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Problems for English Learners in Ecuador Having finally completed a TEFL course one might find themselves in the process of searching for a teaching position, applying for employment or even researching areas to become aware of different regions of the world now available to us as we begin thinking about our professional development as EFL teachers. But mine is a bit of a different story, you see, I married my long time Ecuadorian girlfriend and we have been living together in Ecuador for the last three years of my life. I found myself immersed in a country with basically no knowledge of the cultural differences and having spoken very little Spanish as English is my native language. Yet somehow I have managed to survive and prosper here. Now because Spanish is the primary language spoken here, English is a foreign language and students of English will find little to no usage outside the classroom. At home, English is not spoken, English TV and radio stations are non-existent except for a few options offered by US expats. Newspapers are only available in Spanish, although there are some online bulletins created for English speaking foreigners with the desire to remain current with local and international activities. The English teacher becomes the student’s main input for all English activities. With that said, it seems every time I venture out I run into people wanting to practice their English on me. Which leads me to what I find to be one of the most important differences between Spanish and English, Pronunciation. Starting with the vowel sounds Spanish has only 5 short vowel sounds while English has about sixteen different vowel sounds. For this reason Spanish speakers attempting to learn English have problems because in English there is a distinction between short and long vowel sounds. These differences create confusion when attempting to pronounce certain words such as “ship and sheep” “bit and beat”. Certain English sounds do not even exist in the Spanish phonetic alphabet and Spanish speaking learners of English have problems with words containing silent phonemes. Students want to pronounce every single letter because that is the way it is done in Spanish where the pronunciation is easier and straightforward. Overcoming these linguistic challenges are not easy for any student regardless of age. On a more positive note between 2016 and 2017 Ecuador made English a mandatory subject in primary schools. Before that it was only an elective subject or a complementary activity for students aware of the benefits of becoming proficient in English. Now with this new English language policy students are required to reach Level B1 prior to completing high school and a certain amount of English is required for all degree programs at the University level. But despite Ecuador’s new English language policy and the desire for Ecuador to become bilingual in ten years, there remain problems which need to be addressed. First there is a lack of enough qualified teachers in the country despite Ecuador’s attempt to recruit and there is still the need to move away from old grammar based teaching methods for learning English and to begin implementing the more effective communicative approach. Ecuadorian students are capable of passing English tests and they can complete grammar worksheets but their actual speaking skills leave a lot to be desired. The country is very much aware of the need for developing proficiency in English but until it accepts and implements a more modern approach to learning English, students will continue to struggle at meeting the requirements by employers with opportunities available for English speaking employees. Being aware of these problems or as I would prefer to call them challenges, we can see and understand the opportunities available for English teachers here in Ecuador. Lesson plans can easily be adapted to place emphasis on areas which we know in advance are going to create challenges for students. This in turn will allow teachers to be more sympathetic to the needs of students here in Ecuador learning English.
