Ana Halbach, Alberto Lázaro Lafuente & Javier Pérez-Guerra. 2011. “The role of the English language in the post-Bologna Spanish universities”. Revista de Educación (Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte) 362, doi: 10.4438/1988-592X-RE-2011-362-154.
The launch of the European Higher Education Area has brought with it many changes for universities in Spain, especially in relation to its turn towards the development of competences. Among these, the ability to communicate in a foreign language features prominently in the general requirements for the new university studies laid down by the Spanish Ministry of Education. However, how exactly this competence is developed, assessed, certified and measured depends on each university’s policies. This has created a situation of great heterogeneity among the different institutions of Higher Education. Based on the data obtained from a questionnaire filled in by representatives of 31 Spanish universities, and on the information the universities themselves make available on their web-pages, this article describes this variety as regards the treatment given to the English language. It then formulates a series of recommendations to assure that students acquire a level of English that allows them to enter the labor market, and that they are tested in a fair and objective way so that requirements and tests are valid for universities throughout Spain and beyond.
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