Relevance of the English Program at American University given the demand of bilingual professionals

Abstract

The social mobility of students in higher education is related to communicative competence in other languages, of which the English language predominates. The demand for bilingual professionals has had an upward curve in the last 15 years, which has motivated higher education institutions to review the training offer of the English language. This expository essay explores the relevance of the Communicative English program at the American University in contrast to the demand for bilingual professionals in Nicaragua. The macro labor context of the demand for bilingual personnel in the country is described. A 10-year chronological review of the behavior of the labor market demand is exposed and the alignment of the standards of the Common European Framework of References with the English program is reviewed. The relevance of the English program is identified and academic aspects that require attention are also highlighted, such as the cross-cutting components of the language in the faculties and a greater offer of career classes taught in English.