Venezuela, English in

Abstract

This entry describes the history of the English language and the educational reforms implemented in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, a South American country that has gone from being a world leader in oil production to having a contentious relationship with Inner Circle countries, in particular the United States. The entry also describes the role that privately run English language “institutos” (institutes) as well as soft‐diplomacy associations like the British Council play in promoting the fallacy that the “native speaker” is the ideal English teacher to emulate. Furthermore, the entry describes the disconnect between the educational system, which expects English language learners and teachers to conform to Inner Circle varieties of English, and Venezuelan society, in which the English language is used as a communication tool and goes through nativization, both in pronunciation and in spelling. The entry ends with a call for research that would help provide much‐needed information on the various domains in which the English language is used, the purposes for which it is used, and English language nativization.