Educational innovation

The process for bilingualism and multilingualism has come through paths of changes and resolutions of new ideas to step forward search of the best options for learning and acquiring languages. In educational grounds, European countries are always in search and on implementation process to fulfill the needs of the current changing society. However, Latin American systems of education face against several impotencies to bring innovation into the core of national syllabus and curriculum. Despite of the breakthroughs accomplished the Costa Rican education system for EFL teaching and learning does not create an optimum environment for putting into action any educational innovation. Educational Innovation is given under the conditions, as it is stated in the article, “a systemic ecology that either promotes or inhibits innovation. In other words, cultural, economic, political, and other factors always mediate the possibility of change.” Inferring the different agents, whose responsibility for improvement lies on the availability and capability to adopt and to undergo such innovation, national teachers and entities show certain deficiencies in such process.
First of all, the national syllabus and curriculum fails in providing an updated and contextualized content of teaching for EFL students and teacher across the country. The current programs are based on a Costa Rica that hasn’t evolved. Their objectives do not lead to the actual aspiration of language proficiency in demand. These programs have not been renewed since 1998, when Communicative Approach was directed and implemented. The second improvement was basically a change of layout, because if a comparison is set—which has unofficially been done—the results will prove the obvious similarity of both. Nevertheless, MEP authorities claim that such new programs are based on the needs of every student for acquiring the language to perform at an appropriate level.
On the other hand, there has been a recent implementation of technology in educational centers for children and teenage English learning. Those accomplishments are the opening of language laboratories for improving the English for Conversation and English for Special Purposes, the latest is held in technical high schools. Also, the opening of bilingual high school where English is divided into two classes, each of one dealing with two major skills (Speaking/Listening class and Reading/Writing class) comes one of the valuable changes in appreciation of English in terms of language globalism and job demand. Unfortunately, these advances have not resulted in any outcome that would reinforce the efficiency of such process, diminishing the importance of such breakthroughs.
As a matter of fact, those changes have come short in the capability to prove the impact that they have. The reason of such failure is the inability and sufficient mastery in their language of expertise by most English teachers who are employed every year. Those teachers are afraid of introducing new theories and methodologies because the eminent threat of failing in class and proving themselves wrong in front of their students. However, innovation occurs when knowledge is possessed. Therefore, training has been imparted to a little amount of teachers in order to introduce new methodologies. For instance, TBI and CBA have been already introduced. The question remains in how many teachers are actually putting into practice or sharing such knowledge.
For reducing the blame most teacher may have for the inadequacy of bringing students closer to acquisition, materials spread and publicized widely in stands in every library continue to provide less interesting and contextualizing activities and tools for students to relate to and to be engaged in class.
In conclusion, educational innovation is out there, waiting. However, the process of innovation does not come as fast and effective as it has to. The agents lately stated have committed insufficiently to provoke in students and in ESL and EFL educational system an insurgency for change. As Alfred North Whitehead said “Education with inert ideas is not only useless; it is above all things harmful.”












By: Alexander Guevara G