Abstract:

The situation of the teacher of languages in Mexico, is very clear and is not a matter of interpretations. From the perspective of the current authorities, English does not require teachers to be taught. They affirm that an online platform is sufficient and that the Spanish teacher, with basic education, can perfectly assume that task. The well-known politic named fourth transformation (4T in Spanish), comes to add one more factor to the already large list of reasons that cause the desertion of a career whose main area of professional performance is teaching English. This investigation arises as a result of our interest, and concern, for the significant desertion experienced in recent years. We outlined the main question as: What factors influence dropout? And two subsidiary questions: What is the role of teachers in this desertion scenario? And what is the position of the university authorities? It is evident that, being a complex social phenomenon, one of the best ways to approach it is from the Critical Paradigm, which implies not circumscribing the simple demand for truth. In the same way, the Qualitative Approach was assumed, as the best way in which we, in our role as researchers, can place ourselves at the center of the phenomenon, observe it, register it, analyze it and elaborate a holistic vision of its characteristics from the voices of the subjects. The procedures of the Case Study method are adopted, as it is the best way to know the how and why of the object of study.

There have been identified as the main causes of abandonment:
1) Expectation versus reality, it means that students entered the program with expectations of traveling around the world and being interpreters or translators, when the reality is that their professional performance will be as language teachers. A group of students affirms, in a convincing way, that they do not like the subjects of the pedagogical area.
2) Family and money, another reason why the career is abandoned is for family and / or economic matters.
3) Quality of the teacher-student interaction, in this sense, the students state that their professors and authorities show little interest, or the interest for them is null.

Additionally, the participants expressed the reasons that have made them stay in the program. Those subjects, that have already graduated, manifest what they consider made them finish their undergraduate studies. The study has met its objective, partially, it is expected to deepen into other factors and a larger student population. This report is part of a macro project that is carried out by a group of researchers from the Faculty. This academic body studies the professionalization of the generations of the new millennium and the quality indicators. It is expected that the data analyzed, so far, allow to establish new work strategies that contribute to greater permanence and higher levels of completion and graduation. It is clear that students who remain in the career expect a better proposal of professional training that meets their expectations. In the same way, they hope that the monetary supports will be maintained, and the training costs will be the same or lower. An expectation, which from our perspective is the most important, is to be seen as persons, and to be educated with respect and human quality.

Keywords:

School dropout, teaching languages, case study.