“Discovering World Englishes has lessened my burden in English language education”: Colombian in-service English teachers reflecting on diversity, equity, and inclusion
The growth of World Englishes (WE) in Applied Linguistics has provided important contributions to English language
education and teacher professional development. Critical frameworks in WE have raised awareness and inspired knowledge creation
about linguistic diversity in contexts where local teachers have been marginalized for being non-native speakers of English.
Contributing to the understanding of English use and English language education dynamics in the expanding circle, this study
reports the findings of a qualitative study examining how a group of ten in-service Colombian English teachers appropriated the WE
paradigm through their participation in a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). Data included academic background, professional
information, posts in online forums, and final reflections. Findings show that English teachers challenged their beliefs and the
hegemonic national language education policy practices that have perpetuated discriminatory practices such as native speakerism
and the marginalization of certain English varieties. Participants underscore how WE allowed them to reclaim their English
language ownership and legitimacy as trans-speakers of English. The study argues that WE is a useful lens for advancing the
discourse of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in language education, while underscoring the need to include WE in the
professional development of English teachers in peripheral contexts.
Colombia, as many other countries, has experienced a rapid growth in the use of English and a higher demand of English
instruction. The expansion of English language education has been more significant after the National Program of Bilingualism (NPB),
also known as “Bilingual Colombia”, was launched in 2004 by the Colombian Ministry of Education (MoE). This English language education
policy introduced English as a mandatory subject in the school system in elementary, secondary, and higher education (Ministerio de Educación Nacional, 2005). A primary reason for the massive promotion of
English was the alleged advantages to become a competitive nation in the globalized labor market and the accession to the Organization
for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (Laboratorio de Economía de la Educación,
2023). The MoE defined national English proficiency targets for English teachers and learners based on the Common European
Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) (Council of Europe, 2001), which included the
national standards for English learning (Ministerio de Educación Nacional, 2006). All
English teachers were expected to achieve at least a B2 level, and students a B1 level of the CEFR (Cely, 2007). The targets were initially set for 2019, but as time passed and the testing results were lower
than expected, they were postponed until 2025 (González, 2020; Ministerio de Educación Nacional, 2014). Different educational and economic analysis have recommended
considering a thorough revision of the targets as they are unreachable under the current socio-economic conditions (Sánchez-Jabba, 2013).
References
Bayyurt, Y., & Sifakis, N. C.
(2015) ELF-aware
in-service teacher education: A transformative perspective. In H. Bowles & A. Cogo (Eds.), International
perspectives on English as a lingua franca: Pedagogical
insights (pp. 117–135). Palgrave
Macmillan.
Bolton, K.
(2018) World
Englishes and second language acquisition. World
Englishes, 37(1), 5–18.
Bolton, K., Botha, W., & Kirkpatrick, A.
(Eds.) (2020) The
handbook of Asian Englishes. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Bon, S., & Charubusp, S.
(2024) Teachers’
attitudes toward English as Lingua Franca (ELF), World Englishes (WEs), and teachers’ professional identities
(TPIs). Athens Journal of
Philology, 11(4), 311–326.
(2002) World
English: A study of its development. Multilingual Matters.
Cely, R. M.
(2007) Programa
Nacional de Bilingüismo: En búsqueda de la calidad en educación. Revista Internacional
Magisterio, 25, 20–23.
Chen, Z., Chen, X., & Fang, F.
(2023) Global
Englishes and teacher education: Present cases and future directions. RELC
Journal, 54(3), 873–880.
De
Costa, P. I., Green-Eneix, C., Bupphachuen, P., Gregory, M., & Melgar, G.
(2025) Critical
approaches to world Englishes. In C. Facke, X. Gao, & P. Garrett-Rucks (Eds.), The
handbook of plurilingual and intercultural language
learning (pp. 181–190). Wiley.
Duboc, A. P., & Siqueira, S.
(2020) ELF
feito no Brasil: Expanding theoretical notions, reframing educational policies. Status
Quaestionis, 19, 297–331.
Galloway, N.
(2017) Global
Englishes and English language teaching: Attitudes and
impact. Routledge.
(2020) English
and English teaching in Colombia: Tensions and possibilities in the Expanding
Circle. In A. Kirkpatrick (Ed.), The
Routledge handbook of World Englishes (2nd
ed., pp. 371–385). Routledge.
González, A.
(2023) English
teachers in the implementation of English language education policies in multilingual Colombia: Villains or
heroes? In N. Miranda, A. M.
de Mejía, & S. Valencia (Eds.), Language
education in multilingual Colombia: Critical perspectives and voices from the
field (pp. 149–164). Multilingual
Matters.
González, A.
(2025) English
language education policies in Latin America and the perpetuation of
native-speakerism. In E. Llurda (Ed.), Dismantling
the native speaker construct in English language
teaching (pp. 74–98). Routledge.
González, A.
Forthcoming). From
bicentric to pluricentric English approaches in language education policies and ELT in
Colombia. In Y. Ortega & I. Tejada Eds. Towards
a plurilingual language policy in
ColombiaRoutledge
(2007) Pertinencia
de un modelo de metodología del inglés certificado internacionalmente. Revista Internacional
Magisterio, 25, 32–35.
Hiratsuka, T., Nall, M., & Castellano, J.
(2023) Shifting
from native-speakerism to trans-speakerism: A trioethnography of language teachers in
Japan. TESL-EJ, 27 (1), 1–20.
Hiratsuka, T., Nall, M., & Castellano, J.
(2024) Trans-speakerism:
A trioethnographic exploration into diversity, equity, and inclusion in language
education. Language and
Education, 38(6), 1044–1060.
(2018) Native-speakerism. In J. I. Liontas (Ed.), TESOL
encyclopedia of English language
teaching (pp. 1151–1157). Wiley-Blackwell.
Hutz, M.
(2023) Integrating
linguistic diversity into English language teaching. In M. Callies & S. Hehner (Eds.), Pluricentric
languages and language
education (pp. 25–40). Routledge.
Jenkins, J.
(2006) Current
perspectives on teaching World Englishes and English as a Lingua Franca. TESOL
Quarterly, 40(1), 157–181.
Jenkins, J., & Morán
Panero, S.
(2024) Global
Englishes: A resource book for students (4th
ed.). Routledge.
Jenks, C.
(2025) World
Englishes, heterodoxy, and applied linguistics. World
Englishes, 1–13.
Kachru, B. B.
(1982) The
other tongue: English across cultures. University of Illinois
Press.
Kachru, B.
(1992) World
Englishes: Approaches, Issues and Resources. Language
Teaching, 25, 1–14.
Kachru, B. B., & Smith, L. E.
(1985) Editorial. World
Englishes, 4(2), 209–212.
Kumaravadivelu, B.
(2006) Dangerous
liaison, globalization, empire, and TESOL. In J. Edge (Ed.), Relocating
TESOL in an age of
empire (pp. 1–26). Palgrave
Macmillan.
(2024) English
as a lingua franca, world Englishes, and the preparation of language teachers: An awareness-raising experience in an English
teacher education program in Colombia. TESOL
Journal, 15(3).
Mackenzie, L.
(2021) Discriminatory
job advertisements for English language teachers in Colombia: An analysis of recruitment
biases. TESOL
Journal, 12(1), e535.
Mackenzie, L.
(2022) Linguistic
imperialism, English, and development: Implications for Colombia. Current Issues in Language
Planning, 23(2), 137–156.
Matsuda, A.
(2003) Incorporating
world Englishes in teaching English as an international language. TESOL
Quarterly, 37(4), 719–729.
Matsuda, A.
(2017) (Ed.). Preparing
teachers to teach English as an international language. Multilingual
Matters.
Matsuda, A.
(2025) English
language teaching and World Englishes. In K. Bolton (Ed.), The
Wiley Blackwell encyclopedia of World
Englishes (pp. 1–9). John
Wiley & Sons.
Menezes
Jordão, C.
(2023) A
case for ELF feito no Brasil. ELT
Journal, 77(3), 348–356.
Miles, M. B., Huberman, M. A., & Saldaña, J.
(2014) Qualitative
data analysis (3rd
ed.). SAGE.
Morán-Panero, S., Martínez-Sánchez, M. M., & Ronzón-Montiel, G. J.
(2024) (Eds.). English
as a lingua franca in Latin American education. De Gruyter
Mouton.
(2006) Estándares básicos de competencias en lenguas extranjeras:
Inglés. Formar en lenguas extranjeras: ¡El reto! Lo que necesitamos saber y saber hacer (Series Guías
No. 22). MEN.
Miranda, N., Bonilla-Medina, S. X., Usma
Wilches, J. A., Encarnación, C., Silva-Londoño, E., & Martínez
Bula, L.
(2024) Multilingual
policies and practices in higher education: A nation-wide exploration in Colombia. Íkala,
Revista de Lenguaje y
Cultura, 29(3), e2357019.
Montoya, A., & Correa, D.
(2024) Discriminatory
practices against non-native English speaker teachers in Colombia’s language centers: A multimodal
study. PROFILE: Issues in Teachers’ Professional
Development, 26(1), 117–131.
Núñez-Pardo, A.
(2020) Inquiring
into the coloniality of knowledge, power, and being in EFL
textbooks. HOW, 27(2), 113–133.
Nyimbili, F., & Nyimbili, L.
(2024) Types
of purposive sampling techniques with their examples and application in qualitative research
studies. British Journal of Multidisciplinary and Advanced Studies: English Language, Teaching,
Literature, Linguistics &
Communication, 5(1), 90–99.
Ortega, L.
(2019) SLA
and the study of equitable multilingualism. Modern Language
Journal, 103(S1), 23–38.
Pennycook, A.
(2007) Global
Englishes and transcultural flows. Routledge.
Pulgarín-Pérez, A., & González, A.
(2025) ELF
awareness in a phonetics and phonology course: Exploring English language ideologies in teacher
education. Árboles y
Rizomas, 7(1), 163–180.
Quijano, A.
(2007) Coloniality
and modernity/rationality. Cultural
Studies, 21(2–3), 155–167.
(2019) WE,
ELF, EIL and their implications for English language teacher
education. In S. Walsh & S. Mann (Eds.), The
Routledge handbook of English language teacher
education (pp. 239–252). Routledge.
Tajeddin, Z., Alemi, M., Norouzi, M., & Manzouri, H. A.
(2025) Language
teachers’ beliefs and practices about English as an international language and its
pedagogy. In Z. Tajeddin & T. Farrell (Eds.), Handbook
of language teacher
education (pp. 408–433). Springer.
Talero-Sepúlveda, F. H.
(2022) Using
audio and video to disrupt the concept of native speakerism in a Colombian high school: The effects on listening comprehension
in online environments (Master’s thesis, Universidad de
Antioquia). Repositorio Institucional Universidad de
Antioquia. https://bibliotecadigital.udea.edu.co/handle/10495/31078
Tupas, R., & Weninger, C.
(2020) Mapping
out unequal Englishes in English-medium classrooms. Journal of Language, Identity &
Education, 21(5), 347–361.