Autobiographies: a Tool to Depict English Language Learning Experiences

Julia Posada-Ortiz; Eliana Garzón-Duarte

doi:10.26817/16925777.447

Julia Posada-Ortiz Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas, Colombia http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8919-5286
Eliana Garzón-Duarte Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas, Colombia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5920-1550

DOI: https://doi.org/10.26817/16925777.447

Keywords: Autobiography, Autobiographical research, English Language Learning, Motivation in Language Learning, National Program of Bilingualism

Abstract

This article contains a description of a research project carried out with a group of English Language Pre-service Teachers (ELPTs) of a state University in Bogotá, Colombia. The purpose of the study was to portray the experiences the ELPTs went through as English language learners, their feelings and insights as such. The main source to collect data was the autobiographies. The results show that the English language learners’ process of learning has a strong influence of the language policies connected to the National Program of Bilingualism. They also show that it is necessary to create a cumulative program of English for each phase of schooling in order to avoid overlapping and to provide a more motivating learning process.

Author Biographies

Julia Posada-Ortiz, Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas, Colombia

is a doctoral candidate in Education with an emphasis in ELT at Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas. She holds an M.A in Applied Linguistics to TEFL from Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas, a Specialization in Literature Teaching from Universidad del Quindío-Coruniversitaria and a B.Ed. in English and Spanish Teaching from Universidad del Tolima. She is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Sciences and Education at Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas and a member of the research group Aprendizaje y Sociedad de la Información.

Eliana Garzón-Duarte, Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas, Colombia

Eliana Garzón Duarte is a doctoral student of English Applied Linguistics at the University of Szeged, in Hungary, as a scholarship holder from the Stipendium Hungaricum program. She holds an M.A. in Language Teaching from Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia. She is a full-time teacher of the Faculty of Education at Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas. Her research interests are identity construction, language education, language rights, linguistic diversity and social justice.

Autobiographies: a Tool to Depict English Language Learning Experiences

Abstract

Author Biographies

For authors:

For editors:

For reviewers: