Colombia - ELTeach

ELTEACH
IMPLEMENTATION
REPORT
COLOMBIA
APRIL 2016
1
Contents
Front Cover:
La Macarena, Colombia
Pierre Klemas/Getty Images
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ELTeach Implementation Report: Colombia
3
Challenge and Program Selection
4
Implementation
5
Results
7
Next Steps
8
Appendix I: TEFT™ Assessment Summary Report
10
Appendix II: TPK™ Assessment Summary Report
1
Challenge and
Program Selection
As part of a national initiative to increase competitiveness and productivity in the
globalized world, the Ministry of Education in Colombia launched the National Bilingual
Program in 2004.
The goal of this program is to offer all students in public
schools the opportunity to become bilingual in Spanish and
another language (with an emphasis on English). In 2006 a
set of National Standards were published, which specified the
English language skills students should have at each level of
education, from first grade of primary school through the end
of their undergraduate degrees.
Given the scope of the Bilingual Program, which involves
curriculum review and teacher preparedness, a top priority
for the program administrators is ensuring that all the
country’s public sector teachers of English are equipped to
deliver quality instruction in English, from primary school
upwards.
In particular, ensuring that teachers have the skills and
knowledge necessary to create a classroom environment in
which English is taught meaningfully, in English, was the focus
of discussions in the fall of 2014 between representatives
from National Geographic Learning (NGL), La Institución
Universitaria Colombo Americana (ÚNICA), and the National
Bilingual Program.
It was agreed that an initial teacher training program would
take place in 2015, in which 275 teachers would be trained
in Classroom English and Practical Methodology, using the
ELTeach: English-for-Teaching and Professional Knowledge for
ELT programs, and that 75 overseas volunteer classroom
assistants would undertake the Professional Knowledge for ELT
program.
The ELTeach program was developed jointly by NGL and
Educational Testing Services (ETS)1. The English-for-Teaching
and Professional Knowledge for ELT courses are followed by
an online test, the TEFT™ Assessment (Test of English-forTeaching), and the TPK™ Assessment (Test of Professional
Knowledge) respectively.
1 ETS and the ETS logo are registered trademarks of Educational Testing Service
(ETS) and used under license. TEFT and TPK are trademarks of ETS.
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2
Implementation
Between March and September, 2015,
275 Colombian public school teachers took
National Geographic Learning’s ELTeach
English-for-Teaching (EFT) and Professional
Knowledge for ELT (PK) courses, and a further
75 volunteer English language classroom
assistants took the PK course.
ÚNICA was responsible for orienting teachers to the program
and managing their progress through the courses and preparing
them for the assessment.
The teachers were spread out across Colombia, and were
grouped into 11 regions according to the closest city. They
each underwent a face-to-face orientation, where they were
shown how to begin the course and complete their “Pre-Course
Planner,” a series of questions which determines each teacher’s
personalized “Path of Learning” through the program.
The teachers studied the online materials either at home, at
school, or at public internet access points, and came together
for face-to-face and online group tutorials and feedback sessions
with the ÚNICA trainer.
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ELTeach Implementation Report: Colombia
There was regular interaction between all parties via a
WhatsApp mobile community group, where ideas were shared,
and technological or program-related questions were answered
by either ÚNICA or NGL.
At the end of the program in September 2015, the teachers sat
for both the TEFT™ Assessment and the TPK™ Assessment, and
the volunteers sat for the TPK™ Assessment.
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Results
Engagement in the online program was high, with teachers spending on average 30.2 hours in the
English-for-Teaching program, and on average 20.4 hours in Professional Knowledge for ELT.
Of the 275 teachers who participated in both courses, 203 teachers
completed the TEFT™ Assessment, and 233 teachers completed
the TPK™ Assessment. The completion rates for the TEFT™ and
the TPK™ Assessments are 73% and 85%, respectively. Of the
teachers sitting for the TEFT™ Assessment, 33% scored in Band
1, 23% in Band 2, and 44% in Band 3. For the TPK™ Assessment,
38% were in Band 1, 31% in Band 2 and 31% in Band 3.
Band
1
2
3
TEFT™
33%
23%
44%
TPK™
38%
31%
31%
and their relative strengths in Foundational Knowledge and Core
Teaching Practice. Sample Summary Reports can be found in
Appendixes 1 and 2. Teachers that spent between 20-40 hours
studying obtained higher scores in both programs. There was
also a clear and positive correlation between completing the
online learning path of each course and exam scores.
At the end of the program, each teacher received an individual
score report. For the TEFT™ Assessment, they received their band
score, a description of their coverage of the program within that
band, and their relative strengths in Listening, Speaking, Reading
and Writing, as well as in the functional areas of Classroom
Management, Understanding and Communicating Lesson
Content, and Giving Feedback to Students.
For the TPK™ Assessment, the teachers received their band score,
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The teachers’ response to the EFT and PK courses was
overwhelmingly positive. In a survey conducted at the end of
the program, 96% of the respondents said they were “satisfied”
or “very satisfied” with the ELTeach program.
“All the activities and topics we studied helped us
to improve our role. First, I learned…expressions
and vocabulary to encourage students to
“It has been the greatest experience I have ever
had. It has been so important to improve my job
as well as my personal experience… to me all the
topics were really important, because each one
of them gave me the opportunity to expand my
knowledge about them.” – Teacher, Colombia
The teacher participants were asked to rate the program’s
applicability to their classroom situation on a four-point scale:
very useful, useful, somewhat useful, and not useful. 100% of
English-for-Teaching participants said that the program was “very
useful” or “useful” to their teaching. For Professional Knowledge
for ELT, 95% of participants described the program as “very
useful” or “useful.”
participate and speak English in every activity.
The second part of the course gave me more
specific information… I applied all of these clues
to manage and control my class, and I could see
differences in my classes!” – Teacher, Colombia
Teachers were also asked about the platform’s ease of use. 93%
of participants stated that the learning platform was “easy” or
“very easy” to use.
“The platform was great. It brought us
many interesting tools and some valuable
information to improve our pedagogical
practice.” – Teacher, Colombia
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ELTeach Implementation Report: Colombia
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Next Steps
Due to the tremendous success of the ELTeach program in Colombia, it is recommended
that future implementations include a wider geographical area so that teachers from
more diverse and under-resourced areas of the country are served. In addition, it
is recommended that future implementations include more primary level teachers,
especially given the need for language skills for English language teaching at early levels
of instruction.
“I consider [the] first part was an interesting training for me. I have tried [to] use more
English in class and [to] give good feedback. The second part let us… practice important
theories and join them with the real classroom practice. I could compare if I am right
or wrong in my classroom activities. In summary I have learned both: English and
methodology… that help me to have a wide view of my responsibility in doing my work
in the best way.” –Teacher, Colombia
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Appendix I: Summary Reports
TEFTTM Assessment: Summary Report
CountryName
CountryName
Test Taker 1
Test Taker 2
Test Taker 3
Test Taker 4
Test Taker 5
Test Taker 6
Test Taker 7
Test Taker 8
Test Taker 9
Appendix II: Summary Reports TPKTM
Assessment: Summary Report
CountryName
CountryName
Test Taker 1
Test Taker 2
Test Taker 3
Test Taker 4
Test Taker 5
Test Taker 6
Test Taker 7
Test Taker 8
Test Taker 9
ELTeach.com
National Geographic Learning
At National Geographic Learning, a part of Cengage Learning, we publish high-quality learning
programs, combining print and media content in inspiring and innovative ways that bring our world
and its different cultures to life. From the classroom to the world, we honor the mission and tradition
of the National Geographic Society—to inspire people to care about the planet.
NGL.Cengage.com
Educational Testing Service (ETS)
Educational Testing Service serves individuals, educational institutions, and government agencies
by providing customized solutions for teacher professional development, English language learning,
and elementary, secondary, and post-secondary education, as well as conducting education
research, analysis, and policy studies. Founded as a nonprofit in 1947, ETS develops, administers,
and scores more than 50 million tests annually in more than 180 countries.
ETS.org
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ELTeach Implementation Report: Colombia