Escuela de Posgrado

Universidad Nacional de Educación

Enrique Guzmán y Valle - La Cantuta

MASTER’S PROGRAM IN EDUCATIONAL SCIENCE

Major: Teaching English as a Foreign Language

Students : Sandro Alberto Jones Reyes

Course : Language Planning
Title of work : A Newer Linguistic proposal for Peru
Tutor : Jeovanna Benito

SEMESTER 2017-II
 Table of contents

1. Country profile
2. Language Situation
3. English promotion in Peru
4. Personal appraisal
 A Newer Linguistic proposal for Peru
(Set of guidelines to help improve our linguistic issues)

1. Country profile

Land area 1,279,996 sq km

Total area 1,285,216 sq km

Population 30,741,062 (July 2016 est.)

1,279,996 sq km
Border countries (5): Bolivia 1,212 km,
Brazil 2,659 km,
Chile 168 km,
Colombia 1,494 km,
Ecuador 1,529 km

Source: CIA

Peru is located in western South America. It shares land borders with Colombia
to the northeast, Brazil to the east. The borders with Bolivia to the southeast, Chile to the
south, and Ecuador to the northwest run across the high Andes. To the west, lies the
Pacific Ocean (territorial waters).

Regarding Peru’s Human Development Index, it ranks 87 in the world according

to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It is relevant to state that the
HDI was created to emphasize people and their capabilities should be the ultimate criteria
for assessing the development of a country, not economic growth alone. As we can see in
the following image, it is a summary measure of how the HDI works along with its 3 key
dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable and
have a decent standard of living.
 Source: Human Development Reports

The Peruvian’s life expectancy at birth is 78.4 years, expect years of schooling:
13, 4 years; mean years of schooling: 9,0 and a gross national income (GNI) per capita
(measured in constant prices of year 2011 in PPP terms) 11,295 dollars.

According to the latest figures from the World Health Organization, life
expectancy for men and women has increased significantly over the past two decades.
Male Peruvians can expect to live for 73.1 years, and female Peruvians can expect to live
for 78 years. The increased life expectancy is just one of several indicators that show that
living conditions of Peruvians has improved dramatically during the past 20 years.

Human Development Index and its components

Source: Human Development Reports

 GDP (Gross Domestic Product) 192.1 billion USD (2015)
Per capita: $ 6089.40
GNP (Gross National Product) 293760.41 PEN Million
GNI (Gross National Income) per 11,295 dollars
capita
HDI (Human Development Index) 0,740 (ranked eighty seven) high

Source: The World Bank

What it is important to point out is that Perú went through an economic boom in the
2000s (economic stability), but inequality persists and continued to pose a challenge in
our country. In 2016, 3.8% of the country's population was in extreme poverty, equivalent
to 1 million 197 thousand people. When comparing, with 2015, extreme poverty
decreased by 0.3 percentage point, which is equivalent to 70 thousand people (Technical
report-INEI, 2017)

Based on my research, the literacy rate in Peru (defined as the number of people
over 15 years of age who can read and write) is 94.5% (97.3% for males and 91.7% for
females).

2. Language situation

Peru is a multilingual nation. Having three official languages, Spanish as its most
spoken language (84.1%) followed by Quechua (13%) and then Aymara (1.7 %) and other
aboriginal languages used in the Amazon of Peru. (Political Constitution, art. 48).

Back in 2003, UNESCO stated that language is not only a resource used for
communication and knowledge, but also serves as a means of cultural identity and
empowerment, for both, the individual and the group. Therefore, respect for languages of
different linguistic communities is expected all the time in order to have a peaceful
society.

I could not agree more with UNESCO’s stance on language as language per se
influences on people’s lives. There are several things we can do by using language
properly. Regarding the proper usage of language in Perú (Spanish speakers), it is
inevitable to see how native speakers of Spanish, especially those who have a good
command of the language, tend to display some sort of superiority complex over the ones
who do not speak Spanish as their first language (Quechua and Aymara speakers).

At this point, it is essential to highlight that no language is better than another.

Consequently, every language should hold the same relevance and be treated in the same
way. Sadly to say, this is something that does not seem to happen in real life, for instance,
Spanish is believed to have more prestige than either Quechua or Aymara. In fact, people
tend to relate Quechua to poverty. There is not only racial discrimination, but also a
linguistic one, which is present nowadays in our country, as Quechua-speaking people
tend to be mistreated when they come to the coast in search of a better education, life,
working conditions and all this has been reported in the book “Decir y Callar” by Zapata-
Cordova (2010).

I strongly believe that having more students from rural areas coming to Lima is a
good way to have an intercultural education, but there must be linguistic awareness
courses for students who will study with the students coming from the rural areas in order
to make them aware of the importance of the concept of language per se, that is to say,
no language is better than others and they do not have the right to discriminate anyone on
the basis of race, religion, or language, being the latter a fundamental reason to lose your
own identity, if students get to feel ashamed of communicating in their mother tongue,
they will not be able to express their opinions, feelings, etc as supposed to.

What has been happening in Peru is the fact of having several people from
different ages studying English as a foreign language and committing the huge mistake
to neglect their first language, therefore; losing their identity and alienation.

There is no way we can deny the fact that acquiring a new language, for instance,
English, may have an impact on our lives, mainly because of the chances/opportunities
that can bring along such as studying abroad, having a promotion, or simply getting more
well-paying job opportunities, but the problem starts when people neglect their L1 and
tend to focus on this new language. In fact, the Intercultural Development Research
Association clearly points out that students who keep improving their L1 will have as a
result a higher academic achievement.
 UN (2003) advances that anything done with language, governments should do it
in a three-level fashion: Local, national, and international. That is to say:

1. Schooling in their languages, if so desired.

2. Access to the language of the larger community and to that of national education
systems.

3. Access to international languages.

In other words, in any educational context, students should be given classes in

their L1, then the national language should come second, and a foreign language might
come third in terms of importance.

Unfortunately, this is not reflected in our educational system, as the ministry of

education has stated that English will be taught in public schools from primary level and
on, discarding what was mentioned above about the UN approach to language instruction
and the powerful relation between language and cultural identity.

Back in 2011, the Peruvian Congress enacted the law 29735 that basically poses
different measures so that the government can implement the linguistic rights as well as
it defines the promotion, conservation, recovery and the usage of the aboriginal
languages. Every student should be given classes in their L1 in schools and Spanish
should be taught as a second language. According to this law, every person has the right
to service in his/her own language, but this is something we do not see happening, and if
it does, it is only up to a certain extent.

In Peru, there are about 47 aboriginal languages, but only 32 of them have their
own official alphabet, so the Ministry of Education is working on this project to have the
rest of the alphabets ready as well as sending teachers able to speak Quechua, Aymara
and other aboriginal languages to instruct in those languages.
 Source: Diario Correo

3. English promotion in Perú

Undoubtedly English has become a very important tool in terms of how people
communicate worldwide. The problem relies on how it is sold in Peru, based on the DCN
description of English; it would serve a springboard to a higher standard of living, but I
believe that is a very ambitious dream, due to the fact that it might apply only to certain
contexts. Hence, I believe English might contribute to having a better life, but it does not
ensure it at all.

As I have stated above, MINEDU will start English classes from primary
education and on, but what they do not apparently see are the detrimental consequences
this will bring along. First of all, how can we pretend that a child who has not mastered
his L1 yet, will be able to learn a foreign language? Then, in most cases, textbooks have
a completely different context to the students’, for instance, in places like Apurimac or
Ancash, the books ask student to talk about their experience in a hotel or a supermarket
discarding the idea that in most cases, these students have never been able to stay in a
hotel or have no idea what a supermarket looks like, therefore, teachers are expected to
create supplementary material in order to cope with sort of problem.

In my opinion, this is the sort of situation that actually hinders learning as students
are exposed to things they are not familiar with, therefore, they do not see themselves
reflected in the material used in class and this is like saying you are not important at all
and that is why your culture is not important to be mentioned or referred to.
 According to Ore (2003), the context of English language teaching is given in a
way where the exposition of English is generally confined to the classroom for the
majority of students since the possibilities outside are few, meaning outside the class
everything is in Spanish so English is taught as a foreign language and not as a second
language and it is not a unique experience it is not a unique reality, in our country there
are various realities, that is what government should take into account, since they always
design a unique curriculum , as if Peru had just one reality, it is not the same work plan (
curriculum) in lima than in Ancash, the realities in those places are very different.

Based on Ore’s work, one of the many problems that Minedu has not considered
when developing the curriculum for English is the fact that living in a multicultural and
multilingual country implies having different realities, therefore, it is technically
impossible to believe students in city A would learn something in the same way that
students in B considering their diverse backgrounds, needs, problems, etc. And that is
why it is imperative to have different work plans that take into accounts the dimensions
mentioned above in order to help our students have good results in terms of English
learning.

4. Personal appraisal

Based on everything I have been able to read throughout this year and half,
teaching English is a serious business that has not been seen like that due to several
factors. One of them is the approach people responsible for making decisions have not
been able to set the proper priorities regarding our students, they expect kids to learn a
foreign language without having learned their L1 well, and on top of that, they do not
provide enough exposure to it, just a couple of hours per week, and the fact that English
is only seen in the classrooms as everything they outside is in Spanish.

Regarding Quechua, Aymara and the other aboriginal languages spoken in Peru,
I believe that the government with the help of the Ministry of Education should enact
laws that allow people to have classes considering their L1 first, so students can grow up
being aware of the importance of their language, which is part of their identity, culture,
and heritage. These students do not need to be sent teachers who do not command their
L1 (Quechua, Aymara, or any of the other aboriginal languages), otherwise, they will not
be able to speak either language as expected; consequently, we are going to keep
developing semi lingual students with low self-steem. Another way the government can
do to promote Quechua would be by creating an interest not only in people who have it
as their first language, but also in people whose first language is Spanish, for instance, by
asking every language center in the country to offer Quechua courses so people can start
to get interested in it and also by encouraging channels to have specific programs such
news programs broadcasted in Quechua for the Quechua speakers or the ones interested
in learning Quechua as well using subtitles in case they do not have news anchors who
speak Quechua.

In terms of intercultural education, since there are more students coming to the
capital city in order to study in several private universities, there should be a need analysis
able to study the real needs of the students from these rural areas and also linguistic
awareness courses so that students from the city do not show any sort of disrespect
towards the students from the rural areas regarding their language, accent, or anything
related to the new culture.

Undoubtedly, Peru is going through difficult times due to its current political
situation, which has affected several industries in the country, being the educational field
one of the most affected, as the representatives have not been able to identify what
students really need and their contexts so learning can get to be meaningful and
productive enough.

In conclusion, I myself believe that whatever the government wants to do

regarding language, it should depart from UNESCO stance on language that takes into
account students’ first language, then the national language should be considered, and
only then an international language could be thought of. Another point I would like to
highlight is that MINEDU should be very careful when introducing English in public
schools as the introduction of it should be done after students have internalized their L1,
so they learn to use it appropriately first, and then think about learning another language,
taking into account the appropriate number of hours per week, a book that actually reflects
students’ realities/cultures to successfully learn it.
 REFERENCES

Constitución política del Perú, 2011 Edit Chirre.

Diseño curricular Nacional de educación Básica regular 2008, Minedu

Zavala V. & Gamboa G. (2010) Decir y Callar. Lenguaje, equidad y poder en la

Universidad peruana. Lima: Fondo Editorial de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del
Perú.

UNESCO. (2003) La educación en mundo plurilingüe. Paris

Ore. M. (2003). Los Contextos de la Enseñanza del Inglés. Lima. Aula Abierta

World Bank. Retrieved on November 28th from

http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/peru

CIA. The world factbook: Peru. Retrieved on November 28th from

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/ca.html

UNDP Human Development Index and its components. Retrieved on November 29th
from http://hdr.undp.org/es/composite/HDI

Centro de Recursos Interculturales. Retrieved on December 3rd from

https://centroderecursos.cultura.pe/es/registrobibliografico/ley-n%C2%B0-29735-ley-
que-regula-el-uso-preservaci%C3%B3n-desarrollo-recuperaci%C3%B3n

Diario Correo. Retrieved on December 5th from https://diariocorreo.pe/ciudad/pueblos-

selvaticos-en-contacto-inicial-tendran-alfabeto-681315/