The Ethno-educational and Bilingual Processes of the Nasa Indigenous Students at the Angelina Gullumus High School and the Search of Cultural Identity through English Lessons

Abstract

This study aimed at analyzing the bilingual and ethno-education processes inside an indigenous community in order to determine how students react to a bilingual context and to the implementation of a third language. The research was carried out in the Angelina Gullumus High School in the Togoima indigenous reservation. The study comprises the qualitative data. The data were collected through observations in the community, interviews and different archival documents. The findings of the study indicated that in the community there is a subtractive bilingualism due to the fact that the ethno-education processes are not strengthened in schools and society. Furthermore, it was found that English teaching does not aim to foster student’s cultural identity. Therefore, an English booklet is proposed as a way to strengthen it through English language.