Eassy -  First Draft

What methods are being used to teach English here in Neiva in public and private schools?

Teaching English in a public school here in Neiva is totally different from teaching in a private school. The latter has many advantages as it provides teachers with materials and clear methodologies to work with, whereas, teachers in public school have nothing but inaccurate books given by the government that do not apply to students’ needs and abilities, and that is why, the education department here in Colombia should stop using those books for teaching English.

Firstly, most English teachers here in Neiva do not have freedom of choice as they must follow books given by the government, which is mandatory, books that are thoroughly wrong in terms of topics’ organization and students’ abilities, as they are too advance or too easy for secondary students.

Secondly, it is to say that here in Neiva in public schools, teaching English has become a matter of grammar as these books are not based on a communicative approach, which means, they do not promote communicative skills. Consequently, students go through a difficult time trying to understand grammatical issues without sense and out of context. In other words, teachers have forgotten the real purpose of learning a language, which is communication, goal that is not being targeted in public schools at all.

In a nutshell, I think Universidad Surcolombiana not only should reinforce its English program in terms of academic preparedness, thus its graduate students could change this education system, but also the Education Department should stop using and designing books that are not accurate to the real education context here in Colombia, as they do not apply to students’ abilities and academic background.