By Joostin Steve Rojas Ordeñana - Accounting career student
There have always been obstacles in the education of English in public educational centers in Costa Rica, among which we can mention the lack of teachers trained in this language, deficiencies in the methodology, and lack of successful plans that give good results. Some changes that the Costa Rican government could make to improve the quality of English teaching in public schools in our country are, for example, giving priority to teachers with advanced university studies to be sure that they teach very well the language, and, by using some tests already carried out, they could support their ability and quality in teaching a foreign language.
Our country is one of the most benefited in the field of education although it does not have very good preparation in the English language. Initially, English was taught only in private schools, and then the need to prepare future students for new challenges was born. “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” said Nelson Mandela in 1998. This phrase means that education is a vital tool that we must all have and develop if we want to make our world a better place tomorrow.
Besides, it is important to give teachers better academic preparation since it is classified as low, being in position 43 out of 63 countries evaluated, both in writing and in reading English. It is important to constantly strengthen training with courses and tests, which will help the teacher to innovate the structure of their classes. "All children learn differently and what works with one child may not work with another" (Bendfeldt, 2021). For this reason, it is important to know the different forms and techniques of teaching that are used to increase the learning opportunities of each of the students.
The implementation of English teaching from preschool, starting at age four, will help facilitate learning since children's brains are more capable to absorb information naturally, which is why this process is facilitated. An important factor for teaching English in the classroom is the resources that help both teachers and students to learn more easily such as projectors, computers, books and, others.
Another aspect in which English teachers must be updated is in the correct and efficient use of ICT. The ICT tools are digital infrastructures like computers, laptops, printers, scanners, software programs, and data projectors that help teacher during the teaching process. According to Barcos (2017), "ICTs are of great help because they provide great opportunities for the development and enhancement of listening, writing, reading and oral comprehension in the English language".
In conclusion, some changes that the Costa Rican government could make to improve the teaching of English are to provide more training to teachers, invest in electronic equipment and other tools that can be used to facilitate processes, and provide different types of scholarships to students, so that they can excel in the language. In Costa Rica, many measures must be taken to take advantage of that important weapon that is education.
