From Reform to Practice: The Evolution of English Language Teaching and Bilingual Education in Colombia (1980–2025)

 The truth is that the history of English language education in Colombia is inseparable from the country’s broader social, political, and pedagogical transformations. Since the 1980s, Colombia has undergone a profound process of educational modernization—one that sought not only to update curricula but also to reshape how teachers teach, how students learn, and how schools understand language as a tool for empowerment and global participation.

In this article, we explore how a series of educational reforms—from the 1980s to the present—have shaped English teaching and bilingual education in Colombia. The discussion moves from early Ministry-led reforms to more recent national bilingualism programs, emphasizing how teachers can interpret and apply these policies within everyday classroom practice.

The Pedagogical Shift: From Traditionalism to Communicative Competence (1980–1990)

Between 1980 and 1990, Colombia’s Ministry of Education, in partnership with the Colombian Federation of Educators (FECODE), initiated pedagogical reforms that sought to move beyond traditional, behaviorist models of instruction. These changes were rooted in the belief that education should prepare citizens to face the challenges of the twenty-first century—by fostering critical thinking, creativity, and intercultural communication.

Specifically, in 1982, a joint initiative between the Ministry of National Education, the British Council, and the Centro Colombo Americano launched a Curricular Program for Foreign Languages. While visionary in scope, its implementation revealed significant limitations: many teachers lacked the communicative competence required to model language fluency, and few were familiar with the principles of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), a methodology that emphasizes meaningful interaction and learner-centred communication (Richards & Rodgers, 2014).

The COFE Project: Laying the Foundation for Teacher Development (1991–1996)

In response to these challenges, Colombian universities, alongside institutions such as the British Embassy, ICETEX, ICFES, and the Ministry of National Education, launched the Colombian Framework for English (COFE) Project in 1991. Its purpose was clear: to strengthen the training and professionalization of English teachers within Bachelor of Modern Languages programs.

According to Usma Wilches (2009), the COFE Project created opportunities for teacher educators to become researchers, to lead innovation in their programs, and to design projects with tangible classroom impact (see also Usma & Frodden, 2003). However, implementation faced structural and financial barriers, from institutional misalignment to limited research experience among teachers (McNulty & Usma, 2005).

And yet, even amid these difficulties, the COFE initiative represented an early recognition that teacher identity, research engagement, and reflective practice are vital for sustainable educational reform.

A New Social Contract: The 1991 Constitution and the General Education Law (1994)

Parallel to pedagogical reform, Colombia underwent a profound political transformation. The 1991 Constitution established education as both a fundamental right and a public service with a social function (República de Colombia, 1991). This new framework called for access to knowledge, science, technology, and culture as essential components of citizenship.

Building on this foundation, the General Education Law of 1994 reorganized the education system into three levels—preschool, basic, and upper-secondary—and defined specific objectives for foreign language learning. For instance, primary students were expected to develop basic communicative abilities, while upper-secondary students were to achieve a level of competence that allowed them to express ideas effectively in a foreign language.

Resolution 2343 (1996): Defining Achievement and Performance

To operationalize the objectives of the 1994 Law, the Ministry enacted Resolution 2343 of 1996, which established achievement and performance indicators across subjects, including English. For the first time, language learning outcomes were linked to observable communicative behaviors—such as narrating events, comparing people or situations, and formulating questions in the target language.

This focus on demonstrable communicative competence aligned Colombia with emerging global trends that prioritized performance-based assessment and continuous evaluation (Brown & Abeywickrama, 2019).

Curricular Guidelines for Foreign Languages (1999): Bridging Theory and Classroom Practice

In 1999, the Ministry published the Curricular Guidelines for Foreign Languages, offering teachers a roadmap for implementing communicative principles in authentic classroom contexts. The guidelines translated theoretical advances in second language acquisitions such as Krashen’s Input Hypothesis (1982) and Hymes’ concept of communicative competence (1972)—into practical pedagogical guidance.

For bilingual teachers, this meant shifting from grammar-focused instruction to interactive, meaning-driven learning. The aim was not merely linguistic accuracy, but intercultural communicative competence—the ability to navigate meaning across cultural contexts (Byram, 1997).

The Rise of Bilingualism Policy: Programs and Progress (2004–2025)

The First National Bilingualism Program (2004–2019)

The National Bilingualism Program (2004–2019) represented a turning point. Its goal was to prepare Colombian citizens to engage in global communication, economic integration, and cultural exchange (MEN, 2006).

The publication of the Basic Standards of Competence in Foreign Languages: English (MEN, 2006) formalized this commitment, introducing a national benchmark aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). By eleventh grade, students were expected to achieve a B1 (intermediate) proficiency level—an ambitious but motivating standard for public and private schools alike.

Project for Strengthening Foreign Language Competencies (2010–2014)

Despite ongoing challenges, the Ministry launched a follow-up initiative in 2010 to strengthen English competencies among both teachers and students, particularly in public schools (MEN, 2012). This project highlighted a shift toward teacher professional development as a cornerstone of national policy.

Law 1651 of 2013: The Bilingualism Law

Recognizing the strategic importance of English proficiency, Law 1651 (2013) officially mandated bilingual education as a national objective, promoting the development of communicative skills in reading, writing, listening, speaking, and critical expression.

Colombia Very Well (2015–2025) and Colombia Bilingüe (2016–present)

The National English Program: Colombia Very Well (2014–2025) and later Colombia Bilingüe (2016–) sought to build upon earlier initiatives, aspiring to make Colombia “the most educated country in Latin America” (MEN, 2014). These programs have emphasized not only student outcomes but also teacher empowerment through clear curricular frameworks such as the Basic Learning Rights (Derechos Básicos de Aprendizaje) and suggested syllabi introduced in 2016.

These documents provide teachers with adaptable blueprints to design contextualized syllabi and ensure equitable access to quality English instruction across regions.

Implications for Practice: What Bilingual Teachers Can Do

For bilingual educators, the evolution of these reforms carries several key implications:

• Connect theory to context: Every classroom is a microcosm of Colombia’s linguistic diversity. Teachers should adapt communicative principles to local realities—rural schools, multicultural classrooms, and socio-economic diversity.
• Promote reflective practice: Engage in classroom-based research to evaluate what works for your learners (Burns, 2010).
• Collaborate across levels: Align your practices with CEFR-based goals, ensuring continuity across grade levels.
• Embrace flexibility: The communicative approach is not a rigid formula but a living framework. Its success depends on teacher agency, creativity, and empathy.

And it is that, in the end, bilingual education is not merely about learning English—it’s about opening doors to understanding, opportunity, and global citizenship.

Conclusion

Over four decades, Colombia’s educational landscape has evolved from prescriptive reforms to participatory, communicative, and human-centred approaches. Yet, as history reminds us, no reform succeeds without the teacher. The success of bilingual education depends less on policy documents and more on how teachers interpret, adapt, and breathe life into them.

The challenge—and the opportunity—for Colombian bilingual educators lies in transforming policy into practice, theory into dialogue, and language into a bridge between people and worlds.

References

Brown, H. D., & Abeywickrama, P. (2019). Language assessment: Principles and classroom practices (3rd ed.). Pearson.

Byram, M. (1997). Teaching and assessing intercultural communicative competence. Multilingual Matters.

Hymes, D. (1972). On communicative competence. In J. B. Pride & J. Holmes (Eds.), Sociolinguistics: Selected readings (pp. 269–293). Penguin.

Krashen, S. D. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Pergamon.

McNulty, M., & Usma, J. (2005). Rethinking teacher education programs in Colombia: A critical approach. Íkala, Revista de Lenguaje y Cultura, 10(16), 45–80.

Ministerio de Educación Nacional. (2006). Estándares básicos de competencias en lenguas extranjeras: Inglés. MEN.

Ministerio de Educación Nacional. (2012). Lineamientos para la implementación de proyectos de fortalecimiento del inglés en las instituciones educativas colombianas. MEN.

Ministerio de Educación Nacional. (2014). Programa Nacional de Inglés: Colombia Very Well. MEN.

República de Colombia. (1991). Constitución Política de Colombia. Bogotá: Asamblea Nacional Constituyente.

Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. S. (2014). Approaches and methods in language teaching (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Usma Wilches, J. A. (2009). Education and language policy in Colombia: Exploring processes of inclusion, exclusion, and stratification in times of global reform. Profile, 11(1), 123–142.

Usma, J., & Frodden, C. (2003). Promoting critical reflection and collaborative work in Colombian teacher education. Profile, 4, 133–146.