teaching esl abroad
North American Educators to Teach English in CubaReleased on = September 21, 2005, 3:19 pm
Press Release Author = Marcel Hatch / ESL CUBA VOLUNTEER
Industry = Education
Press Release Summary = Three groups of Canadian and American volunteers are preparing to fly to Havana to teach English to the Cubans.
Press Release Body = Vancouver, BC - Three groups of Canadian and American volunteers are preparing to fly to Havana to teach English to the Cubans. The 22-day programs are open to working or retired educators willing to pay their own costs, while donating their English as a Second Language (ESL) teaching skills. A knowledge of Spanish is not required.
Three ESL CUBA VOLUNTEER departures are planned: November 12 to December 3, 2005, January 14 to February 4, 2006, and February 18 to March 11, 2006. The program will recommence in the fall of 2006. Registration is limited to 15 teachers per group, although non-volunteer spouses and partners are welcome to come along. An extra week of relaxation or travel in Cuba after the ESL project has finished is easily
arranged.
Upon arrival in Cuba, the ESL volunteers are put through an eight-day orientation course which includes sightseeing around Havana, visits to schools and universities, meetings with leading Cuban educators and activists, and cultural events.
Weeks two and three are devoted to morning classroom teaching at the University of Havana's Faculty of Foreign Languages, with Cuban professors on hand to assist. Volunteers with academic backgrounds in such fields as geography, psychology, law, mathematics, and physics will be invited to teach technical English at one of the university's many specialized faculties. In the afternoon, unstructured tutor sessions are held at a community education facility. Volunteers can opt to work only
in the morning or afternoon, as desired. Weekends and evenings are free.
Volunteers are encouraged to prepare their own ESL curriculums, in partnership with the Cuban teachers. The idea is to give Cuban students the opportunity to practice conversational English with a native speaker, while receiving help with pronunciation, grammar, idioms, and colloquialisms. The program organizers and previous ESL participants can provide ideas for effective teaching.
The ESL volunteers are accommodated at the three-star Hotel St Johns in Havana's Vedado entertainment district, a short walk from the university along safe streets. International-style buffet breakfasts are included in the program costs. Participants can take lunch at the university's dining hall, and Vedado offers a wide range of private and public restaurants for other meals.
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