Abstract

RODRIGUEZ GARCES, Carlos. Communication skills in English: Influence of school management and socio-economic level on educational achievement level in English as a second language. Perfiles educativos [online]. 2015, vol.37, n.149, pp.74-93. ISSN 0185-2698.

English has become a lingua franca and mastering the English language has become a skill of the first order. Nonetheless, it was only until the year 2010 that the Education Quality Measurement System (Sistema de Medición de la Calidad de la Educación/SIMCE from the Ministry of Education in Chile) carried out a first evaluation aimed at identifying real language mastery levels based on the standards attained by students in Chile. Using bivariate inferential analysis and the national database, the paper inquires into the differentiated achievement levels and school segmentation. It demonstrates that achievement levels in English as a second language are extremely low, both in reading and listening comprehension. Besides, the relatively better achievement levels seen in private schools are basically explained by the students' socio-economic characteristics. Once the socio-economic level is controlled, public education centers are favored by a greater capacity to acquire communication skills in English as a second language.

Keywords : Foreign language; Certification; Education quality; School efficiency; Socio-economic level; Inequality; Communication skills in the English language.

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