Comparing and contrasting bilingualism in Colombia and the US, it's evident that both countries recognize bilingualism as valuable for economic, social, and cultural reasons. However, while Colombia focuses on English proficiency as a means of global integration and economic competitiveness, the US emphasis on preserving heritage languages and fostering inclusive educational environments. Both contexts face challenges in implementing effective bilingual education policies and addressing imbalance in access and fairness, but the approaches and priorities vary based on social needs and values.

• Indigenous languages can also be found in the United States, but most of these communities speak even more English rather than their native language. Therefore, in both countries regarding sociolinguistic aspects indigenous languages are perceived as a minority.

• (US) Even though heritage language is not used in formal domains, bilingualism is perceived; especially, in situations in which sign language is performed.

• "... I consider myself more proficient in English than sign language" (Interview Fragment)

"In Colombia alone, BPO employs around 230,000 staff according to one source (Invest in Bogotá, 2020). As a result, it has been argued that the principal objective of the MEN’s promotion of EFL is to provide the BPO industry with a pool of English-speaking labourers (Bonilla Carvajal & Tejada-Sánchez, 2016)." (MacKenzie, 2021)

"... It's very common to learn English for job opportunities or overall quality of life" (Interview Fragment)

("Language learning is a means to social development, specifically because it brings forth more job opportunities. Carvajal (2016)")

• In the same line of thought, in the United States English is viewed as a necessity for those who belong to the immigrant community. Consequently, some families maintain their heritage language for personal, cultural, and ethical considerations rather than language status. Lastly, there is a division between people who believe that everyone should speak English and those who agree about speaking other languages in the country.

these commercial agreements, along with a series of reforms by successive neoliberal governments, offer transnational organisations from the global North favourable business conditions which impede the country’s development (Valencia, 2013). These conditions, which include, inter alia, protections against lawsuits and the expropriation of assets, lax environmental regulations, tax breaks, tariff discounts, and reduced benefits for workers, have not only facilitated the flow of profits and mineral wealth to countries such as the US and Canada, but have also eroded employment rights and labour conditions (Valencia, 2013). Unsurprisingly, this neoliberal agenda has both deepened inequities in the country and widened the gap between Colombia and its wealthier counterparts in the global North . . . . Indeed, while English may promote international trade, those Colombians most likely to benefit from this trade are the English-speaking elites, whose interests are aligned with those of multinational corporations in the global North (Aviles, 2006; Usma, 2009)." (ibid)

---Language learning is a means to social development, specifically because it brings forth more job opportunities.

---Speaking English has been defined as an asset, in the sense that it brings benefits to those who learn it, mainly as the access to a modern world characterized by technology, wider communication, economic power, and scientific knowledge.

---Number of job offers requiring bilingual workers in the Colombian labour market provide little incentive and opportunity for advancing bilingualism for the larger social goals.

---Providing incentive implies influencing people's desire to learn, such as linking language learning to job offers.