Abstract

English is an international language which has acquired a prominent place in the Chilean language curriculum. English as a foreign language has become a mandatory subject at schools beginning in the fifth grade (students 10 years old) following the plans of the Ministry of Education. Despite being a mandatory subject, the gap between what is taught and what is acquired has led to several questions. Therefore, it is necessary to know what teachers are doing to close this gap and identify the different strategies used to teach English as a foreign language in this context. The objective of the present study is to explore research studies on methodologies in teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) at schools and tertiary education in the Chilean context between 2011 and 2021. This study conducts a systematic review of methodologies to teach EFL based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analyses (PRISMA). Results showed that the method and methodology constructs have been conceptualized and perceived from various perspectives. It also highlighted trends and issues associated with ways of teaching English and didactics more effectively. The themes, which were found in this review, reveal different aspects of English language education and one among them is the intention of the researchers to improve English language teaching through the dissemination of the results of their studies. Research studies also highlight the efforts of the teachers to teach EFL and the way they try to implement the language. The study concludes that there is a lacuna on the methodologies used in Chile to the teaching of EFL followed by limitations and implications of the current research.