Waldorf foreign language teaching in Latin America - a new initiative

Since 2021, the Chilean training institute EFA (Educacion, Filosofia y Arte), in cooperation with Alanus University, has been offering an academic training programme in the form of a three-year part-time certificate course that teaches the basics of Waldorf education, and qualifies students to teach foreign languages independently. The certificate course is primarily aimed at applicants who wish to teach in a country where Spanish is an official language, such as Spain, or most Latin American countries.

The time span from the first announcement of the 2024 certificate course to its launch in March was only a few months. Under these conditions, it was hardly to be expected that 33 participants from seven Latin American and three European countries would enrol on the course. This indicates a definite interest and need for an academic qualification in Waldorf teacher training in this part of the world. Most of the participants are active teachers of English, and some of German, Italian or Portuguese as a foreign language who are already employed in a Waldorf school, or who would like to be.

As academic training for Waldorf teachers in Latin America is still in its infancy, the certificate course teaches the main aspects of Waldorf education at an academic level, in addition to the foreign language qualification. In some modules, the focus is on teaching foreign language methods, while in others the general principles of Waldorf education are taught. The learning takes place in dialogue with perspectives from contemporary educational science and developmental psychology. In addition to theoretical and conceptual work, the course also focuses on artistic and practical self-development processes.

The three-year course consists of four online lessons per week in six blocks and four weeks of practical training in schools. The six blocks are divided annually into a Latin American attendance block week of 13 days each in January and an online block week of seven days each in July.

As Waldorf teacher training in Latin America is still largely independent of university structures, the certificate course offers the opportunity to complete the qualification with a university certificate. The certificate from Alanus University will be worth 60 ECTS (credit points), and will therefore be internationally compatible for subsequent further training or a degree programme. This could lead to a network of Waldorf education programmes with academic institutions in this cultural area.

In January 2025, the first face-to-face seminar will also take place at the Colegio Rudolf Steiner in Buenos Aires, which will also be open to guest students. 35 participants and lecturers from different countries will meet for an intensive week of work on the topic of foreign language teaching in Waldorf schools. We are looking forward to the exchange!

Carolina Kot, Head of EFA