La Sede de Occidente de la Universidad de Costa Rica ante la demanda de profesionales bilingües en español- inglés

Abstract

In this report, the processes of teaching and learning English as a Lingua Franca in Costa Rica and the role of the Sede de Occidente in regards to the demand of bilingual (Spanish-English) professionals are considered. This work presents, in the first part, the history of the teaching of English in Costa Rica and its educational, cultural, social, and political repercussions in the Costa Rican society. In the second part, the university ́s mission and its objectives are analyzed as the institution in charge of forming professionals. This paper also includes information about the different majors offered at Western Regional campus, such as Bachelors, post graduate and master programs with specific information about the amount of English courses in each area. In the last part, the authors present a proposal that is supported by arguments based on the history of the English teaching in Costa Rica, the last two Developmental Plans proposed in the Government’s Programs and developed during 2002-2006 and from 2006 to 2010, as well as the mission and objectives of the University of Costa Rica.