In Cartagena, everyone from the mayor to the fruit seller knows that English means opportunity. It provides access to better jobs and higher education. It puts money in people's pockets and when money is involved people listen. No one know this better than Colombian politicians trying to get votes for the upcoming elections in November.
Gabriel, the teacher I work with, has a part time job in a small town just outside of Cartagena. One day, he began telling the people about how he would like to create the first bilingual (Spanish- English) public school and we how started a project called English for All. People's ears perked up when they heard public and bilingual in the same sentence. He continued to explain that the project has four components:
English teacher professional developmentEnglish classes at the elementary levelEnglish test preparation for high school seniorsFree community English classesThe most interested person in the crowd was the mayor. He became fixated on…
Gabriel, the teacher I work with, has a part time job in a small town just outside of Cartagena. One day, he began telling the people about how he would like to create the first bilingual (Spanish- English) public school and we how started a project called English for All. People's ears perked up when they heard public and bilingual in the same sentence. He continued to explain that the project has four components:
English teacher professional developmentEnglish classes at the elementary levelEnglish test preparation for high school seniorsFree community English classesThe most interested person in the crowd was the mayor. He became fixated on…