FROM
CUBA
Cuban elementary schools to resume the
teaching of English
HAVANA, Cuba, March 4 (Fara Armenteros,
UPECI www.cubanet.org) - Third- to sixth-grade
students in Cuba will soon start taking
English in schools, according to a government
announcement. This will be the first time
in many years that English is widely taught
in the island's schools.
During the 30 years that Cuba had close
links to the Soviet block countries, Russian
became de rigueur in schools, and English
was relegated to secondary status.
Before the present government came to power
in 1959, public schools taught English in
the fifth and sixth grades; private schools
usually taught it in every grade and in
some cases, provided dual instruction, in
Spanish in the mornings and in English in
the afternoons.
At present, there are special language
schools that teach English, French, German,
Italian, and Portuguese, but admission is
limited to people who can demonstrate job-related
reasons for learning the language.
English classes, according to the government
announcement, will be taught under a system
of televised classes instituted to cope
with the shortage of teachers.
Arturo, a retired bus driver, injected
some historical perspective into the news:
"Remember when they started with Russian.
There were Russian classes on radio and
on television. But teaching languages on
television is nothing new. In the fifties,
the Guinness beer company sponsored English
classes on television," he said.
Versión
original en español
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