Spain's bilingual education policy, which aims to teach students in both Spanish and English, has attracted attention and achieved some success in recent years.

In 2023, Spain ranked 35th in the world for English proficiency and was rated as “intermediately proficient”, according to the English Proficiency Index ranking by Swiss international education group EF Education First (EF EPI).

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Since 1996, the Spanish Ministry of Education and the British Council have worked together to implement a bilingual policy. Photo: Casvi Educational Centers

The bilingual policy was first introduced in 1996, through a partnership between the Spanish Ministry of Education and the British Council, to improve students' English proficiency, which would increase their employability and global competitiveness. The programme is implemented in Spanish public schools.

By 2000, Spain’s autonomous regions began implementing their own bilingual programs, and the number of participating schools has exploded. To date, the program has reached 40,000 students in 90 preschools, primary schools, and 58 secondary schools in 10 autonomous regions, according to the British Council Spain .

Expectations and reality

One of the biggest problems with bilingual education policy in Spain is the gap between expectations and actual results.

Although the program has expanded rapidly, growing nearly 500 percent in a decade, it has also been criticized for failing to meet the high expectations of parents and educators. Discussions about how to improve the bilingual model remain a hot topic in Spanish education circles.

Parents in Spain see bilingual education as a key to their children's successful futures, expecting that by enrolling in bilingual schools, their children will be fluent in both Spanish and English. However, this is neither the policy goal nor does it reflect reality, according to the Ediciones El País newspaper.

“Parents need to understand that we are not aiming to produce native-like speaking ability. Our goal is practical fluency, helping students use English in real-life situations,” said María Luisa Pérez, professor of English at the University of Jaén (Spain).

This view is consistent with the English as a lingua franca (ELF) approach, which emphasizes communicative ability rather than perfect pronunciation or grammar. According to ELF researchers, the most important thing is that students can use English as a tool for interaction, not to speak with native-speaker perfection.

“No student can speak a second language as well as their first. The focus should be on communication, not perfection,” said educational innovator Dr. David Marsh, who helped develop the Content and Language Integration (CLIL) approach, in a recent interview.

He and his colleagues found that many European students, after eight years of English study, still had difficulty speaking fluently.

Challenges and highlights in implementation

Although the aims of the bilingual education policy are commendable, implementation is uneven across Spain. One of the key issues is the demands placed on teachers in different regions.

Some regions only require teachers to have a B2 level of English, which represents fluency but not mastery, while others require a C1 level, which represents a higher level of proficiency. This disparity has led to concerns that many teachers do not have the skills to teach subjects in English.

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The implementation of bilingualism in Spain has raised a number of issues. Photo: Kingster College

Furthermore, the lack of language advisors in bilingual public schools has exacerbated this problem. The original plan of the Spanish Ministry of Education and the British Council was to have advisors with experience in the British education system to assist in curriculum development.

In practice, however, these advisers have been replaced by school coordinators, who are often teachers with the best English skills but who lack experience in educational leadership or bilingual teaching. “We are basically left to our own devices, without clear guidance or support,” said Laura, a bilingual program coordinator in Madrid.

Despite the challenges, Spain’s bilingual education policy has yielded some positive results. Studies, such as the Mon-CLIL report conducted by the universities of Jaén and Córdoba, show that students in bilingual programs generally perform better in English than their monolingual peers.

Elementary school students in bilingual programs reported an average English score 1.23 points higher than their non-bilingual peers, while high school students scored 2.4 points higher.

Notably, the study found that bilingual students outperformed their peers in Spanish, scoring 0.46 points higher in elementary school and 1 point higher in high school.

In other subjects like geography, history, and science, bilingual students also performed slightly better, although the differences were not as pronounced. “Bilingual students have an advantage not only in English but also in other subjects, even Spanish,” said Ignacio, one of the report’s lead researchers.

Lessons learned

Countries that want to introduce English as a second language can learn several lessons from Spain’s bilingual education policy. First, set realistic expectations. Rather than promising native-like English proficiency, the focus should be on equipping students with the practical communication skills to participate effectively in a globalized world.

It is also important to start language teaching early. Countries should introduce English from primary school and provide ongoing support throughout the student’s education. This approach ensures that students build a solid foundation that can be further reinforced as they progress through their education.

Another important lesson is to prioritize teacher training. Teachers need to be fluent in English and have a good grasp of teaching methods. This ensures that teachers not only deliver subject content in English but also help students understand the language better through the learning of other subjects.

Countries also need to ensure adequate resources are provided, including equitable access to teaching materials and infrastructure. Without these resources, disparities in educational outcomes can emerge, as has been seen in some regions of Spain.

An important element in improving bilingual education is regular monitoring and adjustment of the program. Continuous evaluation helps identify areas for improvement in student learning outcomes and teacher effectiveness, allowing the education system to be more flexible and responsive.

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