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New World Learning program aims to strengthen American English education and workforce readiness in Guatemala

December 22, 2025

A man stands in front of a classroom of adults. He is holding a pen and notebook. A person in the group raises their hand.
Voluntary Accreditation of Learning Unified for English program will establish a national accreditation and certification system for English as a foreign language in Guatemala

World Learning recently launched a new program aimed at establishing a national accreditation and certification system for English as a foreign language in Guatemala.

The program, Voluntary Accreditation of Learning Unified for English (VALUE), will help standardize American English language learning programs and higher education English language teacher preparation degrees, thereby improving career readiness nationwide.

“The VALUE program will enhance the quality of American English language education to meet international standards and align with current labor market demands,” said German Gomez, World Learning’s director of TESOL Education. “It will ultimately strengthen the workforce readiness of Guatemalan students and expand their access to global employment opportunities by improving their English proficiency.”

World Learning is running the program in partnership with Universidad del Valle de Guatemala. VALUE is funded by Guatemala No Se Detiene, a government-led national campaign that promotes economic growth and development in Guatemala.

“Improving the quality of English programs is a strategic objective for Guatemala, with an impact on employability and the availability of development opportunities in highly competitive service sectors. The voluntary accreditation of programs that meet the requirements established in a national standard represents a first step in strengthening national capacities for English language learning at different educational levels,” said Carolina Roca, dean of the faculty of education at Universidad del Valle de Guatemala.

“We are confident that this project, with the participation of World Learning—supported by Guatemala No Se Detiene—will allow us to lay the foundation for this improvement process by proposing standards for English language teacher preparation programs at the university level and for English language learning programs,” Roca added.

The first phase of the program started in November and involves producing an analysis of current accreditation and certification processes for English language learning and university-level English language teacher training programs in other regions of the world.

“Improving the quality of English programs is a strategic objective for Guatemala, with an impact on employability and the availability of development opportunities in highly competitive service sectors.”

“The data will help us establish benchmarks and best practices to ensure Guatemala’s accreditation and certification system is competitive internationally,” said Gomez.

The program is expected to run through the summer of 2026 and will include the World Learning team adapting the standards to a Guatemalan context, something Gomez says is critical.

“This will enable the consistent measurement of the quality of existing private English language learning and teacher preparation programs throughout varying academic levels.”