Cuba Project background
2. Key features of the context Course participant (CP) profile:
1. Description of the partners The English Language Teaching section of the Cuban Association of Pedagogues (APC-ELI) The APC-ELI is a relatively new Cuban teachers’ association. It was opened on 13 May 2013, and has held four national conferences since its official opening. It has an estimated enrolment of 580 members in the whole country. Most of the members work in tertiary education and the majority are female teachers. Since its opening, the APC-ELI has provided opportunities for the professional development of members and non-members through face-to-face workshops, webinars, online conferences and contests. The association publishes a quarterly newsletter and is present on different social media, such as Facebook, Google and Telegram. International House Bristol This is a private language school, established in 1987, with a core team of around nine full-time English teachers/academic managers and around 12 administrative/ancillary staff, offering the following relevant provision: • • •
• • •
39 female and nine male 33 primary and 15 secondary 13 CPs based in Havana, six in Granma Province, 11 in Guantanamo, 15 in Pina del Rio Province and three elsewhere
Other key contextual features: • • • •
Young English teachers in the provinces and more remote areas receive fewer opportunities for professional development Many CPs had never done any online courses for professional development before Access to the internet is more reliable in larger cities than in rural areas and is very expensive for most users, with 2 to 4GB, depending on 3G or 4G access, costing around ten to 12 per cent of a teacher’s monthly salary Many Cuban teachers have smartphones with low video streaming performance, older operating systems and/or limited access to communication apps
General, exam (IELTS, Cambridge main suite, OET) and specialist English courses for adults General and specialist English courses for juniors (8–12s and 13–17-year-olds) Teacher training (CELTA, courses for foreign teachers of English in the summer, CLIL)
Clients include groups, schools in the UK and abroad and individuals, with IH Bristol’s specialisations including English courses for juniors and teacher training at all levels. The school offers face-to-face, hybrid and online courses, usually using Zoom and Microsoft Teams.
IH Bristol’s partner English Teaching Association (ETA), APC-ELI, and the teachers who taught on the PRELIM course were consulted for this report and their contributions have been included.
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Partnered Remote Language Improvement (PRELIM) project report
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