| Sumario: |
In different countries around the world, private and governmental institutions require pre-service language teachers to be certified in order to work. In Costa Rica, teachers must obtain a B2 or C1 level of English to apply for a job in the Ministerio de Educacion Publica (MEP in Spanish) in any of the following international tests: TOEFL, TOEIC, IELTS, CAE, or CPE. This paper explores the need for Costa Rica to provide a more pertinent certification that evaluates not only the capacity of using the language but also to teach it, the capacity of responding to students’ behavior and climate, the creativity to plan and design classes, and the quality of instruction, classroom management, planning, assessment and evaluation. To accomplish this task, some teaching certifications around the world for English teachers are analyzed. In addition, the reality of Costa Rica in terms of teacher certification is explored along with the reliability of standardized tests. Finally, the need for a specific language teaching certification for teachers in Costa Rica is explained and supported. This paper concludes with the idea that a certification that evaluates the language in teaching contexts, the capacity of responding to students’ behavior and climate, the creativity to plan and design classes, quality of instruction, classroom management, planning, assessment, and evaluation is needed.
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