FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR CONDUCTS RESEARCH AT FAU COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

Fulbright Scholar Yuly Andrea González with mentor Professor Andrés Ramírez, Ed D.

by Teresa Crane | Wednesday, Apr 05, 2023

Yuly Andrea González is a Fulbright Scholar visiting Florida Atlantic University from La Salle University in Colombia. She teaches English and Spanish, as well as heads the bilingualism program at a public school in Bogotá. She is engaged in research with Andrés Ramírez, Ed.D., Associate Professor, FAU College of Education.

González is working with Ramírez on a bilingual teacher education proposal that will articulate genre pedagogy inspired by Michael Halliday's functional linguistics. This is a model that Ramírez 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 Medellín, Colombia, with regular elementary teachers in urban settings who are now required to teach English to their students. González 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 González.

“Being at FAU means the possibility of creating a solid community with members from both countries. This goes 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,” said González.

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. González 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.

“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,” said Andrés Ramírez.

González commitment to unveiling the inequities in linguistic policy has led her to take an active position in organizations such as the "IDEP" (Instituto de Investigación Educativa y Desarrollo Pedagógico), 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 Secretaría de Educación in Bogotá.