Low English Proficiency in the Valencian Community. A Case Study Exploring the Possible Causes

Abstract

To the best of our knowledge, research about what may cause a low level of English proficiency among people in the Valencian Community (henceforth VC) is limited. In order to remedy the absence of literature on this matter, the aim of this paper is twofold. On the one hand, to ascertain the presence of English in the VC currently. On the other hand, to analyse what the causes provoking a low level of English proficiency in the VC might be. In so doing, six primary education teachers were selected to respond to some questions in a semi-structured interview and one of their lessons were observed in order to triangulate the data previously collected. The results obtained suggested that the presence of English in the VC is not evident in everyday life, although this foreign language seems to receive more attention in the educational setting than it did in the past. In addition, some historical, cultural and sociolinguistic aspects of the region, such as the absence of the necessity to use English as a means to communicate or how foreign films are broadcast (dubbed and not in the original version) have been identified as possible causes of a low level of English proficiency in the VC, together with some inefficient laws, materials and methods addressed to the teaching of English. Thus, the present study sheds some light on some of the hindrances preventing students in primary education from attaining a proficient level of English in the VC.