THE ROLE OF THE TARGET LANGUAGE IN SOCIAL IMMERSION OF HAITIAN IMMIGRANTS IN CHILE AND EDUCATORS' BELIEFS ABOUT ITS TEACHING AND LEARNING*

Abstract

Chile has received massive waves of immigration in a relatively short time, notably from Haiti. These migratory movements have highlighted the lack of preparation of Chilean public schools to incorporate young people from Haiti, or other non-Spanish-speaking students, into the educational system. The creation of public policies to address the teaching of Spanish as an additional language in school would help these adolescents achieve a higher level of academic and socio-cultural integration; however, there is resistance among teachers, administrators, and education scholars on this point. In this article, we aim to show how these resistances stem from a lack of consideration regarding what the teaching and learning of an additional language truly implies.