Remigio Díaz Benítez

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47133/tegc_ch18  

ABSTRACT

Context is an important element in the teaching-learning process. Context can alter meanings of words with the same phrase conveying different meanings in different places. Similarly, context can alter ways of teaching English with the same goal being approached differently in different schools, institutes, and universities as well as different countries. Each educational institution is its own context with unique contextual characteristics such as the students’ home cultures and languages as well as their age, gender, and level of language proficiency. As a teacher, you will need to use the methods, techniques, and strategies that are most suitable to ensure learning within a given context. You must also design and deliver classroom activities that promote critical thinking and meaningful learning among the learners in that context. In this chapter, you will learn about the different contexts where you might one day be teaching English. 

Keywords: teaching contexts, contextual characteristics, learner differences, English learners, English teaching

How to cite this chapter: 

Díaz Benítez, R. (2023). Teaching English in Different Contexts. In V. Canese & S. Spezzini (Eds.), Teaching English in Global Contexts, Language, Learners and Learning (pp. 225-233). Editorial Facultad de Filosofía, UNA. https://doi.org/10.47133/tegc_ch18

INTRODUCTION

Upon entering the English language teaching (ELT) profession, pre-service teachers often wonder about the places where they might one day be teaching. Places are context, and context is crucial. One type of context is a public school where students are usually in large classes and have English two hours weekly. Another context is a language institute where students are often in small, leveled classes and have English several hours weekly. Yet another context is a bilingual school where, from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, students learn language and content at the same time. Numerous other ELT contexts also exist. 

In this chapter, you will learn about different ELT contexts and, by doing so, become immersed in the teaching and learning of English. As a teacher, first reach an understanding of the context where you are or will be teaching. After that, identify and implement methods, techniques, and strategies. By doing this, you can better guide students to use English for communicating, expressing themselves in interpersonal relationships, and reaching academic and professional goals. So, let’s now explore the various contexts in which English is taught and learned. 

BACKGROUND

English is the most widely used language worldwide (Lyons, 2021). However, of these English users, only a small percentage have English as their native language. This means that English is “the most commonly studied foreign language in the world” (para. 7). Based on where learners live and their access to learning opportunities, they study English in different types of contexts. 

In all ELT contexts, cultural and socio-political aspects are of utmost importance. Teachers and students come to class with their own beliefs, norms, and values, and these may or may not be the same. Every teaching context is so complex that “most people who engage in cross-cultural interactions are not aware of the indelible impact of the invisible culture—their own and that of other participants—on practically all social uses of language” (Celce-Murcia et al., 2014, p. 396). For this reason, it is important for teachers to create an environment of mutual tolerance and respect in order to generate a meaningful learning environment. This will enable students “to question how their own values influence how they interact with and think about individuals who differ from themselves” (Muhamed, 2009, p. 1). 

For teaching and learning English, other contextual criteria include the learners’ age and English proficiency level. Based on their ages, students learn English in pre-school, elementary school, middle school, and high school as well as in various adult settings. Based on their language proficiency, students are placed at beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels plus other levels between and beyond. This is a general way for classifying students. Precise levels are provided by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, which offers a detailed scale based on learners’ language proficiencies. 

Upon accepting a teaching position in a new context, learn about the context and about your students and their needs. After that, establish criteria for your English classes so that this context becomes a positive experience for you and your students.

MAJOR DIMENSIONS

Having determined the importance of context, let’s look more closely at common ELT contexts. 

K-12 Schools

The context of K-12 schools is one of the most common places for the teaching and learning of English. Schools are usually organized by grade levels such as pre-kindergarten, primary, elementary, middle, and high. These schools can be public or private with corresponding differences in class size, instructional time, and teacher preparation. In Paraguay and other countries where English is learned as a foreign language, private schools often provide English instruction from elementary school through high school. Such classes are taught several hours weekly by well-trained teachers who probably provide instruction based on a communicative teaching approach. Meanwhile, the public schools in many of these countries might be under-resourced and might just provide English in high school. Depending on a country’s curriculum and economic resources, English classes in public schools might occur just two hours weekly and be taught by teachers who focus instruction on vocabulary and grammar.

Bilingual Immersion Schools

Bilingual immersion schools represent a specialized type of K-12 context. Here, the purpose is for students to acquire a target language while learning curricular content through both the target language and home language. A dual immersion approach “immerses students equally in both languages and generally uses both languages in all curriculum areas” (Hadi-Tabassum, 2004, para. 4). In other words, English is not just taught in language classes but also used as a medium of instruction from preschool through 12th grade. For example, bilingual immersion schools in Spanish-speaking countries use both Spanish and English as channels of instruction. Children with Spanish as their home language are learning two languages (Spanish and English) from early childhood. Children with another home language are learning three languages (Spanish, English, and their home language). In the context of bilingual immersion schools, the parents and educators believe that “The acquisition and maintenance of more than one language can open doors to many personal, social, and economic opportunities” (Lightbown & Spada, 2021, p. 30).

Language Institutes

Language institutes represent another context for the teaching and learning of English. In this ELT context, classes are offered for children, adolescents, and adults with materials and methods tailored for each age group and language level as well as for specific learning goals. Upon completing a series of leveled classes, students often take a standardized exam and, depending on the institute’s goals, might earn an internationally recognized certificate. As in other ELT contexts, some language institutes focus on American English and others on British English, while yet others might focus on English as an international language.

Institutions of Higher Education

Another ELT context is the teaching and learning of English at institutions of higher education. This context includes post-secondary colleges and universities that provide English language instruction for their undergraduate and graduate students. Some of these institutions offer their own discipline-specific English classes while others have agreements with language institutes for general English courses. If these English classes focus on the content of a specific academic discipline (e.g., business), such instruction is called English for Specific Purposes.

Company-Contracted Classes

Another common ELT context consists of site-based English classes where companies provide employees an opportunity to learn English in the workplace. For these classes, companies usually contract a language institute or hire an individual teacher to provide English lessons during a schedule that matches employees’ availability. Even if this company does not provide an actual classroom that is appropriate for teaching and learning English, the teacher needs to be flexible in adjusting instruction and learning activities for the designated space. Another format for company-contracted classes is online instruction.

Hospital Schools

A special type of ELT context is that of hospital schools. Here, programmatic content is provided to children who must be hospitalized for long periods of time. The curricular content is taught with necessary adjustments for the hospital context. If children had been learning English at their respective schools, they will continue to receive instruction when hospitalized as part of their learning process. The aim is for children undergoing treatment to continue their education, thus avoiding isolation and, also, ensuring the sustainability of rehabilitation efforts. This allows for “long-term ill children to achieve academic goals to regain their usual socio-pedagogical environment after the end of treatment” (Ivanova et al., 2021, p. 4).

Schools in Indigenous Communities

Schools in indigenous communities often represent multilingual ELT contexts. An excellent example is Paraguay’s Yalve Sanga school, which is supported by the interethnic cooperation of the Asociación de Servicios de Cooperación Indígena-Menonita. Located in the central Chaco region, the Yalve Sanga school serves families primarily from the Nivaclé, Enhlet, Ayoreo, and Sanapana indigenous groups and, also, from other ethnicities such as Lengua, Angaité, Guaraní Nandeva, and Yshir (Chamacoco). This school follows Paraguay’s national curriculum and, as such, provides instruction in both official languages, Spanish and Guaraní. At the Yalve Sanga school, reading instruction is initiated in a child’s home language and then provided in Spanish and Guaraní. Later, students start learning English. The English teacher collaborates with other teachers at each grade level to integrate multiple cultures in a single classroom where students work together. To better meet students’ learning needs, the English teacher learns about basic phonological, syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic elements in the children’s other languages. At Yalve Sanga and other schools in indigenous communities, “specific cultures can be explored, and several models of bilingual or trilingual (i.e., Spanish, English, and an indigenous language) educational activities can ultimately help students to improve their proficiency in English” (Barfield & Uzarski, 2009, p. 3).

Incarcerated Instruction

The incarcerated instruction of English occurs in a context where students are deprived of their liberty. These students might have different home languages and cultures. They might also be learning English as a second or foreign language—depending on their place of confinement and the majority language to which they are exposed. The goal of English language instruction is to provide those deprived of their liberty with an opportunity to be rehabilitated, thus providing tools for later re-entering society. Incarcerated instruction differs in different countries and jurisdictions. However, “while there are differences in philosophies, approaches, programs, and practices across the range of jurisdictions, there are also common characteristics that link the practice of education in prison worldwide” (Behan, 2021, p. 20). For example, although the curriculum might be informal with limited availability to libraries, the inmates usually need training in languages and digital literacy. If inmates can have access to quality education, they are more likely to find employment after serving their time.

PEDAGOGICAL APPLICATIONS

Having now identified several ELT contexts, let’s examine aspects within those contexts that can affect the teaching and learning of English. 

Class Size

A major aspect in ELT contexts is class size, which refers to the number of students in a class. When teaching at a public school, you might have a large class with 20 students or an even larger class with over 40 students. When teaching in a language institute, you might have a class with 10 or 15 students. When teaching privately, you might have a class with just one or two students (which is often called personalized instruction). Each situation has advantages and challenges. Some research studies have examined the relationship between class size and student learning. Their findings suggest that the class size interacts with factors such as teacher competency and resource availability and that, together, these influence student learning (Aoumeur, 2017).

Multicultural Classrooms

Some ELT contexts comprise multicultural classrooms with students from several different home languages and cultures. These classrooms represent a different type of context for the teaching and learning of English. Here, people from different languages interact in English. In this type of classroom, assume a more universal vision of what type of content is to be delivered and how the activities need to be implemented. Be careful not to create unintentional misunderstandings between different cultures represented in the classroom, including those of the Anglophone world. When we teach language, we must always “be aware of the complex and dynamic relationship between language and cultural customs, values, and beliefs that are embedded in language practice” (Brown & Lee, 2015, p. 157).

Face-to-Face Classes

Another aspect related to ELT contexts is instructional delivery. Language instruction has traditionally been delivered through face-to-face instruction in a “traditional or conventional classroom in which the instructor and the students are in a place devoted to instruction, and teaching and learning, therefore, take place at the same time” (Nazara & Wardaningsih, 2016, p. 81). Many teachers and students prefer face-to-face classes where, based on social interaction and human contact, language learning interactions can be dynamic. In such face-to-face settings, learners often engage more easily in activities, especially when these are implemented with a communicative purpose. Furthermore, when doing their teaching practicum at a host educational institution, pre-service teachers usually teach face-to-face classes.

Virtual Classes

In the 21st century, “English lessons are no longer taught solely by means of printed books and chalk and blackboard, but via electronic learning management systems (e.g., Blackboard, Moodle) or digital tools (e.g., Skype, wikis), which extend learning beyond the classroom” (Barreno Avila & Ergüez Mayorga, 2020, p. 65). This context of virtual instruction can offer many advantages for teachers and students given that the materials and assignments are posted on virtual platforms, and the sessions are recorded. In 2020, almost all English classes converted to virtual because of pandemic-mandated conditions. Later, many ELT settings continued to offer some virtual classes to meet learners’ needs. To work effectively as a virtual teacher, seek training on how to use the platform(s) adopted by your institution. Among the best-known platforms are Moodle, Teams, GoogleMeet, and Zoom. Within each platform, learn to use digital tools for effectively teaching content. To maximize the advantages of virtual classes, consider incorporating virtually based social opportunities for teacher interaction with learners and, also, for learner interaction with other learners.

In this chapter, you learned about the teaching of English in different contexts. You learned about K-12 schools, bilingual immersion schools, language institutes, institutions of higher education, company-contracted classes, hospital schools, schools in indigenous communities, and incarcerated instruction. You also learned how each of these contexts can vary depending on class size, multicultural settings, and instructional delivery (face-to-face versus virtual).

Here are some key concepts about different ELT contexts:

• English is taught worldwide in many different contexts.

• Context influences how you teach English and how students learn English.

• Culture is a context-related aspect for English teaching and learning.

• Learning another language implies learning another culture.

Based on the ELT contexts described in this chapter, answer these questions:

1. Which of the ELT contexts in this chapter are found in your country?

2. What challenges might you face when teaching in a multicultural context?

3. In which ways will your students’ cultural background determine the activities that you select for teaching English in a specific context?

4. Which aspects best define the various ELT contexts?

To practice what you have learned about different ELT contexts, do the following:

1. Compare and contrast virtual English classes with face-to-face English classes.

2. Help teach English in a context that is new for you, such as a hospital school.

3. Observe an English class in an indigenous community.

To expand your knowledge about different ELT contexts, visit these websites:

• Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/the-balancing-act-of-bilingual-immersion 

• Hospital School in Durham. https://www.dpsnc.net/hospital-school 

• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000378059/PDF/378059eng.pdf.multi 

• Yalve Sanga School. https://www.ascim.org/index.php/en/colegio-yalve-sanga  

Different ELT contexts are also addressed in other chapters of this book:

Chapter 3 The Diversity of English Classes by R. Díaz

Chapter 7 Embracing Young Learners by M. Gandolfo, B. Damiani, and L. Caperochipe

Chapter 8 Teaching and Engaging Adolescent Learners by V. Ariza-Pinzón

Chapter 9 Empowering Adults for Autonomous Learning by M. Zalimben

Chapter 11 Using Social Media to Enhance Language Awareness by S. Terol and J. Amarilla

Chapter 13 Designing Learner-Centered Classrooms to Promote Active Learning by H. Kaiser

Chapter 19 Incorporating Inclusive Education Practices in ELT by R. Mazzoleni

Chapter 24 Teaching in Virtual and Hybrid Classrooms by Y. Grevtseva and E. Zyrianova

Chapter 26 Counterbalancing Content and Language Integrated Learning by A. Roca

Chapter 32 Major ELT Trends in the 20th Century by C. Onatra and S. Palencia

Chapter 33 Current Approaches in English Language Teaching by N. Dantaz

Chapter 36 Task-Based Approach With Adult Learners by C. Giménez and I. Rolón

Chapter 48 International Frameworks to Assess Language Development by E. Nuñez 

Aoumeur, H. (2017). The impact of class size on teaching and learning English as a foreign language: The case of the department of English at Abdelhamid Badis University. Arab World English Journal, 8(2), 349-361.   https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol8no2.25

Barfield, S. C., & Uzarski, J. (2009). Integrating indigenous cultures into English language teaching (EJ923442). English Teaching Forum, 47(1). 1-9. 

Barreno Avila, E. M., & Ergüez Mayorga, M. C. (2020). Entornos virtuales y aprendizaje significativo del idioma inglés como segunda lengua L2 en estudiantes de secundaria: Un caso de estudio [Virtual environments and meaningful English language learning as second language high school students: A case study]. INNOVA Research Journal, 5(3.2). 64-78. https://doi.org/10.33890/innova.v5.n3.2.2020.1552 

Behan, C. (2021). Education in prison. A literature review. UNESCO Institute for lifelong learning. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000378059 

Brown, H. D., & Lee, H. (2015). Teaching by principles (4th ed.). Pearson.

Celce-Murcia, M., Brinton, D. M., & Snow, M. A. (Eds.). (2014). Teaching English as a second or foreign language (4th ed.). Heinle Cengage; National Geographic Learning.

Hadi-Tabassum, S. (2004, December 1). The balancing act of bilingual immersion. Educational Leadership: Educating Language Learners, 62(4). https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/the-balancing-act-of-bilingual-immersion

Shalashova, M., Tareva, E., & Gavrilyuk, O. (2021). Hospital school: Investigating the practical aspects of teacher and parent training. Education Science, 11(10), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11100612 

Lightbown, P., & Spada, N. (2021). How languages are learned (5th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Lyons, D. (2021, March 10). How many people speak English, and where is it spoken? Babbel Magazine. https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/how-many-people-speak-english-and-where-is-it-spoken 

Muhamed, A. J. (2009, December 17-19). Teaching English in multicultural classrooms [Conference session]. International Conference on Bilingualism and Bilingual Education, University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. International Islamic University Malaysia Repository. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/300378716.pdf 

Nazara, S., & Wardaningsih, E. F. F. (2016). Students’ attitudes forward face-to-face and blended learning instructions in English class [Presentation]. Proceeding of the English Education Department Collegiate Forum. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330831440_Students'_Attitudes_towards_Face-to-Face_and_Blended_Learning_Instructions_in_English_Class. 

Remigio Díaz Benítez is head of the language education department at Paraguay’s Instituto Nacional de Educación Superior (INAES). Remigio has been a university professor since 2008 and has taught linguistics, didactics, pedagogy, research methodology, and theories of education at the INAES, Universidad Nacional de Itapúa, and Universidad Evangélica del Paraguay. He earned undergraduate degrees in English and Spanish at the Universidad Nacional de Asunción and a master’s degree in education at the Universidad Americana (Paraguay). Remigio has also pursued a doctorate in educational sciences at the Universidad Evangélica del Paraguay. 

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-2932-761X  

Email for correspondence regarding this chapter: remigio.diaz@humanidades.uni.edu.py

Cover Photo by Clarissa Watson on Unsplash