EFL in Public Schools in Mexico: Dancing Around the Ring?

Abstract

The teaching and learning of English as a foreign language has a long tradition within the Mexican public education system. Unfortunately, this endeavor has been unsuccessful for the most part throughout the country. In this paper, we share and compare the results of two studies, ten years apart, whose data collections were carried out in very similar contexts. Both studies looked at what is happening in practice from the teachers’ perspectives. Class observation, interviews, and official documents were important sources of information. We conclude that even though there has been ten years between these two studies there seem to be no changes that could enhance the teaching and learning of English as a foreign language in public schools.