Perceived factors associated with english communicative competence among eleventh-grade students in a Colombian Public School

Abstract

This qualitative case study explored students’ and teachers’ perceptions of the factors associated with the development of English communicative competence at a public school in Bogotá, Colombia. Although this subject has been widely important in Colombia’s educational policies as can be observed in the country’s bilingualism policies which promote the improvement of communicative competence in English, public school students have been struggling with achieving the expected level of proficiency at the end of the secondary level. Based on this concern, this article reports the findings of an interpretive qualitative case study that examined the factors participants associated with difficulties in developing English communicative competence. Data were collected through an open-ended survey completed by fourteen eleventh-grade students and semi-structured interviews conducted with two English teachers, fourteen students and two English teachers from an eleventh grade at a public school in Bogotá, regarding their English language learning process elicited through semi-structured interviews and surveys with open-ended questions; and through the examination of previous research on the topic. The findings indicated that participants perceived English communicative development as being associated with four interconnected dimensions: student motivation; teaching methodologies; resources and school conditions; and implementation of English and Bilingual policies. Recommendations are offered regarding student engagement; communicative methodologies; teachers’ training; resources; and policies that address the real contexts of public schools to improve English learning outcomes. The findings suggest a gap between the objectives of Colombian bilingualism policies and the instructional conditions available in the participating public school. The study therefore presents communicative development as a multidimensional phenomenon shaped by interdependent personal, pedagogical, institutional, and policy-related factors.