: the programmes, their teach-
experience, parents from private schools are more ing conditions, and the students’ attitudes. However,
involved in their children’s academic life than those embedded within these categories are sub-categories
in public schools. In this section, Daniela was the only which emerged that provide a more complete report
one who showed more enthusiasm regarding students’ on their perceptions.
attitudes saying that more than half of her students The perceptions that teachers have are, for the most
like learning English. But for the majority, this does part, negative. Teachers expressed their discontent
not seem to be the case. with the programmes they are asked to follow because
As shown in this section, teachers deem students’ they do not seem to match the real language level that
and parents’ attitudes as mostly negative. Evidently, their students have. Furthermore, they complained
this is an issue that also affects students’ learning. that they focused on communicative skills, leaving
Perhaps what Martha said about their not realising the other skills relegated to a lesser status. When it
the tremendous importance English has is true. This comes to the more recent strategies that have been
problem may be owing to the fact that most of the announced, they were hesitant as to whether they
students of our participants appear to come from low- would work efficiently or that they were realistic given
income families. These students probably do not have the teaching/leaning contexts in public education in
internet access, which is why they are not as informed. Mexico. Naturally, they witness the failure of the cur-
Furthermore, their parents are not as concerned with rent ones, which is why they are wary of them. Their
English probably because of their economic situation. perceptions also uncovered the poor conditions they
Given that most people from the region where this work in, such as the lack of training and the poor and
paper is focused on struggle financially, the findings are inadequate infrastructure. This paper also included the
not surprising. Of course, there is also the case where perceptions teachers have on their students’ attitudes
students may just dislike English and their economic towards learning English because their role is vital in
situation is not an obstacle to learning it. Nevertheless, the efl field. Most of them agreed that students are
whatever the case may be, solutions are needed. Even apathetic towards English, for the most part.
though this topic is not within the scope of this paper, These findings show that the efl field in Mexico’s
it was significant to highlight this problem because, as public education is still failing both students and
previously mentioned, students also play a crucial role in teachers. The literature review chapter and these
the efl sphere in Mexican public education. Therefore, findings suggest that this problem is endemic among
further research is needed to assess the solutions that Mexican classrooms. Therefore, it is imperative that
could be applied to change students’ attitudes. authorities, at the federal and state level, take action.
If these problems are left unattended, they will keep
Conclusions growing and the implications for English language
As stated from the beginning of this paper, the learning and teaching are that the expected outcomes
main goal of this small-scale research was to describe as they have been stated in the official documents
and raise awareness about teachers’ perceptions on (sep, 2017) will not be achieved in many more years
different aspects of their teaching contexts that are to come.

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 Millán Librado & Basurto Santos

Limitations of the handle/10211.3/193053/BanksLeticia_Spring2017.

Current Study pdf?sequence=1.
At first, we intended to include the perceptions of Barkhuizen, G. (2015). Narrative knowledging in second
English primary school teachers in this paper as well. language teaching and learning contexts. In A. De Finna
However, all primary schools that were visited did not & A. Georgakopoulou (Eds.), The handbook of narrative
have an English teacher. The Heads of all schools visited analysis (pp. 97-115). Oxford, uk: Wiley Blackwell. https://
expressed that they did not have one because “parents doi.org/10.1002/9781118458204.ch5.
did not longer want to pay for one” or because they Basurto Santos, N. M. (2010). Transition in efl from secondary
simply had never had one. Therefore, it was decided to preparatory in Mexican state schools: Participant
that only teachers at the lower and upper secondary perspectives. Xalapa, mx: Universidad Veracruzana.
levels were going to be included. This poses a limitation Basurto Santos, N. M., & Gregory Weathers, J. R. (2016). efl in
because their perceptions could have enriched the public schools in Mexico: Dancing around the ring? how
view presented here of the efl field. If English is to Journal, 23(1), 68-84. https://doi.org/10.19183/how.23.1.297.
be introduced in primary schools, more and urgent Borijan, A. (2015). Learning English in Mexico: Perspectives
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further examined in order to obtain a more integral Primero. Retrieved from http://www.mexicanosprimero.
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that more research is needed on teachers and students Chang, S.-C. (2011). A contrastive study of grammar translation
in schools (both urban and rural) not only in the south method and communicative approach in teaching English
region of the state of Veracruz that appears to be over- grammar. English Language Teaching, 4(2), 13-24. https://
looked in the existing efl bibliography, but in the whole doi.org/10.5539/elt.v4n2p13.
country. This includes not only focusing on teachers’ de Laine, M. (2000). Fieldwork, participation and practice: Ethics
perceptions, but also delving deeper into the myriad and dilemmas in qualitative research. London, uk: Sage.
of problems present in the efl field in Mexico’s public Delamont, S. (2002). Fieldwork in educational settings: Methods,
education and in other countries where these findings pitfalls and perspectives (2nd ed.). London, uk: Routledge.
resonate. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203453513.
Education First. (2018). English Proficiency Index. Retrieved
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from https://csusm-dspace.calstate.edu/bitstream/ views and focus groups. British Dental Journal, 204(6)
291-295. https://doi.org/10.1038/bdj.2008.192.

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Kong, N. (2011). Establishing a comprehensive English Meeting of the Bulgarian Comparative Education Society,
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About the Authors

Tania Millán Librado has just completed her ba in English language. She graduated with distinction by
presenting the written report and oral presentation on which this article is based. She is currently working as a
“Becaria” conacyt for Dr. Basurto Santos and is planning to pursue an ma in tefl.
Nora M. Basurto Santos is a full-time researcher at the Universidad Veracruzana, Mexico. She is currently
engaged in a post-doctoral stay at the University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom, funded by conacyt. She is a
member of the Sistema Nacional de Investigadores-conacyt.

Profile: Issues Teach. Prof. Dev., Vol. 22 No. 1, Jan-Jun, 2020. ISSN 1657-0790 (printed) 2256-5760 (online). Bogotá, Colombia. Pages 125-139 137
 Millán Librado & Basurto Santos

Appendix A: Interview Guide

(Some Possible Questions)

• Age?
• Years of experience?
• Higher education institution attended?
• English proficiency level?
• Personal general opinion about efl teaching and learning in Mexico?
• Help/support that the government provides to efl teachers?
• Teaching/learning aspects that could be improved? If so, what are they?
• Students from private vs. public schools?
• Can students afford private courses?
• Tell me about students’ attitudes towards learning English.
• Problems/obstacles for students to reach advanced English levels?
• What is needed to help students reach an advanced level in English?
• Situation of teachers in the south region of Veracruz?
• Any formal teacher training programme(s) provided by the government?
• Kind of support needed for you to deliver your courses the way you would like to?
• Are teachers’ opinions taken into consideration in the design of efl programmes?
• Teacher training workshops taken implemented by the government? How often? How many? What
about?
• Your opinion regarding the statement made by the current Secretary of Education about teaching Eng-
lish through a platform without having to know English?
• What do you think about the strategy proposed by the former Secretary of Education about teachers
from the Escuelas Normales being trained so they can teach English to kids?

138 Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Ciencias Humanas, Departamento de Lenguas Extranjeras
 Teaching English to Young Learners in Mexico: Teachers’ Perceptions About Their Teaching Contexts

Appendix B: Transcript (Extract)*

Name: Mtro. _________, Date: March 2, 2019, Pseudonym: Pedro (p),

Interviewer: Researcher 1 (t)
Comments
032 p: The English subject, most of all, should be
033 implemented in public schools from kindergarten,
034 elementary, lower, and upper secondary schools so Teacher perception
035 that when students enter university, they already regarding beginning of
036 know the basics of the language. Also, train efl learning
037 teachers; keep them updated because some are
038 stuck in the past with old strategies. Schools should
039 also be provided with books, audios, videos, Teachers’ needs: training
040 and everything that has to do with pedagogical and resources
041 material and, especially, in public schools because
042 they are the ones that do not have this type of
043 material.
044 t: Do you think that students who attend private
045 schools learn English better than those who at-
046 tend public schools?
047 p: Yes
048 t: Why?
049 p: Because in most private schools, they take Eng- Private vs. public schools
050 lish from kindergarten until the upper second-
051 ary level. This enables students to have access to
052 a more integral education regarding the English
053 language.
054 t: A lot of people seem to think that private
055 courses are the best option to learn English, but
056 do you think most people can afford them?
057 p: Most of the people, at least in the south region
058 of the state, do not have the necessary means to Socio-economic
059 afford these types of courses. They’re really good... situation/working
060 this type of courses to reinforce what has been conditions
061 already learned at school or simply when people
062 want to learn because they have smaller groups
063 and, in some cases, they are personalized.

* In Spanish in the original.

Profile: Issues Teach. Prof. Dev., Vol. 22 No. 1, Jan-Jun, 2020. ISSN 1657-0790 (printed) 2256-5760 (online). Bogotá, Colombia. Pages 125-139 139