FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR CONDUCTS RESEARCH AT 国产自拍 COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
by Teresa Crane | Wednesday, Apr 05, 2023
Yuly Andrea Gonz谩lez is a Fulbright Scholar visiting Florida Atlantic University from in Colombia. She teaches English and Spanish, as well as heads the bilingualism program at a public school in Bogot谩. She is engaged in research with Andr茅s Ram铆rez, Ed.D., Associate Professor, 国产自拍 College of Education.
Gonz谩lez is working with Ram铆rez on a bilingual teacher education proposal that will articulate genre pedagogy inspired by Michael Halliday's functional linguistics. This is a model that Ram铆rez has implemented with Latina mothers who must teach their children English without having sufficient knowledge of the language.
This project is also currently being implemented in Medell铆n, Colombia, with regular elementary teachers in urban settings who are now required to teach English to their students. Gonz谩lez intends to use these experiences to create a similar training program adjusted to the conditions of initial teacher education in the context of Normal Schools (teacher training colleges) in Colombia that frequently serve rural populations. This context is well-known by Gonz谩lez.
鈥淏eing at 国产自拍 means the possibility of creating a solid community with members from both countries. This goes聽beyond an academic experience; it is an opportunity to connect, get a mutual understanding, and establish actions to recognize and support other perspectives in English language teaching in Normal Schools from Colombia,鈥 said Gonz谩lez.
Her research interests relate to the initial training of Normal School teachers for preschool and elementary who must teach a foreign language without having sufficient training to do so. Gonz谩lez is also interested in the linguistic policy established for official schools in Colombia. As part of her doctoral studies in Education and Society, she is now conducting research with a particular group of pre-service teachers trained in English language teaching methodology in Normal Schools.
鈥I have learned through Yuly that initial training for teachers in the context of Normal Schools in Colombia in general, and in English teaching in particular is full of challenges but also of multiple opportunities. I firmly believe that the bilingual genre-based pedagogy I have been developing and piloting with different multilingual populations over the years can be a powerful source of positive educational change in the context in which Yuly is an expert. This Fulbright experience gave us the opportunity to connect deeply and to advance equitable access to education in general and to English teaching and learning in particular for these teachers and their students,鈥 said Andr茅s Ram铆rez.
Gonz谩lez commitment to unveiling the inequities in linguistic policy has led her to take an active position in organizations such as the "IDEP" (Instituto de Investigaci贸n Educativa y Desarrollo Pedag贸gico), where she has shared and published part of her work. She has also been recognized by the Ministry of Education, the Embassy of India in Colombia, and the Secretar铆a de Educaci贸n in Bogot谩.