TEFL Wasco California

While making the leap from a native language to a foreign language there are many obstacles to overcome before one can consider themselves fluent. One of the most popular boundaries people try to overcome in the Americas is spanish to english. The people in every spanish speaking country have many obstacles to overcome while learning english. Located on the eastern coast of South America, Chile is no exception. Many people who have learned english as a foreign language will admit that although useful and rewarding, the english language is very difficult to learn for a number of reasons. Primarily, the english language doesn't have much vocabulary that is directly used in the spanish language. “When taking trips to brazil, many Portuguese words translate directly. So although I don't know Portuguese, I can understand much of what is said and what is written. The english language doesn't have these easy crossover words that make many other languages easier to learn (Baranao V 2012).” In addition to the lack of interchangeable vocabulary, the pronunciation of some letters combinations are different from how the same letters are pronounced in Chile. “I had difficulty learning sh, wh, and th. We don't use the same pronunciation for those letter combinations (Baranao V 2012).” Besides the problems Chileans have learning the english language itself, there is an equally important underlying issue that some view as a more pressing problem with learning the english language. In the United State of America, although determined specifically at the state level, being exposed to a foreign language is more of a choice for the individual student. For example, some high schools offer students the opportunity to study spanish, German, french or Latin. This way, students can choose the language that interests them most and focus on it. In Chile, they have a program called “english opens doors.” This program, started in 2004, aims to have all of Chile's 15 million residents fluent in english within a generation (Rohter 2005). More immediately, the program aims to have all of Chile's elementary and high school students pass a basic english proficiency test by 2014 (Rohter 2005). Although the program didn't meet much ideological opposition upon implementation, it has met much more opposition in the classroom. Valentina Baranao stated program was a great opportunity and allowed her to do most of the communicating when her family vacationed in the US (2012). Her sister, Isiora, held the opposite view. Translated by Valentina, Isiora stated “I don't believe I should have my choice of learning a foreign language dictated to me. Although I agree learning a foreign language is important, myself and many others believe the language choice should be our own (2012).” So, although these two sisters attended the same english courses throughout their education, Valentina is completely fluent while her sister and many others have refused to learn all but the most basic english commands. To summarize, besides the obvious language learning problems associated with Chileans learning english, a major problem with learning english in Chile is that it is no longer optional and that exposure to the language has become mandatory. This mandatory movement makes many people, who may have learned english as a choice, reluctant to learn the language based on their beliefs in a more open educational system. As with learning english as a second language in any other country, basic language learning issues exist in Chile. The most notable issues include a lack of similar vocabulary and difficulty pronouncing different sounds. Perhaps a more pressing issue for english learners in Chile is that exposure to the english language is no longer an option. This mandatory program has gained opposition from learners who otherwise may have been more enthusiastic about learning the english language. References Baranao Isiora. 2012 April 30. Interview about learning english in Chile. Baranao Valentina. 2012 April 30. Interview about learning english in Chile. Rohter Larry. 2004 December 29. Learn english, Says Chile, Thinkng Upwardly Global. The New York Times.