TIRF Board member, Ana Sylvia Ramirez (CEO, Educational and Cultural Manager, Guatemalan American Institute), addresses the current status of English and predicts future trends in Guatemala. Issues include promoting research and best practices to improve the use of English in the global knowledge economy.

1. Current Status of ELT, AnOverview of TwoCountries Presentedby Ana Sylvia Ramirez

2. Current Status Overthepastyears, thefield of language teaching and learning has experiencedfast- comingchanges as a result of increase in the demandto use thelanguageforwork and academicpurposes. Relatedfieldshavebeen affected as a result in the cases of Guatemala and El Salvador.

3. ELT in PublicEducation Englishlanguageeducationisnot a component of elementarylevelschoolcurriculum. GovernmentfundingforEnglishlanguageeducation has beenlimited and focusedondevelopingteachers. Existingefforts in publicschoolshavebeengreatelypromptedthroughjointeffortsamongprivateorganizations.

4. Englishin the Job Market

5. FactorsAffecting ELT in Academics Anincrease in studyexchangeswithcountriesotherthanthe US A rise in theavailability of on-line courses and programs in differentuniversities in the country A greaterdegree of Englishspeakingteachingstaffexchange A surge in scholarshipopportunitiesforgraduatelevelprograms

6. Results in ELT A greaterdemandforprogramswhichworkacademicwriting and reading Anincrease in neededstandardized test taking training A demandforEnglishlanguageinstruction in combinationwithotheracademicareas Greaterawareness of theimportance of cross-cultural instruction in combinationwithlanguage training

7. PredictionsfortheFuture A continueddependenceonprivateorganizationssupportingpublicEnglisheducation Anincreaseddemand of on-sitecorporateEnglishprograms GreatercompetitionforEnglishspeakingpersonnel (affectingwages and benefits) A market surge foron-line Englishlearningalternatives

8. Greateropportunitiesfor test preparation and cultureawarenessprograms Anincrease in Englishproficiencycertifications A rise in studentsegmentssearchingforwriting and readingpreparation