After his official meeting with the president Luis Abinaderhe secretary US State Department went to the Dominican-American Cultural Institute (ICDA) to participate in a conversation with youths students of the program English Immersion, facilitated by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology (Mescyt).
A group of 25 students of the current cycle of program They gathered at the Lincoln Library of the cultural center to share with Blinken and other authorities of the country about the impact of the language in their lives.
In addition to the head of the diplomacy United Statesshared with the youths studentsVice President Raquel Peña, the Minister and Vice Minister of Mescyt, Franklin GarcÃa FermÃn and Paula Disla, as well as the chargé d’affaires of the US embassy, ​​Patricia Aguilera.
Each of them was sharing a table with five studentswho had to answer three questions about their personal history and why they chose to learn the languagehis plans for the future and the contributions he has made English in their lives.
“He English allows us to connect with other people,” said one of the students from the Disla table, who gave the example of having met the vice minister and her history in this activity.
A unique experience
In conversation with the mediathe youths students They were happy and excited to participate in a event with the head of the diplomacy United States.
“The experience was a little different, something we have never hadsomething new, shocking in one’s life. Meeting important people and talking to them,” and in Englishsaid AnalÃa one of the students.
The group was “delighted” by the opportunity to talk with the officials, whom they praised for their kindness, the time they dedicated to them, the advice and the life experiences they shared.
The youths that they shared with the Vice President Raquel Peña said that she was “very kind” and during the minutes that they were talking she tried to get everyone involved in the conversation.
“Very exciting,” Escarilyn said of her time with the vice president.
The students Those who were with the chargé d’affaires of the US Embassy used the term “incredible” to refer to their conversation with her, while those of Minister GarcÃa FermÃn highlighted her words of gratitude for attending the event and advice to continue improving their skills with it language.
Student Helen considered that “the secretary He is a very person humble” and noted that the official “dedicated time and attention to each of us, listened to our questions and also gave us his own experience being in a program of immersion when he lived in France, and It was something incredible because we could identify with him and it was a wonderful experience.”
The five students who were sitting next to the secretary They shared jokes and humorous moments, they also indicated that his personality helped them relieve their nervousness, he asked them questions outside of the guidelines and encouraged them to continue studying. English.
The importance of language
Learning the language English It is universally recognized as key to continued economic progress, and this is also the case for the Dominican Republic. He president Abinader frequently claims that there are no speakers of the language English in the Dominican Republic living below the poverty line. The studies confirmed a strong positive relationship between competence in this language and income levels.
The growing adoption of English It also offers opportunities to more closely connect the Dominican economy with the United States. English speakers are more likely to study in the United States and do business with American companies, expanding both cultural and economic ties.
The Ministry of Education of the Dominican Republic (Minerd) and the Mescyt supervise the systems through which education is provided in English to most Dominicans, but they often lack the resources to offer programs effective and improve the capacity of the teachers on a large scale.
US Support
Since 2018, the Government of the United States has invested more than 1.5 million dollars in programs of Englishfocused on strengthening teaching capacity. This investment has trained more than 10 thousand teachersimpacting a million students.
A book of text sponsored by the Government The United States English Language Development Framework has been adopted nationally, and the National English Language Task Force has been established to address the challenges and opportunities in teaching English. The promotion of language English has firmly established itself as a pillar of educational collaboration between the United States and the Dominican Republic.
