Change leadership perspectives and their impact on educational programs

English Puerto Rico

Fostering English Instruction in Puerto Rico

Language can carry powerful cultural and economic implications. The use of language as a political weapon against ethnic minorities, the imposition of language as a way of asserting occupational authority over a colonized culture or the use of linguistic barriers to exclude certain groups from the economic and power structures of a society all demonstrate that language can be an apparatus of broader and more insidious agendas. Simultaneously though, language can be an instrument through which barriers are broken down, cultural gaps are bridged and shared opportunities are realized. This is the dichotomy defining the issue impacting my home province of Puerto Rico, where the English language has experienced a history of divided interests. The present discussion provides a brief overview on the central divides shaping the debate over the fostering of English language instruction in Puerto Rico and subsequently offers some general recommendations on how to overcome this divide.

As the text by Pousada (1999) indicates, the instruction of English in Puerto Rico has long been complicated by its political and cultural relationship with the United States. Pousada reports that "As is often the case in situations of language contact, attitudes towards the language have blurred together with attitudes towards the people who speak it and the government behind them. Despite the role of English as a language of wider communication on a global scale, in Puerto Rico it is most often associated with the United States and its policies. As a result, to study the history of English on the island is to study the history of Puerto Rico's uneasy relationship with the U.S. And its political, economic, and cultural implications." (p. 33)

Pousada reports that for many Puerto Ricans, the use of English invokes a sense of 'assimilationism' whereas a use of Spanish invokes a sense of nationalism. To many, the maintenance of the latter is important as a way of protecting the Puerto Rican heritage against the forces of colonialism and globalization. Accordingly, Pousada would write in 2006 on the subject by suggesting that the opportunities implicit in learning English far outweigh the dangers of cultural assimilation. Here, Pousada points out that "English is a required school subject from kindergarten through university graduation, and bilingual Headstart programs are springing up around Bayamon and San Juan (Bliss 2005). Moreover, there are countless commercial institutes dedicated to the teaching of English. Nor should we forget the constant migratory flow between the U.S. And the island. A motivated individual can count on many opportunities to acquire English while living in Puerto Rico." (Pousada1, 7)

To this extent, Pousada argues that the process of elevating the global importance of English has already occurred. For Puerto Ricans to defy this reality in the interests of cultural preservation is only to defeat Puerto Rican opportunities for personal and collective advancement. Accordingly, Suarez (2005) provides us with a suitable recommendation for those leading the charge to foster English instruction in Puerto Rico. Here, Suarez reports that "the conventional functionalist rationale would suggest that countries pursuing an economic strategy based on exports and the attraction of foreign capital should adapt their language education policies to the requirements of that economic strategy." (p. 459)