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ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION
IN CUBA: CONTEXT, PEDAGOGY AND
IDENTITY
Steven John Smith
Ph.D., B.Sc. (Honours)
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Education (Research)
School of Cultural and Language Studies in Education
Faculty of Education
Queensland University of Technology
July 2012
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity i
Keywords
bilingual, case study, communicative approach, communicative competence, context,
Cuba, culture, education, English language teacher education, identity, intelligibility,
internationalism, linguaculture, pedagogy, ‘pedagogy of tenderness’, postcolonial
theory, speaking, teaching strategies.
ii English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Abstract
In this study, I investigate the model of English language teacher education
developed in Cuba. It includes features that would be considered innovative,
contemporary, good practice anywhere in the Western world, as well as having
distinctly Cuban elements. English is widely taught in Cuba in the education system
and on television by Cuban teachers who are prepared in five-year courses at
pedagogical universities by bilingual Cuban teacher educators.
This case study explores the identity and pedagogy of six English language
teacher educators at Cuba’s largest university of pedagogical sciences. Postcolonial
theory provides a framework for examining how the Cuban pedagogy of English
language teacher education resists the negative representation of Cuba in hegemonic
Western discourse; and challenges neoliberal Western dogma. Postcolonial concepts
of representation, resistance and hybridity are used in this examination.
Cuban teacher education features a distinctive ‘pedagogy of tenderness’.
Teacher educators build on caring relationships and institutionalised values of
solidarity, collectivism and collaboration. Communicative English language teaching
strategies are contextualised to enhance the pedagogical and communicative
competence of student teachers, and intercultural intelligibility is emphasised. The
collaborative pedagogy of Cuban English language teacher education features peer
observation, mentoring and continuing professional development; as well as
extensive pre-service classroom teaching and research skill development for student
teachers. Being Cuban and bilingual are significant aspects of the professional
identity of case members, who regard their profession as a vocation and who are
committed to preparing good English language teachers.
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity iii
Table of Contents
Keywords .................................................................................................................................. i
Abstract .................................................................................................................................... ii
List of Figures ...........................................................................................................................v
List of Tables .......................................................................................................................... vi
List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................................. vii
Statement of Original Authorship ......................................................................................... viii
Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................. ix
Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................ 1
Background ...............................................................................................................................1
Teaching English in Cuba ............................................................................................................ 1
Kachru’s Three Circle Model of English Language Use ............................................................. 3
Global growth of English Language Teaching ............................................................................ 6
Personal background .................................................................................................................... 7
Context ......................................................................................................................................9
Colonialism and neocolonialism .................................................................................................. 9
Cuba’s education system ............................................................................................................ 11
English language teacher education in Cuban universities ........................................................ 16
Internationalism ......................................................................................................................... 21
Purpose ....................................................................................................................................23
Significance and Scope ...........................................................................................................23
The research gap ........................................................................................................................ 23
Conceptual framework ............................................................................................................... 24
The Significance of the Research ............................................................................................... 25
Thesis Outline .........................................................................................................................26
Chapter 2: Literature Review ................................................................................. 29
Postcolonial Theory ................................................................................................................30
Representation ........................................................................................................................... 33
Resistance ................................................................................................................................ 35
Hybridity ................................................................................................................................ 37
Context for English language teacher education .....................................................................39
Ownership of English ................................................................................................................ 40
The native speaker fallacy.......................................................................................................... 41
Culture and language ................................................................................................................. 43
Adapting English language teaching to the local context .......................................................... 45
Pedagogy of teacher education ...............................................................................................47
‘Pedagogy of tenderness’ and teacher education ....................................................................... 50
Approach to English language teaching in Cuba ....................................................................... 56
Teacher educator identity ........................................................................................................61
iv English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Development of a teacher educator’s identity ............................................................................ 63
Communities of practice of teacher educators ........................................................................... 65
Imagined communities of teacher educators .............................................................................. 66
Summary and Implications ..................................................................................................... 69
Chapter 3: Research Design .................................................................................... 73
Methodology and Research Design ........................................................................................ 73
Methods .................................................................................................................................. 77
Participants ............................................................................................................................. 80
Instruments ............................................................................................................................. 84
Procedure and Timeline.......................................................................................................... 84
Analysis .................................................................................................................................. 89
Ethics, Risks and Trustworthiness .......................................................................................... 91
Chapter 4: Pedagogy and the Cuban Context ....................................................... 97
Communicative competence .................................................................................................. 97
Pedagogical competence ...................................................................................................... 101
Salient features of Cuban pedagogy ..................................................................................... 112
Summary .............................................................................................................................. 121
Chapter 5: Professional identity and the Cuban context .................................... 125
Development of the professional identity of teacher educators ........................................... 125
Communities of Practice ...................................................................................................... 136
Imagined communities ......................................................................................................... 139
Summary .............................................................................................................................. 141
Chapter 6: Teaching strategies in the Cuban context ......................................... 145
General techniques ............................................................................................................... 145
Teaching strategies ............................................................................................................... 156
Collaborative teaching workshops ....................................................................................... 164
Summary .............................................................................................................................. 167
Chapter 7: Conclusions .......................................................................................... 171
Findings and Implications .................................................................................................... 171
Limitations of the study ........................................................................................................ 178
Implications .......................................................................................................................... 179
Further research .................................................................................................................... 181
Bibliography ........................................................................................................... 183
Appendices ............................................................................................................. 199 Appendix A Procedure for fieldwork in Cuba (Stage 2) .......................................................... 199 Appendix B Interview Questions and Topics .......................................................................... 201 Appendix C Schedule of Collaborative Workshops ................................................................ 203 Appendix D Interim written evaluation ................................................................................... 205 Appendix E Final written evaluation ....................................................................................... 207
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity v
List of Figures
Figure 1.1 Kachru’s Three Circles (adapted from Kachru, 1992a; p.356) .............. 4
Figure 1.2 Degree in Education: allocation of time to curriculum areas
(Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, 2011) ............................................................. 18
Figure 1.3 Field experience in 5 year degree course (Díaz-Canel Bermúdez,
2011) .................................................................................................... 19
Figure 1.4 Conceptual framework .......................................................................... 25
Figure 2.1 Influences on the professional identity of teacher educators
(adapted from Mockler, 2011, fig. 1, p.521) ....................................... 64
Figure 3.1 Theoretical framework .......................................................................... 74
Figure 3.2. Methodology and research design ......................................................... 75
Figure 3.3. Stages of research .................................................................................. 78
Figure 3.4 Phases of Stage 2 - research in Cuba ..................................................... 80
Figure 6.1 Structured lesson sequence: A good teacher ....................................... 163
vi English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
List of Tables
Table 1 Data sources ............................................................................................... 85
Table 2 TESOL presentations in Collaborative Teaching Workshops ................... 87
Table 3 Risk Management Plan ............................................................................... 93
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity vii
List of Abbreviations
CA Communicative Approach
CLT Communicative Language Teaching
EFL English as a Foreign Language
ELT English Language Teaching
ELTE English Language Teacher Education
FLEX Facultad de Lenguas Extranjeras (at UCPEJV)
L1 The first or native language or ‘mother tongue’, learned from birth
L2 A second language acquired after the first language
NEST Native English-Speaking Teacher
Non-NEST Non-Native English-Speaking Teacher
SLA Second Language Acquisition
TESOL Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
UCPEJV Universidad de Ciencias Pedagógicas ‘Enrique José Varona’
viii English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Statement of Original Authorship
The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted to meet
requirements for an award at this or any other higher education institution. To the
best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously
published or written by another person except where due reference is made.
Signature: _________________________
Date: _________________________
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity ix
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to my supervisors Associate Professor Anne Hickling-Hudson
and Dr Erika Hepple. Their experience, guidance, academic expertise, advice and
constructive critiques have contributed significantly to development of this thesis.
I also acknowledge the generosity and hospitality of the teacher educators and
pre-service teachers at the University of Pedagogical Sciences ‘Enrique José
Varona’, Marianao, Havana, Cuba, and in particular the six English language teacher
educators who agreed to participate in this case study. This research project would
not have been possible without the assistance and contribution of Vice Dean Dr
Alejandro Torres Saavedra, who facilitated my engagement with the University,
selection of the case members, and conduct of the series of Collaborative Teaching
Workshops. So many people at the University in Marianao, Havana were
instrumental in enabling this research project that I cannot mention all of them;
however I want particularly to thank the Director of International Relations, Dr
Mercedes Mora Carnet; and also Dr Isora Enriquez O’Farrill, Dean of the Faculty of
Foreign Languages, who invited me to participate with her on a nationally televised
English language program about Australia.
I am grateful to those Australian colleagues and friends who kindly commented
on earlier drafts of this thesis particularly Diane Lane, Dr Anna Pertierra, Dr Helen
Stapleton, Lance Davey and Richard Dearden; and finally acknowledge my partner,
Richard, who has steadfastly supported and encouraged me in this endeavour.
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 1: Introduction 1
Chapter 1: Introduction
In this chapter I introduce the research topic and locate it in the global context
of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and the enigmatic
nation that is Cuba in the 21st century. The purpose of this chapter is to explain why
the research was undertaken and the significance of the results.
This chapter is organised into five sections. In the first I discuss the place of
English language in Cuba at a time when it has become a global language; and
describe my personal involvement and background. The second section outlines the
context of this study; together with an introduction to Cuban education before and
since 1959. I also provide an overview of the five-year English language teacher
education course provided at pedagogical universities throughout the country; and
Cuba’s commitment to internationalism. The research problem and research
questions are stated in the third section. In the fourth section, the scope and
significance of the research are presented which includes describing a gap in the
literature on English language teacher education; the conceptual framework adopted
for this study; and the significance of the research findings. The final section outlines
the organisation of the rest of the thesis.
Background
Teaching English in Cuba
In this Spanish-speaking nation of 11 million people located 150 km from the
coast of Florida, bilingual Cubans, born and educated in Cuba, teach English using
locally produced teaching resources. Although Cuba, the largest of the Caribbean
islands, has endured a tense relationship with its powerful northern neighbour for
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
2 Chapter 1: Introduction
over 50 years, it maintains close relationships with its Caribbean neighbours
(Thorburn, 2006), with Latin America and with many nations around the world
(Feinsilver, 2008).
The effects on the Cuban people of an economic embargo by the USA, which
the Cuban government estimates has cost the nation more than $US 975 billion since
1962 (Rodríguez Parilla, 2011), have been described as “disastrous” by the Personal
Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
(Amnesty International, 2009; p.14). Despite the UN General Assembly voting
annually for 20 years to lift the embargo, it remains in place. On 25 October 2011,
only the USA and Israel voted to continue it while 186 countries, including Australia,
voted to end it (UN General Assembly, 2011).
Notwithstanding the embargo and historic links between English language and
US domination, Cuba decided to promote the use of English for its own purposes: to
meet its socialist objectives and contribute to its economic independence. Cuba needs
the English language for a variety of reasons including international relationships and
business partnerships; a growing tourism industry, scientific and technological
research, and solidarity with developing nations.
Cuban teacher education
Several international studies have indicated that Cuba has the most educated
population in Latin America (MacDonald, 2009), and an outstanding record of
educational success which is in part attributable to strong teacher education and in-
service teacher training programs (Malott, 2007). In recent years, several visiting
educators from the USA have praised the contribution made by Cuban teacher
education to Cuba’s educational achievements (Hunt, 2003; Miller, 2002; Schultz,
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 1: Introduction 3
Tiner, Sewell, & Hirata, 2011). Gasperini, a specialist in Latin American and
Caribbean education, reported to the World Bank on Cuba’s educational
achievements and its unconventional education system.
Cuba is a poor country, and the past decade has been particularly difficult
economically. Yet the success of its schools flaunts conventional wisdom:
Education in Cuba is entirely public, centrally planned, and free, in a global
reform environment of privatization, downscaling of the state role, and cost
recovery. (Gasperini, 2000, p.14)
Unfortunately the political stigma which has been attached to Cuba and its
independent path by the USA, the World Bank and the IMF among others, has
resulted in a lack of acknowledgment and under-reporting of Cuba’s achievements
(Breidlid, 2007). Educators in North America and Europe call for more research into
Cuba’s teacher training system to explore the reasons for its success (Breidlid, 2007;
Gomez Castanedo & Giacchino-Baker, 2010). This thesis responds to that call by
examining one aspect of the system, English language teacher education, at a time
when international research is increasingly focused on the pedagogy of teacher
education and when global use of English continues to grow (Graddol, 2006;
Loughran & Russell, 2007).
Kachru’s Three Circle Model of English Language Use
A three circle model of English spread, acquisition and function, first proposed
by Kachru (1985, fig.1), is helpful in discussing the global use of English (Figure
1.1). The model recognises that different varieties of English have evolved under
different circumstances in different parts of the world. The Inner Circle comprises
native speakers for whom English is their mother tongue or first language (L1), and
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
4 Chapter 1: Introduction
most of whom are monolingual, coming from Western countries including USA, UK,
Australia, New Zealand and Canada; the Outer Circle consists of non-native users of
English, who use a standard variety of English from the UK or USA, or a local
variety, as an additional or second language (L2), and who are mainly from former
British colonies such as Singapore, India and Kenya, where English has acquired
some form of official or institutional status; and the Expanding Circle are non-native
English users for whom English is a foreign or international language used in
restricted domains (e.g. China, Saudi Arabia, Hungary and Cuba).
Expending circle
Expanding Circlee.g. Brazil, Colombia, China, Egypt,
Japan, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, most of Europe and Cuba
Outer Circlee.g. India, Jamaica, Nigeria,
Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Singapore
Inner Circlee.g. UK, USA,
Australia
Figure 1.1 Kachru’s Three Circles (adapted from Kachru, 1992a; p.356)
With the rapid global expansion of English use, the numbers of English
language users in the Outer and Expanding Circles now exceeds the number of
‘native speakers’ in the Inner Circle (Crystal, 2003). Most current use of English
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 1: Introduction 5
language involves people of the Outer and Expanding Circles for whom English has
been learnt as a second, additional or foreign language (Graddol, 2006).
Hidden messages
Critical theory and critical pedagogy have prompted reflection on “the hidden
curriculum and ideologies that sometimes underlie language teaching policies and
practices” (Richards, 2002, p.3). The theory of linguistic imperialism argues that
education and English Language Teaching (ELT) in particular, are not politically
neutral activities; and that mastery of English enhances the power and control of a
privileged few (Phillipson, 1992). In many countries, English language functions as a
“gatekeeper” to positions of prestige and influence (Pennycook, 2001b, p.81).
Nowadays, English is frequently referred to as a global lingua franca, however,
Phillipson (2009, p.338) disagrees with using this term to describe English, which he
says falsely indicates that “the language is neutral, free of cultural ties and serves all
equally well”.
In the past decade, a rapidly growing body of computer-based language studies
have analysed digitised samples of naturally occurring language to characterise the
way that English is used by speakers in different contexts outside the Inner Circle,
such as in Asia (Bolton, 2008; Kirkpatrick, 2010) and continental Europe (Mauranen,
2011; Seidlhofer, 2011), where English is increasingly used for international
communication. Such research led inevitably to consideration of the implications for
the pedagogy of ELT; in particular, the need to raise awareness of variations in
English language use around the world, rather than focusing solely on the standards
of English applied in the UK and USA.
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
6 Chapter 1: Introduction
In this thesis, considering the Cuban context of English language use, I
describe English in Cuba as a foreign language taught by bilingual teachers that has
particular significance and value because of its global use in many domains.
Linguistic strategies available to bilingual users of English that draw on first
language (L1) knowledge, are “crucial bilingual pragmatic resources” that put them
at a communicative advantage in intercultural situations over monolingual ‘native
speakers’ (Jenkins, Cogo, & Dewey, 2011, p.284). Cuban English language teacher
educators demonstrate elective bilingualism, in that they chose to learn a foreign
language that is not commonly used in their community; and are functionally
bilingual because while they use Spanish in all areas of their lives, they also use
English, primarily in their professional context (C. Baker, 2006).
Global growth of English Language Teaching
The global increase and spread of ELT is remarkable and seems likely to
continue (Canagarajah, 2006b). The English language grew from being a fairly minor
Anglo-Saxon language to have about 4 million speakers in 1500, to 40 million
speakers in 1800, to about 120 million speakers in 1900 and an estimated 700 million
to one billion speakers at present (Graddol, 2006). Facilitated by the cultural and
economic influence of the USA and UK, English has assumed a monopolistic
position as a global language, particularly in the domains of business, computing,
science and international relations. Many people who develop English
communicative competence benefit materially and their success perpetuates the
growing demand for English classes around the world (Edge, 2003). While the
present dominance of the English language is likely to continue, internet use in
different languages and scripts, and changing global trading patterns, may see the
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 1: Introduction 7
rise of other global languages such as Mandarin Chinese, Arabic and Spanish
(Graddol, 2001).
For now, the demand is for English, and TESOL is big business. Publication
and promotion of teacher training courses, international testing systems, course
books, and adult classes on-line and in private colleges, comprise a multi-billion
dollar, multi-national industry dominated and marketed by Western countries.
Although definitions of ‘Western’ vary, in this thesis I use it to refer particularly to
the USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. In addition, ‘native’ English-
speaking teachers (NESTs) have dispersed to teach in all parts of the world; many
like myself, having had only limited teacher training in short courses, such as
Cambridge University’s postgraduate CELTA, Certificate of English Language
Teaching to Adults (A. Baxter, 2003). The implicit assumption in such Western
courses has been that teaching methods which work in Britain and the USA will
work equally well in any location and culture around the world i.e. “what is good for
Europe or the USA, had to be good for KwaZulu” (Chick, 1996, quoted in
Kumaravadivelu, 2006, p. 63). This simplistic view has been found to be inadequate
as classroom-based research shows the importance of local culture and identity in
language teaching outcomes (Canagarajah, 2006a; Rubdy, 2009; Woods, 1996);
Personal background
My interest in this project arose from an experience in Havana in November
2009 when voluntarily presenting a series of five workshops for English language
teacher educators. Prior to the workshops, in a written self-assessment, the
participants had indicated that their greatest need was to practise and improve their
English speaking skills. The workshops were conducted at the Faculty of Foreign
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
8 Chapter 1: Introduction
Languages, University of Pedagogical Sciences, Havana (la Facultad de Lenguas
Extranjeras, Universidad de Ciencias Pedagógicas ‘Enrique José Varona’, known as
El Varona). A critical incident occurred one afternoon, when introducing an activity
that I had used many times with foreign students in TESOL classes in Brisbane. To
practise conditional sentences and articles, I asked the participants to imagine and
discuss in pairs what they would do if they won $1 million in a lottery - an
unremarkable exercise in a Western capitalist society like Australia. However, in
Cuba, where salaries are uniformly low, lotteries are illegal and international travel is
impossible for most people, the exercise was insensitive to the participants’
economic and socio-political circumstances. The group played along in good
humour; however the incident raised my awareness of the cultural assumptions
embedded in my English language teaching (ELT) pedagogy and the need to ensure
that my teaching practices are appropriate for and adapted to local contexts.
Having lived in England, Malaysia and Sri Lanka during my childhood,
travelled widely as an adult, and studied French and Spanish for many years, I am
multilingual and keenly interested in different cultures, particularly of Latin
America. After teaching biology for 8 years and gaining a doctorate in zoology, I
worked in wildlife conservation in Tasmania for 25 years. Following retirement in
2008, I gained a CELTA (University of Cambridge Certificate of English Language
Teaching to Adults) in January 2009 and have taught English in Brisbane to adult
students from many countries.
I have visited Cuba four times over 10 years and am fascinated by the country
and its people. For me it “remains a symbol of hope or inspiration” (Pertierra, 2011,
p.245). I, like Raby (2009), find much to admire in its achievements in terms of
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 1: Introduction 9
literacy; free, universal education; access to high quality health care; and the
significant advances made in opposing racism, respecting the rights of women, and
more recently combating homophobia and promoting acceptance of sexual diversity
(Hearn, 2008, p.175).
During those Cuban workshops in November 2009, I assumed the universality
of the communicative approach and associated methodology which I learned in a
four-week CELTA course. I did not explore how Cuban teacher educators taught
English in their classes. Reflection on those experiences in Cuba led to the present
project which seeks to understand the pedagogy and identity of Cuban teacher
educators who prepare specialist English language teachers.
Context
Colonialism and neocolonialism
Cuba was a Spanish colony from 1510 until 1898. In 1898, after a long struggle
for independence from Spain and a short military intervention by the USA, Cubans
saw the end of Spanish rule – only to be replaced by US military occupation. The
USA had long intended that Cuba should come under its control. John Adams, the
second president of the USA, in 1783 designated Cuba as a natural point of
expansion for the USA; in 1805 President Thomas Jefferson advised that the USA
would consider possessing Cuba for strategic reasons (Rumbaut & Rumbaut, 2007,
p.134); and in 1823, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams stated his ‘ripe fruit
theory’ according to which, as an apple separated from its tree will fall to the ground,
Cuba separated from Spain would naturally gravitate to the USA (Ford, 1917, p. 372-
3, 379). In 1898, the Spanish flag over the Governor’s residence in Havana was
replaced, not by the Cuban flag, but by the “Stars and Stripes”.
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
10 Chapter 1: Introduction
Cuba began a period of neocolonialism during which it was first governed by
and then dominated by the USA, the world’s emerging English-speaking
superpower. The USA set about rebuilding and remodelling the Cuban education
system as “Cuba effectively had no tradition of public education under Spain, and the
war of 1895-98 devastated her few educational resources” (Johnston, 1995, p.26).
The US Governor General in Cuba, Leonard Wood, believed that after two or three
years of self-government, Cubans would recognise the benefits of being annexed to
the United States and “insist upon being part of us” (Roosevelt, 1899).
English language as a tool for annexation
In 1898, the USA saw English language as the tool needed to build a closer
relationship with Cubans, for greater mutual understanding, and eventual
“annexation by acclamation”, rather than force (Pérez, 1995, p.39). The US Secretary
of War in 1899 drew this analogy:
It is better to have the favours of a lady with her consent, after judicious
courtship, rather than to ravish her (Pérez, 1995, p.39).
To this end, all Cuban institutions including schools were rapidly reorganised
to conform to US practices. The school law of the state of Ohio provided the model
for Cuba's school law and a US curriculum formed the basis of the new Cuban
curriculum (Pérez, 1982, p.44). In 1900, the US military government sent nearly
3,000 Cubans to the United States for teacher training (S. Baxter, 1900), and
introduced US textbooks translated into Spanish, which gave a US view of Cuban
history. Cuban teachers were required to teach the US perspective, and hence the
three year “Cuban war of national liberation was transfigured into the three week
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 1: Introduction 11
Spanish-American War” which denied the participation of Cubans in fighting for
their own independence (Pérez, 1995, p.46).
All educational reforms during the next decades included English as a
compulsory requirement in the curriculum, a period when promotion of the language
“had all the characteristics of linguistic imperialism”; and English was used to
promote US business and political interests and maintain “the social stratification
that favoured the Cuban elite” (Corona & Garcia, 1996, p.91). The US occupation
ended in 1902; however, the USA reserved the right to intervene militarily as it saw
fit, which it did several times before legislative changes were made in May 1934
(Chomsky, Carr, & Smorkaloff, 2003, p.143); changes which ceded to the USA
perpetual rights to occupy Guantanamo Bay.
Cuba’s education system
Cuban education pre-1959
Johnston (1995) provides a detailed account of Cuban education over the 50
years from 1902. By 1952, public education “had steadily deteriorated”, according to
a World Bank report, due to lack of funding and large-scale government corruption
(Breidlid, 2007, p.620). Private schools multiplied extraordinarily, impervious to
state direction or control; such as the prestigious Jesuit-run schools and colleges that
educated Fidel Castro, son of a wealthy landowner (Johnston, 1995; Ramonet, 2008).
For Cuba's poor, the completion of even primary education became an increasingly
remote dream (Johnston, 1995). In 1955, under the US-supported Batista regime,
“the percentage of primary school-aged children enrolled in Cuban schools was
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
12 Chapter 1: Introduction
lower than in all but three Latin American countries” (UNESCO, 1962:146, quoted
in Blum, 2011, p.42).
With the ‘triumph of the revolution’ on 1st of January 1959, “Education was the
number one priority of the Revolutionary Government” (Alarcon De Quesada, 2011,
p.137). It was seen as a human right, as well as being essential to foster revolutionary
values of solidarity, equality and internationalism (Breidlid, 2007, p.622).
Cuban education post-1959
A UNESCO study in 1997-1998 concluded that Cuban primary school children
performed significantly better in mathematics and language than students from
twelve other Latin American countries (Gasperini, 2000; UNESCO, 1998). A report
to the World Bank observed that:
The only Latin American country which would score at a level similar to that
of the United States would be Cuba. (Wolff, Schiefelbein, & Schiefelbein,
2002, p.11)
Cuban students showed similarly outstanding results in more extensive testing
of third and sixth form students from sixteen Latin American and Caribbean nations
in 2008 (UNESCO, 2008). Cuba is one of few nations to have addressed “the
dysfunctionality of its neocolonial education” system and to have significantly
improved not only educational equity but also effectiveness (Hickling-Hudson, 2010,
p.300). Independent US-based studies, which investigated reasons for Cuba’s
“academic advantage”, concluded that the social context of learning is significant,
particularly what they termed state-generated “collective social capital” (Carnoy &
Marshall, 2005, p.261).
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 1: Introduction 13
After 50 years, the outstanding achievement of Cuban education is the
provision of access to free public schooling for all school age students, together with
policies which make access equitable for previously marginalised groups, and a
parallel system of accessible mass adult education (Griffiths, 2009). Prior to 1959,
Cuban schools were not accessible to many of the poorest Cubans (Jeffries, 1967),
which resulted in a lower literacy rate for rural areas (58%) than the cities (89%) and
even lower literacy rates for rural black Cubans and other marginalised groups
(Breidlid, 2007, p.621; UN, 1957). By 2000, 97% of Cubans aged 15–24 were
literate and Cuba now has the lowest rate of illiteracy in Latin America (UN, 2000;
UNESCO, 2010). As a small nation, which inherited massive problems of social
inequity, with gross disparities between urban and rural populations, men and
women, and blacks and whites, Cuba has achieved remarkable success in the face of
persistent external threats (Brundenius, 2009). Gasperini (2000, p.1) reported to the
World Bank,
The record of Cuban education is outstanding: universal school enrolment
and attendance; nearly universal adult literacy; proportional female
representation at all levels, including higher education; a strong scientific
training base, particularly in chemistry and medicine; consistent pedagogical
quality across widely dispersed classrooms; equality of basic educational
opportunity, even in impoverished areas, both rural and urban.
UNESCO (2006) considers that Cuba is the only Latin American country
which is meeting all of the ‘Education for All’ Millennium Development Goals, and
it leads the way in Latin America in terms of the proportion of GDP spent on
education per annum (Johnstone, 2008, fig.1, p.4). If Cuban education, including
English language teaching, has evolved in relative isolation from the dominant
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
14 Chapter 1: Introduction
influences on Western education, what are its distinctive features? A 2002 Inter-
American Development Bank report concluded that the high quality of Cuban
teachers and the system of teacher education together with strong community
involvement contributed significantly to Cuba’s educational success (Wolff, et al.,
2002). These conclusions are consistent with more recent studies by Norwegian and
US educational researchers who assert that Cuban education represents a model that
warrants greater attention (Breidlid, 2007; Schultz, et al., 2011).
Its uniqueness in a global perspective – cultural capital more or less
universally distributed – represents an alternative educational route that
ought to be studied carefully, not only by other countries in the region, but
by countries in Africa and Asia (and the north) as well. (Breidlid, 2007,
p.633)
Breidlid (2007) observes that the state-generated social capital invested into
Cuban communities since 1959 has resulted in cultural capital being spread among
the majority of the population, rather than being concentrated in the wealthy elite as
in capitalist societies.
Promotion of English language since 1959
Since 1959, despite the fact that English is no longer widely used in everyday
life, the importance of English language to Cuba has increased (Irizar, 2001).
Throughout this period, English has consistently been the most studied foreign
language (Martin, 2007). Corona and Garcia (1996) describe how English language
teacher education (ELTE) gradually became more professional, from Language
Institutes in the 1960s, which gave way to Pedagogical Institutes (Teacher Training
Colleges) during the 70s and 80s; and then Higher Pedagogical Institutes and
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 1: Introduction 15
pedagogical universities, until there are now sixteen universities of pedagogical
sciences preparing specialist foreign language teachers, particularly English teachers
– one in each province and one on the Isle of Youth
When the Soviet Union and Soviet bloc collapsed in 1991, bringing generous
subsidies and preferential trade agreements to an abrupt end, Cuba experienced a
crisis known as the Special Period (El periodo especial en tiempo de paz). Between
1990 and 1993, the Cuban economy, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP),
declined by 33 percent (Brundenius, 2009). An important part of the Cuban response
was to develop and promote the tourism industry and a project was undertaken to
train thousands of competent English speakers to work in tourism (Irizar, 2001). The
challenge for Cuba was to find how to teach English communicative skills while
maintaining respect for Cuban culture, history and socialist values. Former President
Fidel Castro has been at the forefront of initiatives to improve opportunities for
Cubans to learn English and instigated development of a course of English available
nationally on television, part of the “Universidad Para Todos” program (University
For All). In a speech in Havana on 15 March, 2001, he said:
Why should they (Cuban students) study Russian, when the Russians and the
Chinese are studying English? It turns out that this is the language for
communicating with Russians, with Chinese, with Finns and with 80 to 90
percent of people, as well as tourists from just about everywhere. (Castro,
2001)
Castro understood the importance of English for international communication
and for Cuba’s future. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, programs were offered
to re-train former Russian language teachers, and many became English teachers or
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
16 Chapter 1: Introduction
changed to other professions (Torres Saavedra, pers. comm., April 2012). English
classes are now freely available and accessible to children and adults throughout the
country; and the quality of teaching in these classes is largely influenced by the
quality of English language teacher education in Cuban universities of pedagogical
sciences.
English language teacher education in Cuban universities
Pedagogical universities provide five-year courses for students to qualify to
teach in the education system, graduating with a Licenciatura en Educación or
Education Degree; as well as offering postgraduate degree courses. Students may
graduate with one or more specialisations such as Language Education, Special
Education, Primary Education, General Integrated Teaching, and Pre-University
Education. This study was located in the Faculty of Foreign Languages at the
University of Pedagogical Sciences ‘Enrique José Varona’ (known as El Varona) in
Havana, the largest of Cuba’s pedagogical universities. It plays a leading role in the
enhancement of foreign language teaching nationally, particularly of English. Gomez
Castanedo and Giacchino-Baker (2010) provide an outline of the five year degree
course taken by teachers in Cuban Higher Pedagogical Institutes or Universities of
Pedagogical Sciences. The requirements for entry to a language teacher training
course, described by Gomez Castanedo and Giacchini-Baker (2010) and Torres
(pers. comm., March 2012), include a test of foreign language skills and an interview
to examine ethical values and professionalism, vocational interests and motivation to
complete the course.
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 1: Introduction 17
National curriculum
There are two major components of the five-year university course to gain a
degree in education: field work and academic work. More than half of the time in the
curriculum is allocated to pre-service field experience (known as ‘Estudio-trabajo’)
which is based in schools and includes teaching and action research. The academic
component occurs in university classes and includes compulsory basic subjects (el
currículo básico, 43%); specialist subjects which vary for different specialisations
and may vary between provinces (el currículo propio, 4%); and elective subjects (el
currículo electivo, 1%), which students may choose to study in a different field,
different faculty or even at a different university. (Figure 1.2). The national
curriculum allows each university to design its own currículo propio and currículo
electivo.
Pre-service teachers, or student teachers, who study to become specialist
English language teachers at El Varona, must satisfactorily complete basic subjects
in a variety of academic disciplines (el currículo básico). In common with the
inclusive concept of pedagogy in continental Europe and Russia (Alexander, 2008,
p.5), the range of basic subjects is broad, from hygiene and physical education to the
psychology and philosophy of teaching. For specialist language teachers, linguistic
studies of Spanish are compulsory as well as of English and French. Within the basic
curriculum are general academic subjects such as Pedagogy, Grammar, Phonetics
and Didactics (formerly known as ‘Methodology of Teaching English Language’);
while most contact time for pre-service teachers studying to teach English is
allocated to Integrated English Practice (IEP).
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
18 Chapter 1: Introduction
Other compulsory basic subjects in this bilingual faculty (English and French
languages) include Cuban History, Marxist-Leninist Philosophy and Studies of Jose
Martí, Physical Education, Artistic Education and Preparation for National Defence.
During their five year course pre-service teachers specialising in English Language
attend 889 hours of IEP classes, compared to 420 hours of Pedagogy, 200 hours of
Linguistic Studies of English, 186 hours of Marxist-Leninist Philosophy and Studies
of Jose Martí, and 100 hours of Cuban history (Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, 2011).
Figure 1.2 Degree in Education: allocation of time to curriculum areas (Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, 2011)
The course book used for IEP in Years 1 and 2, called “Integrated English
Practice 1: An elementary-lower intermediate course-book for undergraduate
English teacher education in Cuba” (Enriquez O'Farrill et al., 2010), was developed
quite recently by a team of Cuban teacher educators and academics, several of whom
are based at El Varona. It includes 20 units, each of which focus on particular
communicative functions, as well as useful grammar, vocabulary and advice about
pronunciation (based on Standard American English).
52% 43%
4% 1%
National curriculum (study plan D)
Field experience (52%)
Academic, basic (43%)
Academic, specialist (4%)
Academic, elective (1%)
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 1: Introduction 19
Pre-service teaching practice or practicum
Field experience is regarded as “the framework upon which teacher education
is built” in Cuba (Gomez Castanedo & Giacchino-Baker, 2010, p.101). The schools
in which student teachers are placed are “meant to serve as a micro-university where
experienced teachers become mentors to students in the areas of professional
preparation ... and ... general development” (Gomez Castanedo & Giacchino-Baker,
2010, p.102). In Cuba, as distinct from typical Western practicum, pre-service
teachers do not practice their teaching skills under the supervision of a classroom
teacher, but are the responsible class teacher for the whole school year.
YEAR University study: School teaching TEACHINGDays/Wk
5 Present research paper
4
4 Conduct research; elective subjects
3
3 Research proposal re teaching issue; scientific method and academic English
2
2 Pedagogy, linguistics and psychology of teaching
1
1 English language skills enhancement 0
Studying at University Teaching in school: practicum
Figure 1.3 Field experience in 5 year degree course (Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, 2011)
Teaching practice at El Varona occurs in different types of schools to broaden
the experience of pre-service teachers before graduation. In 2nd
Year, they teach in
primary schools and from 3rd
to 5th
Year they teach in Junior or Senior High Schools,
or in pre-university colleges or technological secondary schools – and might change
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
20 Chapter 1: Introduction
their schools during these years (Figure 1.3). For various reasons, including the
availability of experienced teachers as mentors, pre-service teachers in other
provinces generally commence their practical teaching in 3rd
Year (Torres, pers.
comm., February 2012).
Research project and diploma paper
Experiential learning is emphasised in English language teacher education
(ELTE) courses through both extensive teaching practice and action research in
schools. Student teachers learn to apply research skills to real problems that exist in
their surroundings, whether in the school, family or community (Gomez Castanedo
& Giacchino-Baker, 2010, p.103). They are required to complete two research
projects in the schools where they teach, presenting a ‘term paper’ in Year 4, and a
major ‘diploma paper’ at the end of Year 5. Pre-service teachers study educational
research methods as part of the basic curriculum in Years 3, 4 and 5; and apply them
to investigate specific pedagogical problems or issues they have identified in the
schools where they are teaching. In their 5th year they complete and submit a report
on their major research project in academic English and defend their ‘diploma paper’
in a final oral seminar in English before a board of examiners at the end of the
academic year.
Literature of the Anglophone Caribbean
Pre-service teachers gain an appreciation of the regional variation of the
English language and the creole languages of the Caribbean, as well as learning how
English has been appropriated and used to define and express Caribbean identity, in
the subject ‘English language literature of the Anglophone Caribbean’. Introduced in
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 1: Introduction 21
the national curriculum in 2002, the subject is offered both in the compulsory basic
curriculum (currículo básico) and in the elective part (currículo electivo). The
literature of the Anglophone Caribbean area has developed its own features,
influenced by socio-cultural processes in the region; and it “engages with
transculturality, religious syncretism, négritude and the search for and reflection of a
common Caribbean identity” (Torres Saavedra, pers. comm., November 2011).
During this course, students are required to critically analyse a range of literature,
including work by leading figures of Caribbean literature, such as Edward Kamau
Brathwaite and Nobel Prize winners Derek Walcott and V. S Naipaul.
Faculty administration
The Dean, two Vice Deans, and the Heads of each year (Years 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5)
comprise the Scientific Board or ‘Board’ of the Faculty of Foreign Languages at El
Varona. The Heads of Year positions, responsible for coordinating all subjects in
each year, are rotated annually among Faculty staff. The Board oversees
development of operational plans to implement the national curriculum in
accordance with parameters set by the University administration; and ensures support
and professional development for teacher educators.
Internationalism
Foreign language skills, particularly English, Portuguese and French, are
essential for Cubans involved in international Cuban missions which have been a
feature of post-revolutionary Cuba’s commitment to internationalism and solidarity
with other developing postcolonial nations. Internationalism is concerned with
peaceful economic and political cooperation between nations to support the rights of
all people to live and develop in dignity and security (Long & Schmidt, 2005;
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
22 Chapter 1: Introduction
Young, 2001); and was embraced by post-revolutionary Cuba as a principled way of
developing foreign relationships. Cuba provides humanitarian aid to countries around
the world in response to natural disasters; and has established long-term, social
justice-oriented aid programs in diverse fields in many countries on the basis of
principles of ‘solidarity’ (Hickling-Hudson, 2009, p.55). These principles respect the
sovereignty and rights of the recipient countries and avoid the ‘brain drain’ that has
characterised many other aid programs (MacDonald, 2009, p.100). The teaching of
English, and other foreign languages, and the commitment to accessible, high quality
education, has meant that Cuba, an economically poor, developing nation, has been
able to export doctors, engineers, teachers and many other professionals to build
capacity and empower people in postcolonial developing nations in Africa, Asia,
America and Oceania.
Feinsilver (2008, p.3) discusses the benefits to Cuba of its exceptional aid
programs, in terms of international prestige and political capital; and also draws
attention to the economic benefit that Cuba gains from such diplomacy, such as
through the “Oil for Doctors” agreement with Venezuela. While demonstrating
international solidarity, Cuba also benefits economically from one of its most
valuable resources, its skilled, professional workforce.
In 2007, Cuba had 42,000 workers in international collaborations in 103
different countries (Huish & Kirk, 2007). Cuban educational projects have been or
are being delivered or are planned in many English-speaking countries (Hickling-
Hudson, Corona Gonzalez, & Preston, 2012); as well as with indigenous peoples in
New Zealand and Canada (Wetere, 2009); and recently, Australia (Boughton, 2009;
Schultz-Byard, 2012).
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 1: Introduction 23
To clarify how I will explore English language teacher education at El Varona,
I present the following research goals and research questions.
Purpose
The research goals of this study are:
to understand the pedagogical background and experiences of a group of
university English language teacher educators in Cuba; and
to learn what teaching strategies they consider to be effective, practical and
culturally appropriate, for teaching English speaking skills to Cuban
undergraduate student-teachers.
The specific research questions are:
1. What is the pedagogy of English language teacher education of these
Cuban teacher educators?
2. How are the professional identities of these English language teacher
educators influenced by the Cuban context?
3. What teaching strategies do these teacher educators consider to be most
suitable for teaching English speaking in Cuba?
Significance and Scope
The research gap
This study will help to fill a research gap in understanding English language
teacher education (ELTE) in Cuba. The history of English language teaching (ELT)
in Cuba and the pedagogy used by Cuban teachers have been described by Cuban
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
24 Chapter 1: Introduction
and international linguists (Corona & Garcia, 1996; Irizar, 2001; Martin, 2007;
Schultz, et al., 2011). Little attention in the literature, however, has been given to
ELTE in Cuba, or to the pedagogy and professional identity of English language
teacher educators. It is timely to examine the current state of ELTE pedagogy in 21st
century Cuba. This study explores the perspectives and experiences of Cuban teacher
educators who are engaged in preparing specialist English language teachers to teach
English language skills to Cubans.
Conceptual framework
The preparation of English language teachers in Cuba is examined through the
lens of postcolonialism, which is appropriate given Cuba’s colonial and neocolonial
history. I recognise that the Cuban situation is different from that of many former
colonies of European powers and the USA, because of its revolutionary history, its
post-revolutionary development as an independent socialist republic, its thirty year
relationship with the Soviet Union and post-Soviet social and economic changes.
Notwithstanding these differences, a postcolonial paradigm is suitable for
illuminating the legacies of Cuba’s singular colonial history, the continuing influence
of former colonists, and to investigate how Cuba has shown agency in independently
forging its own distinctive path (Figure 1.4).
The postcolonial paradigm respects the voices of Cuban teacher educators that
have been largely ignored by Western educational discourse; and acknowledges local
knowledge systems while challenging Western Eurocentric assumptions (Hickling-
Hudson, 2010; Hoff & Hickling-Hudson, 2011). The Cuban context for English
language teacher education (ELTE) includes the social and linguistic environment.
This study explores the pedagogy of ELTE through a group of teacher educators of
different ages, backgrounds and teaching experiences. It seeks to understand their
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 1: Introduction 25
professional identity in relation to the English language and their careers as English
language teacher educators at the University of Pedagogical Sciences Enrique José
Varona, or ‘El Varona’.
pedagogy identity
Postcolonial paradigm
Cuban context
Figure 1.4 Conceptual framework
The Significance of the Research
The significance of this study lies in two domains. Firstly, its analysis of the
work and identity of Cuban teacher educators foregrounds the perspectives of the
practitioners themselves. Secondly, the utilisation of a postcolonial paradigm yields
important cultural insights into the relevance of context in English language teacher
education in Cuba.
Previous research has analysed aspects of pedagogy in Cuba from the
perspectives of international and Cuban academics – whereas this study reveals
salient features of the pedagogy of ELTE in Cuba through the perspectives of local
practitioners at ‘the coal face’ of language teacher education.. The study provides an
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
26 Chapter 1: Introduction
insight into the professional identity of Cuban teacher educators and explores how
their multi-faceted identities develop and are influenced by their own experiences of
learning and teaching English and by the Cuban context.
This research throws light on the ways that ELTE in Cuba resists neoliberal
discourse and Western hegemony and is contextualised, by incorporating Cuban
culture and themes to make learning relevant and engaging for pre-service teachers,
and by making use of Cuban resources and bilingual Cuban teacher educators.
Thesis Outline
In the next chapter I critically review and evaluate literature that is pertinent to
this research project, particularly in relation to elements of the study’s conceptual
framework: postcolonialism, context, pedagogy and identity (Figure 1.4), and focus
attention on key issues that arise from the literature.
Research design is described in Chapter 3, outlining the theoretical framework
and explaining why case study and qualitative research methodology are appropriate
for this study. Research methods are described next, followed by an outline of the
research context, participants, data sources, data analysis, limitations and relevant
risks and ethical issues.
Research results, analysis and discussion have been integrated to address each
of the three research questions. Chapter 4 relates to research question 1 and explores
the pedagogy of English language teacher education of the case members; and
Chapter 5 relates to research question 2 which considers how the professional
identities of the case members are influenced by the Cuban context. Chapter 6 relates
to research question 3 and describes teaching strategies considered by these teacher
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 1: Introduction 27
educators to be suitable for teaching English speaking in Cuba. Conclusions are
presented in Chapter 7, and include findings, implications of the research, limitations
of the study, and recommendations for future research.
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 2: Literature Review 29
Chapter 2: Literature Review
In this chapter, I develop further the conceptual framework for this study
(Figure 1.4). I draw on the literature in order to construct an argument about the
nature of English language teacher education (ELTE) in Cuba; and to explore the
concepts of context, pedagogy and professional identity in relation to teacher
education, particularly ELTE. From the literature on postcolonial theory (for
example Andreotti, 2011; McLaughlin, 2002), I select and present concepts that are
relevant to this exploration: namely representation, resistance and hybridity.
This chapter is organised into five sections. Firstly, I examine postcolonial
theory and discuss postcolonial concepts which are pertinent to the Cuban situation.
Secondly, to explore the significance of the global and local context, I explain how
ideas about ownership of English have changed as it has become a global language;
and discuss the relationship between culture and language. In the third section I
examine the meaning of pedagogy and particularly the pedagogy of teacher
education; introduce the ‘pedagogy of tenderness’; and provide an overview of the
changing pedagogy of ELTE in Cuba. In the fourth section I explore the notion of
professional identity, particularly in relation to teacher educators, a professional
group that had received surprisingly little attention from educational research
(Murray & Kosnik, 2011; Swennen, Volman, & van Essen, 2008), until the identity
of teacher educators was recognised as a key factor in the pedagogy of teacher
education (Loughran, 2011). The final section summarises the implications from the
literature for ELTE in Cuba and anticipates the next Chapter on research design.
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
30 Chapter 2: Literature Review
Postcolonial Theory
Postcolonial theory is chosen in this study to explore how Cuba has
purposefully challenged and addressed the negative legacies of its colonial and
neocolonial past, and used agency to forge an independent, socialist way, particularly
in the field of English language teacher education (ELTE). The participants in this
study speak from a position that is distinct from the dominant Western perspective -
that is, an alternative ‘locus of enunciation’ (Mignolo, 1993). When Spivak (1985)
asked rhetorically about the oppressed, colonised Other or ‘subaltern’, “Can the
subaltern speak?”, one response could have been “the subaltern has always spoken,
although scholars and social scientists were not always willing to listen” (Mignolo,
1993, p.130). The voices of six Cuban teacher educators in this study come from a
space that has been ostracized, marginalised and largely ignored in the dominant
Western educational discourse. This study listens to their voices.
An international conference held in Havana in 1966 was significant in the
development of postcolonial theory and internationalism. The “Tricontinental
Conference of Solidarity of the Peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America” initiated
a “global alliance against imperialism” and established a postcolonial critique of the
colonialism of the Western powers (Young, 2001, p.213). Application of
postcolonial theory has generally been in relation to understanding the continuing
effects of colonial and neocolonial experiences of former British colonies of Asia,
Africa and the Caribbean. It has not often been applied to Latin American studies and
it “often faces resistance from Latin Americanists for whom it is one more in a long
line of foreign imports tainted by imperial origins” (Colás, 1995, p.382). Colás
alleges that “postcolonial critics and theorists have failed to examine the difference
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 2: Literature Review 31
of Latin America” and “until this interrogation is undertaken, a partial, false concept
of postcoloniality will dominate postcolonial studies” (Colás, 1995, p.383). Ashcroft
(2001, p.26) recognises the differences in the nature of colonialism and
postcolonialism in Latin America, which he states “all radically widen the scope of
post-colonial theory”. However, he asks rhetorically “does the cultural provenance of
theory invalidate such categories as epistemological tools?” (Ashcroft, 2001, p.27). I
acknowledge the differences between most Latin American countries, which gained
their independence in the first decades of the 19th
century, and the postcolonial
circumstances of former British colonies, many of which gained independence in the
20th
century. However, Spanish colonialism in Cuba persisted until 1898 when it was
replaced by US neocolonialism. Domination by the USA continued in one form or
another in Cuba until ‘the triumph of the revolution’ in 1959; and its influence
persists directly through a crippling trade embargo, and indirectly through the US’
influence on neoliberal policies of organisations such as the World Bank and IMF.
Postcolonial theory, which has been defined and interpreted in different ways,
is complex and contested (Andreotti, 2011). For this study of independent, socialist
Cuba, I understand postcolonial theory as an epistemological tool to examine beliefs
and perceptions of knowledge. I use it to critique the intolerance of dominant
Western perspectives to alternative ideas emerging from the global South; a
“hostility to difference” which is embedded in Western discourse (Andreotti, 2011,
p.1). I adopt postcolonial theory to promote the voice of the ‘subaltern’ (Spivak,
1988) and respect “local knowledge systems, ways of learning and local concerns”
(Hoff & Hickling-Hudson, 2011, p.6); and to probe the ways that power and control
can be taken back through resistance to the negative impacts of Western colonialism,
neocolonialism and imperialism (Ashcroft, Griffiths, & Tiffin, 1998).
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
32 Chapter 2: Literature Review
If colonial history, particularly in the 19th century, was the history of the
imperial appropriation of the world, the history of the 20th century has
witnessed the peoples of the world taking power and control back for
themselves. Postcolonial theory is itself a product of that dialectical process
(Young, 2001, p.4).
After gaining independence in 1959, Cuba entered into a 30 year relationship
with the Soviet Union, during which Cuban education was influenced by the Soviet
system, Russian rivalled English as the most-studied foreign language (Irizar, 2001),
and Cuba was once more economically dependent on a ‘superpower’ (Katz, 1983).
During the 1980s, Cuban educators recognised and addressed the weaknesses of its
Soviet-influenced education system (Lutjens, 2007); and since the collapse of the
Soviet Union in 1992, as an independent, socialist state, Cuba has forged its own
way, promoting English as a language for international communication to support its
economic independence, development and internationalism. Postcolonial theory is
valuable for helping to understand this process against a historical background of
colonial repression and subjugation. Hickling-Hudson (2010, p.299) argues that
“Postcolonial theory provides tools with which we can interpret the powerful and
lingering effects of European and (later) North American global dominance” and
explore the alternatives. I examine English language teacher education in Cuba
through a postcolonial lens which highlights the agency shown by Cuba. The next
section focuses on postcolonial theoretical concepts which I have selected to interpret
the results of this study: representation, resistance and hybridity. The relevance of
these concepts is revealed in my analysis of the identity of Cuban teacher educators
and the pedagogy they use in English language teacher education (Chapters 4 and 5).
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 2: Literature Review 33
Representation
Western representation of non-Western cultures became a dominant discourse
that was “a necessary accompaniment of coercive power and the justifications for
colonialism” (Andreotti, 2011, p.19). In his book “Orientalism”, Said (1978),
emphasised the relationship between Western representation and Western material
and political power. He argued that in the guise of scientific and objective
knowledge, the Western discourse of the Orient was negative, stereotypical and
anecdotal.
Orientals were rarely seen or looked at: they were seen through, analysed not
as citizens, or even people, but as problems to be solved or confined, or – as
the colonial powers openly coveted their territory – taken over” (Said, 1978,
p.207).
Said posited that Western views of non-Western peoples and cultures were
neither objective nor deliberately dishonest, but were filtered through cultural biases
and self-interests, distinguishing between the familiar West and the exotic Other.
This kind of subjective representation can be recognised in popular Western images
of 21st century Cuba: Buena Vista Social Club with its ageing, talented musicians
harking back to pre-revolutionary times; grand US-made cars from the 1950s;
crumbling, Spanish colonial buildings; and a dominant Western discourse which
portrays Cuba as a dependent and unstable neighbour of the USA (Clemente, 1985;
Speck, 2005). The colonised Other has been represented by Europeans and North
Americans as the opposite of themselves.
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
34 Chapter 2: Literature Review
If colonised people are irrational, Europeans are rational; if the former are
barbaric, sensual and lazy, Europe is civilisation itself, with its sexual
appetites under control and its dominant ethic, that of hard work…This
dialectic between self and other… has been hugely influential in subsequent
studies of Africans, Native Americans and other non-European peoples
(Loomba, 1998, p.47)
This discourse was manifested in US views of Cubans in the early 20th
century
and the importance given by the USA to English language in the process of
educating Cubans to accept the USA and its institutions. Following the defeat of
Spain in 1898, cartoonists in the USA portrayed Cubans as
…carefree children, or rowdy, undisciplined youths, requiring the constant
guidance and tutelage of the United States. Cubans are not only infantilized;
they are frequently represented as blacks who are alternately cheerful,
irresponsible, lazy, dim and grotesquely deformed (J. Johnson, 2003, p.135)
This representation explicitly or subconsciously aimed to justify conquest and
the establishment of colonial systems of administration (Bhabha, 1994, p.40). The
education system and English language were seen as the means through which to
spread the ideological dominance characteristic of North American hegemony and
promote the emulation of North American cultural norms (Perez, 1995). In 1900, the
American superintendent of education in Cuba asserted that “All the Cubans
recognize the fact that the commercial language of the future in Cuba will be
English” (Frye, 1900). The paternalistic treatment of Cuba by the US government
continued after granting independence in 1902, through the Platt Amendment which
gave the USA the right to intervene militarily in Cuba as and when it saw fit; and it
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 2: Literature Review 35
continues through the ongoing trade embargo, a punitive measure against a former
colony which gained independence over 50 years ago.
In Cuba, resistance to this hegemonic discourse has been demonstrated in the
writings of Martí (Martí, 1895, 1953) and other 19th
century revolutionaries; through
the philosophy of 20th
century revolutionaries (Castro, 1953; Guevara, 2003;
Ramonet, 2008); and through the education system, particularly since 1959 (Lutjens,
1998; MacDonald, 2009).
Resistance
The concept of resistance to colonial discourse has developed over time with
significant contributions from Fanon (1967) and Said (1978), and been taken up and
used by scholars including Bhabha (1994) and Spivak (1990) in the development of
postcolonial theory. The global TESOL industry has been criticised for disseminating
Eurocentric values and perspectives of the Inner Circle, while eroding the cultural
identity and linguistic diversity of developing nations of the Outer and Expanding
Circles (Canagarajah, 1999; Valdez, 2011). However, Canagarajah (1999) draws
attention to appropriation of English in resistant and innovative ways by people in
postcolonial contexts, and shows how postcolonial communities may find ways of
taking up and using a language that has been a tool of oppression and turning it
against itself. When Salman Rushdie (1982, p.8) wrote “The Empire writes back with
a vengeance” he was referring to a phenomenon that has arisen from the
globalisation of English language, whereby the language no longer belongs to the
English, but “now grows from many roots; and those whom the empire once
colonized are carving out large territories within the language for themselves”. From
a postcolonial perspective of the global spread of English, a view of culture, identity
and global politics is needed that considers and values forms of resistance and
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
36 Chapter 2: Literature Review
appropriation; and respects the local context (Pennycook, 2001a, p.71). It is true that
English is the language of multi-national global marketing – used to sell everything
from Coca Cola and McDonalds to Microsoft and Mercedes-Benz - on every
continent. Yet, through the capacity for human beings to show agency, that is to
make and implement choices, English language can also be a language of
empowerment, protest and resistance (Pennycook, 2010).
Despite international recognition of the success of Cuban education (Carnoy,
Gove, & Marshall, 2007), Western neoliberal discourse continues to under-report the
alternative model that Cuban education represents and ignores the voice of the Other,
coming as it does from a different ‘locus of enunciation’ (Mignolo, 1993). Cuba
demonstrates resistance to the dominant discourse of Western educational policy, and
its education system represents a rare alternative to global neoliberalism. The
continuing US economic embargo against Cuba, demands from the USA for ‘regime
change’ in Cuba through the Helms-Burton Act 1996 (Solis, 1997), and plans for
“rehabilitation” of Cuban education including privatisation and religion-based
schools (Cruz-Taura, 2003), demonstrate that paternalistic, colonial attitudes towards
Cuba persist in the USA, as they have done since the late 19th
century (Martí, 1895).
The former World Bank President, Australian-born James Wolfensohn, in 2001
conceded that:
Cuba does an excellent job in health and education… and it does not
embarrass me to admit it. (Wolfensohn, J. (2001): "Learn from Cuba" in
Breidlid, 2007, p.620)
However, the World Bank, the largest global investor in education, continues
to tie educational funding to neoliberal reforms based on the axiomatic belief “that
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 2: Literature Review 37
educational improvement requires free markets and privatisation of the educational
system” (Spring, 2004, p.57) and cost recovery (Malott, 2007, p.12). Cuba, by
contrast, demonstrates centralised control and national curricula, equitable access to
free, high quality healthcare, Education For All (Griffiths & Williams, 2009), and
government controlled schools which are accessible and secular.
“A postcolonial account…should disrupt Eurocentric discourses by including
local knowledge systems, ways of learning and local concerns in its analysis” (Hoff
& Hickling-Hudson, 2011, p.6) and this will be examined further in Chapter 6, in
relation to teaching strategies preferred by the Cuban teacher educators. The
relationship between the Western coloniser and the Other is not a simple dichotomy
between two opposing poles, because “each are hybrid and implicated in each other”
(Andreotti, 2011, p.25). Bhabha (1994) uses the concepts of ambivalence and
hybridity to understand how identities are constructed within this relationship.
Hybridity
Bhabha defines the aim of colonial discourse (the discourse of the coloniser) as
being “to construe the colonized as a population of degenerate types on the basis of
racial origin, in order to justify conquest” (Bhabha, 1994, p.40). An underlying
assumption of this discourse is “the impossible desire for a pure undifferentiated
origin” for the coloniser (Bhabha, 1994, p.81). Colonial discourse intends “to
produce compliant subjects who reproduce its assumptions, habits and values”
(McLaughlin, 2002, p.24); however, the aim is not to produce subjects that are too
similar to the colonisers as that would undermine the colonisers’ sense of superiority.
The desire to mould subjects who are “almost the same, but not quite” (Andreotti,
2011, p.26) ensures that colonial discourse is ambivalent. The concept of
“ambivalence” refers to “a complex mix of attraction and repulsion that characterises
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
38 Chapter 2: Literature Review
the relationship between coloniser and colonised” (Ashcroft, Griffiths, & Tiffin,
1995, p.12). The concept of ambivalence implies a degree of indecision in the
colonised regarding the coloniser, which does not characterise Cuba’s relationship
with the hegemony of the USA. The cultural mixing between Cuba and the USA is
better characterised as ‘hybridity’.
Bhabha refutes the racist stereotyping that is inherent in the colonial discourse,
and shows that both coloniser and colonised “are caught up in a complex reciprocity”
(Bhabha, 1994, p.81). He regards this mutual construction of the identity of the
coloniser and of the colonised as a “relational, agonistic and antagonistic” process
(Souza, 2004, p.121; translated and quoted in Andreotti, 2011) and understands that
through hybridity, the knowledge and perspectives of the colonial subject can be
assimilated into the dominant discourse and weaken the basis of its authority
(Andreotti, 2011).
Hybridity is evident in the way that Cubans relate to the USA. While Cuba has
taken an independent socialist path and reduced the influence of US hegemony, close
cultural links and affinities persist and are expressed through family relationships and
remittances; sport, with baseball being the national Cuban sport; and mass popular
culture, with Cuban youth following fashions in music and dress of the African-
American rap and hip-hop scene from the USA (Pertierra, 2011). The hybridity of
identities in colonial discourse creates what Bhabha calls the “Third Space of
Enunciation”, a space that opens up opportunities for living and being “otherwise”
(Bhabha, 1994, p.256).
As Pennycook (2007, p. 81) observes, beyond economics, popular culture is “a
crucial site of identity and desire” and popular culture products around the globe are
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 2: Literature Review 39
often in English. Pennycook (2010) argues convincingly that popular culture needs to
be understood as a significant factor in the appeal of English language, particularly to
younger generations. Menard-Warwick’s research into the professional identities of
Chilean English language teachers highlights the potential pedagogical value of
English language popular culture as a tool for promoting students’ interest in the
language (Menard-Warwick, 2010, p.274). Popular culture can be seen as a
significant driver in Latin America including Cuba, in the demand to learn English
language.
Postcolonial theory and the concepts of representation, resistance and
hybridity, provide a basis for understanding the independent path taken by Cuba
since 1959 and the way that it has constructed alternatives to the continuing effects
of colonialism and neocolonialism. In the next section I discuss the context for
English language teacher education in Cuba, and examine changing views of the
ownership of English language and its use in transnational, intercultural
communication.
Context for English language teacher education
I define context to encompass the social and linguistic environment of English
language teacher education in Cuba. Context and language are inextricably linked
because communication depends not just on linguistic competence but on “who is
saying what, to whom, and in what circumstances” (C. Baker, 2006, p.5). The
context for English language use in Cuba is additive, where English use is in addition
to rather than at the expense of Spanish language. It is an unusual context insofar as
Cuban foreign language learners are not “elite or prestigious bilinguals”, as is the
case in many developing nations, but are ordinary Cubans who are encouraged and
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
40 Chapter 2: Literature Review
helped by their government to learn English as a foreign language (C. Baker, 2006,
p.4).
Ownership of English
English is no longer accepted as the property of Inner Circle ‘native speakers’
but is “an international commodity” used by people around the world for both local
and transnational communication (Richards, 2002, p.2). The expanding use of
English has led to greater diversity within the language and the ownership of English
has changed. This was addressed by Widdowson (1994, p.385) who stated:
It is a matter of some pride and satisfaction for native speakers of English
that their language is an international means of communication. But the
point is that it is only international to the extent that it is not their language.
As most English speakers are located in the Outer and Expanding Circles and
use English language independently of native speakers, Widdowson asserts that
English language no longer belongs to native speakers. Jenkins (2011) supports a
pluralistic approach to ELT pedagogy whereby students are exposed to a range of
‘Englishes’ – focusing less on the norms and standards of Inner Circle ‘native
speakers’, and more on communicative strategies and practices of effective speakers
in intercultural, transnational exchanges. In similar vein, Rubdy (2009) claims that:
it will be necessary to rethink English itself differently – as a pluralised
global language informed by local norms, purposes and pedagogies: in place
of one universally applicable variety (that of the dominant community)
(p. 169)
In Thailand, where English is studied extensively but used domestically little or
not at all, Bruthiaux (2010) asserts that ELT should continue to be based on one of
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 2: Literature Review 41
the dominant models of standard English, depending on the needs and aspirations of
the learners, with localisation of pronunciation inevitably provided by teachers. His
claim resonates with the context of ELT in Cuba, where students learn English as a
foreign language (EFL), that is “within a pedagogical paradigm in which native
speaker competence is the declared goal” (Scheuer, 2010, p. 332). The principal
reference point for ELT in Cuba is Standard American English. Although this may
seem surprising, given the fraught relationship between Cuba and the USA, it can be
understood because Cubans have always distinguished “between the US government
and the language and the people of the United States” (Irizar, 2001, p.26) and many
older Cubans learned English with US course books. While Cubans strive for
communicative competence that is comparable to native speakers, they learn English
from bilingual Cuban teachers and teacher educators. The Cuban situation is in
marked contrast with many other countries of the Expanding Circle, where native
English-speaking teachers (NESTs) are employed to teach alongside non-native
English-speaking teachers (Selvi, 2011; Song & Zhang, 2010).
The native speaker fallacy
The idea that an idealised native speaker is both the arbiter of a grammar and
the ideal reference point for English language learners is called the “native speaker
fallacy” by Phillipson (1992). Kachru (1998, p.104) appropriately describes the
concept of ‘native speaker’ as a linguistic “colonial construct” that divides language
users according to the power relationships of colonial times. Nevertheless, preference
for native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) in the global TESOL industry persists
and results in overt discrimination in employment against non-NESTs in countries of
the Inner Circle as well as the Outer and Expanding Circles (Clark & Paran, 2007;
Moussu & Llurda, 2008).
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
42 Chapter 2: Literature Review
Rather than striving to achieve “nativeness” in their English language skills,
Kramsch (1997, p.359) encourages non-NESTs instead to value the different
qualities which they bring to the classroom; differences which Ellis (2006) in
Australia recently found to be advantageous. Ellis’ research showed that while “good
teaching” depends on many factors, if all else were equal, the ‘non-native’ bilingual
teacher “possesses far greater resources with which to make informed professional
decisions than does the monolingual” (Ellis, 2006, p.10). This is because they are
able to make creative use of elements of the L2 and L1, which are locally relevant;
and display linguistic multicompetence rather than communicative deficiency (Belz,
2002; V. Cook, 1992). In Cuba, for economic and political reasons, no NESTs are
employed and all foreign language teaching is by Cubans. Cuban bilingual teacher
educators have the advantage of having a range of valuable skills such as code-
switching (borrowing words and phrases from their L1), translation (Spanish-
English) and personal experience of foreign language learning strategies (V. Cook,
2007). A relatively recent trend in foreign language teaching, linked to sociocultural
theory and which challenges a long-held taboo, is the increasing acceptance of
translation as a useful pedagogical tool that can be used effectively in classrooms,
such as those at El Varona, where teacher educators and pre-service teachers share
the same L1, in this case Spanish (G. Cook, 2010).
English is needed in Cuba for international communication because it is used
globally in many domains, such as business, science and technology. Cubans often
need English to communicate with people of the Outer and Expanding Circles, such
as in business negotiations with China. In such situations, issues of intelligibility,
comprehensibility and interpretability are more significant than the ‘colonial
construct’ of native speaker (L. E. Smith & Christopher, 2001).
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 2: Literature Review 43
Culture and language
With the rapid global increase in the numbers of people speaking English and
the diversity of English spoken worldwide, intelligibility in intercultural exchanges
has become more significant.
It is unnecessary for every user of English to be intelligible to every other
user of English. Our speech and writing in English need to be intelligible to
those with whom we wish to communicate in English. (L. E. Smith &
Nelson, 2007, p.429)
This quote emphasises the importance of being understood by the people with
whom we need to communicate, which in turn demands an appreciation of the link
between language and culture (W. Baker, 2009) and being culturally competent in
different speech communities. (Reigle, 2011). Kuo (2006, p.219) claims that what is
needed in teaching English is to “raise consciousness of intercultural awareness, such
as being aware of and sensitive to the fact that people from different cultural
backgrounds tend to express politeness, gratitude and condolences in overtly
different ways”. Ultimately all aspects of culture are relevant when learning another
language, including social structure, status, values and taboos.
Learners of English as a global language are not learning to join a single
language community but are “shuttling between communities” (Canagarajah, 2005a,
p.xxvi), between the local and the global. Rather than focusing on Inner Circle
norms, Canagarajah asserts convincingly that the focus should be on multilingual and
multicultural practices and on negotiation and communication strategies
(Canagarajah, 2005b). A ‘transnational approach’ is needed which looks beyond
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
44 Chapter 2: Literature Review
national boundaries and recognises language as linguistic practices which extend
around the world, “across different cultural contexts” (Risager, 2010, p.12)
Risager (2006, 2007) argues that a conception of English is needed which
accepts that language is not the property of one culture or community and that
language is never culturally neutral. As a global language, English can take on
different cultural meanings, or “linguacultures”, depending on the user and the
context and “the link between language and culture is created in every new
communicative event” (Risager, 2006, p.185). Culture can be viewed, according to
Kramsch (1998), as a discourse which is dynamic, complex and negotiated, and one
of many possible means of interpreting meaning and understanding in international,
intercultural interactions. The cultural meaning of English language use varies
greatly depending on the users and on the context of use (W. Baker, 2009).
More important than whether or not the English language teacher is a ‘native
speaker’, or the standard of English used, is how the language is taught, the guiding
pedagogy, and whether the learner is able to communicate intelligibly with the target
audience. Understanding English in international contexts can be regarded as
depending on three factors: intelligibility, which involves recognition of the word or
utterance; comprehensibility, which involves understanding the literal meaning of the
word or utterance; and interpretability, which involves understanding the meaning of
the word or utterance in a given socio-cultural context (L. E. Smith & Nelson, 2007).
Perhaps surprisingly, research by Smith and Rafiqzad (1983) into the intelligibility of
Inner Circle and Outer and Expanding Circle speakers found that ‘native speakers’
were always among the least intelligible speakers to educated listeners from the
Outer and Expanding Circles; a result that was replicated later by Smith (1988).
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 2: Literature Review 45
Kachru and Nelson (2001, p.22) claim that “the same may be said for inner circle vis
à vis outer circle speakers at the levels of comprehensibility and interpretability as
well”. In this regard, being labelled a native speaker may be “of no particular a priori
significance” in terms of being able to communicate successfully in international
contexts with L2 users (Kachru & Nelson, 1996, p.79).
Adapting English language teaching to the local context
Recognition that ELT should be adapted to the local context and
communicative needs has been prominent in TESOL discourse for many years
(Holliday & Cooke, 1982; Prabhu, 1990). There is increasing agreement that no
single teaching method will suit every teaching situation, and TESOL has been
described as being in a post-method era (Kumaravadivelu, 1994). In this era, the
focus of TESOL has moved from searching for the perfect method, to exploring the
characteristics of effective teachers, and encouraging teachers to develop their own
eclectic teaching strategies through reflection and action research (Richards, 2002).
‘Principled pragmatism’ (Widdowson, 1990), a feature of the post-method condition,
focuses on how classroom learning can be shaped and managed by teachers as a
result of informed teaching and critical appraisal; and through their own sense of
‘plausibility’ (Prabhu, 1990), which derives from their own experience as learners
and teachers, through professional education, and from peer collaboration
(Kumaravadivelu, 1994, p.31).
An ‘approach’ to second language teaching and learning refers to theories
about the nature of language and language learning and is the source of the principles
which are the basis for a particular teaching ‘method’ (Anthony, 1963). A number of
different methods may be informed by the same approach. Methods may be viewed
as a link between theories and classroom practices, through design of instructional
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
46 Chapter 2: Literature Review
systems and procedures that encompass techniques and behaviours for teaching a
language (Richards & Rodgers, 2001). One of the strongest criticisms of ‘methods’
was that they were typically “top-down” and “guided by a one-size-fits-all, cookie-
cutter approach that assumes a common clientele with common goals”
(Kumaravadivelu, 2003, p.28). Prabhu (1990) persuasively argued that searching for
a best method is futile and that teachers need to understand how their teaching leads
to learning, and develop confidence in their own pedagogical credibility. Rather than
seeking an alternative method, Kumaravadivelu (2003, p.541) proposes that what is
needed is an alternative to method., a view supported by many, including Allwright
(1991) and Brown (2002) who provocatively declared that method is dead. In the
post-method condition, the onus is on teachers to use a context-sensitive pedagogy
which respects “local linguistic, social, cultural, and political particularities”; and
encourages teachers to theorise from their own practice and “practise what they
theorize” (Kumaravadivelu, 2006, p.69). Greater significance is now given to context
and contextualisation when teaching English as a global language for intercultural
and international communication.
Conxtextualisation
Speakers need to have a context to be able to understand each other and
interpret conversational signs and cues. These “contextualization cues” in a spoken
exchange indicate “what can be understood rather than explicitly conveyed and how
interpersonal relations and social identities are to be managed” (Gumperz, 1996,
p.396). Pragmatic competence requires learners of English as a global language to
understand meanings of utterances in different contexts and to make appropriate
choices of language in different sociocultural situations; and the study of pragmatics
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 2: Literature Review 47
provides insights into sources of misunderstandings in intercultural exchanges
(Roberts, 2005, p.123)
Contextualisation of ELTE in Cuba has benefitted from the recent development
of a Cuban coursebook for preparing English language teachers. “Integrated English
Practice 1: An elementary-lower intermediate course-book for undergraduate
English teacher education in Cuba” (Enriquez O'Farrill, et al., 2010), contextualises
the teaching of different language forms and functions using themes, locations and
contexts familiar to Cuban pre-service teachers. As well as featuring Cuban national
heroes such as Jose Martí and Ché Guevara and local heroes such as Rosa Antich de
Léon, an outstanding Cuban ELT educator, it features international personalities as
diverse as Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Oscar Wilde
and John Lennon. Teacher educators also make use of a diverse range of course
books, videos and tapes to bring a transnational, intercultural focus to ELTE, and
enhance pragmatic competence in pre-service teachers.
In the current post-method era, teacher educators are expected to reflect on
their own teaching practices and make principled choices about what they need to do
to meet the needs of their students. The focus in ELTE has moved to finding ways to
adapt pedagogy to local contexts, with greater importance being given to the
relationship between pedagogy and professional identity.
Pedagogy of teacher education
Pedagogy includes both the theory and practice of teaching (Simon, 1983); and
I use it in its broadest sense to encompass the act of teaching, together with “the
theories, beliefs, policies and controversies that inform and shape it” (Alexander,
2008, p.13). Teacher education, which includes both teaching about teaching and
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
48 Chapter 2: Literature Review
teaching about learning, is increasingly valued as an object of academic research
(Korthagen, Loughran, & Russell, 2006, p.1020). The impetus for such research
comes in part from the perception that “the transfer from theory to practice in schools
is often meagre and teacher education practices are often counterproductive to
teacher learning” (Wideen, Mayer-Smith, & Moon, 1998, p.167); and also that pre-
service teachers need to learn to draw on their understanding of relevant theory when
coping with the unpredictable and challenging demands of everyday teaching
(Korthagen, et al., 2006, p.1021). Teacher education should be an educative
experience, rather than merely a training program where pre-service teachers learn
tips, tricks and activities that work (Appleton, 2002). The goal of teacher education
should not just be to tell pre-service teachers how to teach, but to give them the
knowledge and skills to reason for themselves and “make explicit their own needs
and concerns for teaching” (Nilsson, 2008, p.105)
My understanding of the pedagogy of ELTE in Cuba is framed against the
background of pedagogy in Cuba since 1959. Cuban revolutionaries in the 20th
century were strongly influenced by the writings of José Martí, a 19th century
educator and leader of the Cuban independence movement who fought against the
Spanish colonisers and wrote “To educate is to give man the keys to the world,
which are independence and love, and to give him strength to journey on his own,
light of step, a spontaneous and free being” (Martí, 1953, vol.1, p.1965). Martí
believed that education was a force for liberation and that “it was only with the
opportunities provided by education that people could realise their full human
potential” (Boughton, 2010, p.63). Fidel Castro and Ché Guevara understood that
literacy and education were necessary for personal empowerment and liberation, and
the Cuban example, beginning with the mass adult literacy campaign of 1961,
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 2: Literature Review 49
became an inspiration for many others, including Paulo Freire (2000) in Brazil and
the pedagogy of the oppressed.
The integrated collective approach to education in Cuba, involving family,
school and the broad community as partners in the process of raising committed
young communists, was evident throughout the former communist world, and known
in Russian as ‘vospitanije’ (upbringing) (Godon, Juceviciene, & Kodelja, 2004,
p.562). The aim was, and remains, for Cuban students to become conscious, critical
participants in education with socialist values and attitudes (Griffiths, 2009, p.49).
The Cuban model stresses values such as collectivism, cooperation and moral
motivation, and calls for participation in defending and developing the revolution as
well as international solidarity (Lutjens, 2000; Turner Martí, 2008). The present
structure of Cuban education bears many hallmarks of the Soviet system that existed
in all parts of the Soviet Union and eastern bloc countries such as Poland (Godon, et
al., 2004): specifically, strong, centralised control, national curricula, scientific
research method, and five year professional degrees. However, Cuba, particularly
following the ‘rectification campaign’ of the mid 1980s, took what it admired from
the Soviet model and developed its own distinctive pedagogy aligned with Guevara’s
vision of “The new human being” (“El hombre Nuevo”) and imbued with socialist
values, moral motivation and commitment to the revolutionary cause (Holst, 2009,
p.166; Turner Martí, 2008).
The ‘rectification campaign’ that began in 1986 (Malott, 2007, p.11) involved
criticism of Soviet-influenced authoritarian classrooms and rejection of uncritical
transmission of slogans and values. It encouraged an increased emphasis on
participatory learning and creative teaching methods (Griffiths & Williams, 2009;
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
50 Chapter 2: Literature Review
Lutjens, 2000). The pedagogy of Cuban higher education and universities in
particular, is oriented to meeting Cuba’s economic and social needs; to be immersed
in the daily life of the nation; to avoid dogmatic thinking and to derive theory from
practice (Turner Martí, 2002, p.153). At the heart of this educational endeavour is
‘the pedagogy of tenderness’.
‘Pedagogy of tenderness’ and teacher education
The ‘pedagogy of tenderness’ (‘la pedagogía de la ternura’), a term used by
Turner Martí and Pita Cespedes (2001), conceives of learners as active partners in
the learning process, acquiring knowledge in a caring culture through trusting,
friendly relationships. Similar to Freire’s ‘pedagogy of the oppressed’ (Freire, 2000),
it opposes the “banking concept of education”, which conceives of learners as
passive empty vessels to be filled with knowledge imparted by the teacher (Freire,
2000, Ch.2). Freire (2008, p.210) believed that:
Our relationship with learners demands that we respect them and demands
equally that we be aware of the concrete conditions of their world, the
conditions that shape them… without this, we have no access to the way
they think, so only with great difficulty can we perceive what and how they
know.
The “pedagogy of tenderness” (Turner Martí & Pita Cespedes, 2001) accords
with Freire’s (2008, p.210) belief that teachers should get to know and treat each of
their students as individuals. Among pedagogical changes to improve educational
quality, made during the ‘rectification campaign’, was a reduction in the student to
teacher ratio with the “hopes that teachers will know each and every student, their
needs, and the material and social conditions of their home lives” (Lutjens, 2007,
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 2: Literature Review 51
p.185). English language class sizes in pedagogical universities were reduced to less
than 15.
Essentially the ‘pedagogy of tenderness’ considers that significant learning
requires significant relationships; and that the affective domain is as important as the
cognitive in the success of education (Turner Martí & Pita Cespedes, 2001). The
‘pedagogy of tenderness’ emphasises the role of the family and community as
partners in each student’s education. It has two main components: educating and
teaching with affection and sensitivity; and focusing on the construction and re-
construction of the learner’s self-esteem as the first step towards consciousness-
raising and transformational action (Fernández Fernández, 2009). The value placed
on caring relationships in teacher education is emphasised by Loughran (2006, p.87)
who states that both the cognitive and affective domains are important in teacher
education but that in Western teacher education the former “too often dominates” at
the expense of the latter. The pedagogy of tenderness is consistent with a
collaborative environment for teacher education, which is described below. The
observations presented here are borne out in my analysis of the collaborative nature;
the research-oriented ethos; and the emphasis on professional development in teacher
education in the case study (Chapters 4 and 5).
Collaboration: teaching together
Collaboration in teacher education encourages openness and reflection and
tends to counter the idea that classroom practice is a covert activity (Berry, 2007).
Loughran (2011) claims that improvements in teaching practices come about when
teacher educators and pre-service teachers collaborate with their peers, because the
shared experience provides different ways of framing and re-framing practice and
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
52 Chapter 2: Literature Review
hence can provide different insights into practice. Making the tacit become explicit is
vital for “the development of knowledge, skills and expertise in practice” for teacher
educators (Loughran, 2006, p.57). Through reflection and making explicit their
knowledge of their own practices, teacher educators are more likely to be able to
harmonise their teaching intentions and actions; and, by ‘practising what they
preach’, can avoid sending mixed messages to pre-service teachers (Berry, 2007).
Dinkelman (2011) describes the benefits that he gains from participating with
peers in collaborative inquiry into his own teacher education practices as part of a
‘community of practice’ (Wenger, 1998). He comments that initiative and energy are
needed to establish and maintain such collaboration and that in “research-intensive
universities”, in his experience, there was no tradition of collaboration in place to
welcome new teacher educators (Dinkelman, 2011, p.313). When collaboration
among peers does occur, it can contribute to reflection, personal learning and
professional development, as well as making teaching more fun (Pollard, 2005,
p.21).
Teaching is a relationship
The quality of classroom relationships is generally considered important for
excellent teaching. From a position that accords with the ‘pedagogy of tenderness’,
Loughran (1997, p.58-9) states that “The heart and soul of teaching begins with
relationships”, and that if an effective pedagogical relationship is to be maintained,
teachers and learners need to understand and respect the needs and concerns of each
other. Maintenance of such a relationship depends on various factors including
sensitivity, building trust, being honest, engagement and challenge, modelling and
reflection (Loughran, 2006). While exploring the fundamental principles for effective
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 2: Literature Review 53
teacher education programs and practices, Korthagen, Loughran and Russell (2006)
extend the importance of relationships beyond the classroom. They claim that
“Learning about teaching requires meaningful relationships between schools,
universities and student teachers” and that more emphasis should be given in teacher
education programs to cooperation between and among teacher educators at
universities, teachers in schools, and pre-service teachers (Korthagen, et al., 2006,
p.1034).
Pre-service teacher as researcher
For many years, the importance to teacher education of pre-service teachers
conducting research into their own pedagogical problems has been recognised.
Dewey (1929) noted that teachers as researchers were important for improving
knowledge about schooling and for improving teaching. Kincheloe (2003, p.39-40)
agreed that the development of good teaching in teacher education is more likely
through researching practice; however he regretted that, in general, research is not
effectively incorporated into Western teacher education programs. Furthermore,
while teacher research has long been valued in principle (Cochran-Smith & Lytle,
2009), the pressure of teaching and other commitments, has meant that “the degree to
which teacher research has been able to penetrate the life of teachers has been quite
limited” (Loughran, 2011, p.285). Participation of pre-service teachers and teachers
in ‘action research’ and classroom inquiry contributes to reflection on teaching
practices, and such reflection provides a means of becoming critical and can lead to
improvement of practice (Carr & Kemmis, 1986; Pollard, 2005). When pre-service
teachers gather and analyse data from their own teaching experiences, the learning
that results is “qualitatively different in value and meaning from when similar
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
54 Chapter 2: Literature Review
assertions are passed on to them by a teacher educator” (Korthagen, et al., 2006,
p.1030). Rust suggests that when pre-service teachers develop inquiry skills and
attitudes during their preparation they are more likely to use them as teachers “to
shape practice, as designers of their own professional development” (Rust, 2009,
p.1882).
Mentoring, modelling and ongoing professional development
An important feature of teacher education is a commitment in teacher
educators and pre-service teachers to ongoing professional learning and an
expectation of career-long professional development, and mentoring can make an
important contribution (Loughran, 2006, p.170-1). Mentoring is a way of “providing
support, challenge and extension of the learning of one person through the guidance
of another who is more skilled, knowledgeable and experienced” (Pollard, 2005,
p.29). For new teacher educators and pre-service teachers to be able to confide in a
mentor requires trust that has been developed through a relationship of mutual
acceptance. Mentors can assist in many ways including by example, by coaching,
through practice-focused feedback and by providing emotional support (Loughran,
2006, p.170-1).
Several international surveys have recognised the success of teacher education
in Finland and concluded that it is partly attributable to teacher educators modelling a
range of theories and pedagogical aspects in their own practices (Tryggvason, 2009).
Experienced teacher educators should model to their students appropriate teaching
and learning approaches (Korthagen, et al., 2006, p.1036); nevertheless it is
important that new teacher educators and pre-service teachers do not merely imitate,
but develop their own identities, able to cope with unexpected situations; and adapt
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 2: Literature Review 55
their practices to learners with different learning styles, within the framework of
research-based training (Bullock, 2009; Lunenberg & Korthagen, 2009).
Induction in teacher education
“Scaffolded induction into the profession” has been identified as an important
feature of innovative teacher education programs, helping the transition of pre-
service teachers to teachers (T. Russell, McPherson, & Martin, 2001, p.37).
Similarly, the transition from teacher to teacher educator is facilitated when teacher
education programs include induction into the profession. This transition has become
the focus of an area of educational research (Bullock, 2007; Dinkelman, Margolis, &
Sikkenga, 2006b; Kosnik, 2007) which highlights the importance of institutional
support for the development of professional identity as a teacher educator, in a
collaborative environment and with continuing professional development (Swennen,
et al., 2008). New teacher educators are more likely to adapt readily to the different
expectations of their new roles if they experience appropriate induction which raises:
their awareness of the occupational group they are joining and the available
research on its knowledge, skills and identities, knowledge of how the pre-
service programmes in which they teach relate to the wider university and to
policy contexts, and support in developing scholarship and/or research
activities that have congruence with their work and with the values and
senses of personal mission that underpin it (Murray, Czerniawski, & Barber,
2011, p.275)
Such scaffolding and collaboration within the university helps new teacher
educators develop their professional identity and feel recognised and accepted by
their peers. The pedagogy of teacher education in Cuba will be explored by focusing
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
56 Chapter 2: Literature Review
initially on the approach used to prepare specialist English language teachers, and
later, on the professional identity of teacher educators involved in English language
teacher education.
Approach to English language teaching in Cuba
Prior to the revolution, under US influence, ELT in Cuba was “swayed by the
ideas of American structuralism and behaviouralism” (Irizar Valdes & Chiappy
Jhones, 1991, p.57). After the revolution, attempts were made to create a national
ELT program built around Cuban revolutionary themes, however the project was
hampered by a lack of suitable language resources (Irizar Valdes & Chiappy Jhones,
1991, p.58). During the sixties, a search for alternative methodologies resulted in
adoption of audio-lingual and audiovisual methods. Audio-lingualism was criticised
for focusing excessively on the linguistic structures of the target language and was
replaced in the 1970s by a range of approaches and methods including, eventually,
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). CLT, also known as the communicative
approach, has been characterised as focusing on meaningful communication in
realistic or ‘authentic’ situations which have relevance to the participants and where
comprehension is at least as important as linguistic accuracy (Littlewood, 1981;
Spada, 2007).
Before CLT was introduced in Cuban English language teaching, “despite the
considerable investment in foreign language education, university graduates’
knowledge of English was generally more formal than communicative” (Martin,
2007, p. 552). This formal focus emphasised grammatical accuracy more than
creating meaning in interpersonal communicative tasks. The aim of CLT is to
develop language learners’ ‘communicative competence’, which comprises
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 2: Literature Review 57
grammatical (including vocabulary, phonology etc.), sociolinguistic (including
politeness and formality), pragmatic (including appropriateness of language use in
social settings), discourse (including rules of cohesion, rules of conversation etc.)
and strategic (including use of different strategies, such as circumlocution, to achieve
communicative goals) skills (Bagaric & Mihaljevic Djigunovic, 2007, p.97-99;
Canale & Swain, 1980; Reigle, 2011).
The need for a communicative approach to foreign language teaching in Cuba
was identified during the 1980s and early 1990s and it was introduced in English for
Specific Purposes (ESP) courses to facilitate international communication for
researchers in fields such as medicine, engineering, science and technology; to
improve training for overseas aid missions (viz. teachers and doctors); and to train
workers for the rapidly growing tourism industry following the collapse of the Soviet
Union (Irizar, 2001, p.27; Maclean, Betancourt, & Hunter, 2000).
Research has shown that, using CLT, with its focus on meaning-making,
language learners can achieve relatively high standards of comprehension ability and
fluency in speaking, however they may also experience difficulties with accuracy,
particularly in terms of morphology and syntax (Lightbown, Spada, Ranta, & Rand,
2006). As a result, attention has been given to the importance of language learners
‘noticing’ their errors and also drawing their attention to language form through
‘form-focused instruction’ (Corder, 1981; Schmidt, 2001). Studies of the
effectiveness of different forms of proactive and reactive ‘form-focused instruction’
have led to exploration of the effects of different types of corrective feedback (CF),
or error correction. I briefly introduce corrective feedback here because case
members identified it as an important feature of their pedagogy. By way of example,
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
58 Chapter 2: Literature Review
feedback can be given as ‘recasts’, where the teacher immediately provides the
correct form of utterance, without explicitly stating what the mistake was; or
‘prompts’, whereby the teacher pushes the learner to self-correct. From the large
body of research into CF (for example Lyster, 1998; Lyster & Ranta, 2009; J. Russell
& Spada, 2006), it is concluded that overall, CF is beneficial in second language
acquisition; however the most appropriate form of CF, such as prompting or re-
casting, depends on a number of variables, including the language proficiency of the
learner (Ammar & Spada, 2006).
Implementing Communicative Language Teaching in Cuba
Adrienne Hunter and Neil Naimann from Canada and Marjorie Moore from the
USA, among others, worked with Cuban foreign language academics to introduce
CLT into Cuba from the mid 1980s (Irizar Valdes & Chiappy Jhones, 1991). The
change from earlier ELT pedagogy, including Grammar Translation, the Direct
Method and the Audio-Lingual Method, faced challenges, not the least of which was
the Cuban teachers’ level of oral English language skills. Cubans who were involved
in introducing CLT, Irizar Valdes and Chiappy Jhones (1991), recalled that:
In a country where teachers are not native speakers, who have few
opportunities for systematic contact with natural and authentic language, it
takes time, resources and great effort to improve teachers’ abilities in
English (p.61)
The innovative communicative approach was also criticised on ideological
grounds. Canadian linguist Adrienne Hunter, who worked with Cuban teachers for
decades from the 1970s, recalled that course books imported from the UK and USA
to teach CLT were at odds with Cuban cultural values.
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 2: Literature Review 59
The communicative approach was attacked on the basis of more than its
pedagogical efficacy … some of the packaged English courses imported
from Great Britain and the United States were being strongly criticized
because they depicted social settings, relationships and events that were
considered "bourgeois." (Hunter, 1988, p.304-305)
Hunter (1988) concluded from her experiences that teachers working in
developing countries must ensure that ELT materials do not clash with the social
context and prevailing political environment. These conclusions are of particular
relevance in the 21st century as the need is appreciated for ELT pedagogy to be
appropriate to the local political, cultural and linguistic environment (Canagarajah,
2005b; Rubdy, 2009).
Criticism of Communicative Language Teaching
CLT remains influential and popular in global TESOL; however, changing
notions of the ownership of English have led to extensive criticism of the approach.
Inevitably, any educational program, including ELT, is a political activity which,
whether stated or not, assigns priorities to values and cultural perspectives (Akbari,
2008a, 2008b). Short TESOL courses developed in the USA and UK (e.g. CELTA),
have been critiqued for perpetuating a notion that the same ELT methods can be used
in any location in the world, that “one size fits all” (Gray, 2002). As such TESOL
courses use a communicative approach, CLT has been condemned by association, by
linguists such as Bax (2003, p.284) who considers that the Communicative Approach
should be replaced by a more eclectic Context Approach in which “context will be
the very first thing to be taken into account before any methodological or language
system decisions are taken”.
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
60 Chapter 2: Literature Review
CLT is frequently associated with ‘learner-centred’ methods that emphasise
small-group discussions and minimise the teacher’s classroom role. A backlash to
CLT has been reported from educators in many different places, including India,
South Africa, Pakistan, South Korea, China, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam
(Kumaravadivelu, 2006; Phan Le Ha, 2008), where such learner-centred methods
have clashed with traditional expectations of the teacher’s role, with the constraints
of high-stakes examinations, and large class sizes. Several researchers claim that,
with its emphasis on pair-work and small group work rather than whole class
teaching, CLT is better suited to the individualism of Western capitalist culture than
to cultures, such as communist Vietnam, that place greater value on community and
collectivism, (Kramsch & Sullivan, 1996). In China, CLT has been critiqued for
being unsuited to situations where passing high-stakes examinations is vitally
important for language learners’ future careers, where teachers are traditionally
respected as a source of knowledge, and where having fun and playing games is not
regarded as an effective use of limited time (Tsui & Tollefson, 2008).
Despite criticism of CLT on many grounds, it can be argued that the fault is not
with the approach but with how it has been implemented and sometimes
misconstrued. Holliday argues that CLT can be culture-sensitive if the language
teacher engages with the local context and community and brings the local culture
into the classroom (Holliday, 1994, p.168). Lopez Corria (1999) showed that in
Cuba, CLT can be adapted to the needs of learners and be contextualised, so that
learners feel reflected in the teaching resources and are engaged in socially relevant
activities which they enjoy. She reported on a Cuban study in which the adoption of
communicative teaching strategies was found to improve dramatically the desire of
student nurses to learn English at the School of Nursing in Holguin. Her results
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 2: Literature Review 61
showed that ELT was more effective when it was communicative and engaging; and
when resources were contextualised and relevant to learner’s needs and learning
styles.
There is now general acceptance that ELT needs to be contextualised to suit the
local socio-cultural environment and that no single teaching method will suit every
situation. Savignon states that in the early 21st century:
It would be inappropriate to speak of CLT as a teaching ‘method’ in any
sense of that term as it was used in the 20th century. Rather, CLT is an
approach that understands language to be inseparable from individual
identity and social behaviour. (Savignon, 2007, p.217)
In order to understand the pedagogy of English language teacher educators, it
is necessary to appreciate the part that identity plays in pedagogy and understand the
complex and changing nature of the professional identity of teacher educators.
Teacher educator identity
Taking account of the “social turn” in the field of language education (Block,
2003) and views of leading sociocultural researchers (Gee, 2001; Norton, 2006), I
regard the identity of a Cuban teacher educator as including what it is to be a teacher
educator, and what it means to be recognised as a teacher educator in Cuba. The
identities of teacher educators “share the same features of any other sort of identity.
They are multiple, fluid, always developing, shaped by a broad range of socio-
cultural power relationships, strongly influenced by any number of relevant contexts,
and relational” (Dinkelman, 2011, p.309). Understanding the identity of the teacher
educators in this case study is relevant because effective teaching depends not just on
methods and techniques that work, but also on the personal beliefs, values and
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
62 Chapter 2: Literature Review
mission of the individual educator (Korthagen, 2004). A pedagogy of teacher
education therefore depends on the identity of the teacher educator and how it “is
entwined with the how and why of teaching about teaching” (Loughran, 2011,
p.290). Teacher educators may be as important to what pre-service teachers learn
during their university training as the content of the curriculum (Furlong, Barton,
Miles, Whiting, & Whitty, 2000).
Research into teacher educators highlights that their professional identity
develops and changes over time, and is influenced not just by their academic
environment, but also by their earlier experiences as foreign language learners and as
language teachers (Murray, et al., 2011). Increasing attention has been given to the
significance of the professional identity and identity formation of language teachers
(Beijaard, Meijer, & Verloop, 2004). For a long time, language teachers were seen
by many researchers as technicians who needed merely to apply the right
methodology in order for language learners to acquire the target language (Varghese,
Morgan, Johnston, & Johnson, 2005). This view was found to be inadequate as
classroom-based research shows classrooms to be complex sites, and that the identity
of teachers and their personal beliefs, attitudes and values are critical to language
teaching outcomes (Woods, 1996). It is clear that:
… in order to understand language teaching and learning we need to
understand teachers; and in order to understand teachers, we need to have a
clearer sense of who they are: the professional, cultural, political, and
individual identities which they claim or which are assigned to them
(Varghese, et al., 2005, p.100)
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 2: Literature Review 63
As mentioned earlier, teacher educators “remain an under-researched and
poorly understood occupational group” (Murray & Kosnik, 2011, p.243). Dinkelman
(2011) argues that the success of teacher education in the next decade will depend
largely on:
the ‘state of the hearts and minds’ of teacher educators, the webs of
recognition that shape professional identity, and the conditions that nurture
and sustain commitment to powerful teacher education (p.322).
His claim that effective teacher education depends on the beliefs and identity of
teacher educators is supported by recent research which focused attention on the
work and identities of teacher educators from diverse countries including Australia,
the UK, Norway, Pakistan, Canada and the USA (Murray & Kosnik, 2011). I
examine aspects of the identity of teacher educators because of their relevance to the
data collected in Cuba, in particular the development of professional identity;
communities of practice; and imagined communities.
Development of a teacher educator’s identity
The development of a teacher educator’s identity is a gradual process
(Dinkelman, et al., 2006b); and becoming a teacher educator results from continual
“learning about teaching through sustained inquiry into practice” (Ritter, 2009, p.59).
Professional identity is “formed and re-formed constantly over the course of a career
and mediated by a complex interplay of the personal, professional and political
dimensions” (Mockler, 2011, p.518). Mockler (2011) describes the professional
identity of teachers, however I adopt her model to describe the professional identity
of teacher educators and use it to relate the work, pedagogical practices and identity
of teacher educators to three domains: their personal experience, professional context
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
64 Chapter 2: Literature Review
and external political environment (Figure 2.1). The professional identity of the
teacher educator, what it is to be a teacher educator and be recognised as such, occurs
at the overlap of these three domains.
External political
environment
Professional context
Personal experience
Teacher educatorProfessional identity
Figure 2.1 Influences on the professional identity of teacher educators (adapted from Mockler, 2011,
fig. 1, p.521)
The personal domain of teacher educators includes their interests and beliefs,
family, race and gender as well as their own learning experiences and teachers who
influenced them. The professional domain includes the career histories of teacher
educators, groups with which they work and collaborate, and their professional
development. The external political domain includes attitudes about teacher
education that exist external to their profession, including government policy and the
way that political ideology impacts on their work (Mockler, 2011).
An important contribution to the ongoing formation of a teacher educator’s
identity is made by professional development (Malm, 2009). While such
development commences during teacher training, it is important throughout the
professional career of teacher educators (Huston & Weaver, 2008; K. E. Johnson &
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 2: Literature Review 65
Golombek, 2011). Research has confirmed a shift in approach to professional
development in teacher education from ‘top-down’ models, to models that “allow for
self-directed, collaborative, inquiry-based learning” (K. E. Johnson, 2006, p.243).
Part of the professional domain which influences the development of teacher
educators’ identity as well as their professional development includes their
participation in communities of practice with other teacher educators, and in other
communities of English language speakers.
Communities of practice of teacher educators
Drawing on the work of Gee (2001), I assert that part of the professional
identity of teacher educators depends on being recognised by the people and groups
that count: their institution and colleagues. Induction into a community of practice, a
group of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do, and learn to
do it better as they interact regularly, is essential for new teacher educators (Lave &
Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 2009).
What motivates the learning of a language is the construction of the
identities we desire and the communities we want to join in order to engage
in communication and social life (Canagarajah, 2004, p.116)
Canagarajah suggests that desired communities and the identities to which we
aspire can be significant factors in our commitment to investing in an additional
language. A recent study of an English language teacher educator’s identity in China
demonstrates that joining a community of practice can be a problematic process.
Personal investment in the language and professional competence are not enough.
New teacher educators also need to be recognised as competent by the community of
practice in which they seek to participate (Tsui, 2007; p.678). As teacher educators
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
66 Chapter 2: Literature Review
take on broader roles in their institutions over time, they may participate in networks
with teacher educators from other institutions and be able to contribute to and
participate in development of a wider community of teacher educators (Swennen, et
al., 2008)
In Cuba, where opportunities to practise speaking English are limited, some
Cubans, including teacher educators, may be attracted by the idea of becoming part
of a global community of English language users, with increased access to a broad
range of information, literature and popular culture. From her research into the
experiences of migrant language learners in Canada, Norton (2001, p.164) concluded
that for many people who invest in learning another language, their community of
practice is one of the imagination; and that it is “a desired community that offers
possibilities for an enhanced range of identity options in the future”.
Imagined communities of teacher educators
Ryan (2006) explored the reasons why so many people worldwide invest in
learning English as a foreign language. He suggests that it is the learner’s sense of
membership of an imagined global community and of themselves as L2 users of the
language that are the bases of their commitment – as opposed to any desire to
integrate with a target community of English speakers. Pavlenko and Norton (2007)
discuss membership of imagined communities in terms of various influences on
identity - postcolonial, global and multilingual - that have relevance to English
language. They assert that “postcolonial nations and subjects are forced to take a
stance with regard to the role that English as a global language will play in their
future” (Pavlenko & Norton, 2007; p. 671).
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 2: Literature Review 67
While some countries and individuals renounce English as the language of
colonialism, others take a neutral stance and yet others choose to appropriate and
indigenise English, constructing national identities through the use of English.
Distinguished Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe argues that, although English was
forced upon his country, it is the language which made it possible for Africans to talk
to each other, and that Africans are free to adapt and indigenise the language to suit
themselves (Pavlenko & Norton, 2007; p.671-2).
Let no one be fooled by the fact that we may write in English for we intend
to do unheard of things with it. (Achebe, 1988, p.50)
In fact, appropriation and indigenisation of English has occurred in many
postcolonial contexts, from India to the Caribbean (Kachru, 1992b; Pavlenko &
Norton, 2007). Critical studies of the literature of the Anglophone Caribbean, which
includes the work of two Nobel prize winners for literature (Derek Walcott from St.
Lucia in 1991 and V.S. Naipaul from Trinidad in 2001), are incorporated into
national English language teacher training courses in Cuba. I explore how national
identity is related to an imagined community and the relevance of national identity to
this study of Cuban teacher educators.
Teacher educators and national identity
The concept of national identity depends on membership of an imagined
community of individuals who share a sense of connectedness and certain cultural
attributes, usually including language (Anderson, 1991). The concept has been
critiqued for implying that people of a specific nationality necessarily share common
ideas, traits, and moral values and for contributing to cultural and racial stereotyping
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
68 Chapter 2: Literature Review
(Holliday, 2005; Kumaravadivelu, 2008). However, a more nuanced understanding is
that it can be a form of identity which involves no judgement about the personal
characteristics of individuals, but which can give strength and comfort to individuals
under specific circumstances. Phan Le Ha (2008) found in her study of the identity of
Western-trained Vietnamese teachers of English that Western views, which have
dominated the discourse of national identity for 20 years (L. Farrell, 2000; Hall,
1997a, 1997b), have neglected non-Western perspectives. She found that a sense of
belonging, connectedness and continuity with Vietnamese culture was important to
the teachers in her study, who studied English in Australia.
This very sense of national and cultural identity serves as a platform for all
other identities of the Western-trained Vietnamese teachers of English to be
constructed, negotiated and reconstituted. (Phan Le Ha, 2008, p.14)
Phan Le Ha (2008) found that Western discourses of national identity were
insufficient to understand national identity and “it is necessary to draw on multiple
theories to seek a better understanding” (Phan Le Ha, 2008, p.13). Phan Le Ha
claims that although national identity is “something imagined, something invented,
something constructed”, under dire global political, social and economic
circumstances, such as ‘9/11’ in the USA, this identity may come to the fore and
become tangible and significant, Her claim has resonance in Cuba, where the
persistence of external threats to Cuban sovereignty, whether real or perceived, and
their ongoing daily struggle, increases the significance of national identity to Cuban
teacher educators and pre-service teachers.
During times of hostility, when national identity assumes greater significance,
the culture and language of the ‘enemy’ is generally vilified, and in some countries
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 2: Literature Review 69
made illegal. Pavlenko describes how anti-German sentiment in the USA caused the
German language to be “practically legislated out of existence” from 1917 to 1922
(Pavlenko, 2003b, p.318). Given the hostility demonstrated by the USA against Cuba
since 1959, it is all the more remarkable that Cuba, in its national interest, actively
promotes English language teaching.
Summary and Implications
English language is not just tolerated in Cuba, it is promoted actively and
lessons are freely available throughout schools, colleges, universities, adult education
and through national television. Does this demonstrate the global power and
influence of the North, the former colonial powers; or does it signify postcolonial
agency and resistance? This chapter shows how English language has been used in
many countries to resist the hegemony of former colonial powers in a postcolonial
context. However, the dichotomy between coloniser and colonised is not a simple
one. During and following colonisation, the colonised can be both attracted and
repelled by the culture of the coloniser and may adopt some aspects of the culture
and language of the coloniser for their own purposes. This simultaneous attraction
and repulsion to the language and culture of the former colonists and resultant
cultural mixing can be understood as hybridity (Andreotti, 2011).
Postcolonial theory provides a framework for exploring English language
teacher education (ELTE) in Cuba, particularly in relation to the concepts of
representation; resistance; and hybridity. Although Cuba has forged an independent
place in world affairs since 1959, and actively used education to address many of the
problems it faced, including illiteracy, health and housing for the most disadvantaged
groups, the legacies of its colonial and neocolonial past continue to impact on Cuban
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
70 Chapter 2: Literature Review
society. The continuing US trade embargo against Cuba; and calls from the USA for
‘regime change’ through the Helms-Burton Act 1996 (Solis, 1997) and
“rehabilitation” of Cuban education (Cruz-Taura, 2003), are threats to Cuba’s
sovereignty and indicative of persistent colonial attitudes. The resistance
demonstrated by Cuba for more than 50 years is all the more remarkable, given the
historical and continuing intimacy and close cultural, sporting and social ties that link
Cuba and the USA.
Critique of the literature pertinent to pedagogy of ELTE shows that pedagogy
is not just about the work of teacher educators but also about their professional
identity (Loughran, 2011). Effective teaching, whether in schools or universities,
concerns not just the environment of teaching and the practices and competencies of
teaching, but also the relationships, beliefs, ethics and identity of the educator
(Korthagen, 2004). While teacher educators remain an under-researched professional
group, recent studies have shown that their identity develops over time, as they
undergo a transition from learning English, to teaching English and eventually to
becoming an English language teacher educator in a university environment
(Dinkelman, Margolis, & Sikkenga, 2006a; Mockler, 2011). Development of the
identity of teacher educators is influenced by the external political environment, the
professional context and personal experiences (Figure 2.1). The identity of teachers
and teacher educators can be significantly influenced by the communities of practice
in which they participate; and the imagined communities with which they identify.
Studies of innovative teacher education programs show that they include a
collaborative environment (T. Russell, et al., 2001) that encourages peer
observation, mentoring and supportive relationships, and that pedagogical
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 2: Literature Review 71
improvement is likely to result from feedback and reflection that make the tacit
become explicit, and leads to harmonising of theory and practice. Professional
development is regarded as integral to the development of teacher educator identity
(Malm, 2009).
The search for a perfect method in ELT has given way, in what is termed the
post-method era, to an understanding that there is no single method that will be most
suitable for every context of language learning, and that teachers, and teacher
educators, need to draw on their own experience, knowledge and ‘plausibility’ to
determine how best to teach English in communicative ways that use and respect the
local culture, language needs and socio-political environment (Kumaravadivelu,
2006). As English language is used globally for international communication, it is
understood that a transnational approach is needed in which ELT is contextualised in
the local culture and environment while also acknowledging the diverse
linguacultures associated with the language (Risager, 2010). Given the current global
status of English as an international language, ELT needs to increase awareness of
the plurality of the language around the world, emphasise development of
intercultural intelligibility, and appreciate the importance of context-dependent
pragmatic skills (L. E. Smith & Nelson, 2007).
The analysis utilised in this thesis is based on the concepts which I have drawn
from the literature reviewed in this chapter. I will use postcolonial theory to focus
attention on the ways that Cuban teacher educators resist the colonial representations
of Cuba and its people, and show how they demonstrate hybridity in relation to
dominant Western culture. The international trend in TESOL towards a post-method
concept of teaching English language will be considered when describing and
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
72 Chapter 2: Literature Review
analysing the pedagogy used in ELTE. In this pedagogical environment, it is
expected that Cuban teacher educators will contextualise language teaching in ways
that resist hegemonic Western culture and discourse, and in so doing, respect and
incorporate Cuban culture, values and themes The strategies preferred by teacher
educators to teach English speaking are expected to incorporate the communicative
approach and engage language learners by using diverse task-based activities that are
relevant and engaging.
An understanding that teacher educator identity is central to the pedagogy of
ELTE will inform an exploration of the identity of six Cuban teacher educators who
prepare specialist English language teachers. Using intrinsic case study research
design, described in the following chapter, answers will be sought for the three
research questions in this study (p. 23). Analysis and discussion of the data collected
in this study will be integrated and presented in relation to research questions 1, 2
and 3 in chapters 4, 5 and 6 respectively.
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 3: Research Design 73
Chapter 3: Research Design
In this chapter I describe the research design adopted to achieve the goals
stated in Chapter 1:
to understand the pedagogical background and experiences of a group of
university English language teacher educators in Cuba; and
to learn what teaching strategies they consider to be effective, practical and
culturally appropriate, for teaching English speaking skills to Cuban pre-
service teachers.
The first section outlines the theoretical framework and methodology that I
have adopted, and the research design. In the second section I describe the methods
used and the stages and phases of the project. The third section provides biographical
notes on the participants who comprise the case in this case study; and the fourth
section describes the instruments that were used for data collection. In the fifth
section I outline the procedures followed and the timeline for each stage and phase of
the research project. Data analysis is described in the sixth section; and in the last
section I discuss the ethical considerations of the research, the potential risks, and the
trustworthiness and reliability of the results.
Methodology and Research Design
Theoretical framework
This research focuses on the particularity of a group of teacher educators at the
largest teacher training university in Cuba and seeks, through their voices, to
understand their experiences, knowledge and skills; and their perspectives on
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
74 Chapter 3: Research Design
preparing specialist English language teachers in Cuba. Interpretivist ontology is
chosen because the reality of English language teacher education is assumed to be
revealed by the group of six teacher educators who participate in the research (Figure
3.1).
Figure 3.1 Theoretical framework
The interpretive stance which is frequently associated with a case study is that
of social constructivism (Denzin & Lincoln, 1994). This research adopts a
constructivist epistemology because knowledge and truth are assumed to be socially-
constructed rather than independent of the values and beliefs of the participants
(Creswell, 2008). Constructivist epistemology is appropriate here because the
participants’ views, the context in which they express their views and their personal
experiences as language learners, teachers and teacher educators are the essential
concerns of this study. A sociocultural perspective is chosen for analysing the
research data because it is assumed that
“How an individual learns something, what is learned, and how it is used
will depend on the sum of the individual’s prior experiences, the
sociocultural contexts in which the learning takes place, and what the
Epistemology:
constructivism
Paradigm:
postcolonialism
Ontology: interpretivism
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 3: Research Design 75
individual wants, needs and/or is expected to do with that knowledge” (K. E.
Johnson, 2009, p.1-2)
Postcolonial theory provides the theoretical lens I choose, through which to
interrogate the themes of pedagogy, identity and context in relation to ELTE in Cuba.
The perspectives flowing from this theory are appropriate given Cuba’s long history
of colonial and neocolonial oppression, under the domination firstly of Spain and
later the USA.
Methodology
Qualitative research and case study design are used because my intention is to
gather and analyse information-rich data (Figure 3.2).
Figure 3.2. Methodology and research design
Given my research goals and the postcolonial paradigm adopted, this
methodology is appropriate for exploring and foregrounding the views of the
participants in relation to English language teacher education (ELTE). The
methodology gives primacy to the voices of the participants and uses an intrinsic
case study design (Stake, 1995), bound by place and time. In an intrinsic case study,
a researcher examines the case for its own sake. The study gathered and analysed
Method: naturalistic
inquiry
Research design: intrinsic case
study
Methodology:
qualitative research
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
76 Chapter 3: Research Design
information-rich data from the six case members from which to identify themes and
issues in relation to the pedagogy of ELTE in the Cuban context; and to gain an
understanding of their professional identities as teacher educators.
Research Design
The research design adopted is a descriptive, intrinsic case study, which
explores the views and experiences of the six case members. The intrinsic value of
the case will be the focus rather than any specific issue, problem, hypothesis or
theory (Stake, 1995, p.3). Given the constructivist epistemological assumptions, and
the need to obtain thick, rich data, it is appropriate to use qualitative research
methodology and naturalistic enquiry to explore the particularity and complexity of
this case.
Data was gathered in the form of interview records with the six teacher
educators (audio-recording using a digital voice recorder and later digital
transcription), records of one Focus Group (audio-recording and later transcription)
and evaluation feedback forms (written). A researcher diary was maintained to keep
track of the progress of the project.
The research design is constrained by the practicalities and logistics of
undertaking research as an Australian on a two months student visa in Cuba during
2011. The research site chosen was the Faculty of Foreign Languages, University of
Pedagogical Sciences, Marianao, Havana, in Cuba (la Facultad de Lenguas
Extranjeras, Universidad de Ciencias Pedagogicas ‘Enrique Jose Varona’ or FLEX,
UCPEJV) because this is the largest teacher training institution in Cuba and because
of professional links between Dr Alejandro Torres Saavedra, the Vice Dean of the
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 3: Research Design 77
Faculty, and Associate Professor Anne Hickling-Hudson of the Queensland
University of Technology.
Significant gatekeepers for this study at UCPEJV are Dr Alejandro Torres
Saavedra, Vice Dean and Dr Isora Enriquez O’Farrill, Dean of the Faculty of Foreign
Languages; and Dr Mercedes Mora Carnet, Director of International Relations, at El
Varona. The University and Faculty of Foreign Languages were generous and
helpful in facilitating this research project, access to case members, and participation
in the general life of the University, such as allowing me to participate with staff and
pre-service teachers at a dawn May Day march at the Plaza de la Revolucion in
Havana.
Methods
This study used naturalistic enquiry methods and was conducted in three stages
(Figure 3.3). Stage 1 consisted of planning and preparation at QUT; Stage 2
consisted of fieldwork and data collection and transcription in Cuba; and Stage 3
following return to QUT involved checking of data transcription, analysis and
discussion, thesis preparation, oral presentation to examiners, thesis completion and
publication.
Stage 1 involved a pilot project, to inform the fieldwork in Cuba, in which
open-question interview techniques were trialled in Brisbane with three volunteers
who are experienced TESOL teachers (two from China and one from Australia); and
teaching strategies for English oral skills were discussed with experienced Australian
TESOL teachers. This stage also included preparation of a research proposal and
literature review; a Confirmation of Candidature seminar; and formal ethical research
approval from the Queensland University of Technology.
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
78 Chapter 3: Research Design
Figure 3.3. Stages of research
Stage 2, the fieldwork and data collection in Cuba, was undertaken in three
phases (Figure 3.4), illustrated in Appendix A:
1. The first phase involved interviews with six case members:
a. meeting and selecting the six case members;
b. briefing the case members on the research goals and methods, ethics,
confidentiality, and obtaining signed standard QUT informed consent forms;
c. semi-structured interviews with the six participants to explore their personal
narratives, language learning experiences, professional identities, pedagogy
and the influence of the Cuban context; and
Stage 1 (Australia)
literature review, research proposal, Confirmation of Candidature, pilot study
Stage 2 (Cuba)
Data collection – recorded interviews, collaborative sharing workshops, recorded focus group, transcription, written evaluation forms
Stage 3 (Australia)
Data coding, analysis, discussion, conclusions, thesis
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 3: Research Design 79
d. transcription of audio interview recordings, checking accuracy with case
members, and initial inductive analysis to explore for emergent emic issues,
themes and subthemes.
2. The second phase involved informal, collaborative teaching workshops focusing
on teaching of English speaking skills:
a. The six case members and fourteen other language teacher educators (all but
one from UCPJEV and all but one lecturing to specialist English language
pre-service teachers), were invited to participate in a series of nine
workshops;
b. Current issues and topical themes in international TESOL were introduced
and discussed by guest Cuban speakers and me;
c. Participants demonstrated strategies which they have found to be effective
for teaching English speaking skills, drawing on favourite activities and
personal interests or passions; and
d. Written evaluation about the workshops was provided in the form of
feedback forms after Workshop 3 and Workshop 9 (final).
3. The third phase involved a Focus Group discussion and brief individual
interviews:
a. Case members participated in a de-briefing session in the form of a Focus
Group in which they were asked to reflect on and discuss the stimulus of the
collaborative workshops;
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
80 Chapter 3: Research Design
b. transcription of audio recording, checking accuracy with case members;
c. After the Focus Group discussion, final brief individual interviews were
conducted with case members to provide an opportunity for individual
reflection, following the workshops and Focus Group; after which audio
recordings were transcribed and checked with case members.
Figure 3.4 Phases of Stage 2 - research in Cuba
Participants
Qualitative purposeful sampling was used by inviting English language teacher
educators at El Varona to participate (Creswell, 2008). This ‘typical’ sampling
approach was intended to understand a group of teacher educators as a bounded case
that would have some characteristics in common with the broader population of
English language teacher educators at this and at other teacher training institutions in
Cuba.
I met with and discussed the aims of the study with teacher educators at El
Varona and selected six of them to comprise the case. Biographical notes on each of
Phase 1
•Case selection, briefing, ethics
•Interviews of case members
•Data transcription
Phase 2
•Nine collaborative sharing English oral skills workshops
•Written evaluation forms
Phase 3
•Reflective focus group
•Final individual interviews
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 3: Research Design 81
them are presented below. I chose the six case members because they represent much
of the diversity among staff who prepare English language teachers at El Varona, in
terms of their age, gender, ethnicity, pedagogical training, years of teaching
experience, and type of teaching experience.
They were joined in the workshops by other teacher educators who volunteered
to collaboratively discuss and demonstrate a variety of strategies for teaching English
speaking skills that take advantage of and which they consider appropriate in the
Cuban context. I met several of the teacher educators previously when they
volunteered to participate in a short course on English Language Teaching that I
conducted at the University in 2009. Only one of these, Ofelia, was among the
teacher educators selected as a case member.
The research design does not permit statistically valid generalisations from this
case to the broader population; however it does reveal some themes that provide an
insight into the pedagogy and professional identity of one group of teacher educators
and will provide a potential starting point for future research. It also explores a
method, the collaborative teaching workshop, for organising the group for reflection,
peer observation and feedback on ELTE in the Cuban context (Merriam, 1998;
Stake, 1995).
Pseudonyms are used in this thesis in the interests of confidentiality, and brief
notes on the six case members are presented below.
Case members
There are three women and three men; three aged less than 35 and three who
are older; and with teaching experience which ranges from 2 to 35 years.
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
82 Chapter 3: Research Design
Julia
A 26 year old woman, married mother of a young child, has been an English
lecturer at FLEX, El Varona for 2 years, after having been a pre-service teacher in
the same institution. She commenced learning English in Primary School in Havana
in the early 1990s; and now teaches Integrated English Practice (IEP) to 1st Year pre-
service teachers.
Mercedes
A 28 year old woman, married with a young child, has been an English lecturer
at FLEX, El Varona for 5 years. She began lecturing in English at FLEX in the third
year of her undergraduate course, while still a pre-service teacher. She began
learning English in Primary School in Havana in the early 1990s and now teaches
IEP to 2nd
Year pre-service teachers.
Ofelia
A 36 year old woman, who has been teaching English for 18 years since 1993,
firstly in Elementary and High School in Matanzas, and then teaching at FLEX, El
Varona since 2001. She is a married woman with two sons, one a teenager in high
school and the other in primary school. She began learning English in High School in
Matanzas in the late 1980s and completed her five year teaching degree at the
pedagogical university in Matanzas, Matanzas Province. She now teaches academic
communication in English to 3rd
Year pre-service teachers; and is working towards
gaining a Masters degree.
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 3: Research Design 83
Alfredo
A 31 year old single man, who began learning English in Primary School in
Havana in the late 1980s, has been teaching in English for 10 years. Alfredo began
teaching basic English communicative functions at a Senior High School in Havana
to technical students who were being trained to be waiters and accountants. He
started coming to study one day a week on an in-service course at El Varona to
improve his qualifications, and eventually became a teacher educator there. Alfredo
teaches Grammar of English language to pre-service teachers, and is studying for a
Masters degree in Spanish language.
Juan
A 38 year old married man, who began learning English in the mid 1980s in
Holguín in Junior High School, has been teaching English for 18 years. After
graduating in Holguín, Holguín Province, he taught at a pedagogical university there
and joined El Varona in Havana three years ago. He now teaches IEP to 2nd
Year pre-
service teachers and as Principal Teacher for that Year he coordinates the teaching of
five other teacher educators; as well as studying towards a Masters degree.
Rolando
A 55 year old man, formerly married and with adult children, has been
teaching in English for 35 years, and is responsible for a Didactics course, which
used to be known as “Methodology of English language teaching”. He began
studying English in Havana with a private tutor in the early 1960s and, as a gifted
student, his education was accelerated through secondary school and he graduated in
1975 in Villa Clara province at the age of 20. At a young age, he was appointed to
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
84 Chapter 3: Research Design
mentor and train other teachers in Villa Clara, especially in the methodology of
teaching foreign languages, particularly English. In 1982 he returned to Havana to
teach didactics of foreign languages in English at El Varona. He taught in Jamaica
for three years on a Cuban educational mission, and has travelled to Grenada and the
Canary Islands.
Instruments
I used semi-structured interviews with open questions and some follow-up
questioning, informed, but not constrained, by an interview protocol used by Borg
(1998) to understand teachers’ pedagogical systems and the influence they have on
English language grammar teaching in Malta; and by questions used by Barkhuizen
(2008) with South African immigrant teachers in New Zealand (Appendix B).
Data in the form of audio recordings were gathered during the interviews in
Stage 2 (Phase 1 and 3), and the Focus Group (Stage 2, Phase 3). Other data were in
written Evaluation forms, collected during and after the workshops (Appendices D
and E).
Further information to complement this data is taken from the English
language Cuban course book “Integrated English Practice 1” (Enriquez O'Farrill, et
al., 2010) used in Years 1 and 2 at UCPEJV, and in a researcher diary.
Procedure and Timeline
The specific research questions are:
1. What is the pedagogy of English language teacher education of these
Cuban teacher educators?
2. How are the professional identities of these English language teacher
educators influenced by the Cuban context?
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 3: Research Design 85
3. What teaching strategies do these teacher educators consider to be most
suitable for teaching English speaking in Cuba?
The procedure involved collection of data during Stage 2, directed at answering
the research questions (Figure 3.4). Data was collected in English, to avoid possible
researcher errors in translation; however this introduced the possibility of participant
errors in expressing themselves accurately in English, their second language. The
research methods, data sources and associated risks are indicated below (Table 1).
Essentially the same data sources were used in relation to each research question.
Table 1 Data sources
Research Question Data Sources Analysis/Issues/Risks
RQ1 What is the pedagogy of
ELTE of these Cuban
teacher educators?
Interviews, Focus Group;
evaluation of the
collaborative workshops;
Cuban ELT course-book;
published material on
national plans and policies
and related material
Use of inductive analysis to
identify emergent emic issues
Coding of patterns, themes and
subthemes
Availability of formal documents
relating to the Constitution and
national curriculum.
RQ2 How are the
professional identities
of these English
language teacher
educators influenced by
the Cuban context?
Interviews; Focus Group;
evaluation of the
collaborative workshops
As above
Privacy and confidentiality for
participants must be assured and
maintained
Participants may withdraw during
the project for personal or
professional reasons
RQ3 What teaching strategies
do these teacher
educators consider to be
most suitable for
teaching English
speaking in Cuba?
Interviews; Focus Group;
evaluation of the
collaborative workshops;
researcher diary
As above
Volume of data to transcribe and
analyse in limited time
The six case members consented to participate in individual interviews, each
lasting about 30-35 minutes. I conducted semi-structured interviews at a time of day
that suited the interviewee on a week day at El Varona. They were all undertaken
over a few days from 25 to 27 April 2011, using two digital voice recorders. Each
interview involved open questions to record the stories and language learning and
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
86 Chapter 3: Research Design
teaching experiences of the participants and learn their views on pedagogy and the
influence of the Cuban context on ELTE. Emic issues were explored as they arose,
through follow-up questions. Some topical issues in TESOL such as appropriate
pedagogy and standards of English were investigated if raised by the interviewee.
Various themes and subthemes emerged from the data for later analysis (Stake,
1995).
I intended that interview questions and follow-up probes, indicated in
Appendix B, would enable case members to feel safe and respected and able to tell
their own story in their own way. Narrative inquiry involves:
…teachers exploring the numerous aspects of their particular, local contexts
such as the needs and wants of their students, the teaching resources and
facilities available, the school and community culture, existing syllabuses
and language-in-education policies, as well as the wider socio-political
context (even at the level of the state) in which the teaching and learning
take place. (Barkhuizen, 2008)
I sought to learn, through the narratives of the teacher educators, about the
various influences that have shaped their teaching practices, recognising the potential
importance of socio-cultural factors, such as local and national context, professional
identity and culture. The aim of the interviews in this study, like those used by
Barkhuizen (2008) was to emphasise the ‘particularity’ of the teaching of these six
Cuban teacher educators, which is one aspect of what is termed post-method
pedagogy by Kumaravadivelu (2006) who states:
Particularity seeks to facilitate the advancement of a context-sensitive,
location-specific pedagogy that is based on a true understanding of local
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 3: Research Design 87
linguistic, social, cultural, and political particularities. (Kumaravadivelu,
2006; p.69)
Interpretative analysis of the interview transcriptions revealed valuable
information about the pedagogy and identity of case members as language learners
and teacher educators, their motivation and investment, and the multi-faceted nature
of the context of their learning and teaching.
Nine collaborative workshops were organised and facilitated over four weeks
from 3 to 23 May 2011. Participants and I had the opportunity to present, discuss and
trial a variety of activities, involving different strategies for teaching English
speaking skills. The aim was to explore different and possibly innovative activities
collaboratively. The researcher invited the participants to work in self-selected small
groups to prepare and present two 15 minute activities for teaching English speaking
skills: one based on teaching about a skill or a passion, and the other a classroom
activity which they had used successfully with pre-service teachers or would like to
try. I delivered presentations on a variety of topical TESOL issues; and invited three
guest speakers to give presentations and participate in discussions (Table 2).
Table 2 TESOL presentations in Collaborative Teaching Workshops
Presenter Topic Date Dr Steven Smith Australia: geography, history and culture 3/5/11
Dr Steven Smith Global Spread of English and World Englishes 4/5/11
Dr Alejandro Torres, Vice
Dean, FLEX, UCPEJV
Caribbean Anglophone Literature 9/5/11
Dr Steven Smith History of English in Cuba 11/5/11
Dr Isora Enriquez O’Farrill,
Dean, FLEX, UCPEJV
English Language on Universidad Para Todos (TV) 12/5/11
Dr Steven Smith Intelligibility, Comprehensibility and Interpretability 14/5/11
Dr Juan-Carlos Vega,
teacher educator, FLEX
English pronunciation issues for Cuban students 18/5/11
Dr Steven Smith Saving the Tasmanian Devil 23/5/11
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
88 Chapter 3: Research Design
The schedule for the collaborative workshop series is shown in Appendix C.
Participants completed an evaluation pro-forma, giving feedback on their
experiences and the format of the workshops, after workshop 3 and workshop 9
(Appendices D and E).
A one-hour Focus Group, comprising the six case members, conducted on 26
May 2011, gave participants the opportunity to reflect on the stimulus of the
workshops; interrogate their own pedagogy and discuss alternative strategies for
teaching English speaking skills in the Cuban context. The participants also
considered whether they might use any of these strategies to teach differently in the
future. The Focus Group format was used due to time constraints, but also to allow
the opportunity for synergistic, collective reflection on the shared experience of the
workshops. The discussion in the Focus Group proceeded with little structure apart
from an initial question inviting the participants to reflect on their experiences of the
initial interviews and the collaborative workshops, and to consider:
How can we help our Cuban students to speak English with confidence, and
particularly, how can Cuban culture and context be used to do this in
different ways?
A brief final interview with each case member was held from 26 to 30 May, to
provide an opportunity for any further individual reflections on the workshops and
Focus Group. I maintained a researcher diary throughout the fieldwork in Cuba as a
mnemonic aid to assist later data analysis and reflection in Australia.
A general introduction to administration at El Varona, the Cuban higher
education system and the national curriculum for teacher education was presented to
me on 11 April 2011 as part of an initial induction session by the Director of
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 3: Research Design 89
International Relations at the University and the Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Foreign
Languages, at El Varona. Further information was obtained from published
information (Gomez Castanedo & Giacchino-Baker, 2010) and relevant national
documents including the Cuban Constitution, and National Plans of Study for Higher
Education.
Analysis
Analysis of data from qualitative case studies may adopt either of two
established approaches: one by Stake (1995) and the other by Yin (2009). The
‘naturalistic’ approach of the former has been adopted in this study. The ‘naturalists’
(Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Stake, 1995) contend that qualitative research should be
undertaken in naturalistic surroundings that are not created or manipulated by the
researcher. Understanding a single case, as a unit of analysis, is a primary
consideration. The group of teacher educators in this study comprise a single case,
however, the study also has some characteristics of a multiple case study, as each
case member is unique.
I began my analysis without a previously defined hypothesis because I was
committed to keep an open mind to what constitutes useful information and to pay
attention to all raw data (Stake, 1995). The alternative approach, described by Yin
(2009), is not appropriate given the postcolonial paradigm that I am adopting. It is
scientific and systematic, seeking to identify propositions or experimental hypotheses
and to test them by collecting relevant data, and excluding data that is not relevant to
the propositions being considered.
The aim of analysis in this study is to recognise and preserve the multiple
views within the case. The value that I have given to different views and
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
90 Chapter 3: Research Design
interpretations is relative to their credibility, which I have assessed by data
triangulation (Creswell, 2008; Stake, 1995). While qualitative research based on a
single case is not a strong basis for generalisation, Stake (1995) points out that
people can and do “learn much that is general from single cases”.
“naturalistic generalisations are conclusions arrived at through personal
engagement in life’s affairs or by vicarious experiences so well constructed
that the person feels as if it happened to themselves.” (p. 85)
Accordingly, the data analysis of this case locates raw material such as quotes
from reliable sources, and presents rich, thick narrative descriptions from the data
sources. I provide physical descriptions which allow readers to experience the case
vicariously and draw their own conclusions about validity and naturalistic
generalisations.
In this study, all data, including audio transcriptions from the interviews and
Focus Group, were iteratively reviewed and mined for patterns and themes. I read
and re-read all data including transcriptions from audio records, evaluation feedback
forms, workshop lesson plans and my ‘researcher’s diary’, as well as relevant official
documents in relation to the Cuban Constitution, national policies and national
curriculum. My aim is to use a postcolonial paradigm to understand the pedagogy,
professional identities and context of the case members. Emic issues which emerged
from the data and which related to ELTE (such as the role of Cuban values; and
importance of appropriate error correction) were identified and progressively
elucidated. A number of etic issues (that were identified independently of the data)
relating to ELF, (such as World Englishes, Linguistic Imperialism, and Intercultural
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 3: Research Design 91
Intelligibility) were introduced as brief presentations by the researcher to stimulate
discussion during the workshop series.
The data from the six case members are considered together as a single case for
analysis and discussion of the three research questions in chapters 4, 5 and 6. NVivo
9 (Bazeley, 2007) was used to store the audio recording and transcripts created
during the study in Cuba, and for coding. The conceptual framework for the case
study (Figure 1.4) was considered when undertaking first cycle coding of the data
viz. coding for comments that related directly or indirectly to ELT pedagogy,
context, professional identity and postcolonial concepts and issues of interest or
concern to the case members. I frequently applied more than one code to a block of
text and noted several concepts in the first pass. Moving from codes to themes, the
second cycle of coding used both focused coding (in relation to the conceptual
framework) and pattern coding to explore emic issues (Saldana, 2009).
Ethics, Risks and Trustworthiness
Ethical issues
This research project, categorised as low risk in terms of ethical research
conduct, complies with all relevant policies, procedures and regulatory obligations
and the QUT Code of Conduct for Research. A Human Ethics Approval Certificate
(NHRMC Registered Committee Number EC00171, Approval Number 1000001348)
was issued for this project at Queensland University of Technology on 17 December
2010. This investigation is consistent with the Australian Code for the Responsible
Conduct of Research (refer: http://www.research.qut.edu.au/ethics/); and also
complies with all ethical and other requirements of El Varona i.e. the Universidad de
Ciencias Pedagógicas ‘Enrique José Varona (UCPEJV). Before any fieldwork in
Cuba began, all case members, adult Cuban English teacher educators, were required
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
92 Chapter 3: Research Design
to complete written consent forms, after being fully informed about the research, the
aims and design, data collection and analysis, measures to protect anonymity and
confidentiality, potential benefits and risks and data storage. All participants
understood that they could withdraw from the research project at any time, without
experiencing any negative consequences. As well as meeting the formal ethical
requirements of QUT and UCPEJV, written assurances were given to all participants
that they would have the opportunity to comment on interview transcriptions, and
this occurred before the researcher left Cuba; and they will have access to copies of
the final thesis, to be lodged at the University Library, UCPEJV.
Risks
Risks to the successful completion of this study were those shared with most
educational research – particularly when conducting research in other countries (
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 3: Research Design 93
Table 3).
In Cuba, an unreliable mail service and limited access to the worldwide web
were additional risks that needed to be managed. Two digital recorders were used for
sound recording and all digital data were backed up on a laptop computer and two
other portable hard-drives which were each kept in different locations for additional
security. Interview data were transcribed within days of the interviews and copies of
transcripts were sent by email to supervisors in Australia for their information and
for additional risk management.
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
94 Chapter 3: Research Design
Table 3 Risk Management Plan
Risk Likelihood Seriousness Threat Avoidance Amelioration
Level Level Grade
Withdrawal of
support for
research
L
E
A
Liaise closely and
seek approval for
every stage
Seek UCPEJV
ideas for preferred
research project
Inadequate
communication
between Cuba
and Australia
H
M
B
Extend the time
spent in Cuba;
expect to do most
preparation there
Be prepared for
the M.Ed
(research) to take
longer than hoped
Delays with
formal
authorisation
from Cuban
authorities
H
M
B
Arrive in Cuba
earlier and seek
authorisation and
visa extension at
UCPEJV
Keep QUT
informed re
delays and
strategies to fix
problems
Equipment
failure and data
loss
M H B Backup data in
separate places;
transcribe while in
Cuba, email data to
Australia
Use audio, photos
and written data
Limited English
skills of some
participants
L M C Use plain English
and trial questions
in pilot study
Take account of
participant
English skills in
data analysis
Withdrawal of
some
participants
M L C Negotiate times to
suit participants
Proceed with a
smaller case
group
Illness of
researcher
L M C Care with water and
food intake; regular
exercise and
adequate sleep
Have suitable first
aid travel kit
Key:
Likelihood: H = high probability that it will occur, M = medium probability, L = low probability Seriousness: E = extreme, H = high, M = medium, L = low
Threat grade: A = severe threat, action needed, B = moderate threat, plan and consider action, C = low threat, monitor and
manage the situation
Trustworthiness, reliability and generalisations
The purpose of this research is to produce significant, valid and reliable
knowledge in an ethical manner. Given the methodology and research design and the
constructivist epistemology, the trustworthiness, credibility or ‘internal validity’ of
the research is demonstrated by use of numerous quotes from individual interviews,
and from other sources (including the Focus Group and workshop evaluation
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 3: Research Design 95
feedback). All interpretations and inferences made from the data are based on the
chain of evidence presented. Construct validity or credibility was increased by use of
a pilot study to test interview questions and explore emic themes, by checking draft
interview transcripts with case members, and by data triangulation – by seeking input
from other researchers and specialists in the field. Methods of enhancing internal
validity in such research are outlined by Creswell (2012) and Stake (1995). My role
as a constructivist qualitative researcher is to provide lots of raw material and thick,
narrative descriptions, to enable readers to draw their own conclusions and generalise
as they see fit (Stake, 1995).
The reliability of the research is the extent to which it could be replicated. I
have described the research design and methods in detail and it would be possible to
replicate this research either with the same case or another group of teacher educators
in Cuba. If another researcher were to replicate this research, there may well be
differences in their interpretation and analysis of the data. A person working in a
different paradigm could be expected to draw different inferences and make different
assertions from the same observations and data. Lincoln and Guba (1985) suggest
that rather than considering reliability in interpretive case study research,
consideration be given to the dependability of the results, that is, given the data
collected, do the research results make sense, and this consideration has guided my
analysis.
External validity is concerned with the extent to which results can be
generalised from this study. In qualitative research, the term transferability is also
used. As previously discussed, Stake (1995), in relation to case study research, states
that naturalistic generalisations can be made by readers drawing on their tacit
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
96 Chapter 3: Research Design
knowledge and personal experience. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to
provide sufficient data and analysis to allow readers to gain an understanding of the
perspectives, experiences and practices of this group of individuals in their particular
Cuban context at this time, and make their own generalisations.
The significance of the study depends particularly on the unique history and the
geo-political context of Cuba in mid 2011. From this study, further questions have
emerged that will be suitable for future research in Cuba (Chapter 7, Further
research). In chapters 4, 5 and 6, I analyse and discuss the data obtained from six
Cuban English language teacher educators in relation to three research questions (see
Chapter 1 Purpose). In the next chapter, I provide data and analysis in relation to the
pedagogy of the case members.
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 4: Pedagogy and the Cuban Context 97
Chapter 4: Pedagogy and the Cuban Context
In this chapter, I address research question 1: “What is the pedagogy of English
language teacher education of these Cuban teacher educators?” As stated previously,
I understand pedagogy to include both the theory and practice of teaching.
Independently of the neoliberal policies of international agencies which facilitate
ELT in many developing nations, such as the World Bank, IMF, British Council and
the US Peace Corps (Breidlid, 2007; Phillipson, 1992), Cuba has developed its own
pedagogy of English language teacher education (ELTE) to suit its own
circumstances and needs.
This chapter is organised into four sections, firstly examining the development
of communicative competence; and secondly the development of pedagogical
competence. In the third section, I bring to the fore characteristic features of the
pedagogy of Cuban teacher educators which emerged as themes during this study. In
particular, collaboration, peer observation, mentoring, scaffolded induction and
experiential learning. This chapter concludes with a summary of the key findings that
emerged from this analysis of pedagogy at El Varona.
Communicative competence
The communicative approach (CA) is the dominant approach to TESOL
globally (Savignon, 2007); and the theoretical basis of ELTE classroom practices at
El Varona. Teacher educators are committed to teaching pre-service teachers not just
to speak in English but to have the skills to communicate in English.
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
98 Chapter 4: Pedagogy and the Cuban Context
Be very careful at the time we plan the training our students require, because
we are not teaching our students to talk, we are teaching our students to
communicate (Rolando, Focus Group, 260511).
Rolando emphasises the central place of communication in language teacher
training in Cuba and the distinction between speaking and communicating. He
declares “language is communication; learn it by communicating and teach it by
communicating” (Rolando, Interview 2, 270511). Rolando distinguishes between
speaking and communicating, because the latter involves a broad range of
grammatical, sociolinguistic, pragmatic, discourse and strategic skills (Bagaric &
Mihaljevic Djigunovic, 2007, p.97-99; Reigle, 2011). Julia paraphrases this set of
skills as “nothing more than knowing what to say, when to say it, to whom and how”
(Focus Group, 260511).
Juan regards listening and speaking skills as inseparable and mutually
dependent oral skills that need to be developed simultaneously (Juan, Interview 1,
250411). He also emphasises the importance of teaching pre-service teachers basic
conversation skills, such as taking turns to talk, and active listening. As well as
learning to be an active listener, he believes that his students need to learn different
strategies, like circumlocution, to call on when conversing in English: “If you do not
know how to say a word in this way, try to do it another … find a strategy to say
what you want to say” (Juan, Interview 1, 250411).
The teacher educators speak positively about their approach to ELTE, and
Rolando, who studied before the Communicative Approach (CA) was well-
established in Cuba, considers that the present pedagogy of ELTE, with its emphasis
on communication and the context of learning, is superior to structural approaches
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 4: Pedagogy and the Cuban Context 99
used when he learnt English at University forty years ago (Rolando, Interview 1,
270411). It is superior, he believes, because students no longer have to spend a lot of
time being taught grammar and language structures, but focus instead on realistic
communicative situations, useful chunks of language and on socio-cultural factors,
such as register (e.g. the level of formality and appropriate lexis).
You may take as a starting point the same communicative situation, a
realistic or real communicative situation, and make the student discover the
grammatical phenomenon that may appear in it, the lexical elements that can
change their meaning according to the context; or the register or whatever
(Rolando, Interview 1, 270411).
As Rolando indicates, grammatical accuracy, form and pronunciation are still
important however they are studied in a realistic social and cultural context. The
emphasis is first and foremost on communicating effectively and being understood
by the target audience.
Teacher educators are required to use the communicative approach in their
classrooms, and use activities that are typical of CLT classrooms around the world,
which “involve students in real or realistic communication, where the successful
achievement of the communicative task they are performing is at least as important
as the accuracy of their language use” (Harmer, 2007, p.69). Julia describes how she
begins her 1st Year ‘Integrated English Practice’ (IEP) classes with an ‘ice-breaker’
activity to warm up the pre-service teachers, then elicits information from their
knowledge about a particular theme for the lesson which relates to a Unit in the
course book, then ‘pre-teaching’ new vocabulary using photos and other realia. She
then involves students in a range of interactive tasks, including singing, discussing,
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
100 Chapter 4: Pedagogy and the Cuban Context
role-plays, simulations etc. (Julia, Interview 1, 270411). Mercedes describes a cycle
of teaching and learning, (presentation, practice, production or PPP) that is widely
used in CLT for introducing new language forms, and which she uses with 1st and 2
nd
Year pre-service teachers: “We have presentation lessons; review lessons, which are
semi and controlled practice; and then free practice” (Mercedes, Interview 1,
250411). Juan and other teacher educators describe how pre-service teachers work
together in pairs and small groups, and use a range of creative games, role plays and
dialogues to practice speaking.
That’s the way we practise … questions and answers, games…I am used to
playing games with my students. Lots of them. They like that…and it is
unbelievable how they talk and how they interact. (Juan, Interview 1,
250411).
So an English language classroom at El Varona is a site of activity, fun,
interaction and talking, frequently in small groups. In general, pre-service teachers
use only English, however, the fact that they share the same L1 with the teacher
educator means that Spanish is occasionally used for specific purposes. Translation
and code-switching (using words or phrases from Spanish) are useful tools to deepen
understanding and help explain ambiguities and subtleties in English. This topic was
discussed at a forum in the 2011 national symposium, “Por Una Clase Mejor” (21
May 2011, El Varona), and the consensus of participants indicated that there is a
greater acceptance of the role of translation in ELT than previously. Alfredo recalls a
critical experience when he began teaching and was castigated by a supervisor who
came to monitor the methodology he used in his High School English language class:
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 4: Pedagogy and the Cuban Context 101
I used translation every now and then because it was Elementary level, and
by the end of the class, this visitor told me “you are not doing your job well,
because you are using translation and this is an English class and you are not
supposed to speak in Spanish.” (Alfredo, Interview 1, 260411)
Acceptance that translation can have a place in second language acquisition is
relatively recent. For a long time, probably due to its association with the discredited
Grammar Translation approach, translation has been a taboo in Western ELT
classrooms (Dellar, 2012). However, with the ‘social turn’ in applied linguistics there
is increasing acceptance that translation is an important tool in ELT when seen as a
pedagogical instrument, rather than as an end in itself (G. Cook, 2010).
Notwithstanding some use of the first language in foreign language classes, the
Cuban teacher educators agree that pre-service teachers should be encouraged to
speak and use English as much as possible in their university classes because “it’s
possibly the only place where they use it” (Mercedes, Focus Group, 260511).
Pedagogical competence
Concepts of pedagogical competence and what makes “a good teacher” and
teacher educator are contested and subject to considerable on-going research
(Korthagen, et al., 2006; K. Smith, 2011). There is general agreement that
pedagogical competence depends not just on teaching skills such as subject
knowledge and classroom management, but also personal qualities, such as beliefs
and professional identity (Korthagen, 2004).
At El Varona, the case members prepare pre-service teachers to be English
language teachers, particularly in secondary schools. Two thirds of them (i.e. Julia,
Juan, Mercedes and Ofelia) focus on enhancing English language skills through
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
102 Chapter 4: Pedagogy and the Cuban Context
teaching ‘Integrated English Practice’ (IEP), while Alfredo takes Grammar classes
and Rolando lectures on Didactics (the methodology of ELT). They strive to ensure
that pre-service teachers develop both communicative and pedagogical competence
during Year 1 because they will be responsible for teaching English to their own
classes from Year 2 onwards; with a gradually increasing teaching load (Figure 1.3).
The students here are not going to be linguists you know; they are going to
be teachers of English, at Primary, Junior High and High Schools or
Polytechnic Schools, here in Cuba. So if they are going to be teachers …
they are not going to be working on any other place but at schools. So they
have to be taught…. how to teach it. (Juan, Interview 1, 250411)
While the emphasis in 1st Year is on building language skills, pre-service
teachers are also learning to teach in preparation for 2nd
year. Juan explained that
when introducing a new lexical item in English, he invites pre-service teachers to
discuss how they might present the new item to their students (Interview 1, 250411).
Through this dialogical learning process, pre-service teachers are encouraged to
develop their knowledge by exploring different methodological ideas and
perspectives.
Didactics is concerned with methods of teaching and specifically methods of
teaching a subject; and Rolando uses English to teach it.
First of all, I teach didactics of foreign languages, but I teach it … or most of
our teachers teach this discipline, in English. Because the intention is to
make them communicatively competent (Rolando, Interview 1, 270411)
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 4: Pedagogy and the Cuban Context 103
Rolando and other lecturers, who teach Didactics of Foreign Languages, do so
in English, to increase the competence of pre-service teachers in English language,
while also developing their pedagogical knowledge to prepare them to teach.
The classroom environment
According to Stake (1995), the art of intrinsic case study design includes
providing sufficient rich data for the reader to be able to share the research
experience vicariously. At El Varona, classrooms are generally spacious, hot and
light, and can be noisy – due to the scraping of metal chair and table legs on polished
concrete floors. As described in a recent ethnography of Cuban education “the
constant screeching of the desks and chairs as students got up or sat down was barely
tolerable” (Blum, 2011; p.131). There are many louvre windows to provide shade
and allow air flow, which may be aided by a large electrical pedestal ventilator.
There are one or more wall-mounted blackboards and boxes of white chalk; plain
wooden-topped tables; and moulded plastic chairs. In the corner is a large television.
The class-sizes are small, usually from 12 to 15. Relationships between teacher
educators and pre-service teachers are friendly and respectful. In keeping with Cuban
social behaviour, students and lecturers are affectionate with each other; embracing
and kissing on cheeks when meeting and farewelling. Nevertheless, there is a degree
of social distance, whereby teacher educators are addressed as “profe” (short for
‘profesor/a’ which means teacher) by the younger pre-service teachers, while 5th
year
students often use their first names. The pre-service teachers are courteous to teacher
educators, whether in the classrooms or corridors, or in the common dining room,
where simple, healthy, subsidised meals are shared daily. Case members believe that
a caring attitude towards pre-service teachers is an essential part of teacher education
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
104 Chapter 4: Pedagogy and the Cuban Context
and of modelling good teaching. Ofelia states that the teacher educator must establish
a classroom culture in which students feel comfortable, safe and respected and able
to express their feelings confidently in English (Focus Group, 260511), an idea
discussed further in Chapter 6 as part of the ‘pedagogy of tenderness’ (Turner Martí
& Pita Cespedes, 2001).
Teaching resources including books are generally in short supply, however all
pre-service teachers have a copy of ‘Integrated English Practice 1’ (Enriquez
O'Farrill, et al., 2010). The bane of all TESOL teachers’ lives is access to
photocopiers for copying printed material for classes, and at El Varona access to
photocopiers and other technology is limited. Teacher educators deal with the
challenge in various ways, for example, writing by hand sufficient copies of
instructions before classes or writing them on the blackboard.
In order to save time and make it easier for students; I mean it’s good to
divide the class into teams or whatever and to bring handouts … I mean they
don’t have to copy it from the board. And sometimes that is difficult here …
because we have only one printer and it’s a hell of a chaos. (Alfredo,
Interview 1, 260411)
While Alfredo expresses his frustration, he accepts the situation as part of the
teaching experience and Cuban life more generally, which Cubans often describe as a
struggle or “la lucha” (Pertierra, 2011) and he does not allow this obstacle to prevent
effective group work. Televisions are available in all classrooms and teacher
educators and pre-service teachers have limited use of other electronic resources,
including computers (there are two computerised ‘Listening Laboratories’), CD and
DVD players, a laptop portable computer and a digital projector; however the
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 4: Pedagogy and the Cuban Context 105
difficulty of gaining access to digital equipment in working order can be a source of
frustration (Mercedes, Interview 1, 250411).
Cuban context
In what many (Kumaravadivelu, 2006; Richards, 2002) describe as the ‘post-
methods era’, there is general acknowledgement that ELT needs to be adapted to the
local social and linguistic environment. From a postcolonial perspective, this can be
seen as resistance to the former dominance of Western cultures in ELT (Phan Le Ha,
2008). The importance of locating ELTE in the Cuban context, and ensuring its
relevance to Cuban circumstances and culture, was emphasised by case members,
such as Mercedes.
… even though we use foreign methods, like British methods, we always try
to adapt them to a Cuban context, because it is very important for us to use
real life situations. (Mercedes, Interview 1, 250411)
Teacher educators use their professional skills, competence and experience to
draw from all available sources using ‘principled pragmatism’ to develop
communicative strategies for teaching and modelling English language and ELT
(Kumaravadivelu, 2006). They use themes from local issues and interests as well as
international issues viewed from a Cuban perspective from the global South; rather
than depending on examples borrowed from the cultures of former colonial powers.
Like Mercedes, Juan emphasises the primacy of Cuban culture in ELTE “because
mostly we teach English on the basis of Cuban culture and the history of Cuba”
(Juan, Interview 1, 250411). Alfredo explains that in previous years, when US course
books were used, “everything was related to the US environment” and pre-service
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
106 Chapter 4: Pedagogy and the Cuban Context
teachers were unable to identify readily with texts and themes from such different
cultures to their own (Alfredo, Interview 1, 260411).
For the last 3 years, it’s been a constant issue, that point of working on a
syllabus which includes the Cuban context. I mean to design a method
basing the context on the national environment, so it makes the teaching
more interesting for the students. So the students feel reflected in what
they’re learning (Alfredo, Interview 1, 260411).
Alfredo explains how introduction of a Cuban ELTE course book in the last
few years has allowed pre-service teachers to understand better and “feel reflected
in” the scenarios presented to them (Alfredo, Interview 1, 260411). For example,
overseas travel is not a common experience for many Cubans and most have never
travelled outside the country. Even travelling far from home to other Cuban cities
and other provinces is unaffordable for most people. It is therefore more appropriate,
as Mercedes suggests, to use local examples in English classes that reflect the reality
of life for Cubans.
Instead of using role plays like “you are going abroad” or “you are an
exchange student”, I use other things, like you are going to Villa Clara, OK.
Or you’re a student from Santiago de Cuba and you are visiting a friend in
Havana. (Mercedes, Interview 1, 250411)
Until recently it was difficult to find suitable English language teaching
materials which use the Cuban context. However, with the recent completion of the
Cuban ELT textbook, “Integrated English Practice 1” (Enriquez O'Farrill, et al.,
2010), teacher educators are able to provide a communicative English course based
on Cuban history, historical characters, geography and culture. Teacher educators
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 4: Pedagogy and the Cuban Context 107
also draw from international sources, “we use other materials like Headway (UK),
Enterprise (UK), Spectrum (US) etc.” (Mercedes, Interview 1, 250411), which
represent a rich source of communicative games, exercises and activities that can be
used to vary the classroom experience of pre-service teachers, and introduce different
ideas from the cultures of other countries, particularly the UK and USA.
Themes and issues which are topical and preferably suggested by their students
are found to be most effective for stimulating discussions in English classes (Ofelia,
Interview 1, 260411). As a relatively poor, developing country, ELTE in Cuba is
sensitive to the realities of daily life for Cuban students i.e. the “struggle for
consumption”, recently described by Australian anthropologist Anna Pertierra
(Pertierra, 2011). Mundane but consuming challenges which Cuban pre-service
teachers confront daily are among those topics they want to discuss, such as
negotiating the vagaries of public transport; dealing with over-crowded living
conditions; and coping with intermittent service problems such as interruptions to
water and power.
We have talked about transportation – which was very good for them to
discuss. We also talk about jobs, discussing jobs and what their parents do
and how they do it. How is the employment situation in our country these
days? How is it different in other countries? Also the housing situation – it’s
something they like to talk about. (Julia, Interview 1, 270411)
In this quote, Julia shows how pre-service teachers engage in discussions when
topics are of relevance to their lives. Pre-service teachers are also informed about and
interested in debating broader international issues, such as global warming,
threatened species, international conflicts, and the global financial crisis. Julia
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
108 Chapter 4: Pedagogy and the Cuban Context
explained how her pre-service teachers’ motivations to learn English vary and may
be unusual. She gave the example of one of her student teachers who is motivated to
learn and use English because he is passionate about Asian cartoons in English (such
as Japanese anime and English-dubbed Chinese cartoons).
I have a student who likes Chinese cartoons. And everything he writes is
about that. He writes about senseis and rare names of Chinese characters.
And then he envelops himself in a world that I at least have only seen in
cartoons. But OK, that’s his motivation. (Julia, Interview 2, 300511)
English language provides this pre-service teacher with access to an imaginary
oriental world, very different from his daily reality. Many Cubans, particularly youth,
are attracted to Western popular culture, including music, videos (and DVDs), dress
and the slang of different, particularly North American, subcultures (Pertierra, 2009a,
2011). Speaking English with a US American accent can be part of their
identification with favourite movie stars, rap singers, sports stars and TV characters.
With reference to his pre-service teachers, Alfredo commented “I think that they are
pretty influenced by the American way of life in general” (Alfredo, Interview 1,
260411).
The Cuban teacher educators and their student teachers demonstrate hybridity
with respect to the English language. On the one hand identifying themselves
proudly as Cuban nationals, and participating enthusiastically in national celebrations
such as the million-strong May Day march in Havana, which I attended with them;
while at the same time being drawn to North American culture, including popular
youth culture, hip-hop and rap, the internet, films and television entertainment. This
hybridity is not surprising given the long and intimate relationship between Cuba and
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 4: Pedagogy and the Cuban Context 109
the USA which extends at least as far as the American War of Independence, when
in 1781 the ladies of Havana raised funds to support the American revolutionaries
(Cluster & Hernandez, 2006). Following the Spanish-American War in 1898, this
relationship resulted in additions to the Cuban vocabulary such as ‘el beisbol’, ‘el
bisnes’, ‘el sanwich’ and ‘el show’. While the Western colonial discourse is based on
a false notion of “a pure undifferentiated origin” for the coloniser (Bhabha, 1994,
p.81), the reality, for both the colonising USA, and the colonised Cuba, is that both
populations have grown from European colonial origins, associated with
displacement and decimation of indigenous peoples, followed by immigration from
all parts of the world, and with considerable gene flow between the two nations.
Although pre-service teachers are engaged in learning English by using
familiar Cuban situations and topics, they want to make cross-cultural comparisons.
Teacher educators appreciate the relationship between language and culture (Risager,
2007) and that being communicatively competent in English demands not only
linguistic fluency, but also the pragmatic skills to communicate effectively in
intercultural and transnational contexts (L. E. Smith & Nelson, 2007).
Language, culture and linguaculture
English is used in diverse cultural and social contexts all over the world,
carrying with it an infinite variety of linguacultures, the meanings and cultures
carried in language; and “language is never culturally neutral, it carries
linguaculture” (Risager, 2010, p.6). The basic curriculum for ELTE at El Varona
provides cross-cultural education by including a course on “History of the Culture of
English-speaking Peoples” and another on “Literature of the Anglophone
Caribbean”. Case members believe that comparative studies help pre-service teachers
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
110 Chapter 4: Pedagogy and the Cuban Context
to develop pragmatic competence and enhance their understanding of the relationship
between culture and language.
They love that, they love culture and cultural issues are important for them.
Master new information, vocabulary – words used in those countries and
differentiate the way different people speak. It’s important for them. (Ofelia,
Focus Group, 260511)
Pre-service teachers enjoy learning about cultures of Anglophone countries and
making comparisons with their own experiences. Ofelia and Alfredo believe that it is
important for pre-service teachers to understand more about the cultures of
Anglophone countries to develop their social skills as bilingual speakers of English
(viz. sociocultural, pragmatic and strategic competence). Juan commented that while
English is taught at El Varona mainly on the basis of Cuban culture and history, pre-
service teachers are introduced to the cultures and history of Great Britain, the USA,
the Caribbean countries and Canada (Juan, Interview 1, 250411). Language
represents and reflects the values, perspectives and ethics of the associated culture
(Risager, 2006) and Alfredo believes that “every time you teach a language you are
teaching part of the culture of the place of origin of such a language”. (Alfredo,
Interview 1, 260411). The teacher educators are concerned that pre-service teachers
should gain not just linguistic competence but also a sound socio-cultural
understanding of language use.
Ofelia and other case members are concerned that, in general, Cubans tend to
express their feelings and thoughts with less tact or regard for social status than other
English speakers and consider it is important for pre-service teachers to appreciate
these cultural differences and enhance their pragmatic skills (Ofelia, Focus Group,
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 4: Pedagogy and the Cuban Context 111
260511). One way of achieving this if for teacher educators to model culturally
appropriate behaviour; for example, Mercedes wants to be more diplomatic in the
ways that she corrects her students.
So, it’s like social behaviour in the language is very important. It’s like
psychologically-speaking you are going to be a different person because
maybe in Spanish you can say that “You’re wrong. That’s not the way it is.”
But in English you can’t. So you have to be more of a diplomat. OK, you
have to be more polite. (Mercedes, Focus Group, 260511)
In their professional lives, the case members have contact with academics and
pre-service teachers from Canada; in fact groups of pre-service TESOL teachers
from Canada have been visiting El Varona and other Cuban institutions biennially
for 20 years (Martin, 2007). They also meet visiting academics and teachers from the
UK, USA and other countries, including Australia. Ofelia emphasises her perception
that social norms of Cuba are different from Anglophone countries.
We are different in the way of behaving, you know, and when you teach
English you are supposed to teach culture, and the way ‘they’ behave in
different situations. And we are totally different because we behave in
different ways. And when we teach for example, I don’t know, manners,
manners are totally different. (Ofelia, Interview 1, 260411)
In this quote, referring to foreign English speakers as “they”, Ofelia is
concerned about what she perceives as the difference between their behaviour and
Cuban behaviour. Her distinction between the Cuban “we” and foreign “them”, does
not reflect the actual range of variation of cultures of English users in the world or
changing perceptions of the ownership of English (Jenkins, et al., 2011; Risager,
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
112 Chapter 4: Pedagogy and the Cuban Context
2010). The implication is that Ofelia is referring to Inner Circle native speakers and
assumes that their cultures are relatively homogeneous. However, what is considered
polite and normal in New York may be as different from cultural norms in London
and Sydney, as they are from those in Delhi, Singapore and Havana. As Cubans are
learning English primarily for international communication it is relevant to
understand the cultures and linguistic variation of their target groups of English
speakers, who may not be ‘native speakers’. Risager (2006) conceptualises the global
landscapes of languages and cultures as being increasingly fluid, shifting and flowing
through social networks across the globe and asserts that language teachers should
“transgress the national and monolingual focus of foreign and second language
studies” and develop a transnational approach to understanding how culture is carried
in language (Risager, 2010, p.2).
Among the characteristics of the Cuban pedagogy of English language teacher
education some salient features emerge, including collaboration, peer observation
and mentoring.
Salient features of Cuban pedagogy
Collaboration
Collaboration is seen at El Varona between teacher educators, between pre-
service teachers, and between teacher educators and pre-service teachers. In many
ways, the Collaborative Teaching Workshops organised as part of this study mirror
the way that teacher educators work together normally.
Everybody had the chance to work in teams and to collaborate and work in
cooperation with all the participants, which is really nice. If you know
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 4: Pedagogy and the Cuban Context 113
something and you feel like that something is going to help others, so the
best thing to do is to share that information with other people (Juan,
Interview 2, 260511).
Ché Guevara saw collaboration as being essential for socialist Cuba and
believed that “the process of overcoming individualism was an educational process”
(Holst, 2009; p.162). Juan commented on the importance in ELTE of teaching values
that are integral to Cuban culture, particularly “of solidarity, of friendship, of
cooperation and the like” (Juan, Interview 2, 260511).
The values that we have decided to foster in the students, from different
levels from Primary School, Junior High, so they are institutionalised, and
they are the ones that are belonging to our system. And it has to do with that,
the Cuban culture and the Cuban system (Juan, Interview 1, 250411)
Juan clarifies that while these values are “institutionalised” in Cuban schools
and universities, they are not exclusive to Cuba. Nevertheless, they are integral in
Cuban society and Cuban pedagogy. Collaboration was noted as a feature of Cuban
pedagogy recently by US educators (Schultz, et al., 2011) and also in a comparative
study of secondary students in Melbourne and Havana (Williams, 2006).
Al El Varona, teacher educators meet for one day each week to plan and
prepare collectively for forthcoming classes; and value the opportunity to collaborate
and learn from each other. Julia, who lectures in IEP in 1st Year, describes the
collective spirit among the teacher educators for 1st Year IEP, who feel united and
supported in their work, and prepare lesson plans jointly for each course Unit (Julia,
Interview 1, 270411). The small class sizes and large student numbers at El Varona
are such that there are about six IEP classes for each of the 1st and 2
nd Year cohorts.
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114 Chapter 4: Pedagogy and the Cuban Context
Teacher educators for each year collectively develop a plan for each semester,
detailing which Units in the course book they will teach and in what timeframe, and
discuss lesson plans. The collaboration between teacher educators extends to visiting
each other’s classrooms to observe and provide pedagogical feedback.
Peer observation
Collaboration and peer observation assist teacher educators to reflect on their
own practices, and by making the tacit become explicit, they are more likely to be
able to narrow the gap between their teaching intentions and actions, and “practise
what they preach” (Loughran, 2011). Peer observation is the norm for the case
members. Teacher educators are expected to observe peers and more experienced
teacher educators, to discuss (or “debate”) their observations and provide feedback
(Juan, Interview 1, 250411). Feedback is used by case members to critically examine
their own teaching and compare their beliefs about teaching and learning to their
actual classroom practices. Several case members commented on the benefit gained
from observing other teacher educators and of being observed.
We learn from everybody … I think that is the way it works. It is not just
giving a grade, or evaluation, you get 5, you get excellent, then what? If you
know something then you want to share that with your colleagues. And
that’s the way we do it here (Juan, Interview 1, 250411).
Juan, the Principal Teacher for 2nd
Year Integrated English Practice (IEP), who
coordinates the other five 2nd
Year IEP lecturers, states that teacher educators learn
from each other and enjoy sharing knowledge with their peers. Juan enjoys having
younger teacher educators observe his lessons, and finds that both they and he learn
from the discussions which follow: “Because always, after these lessons,
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Chapter 4: Pedagogy and the Cuban Context 115
observations, we have a debate, a methodological debate” (Juan, Interview 1,
250411). Loughran (2006) states that improvements in teaching practices can come
about through peer observation and peer coaching, because the shared experience
provides different ways of framing and re-framing practice and hence different
insights into practice. Julia feels that peer observation contributes to a sense of unity
among her colleagues (Julia, Interview 1, 270411).
Teacher educators consider that peer observation helps them to reflect on and
modify their practices and hence contributes to their ongoing professional
development. They reflect on their practices by responding to the perspectives of
peers during collaborative planning and preparation, through peer observation and
from feedback and modelling provided by their mentors.
Mentoring
While peer observation is valued by teacher educators, mentors also contribute
to their reflection and professional development. The pedagogical role of example,
demonstrated by both peer observation and mentoring, are integral to the pedagogy
advocated by Ché Guevara, who believed strongly in the persuasive power of good
example (Holst, 2009, p.165). Mentors can help less experienced teacher educators
and pre-service teachers by modelling appropriate practices, providing a range of
assistance including emotional support, and by encouraging development of
professional identity (Loughran, 2006, p.170-1; Tryggvason, 2009).
At El Varona, the role of mentors includes giving methodological and
linguistic advice.
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116 Chapter 4: Pedagogy and the Cuban Context
…we have one day, Tuesdays, to attend meetings, but within the meetings
we have preparations, we prepare lessons, and do many other activities to
prepare to face the week. And guided or led most of the time by experienced
teachers (Ofelia, Interview 1, 260411).
One day per week is allocated for professional development, planning and
coordination, and it provides opportunities for younger, less experienced teacher
educators to be mentored by more experienced teacher educators. All case members
felt well supported in the early years of their careers by experienced mentors and role
models. Alfredo, one of the younger teacher educators values his relationship with a
mentor with whom he has an ongoing relationship.
I think it is a very positive attitude – the one that the institution assumes
towards young professors (teacher educators) or professors in general.
Usually when you teach a subject, you are always close to a professor that
has more experience in such a field. For instance …my professor - the one I
had when I was a student - was the one who took me in and taught me more
and he showed me everything he knew and everything he knows, because he
is still sharing with me, and I am still learning from him (Alfredo, Interview
1, 260411).
In Alfredo’s example, the mentoring role has extended over many years and is
based on a close relationship which he values. Ofelia values the opportunity to learn
from more experienced teacher educators and takes every opportunity to observe
their classes (Ofelia, Interview 1, 260411). Mentoring is not just for teacher
educators while at university but was also part of their experience when they were
pre-service teachers during their school-based ‘Estudio-trabajo’. At that time they
each had an experienced teacher in the school where they taught, who gave them
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Chapter 4: Pedagogy and the Cuban Context 117
guidance and support. Methodological advice is also provided to teacher educators
by external ‘visitors’ who observe their classes.
Supervision
Teacher educators at El Varona receive at least two visits per semester from a
supervisor or ‘visitor’, who ‘controls’ them i.e. observes and discusses classroom
methodology. ‘Visitors’ may be the head of the department or the heads of
disciplines. The Dean and Vice Deans may also visit any member of the faculty
including those with Masters degrees. Full professors and those with Ph Ds do not
usually have such visits; however other, less experienced, teacher educators often
observe their classes as part of the mentoring experience. If officials from the
Ministries of Education or Higher Education visit the university, they may visit any
classroom to observe the methodology and to confirm that syllabi are being
implemented in accordance with the national curriculum (Torres Saavedra, pers.
comm., January 2012).
Both the university and the municipality that receives recent teaching graduates
have a responsibility to follow their progress through classroom visits (Gomez
Castanedo & Giacchino-Baker, 2010). When they began teaching in secondary
schools, case members received methodological classroom visits. Such ‘visitors’
discuss methodology with the classroom teacher or teacher educator and provide
advice on how things might have been managed differently (Rolando, Interview 1,
270411). For Alfredo and Ofelia, these ‘visits’ were among the worst experiences
that they could recall in their language teaching careers. In both cases, as beginning
teachers, they were traumatised by having their practices judged by someone they did
not know, based on what they felt was an insufficient sample of their teaching
practice (Alfredo, Interview 1, 260411; Ofelia, Interview 1, 260411). Similar quality
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118 Chapter 4: Pedagogy and the Cuban Context
assurance visits by inspectors of English teaching methodology are described as part
of English language teaching in China, where it seems they have a similar effect on
beginning teachers (Tsui, 2007, p.669-670). While no teacher educators recalled
these methodological visits as positive experiences, they are generally regarded as
contributing to maintaining the quality of teaching throughout the educational system
(Torres Saavedra, pers. comm., January 2012).
Scaffolded induction
Case members, particularly younger individuals, consider that they were well-
supported in their induction as teacher educators; and are supported in their ongoing
development by their institution (Alfredo, Interview 1, 260411). The support is
shown particularly by the collaborative environment in which peer observation is the
norm; the mentoring within disciplines; and the expectation of on-going professional
development, with weekly professional development days being provided for review,
planning and training. This contrasts with a recent account of two teacher educators
in Holland, who reported that their institution neither supported their induction to
teacher education nor their professional development (Swennen, et al., 2008); and is
more in line with innovative teacher education programs described in North America
and Europe (Kosnik et al., 2011; T. Russell, et al., 2001)
Experiential learning: practicum and research
The ‘Estudio-trabajo’ model of field experience for pre-service teachers
reflects the commitment in the Cuban Constitution, that “education is … based on
the close relationship between study and life, work and production” (Political
Constitution of the Republic of Cuba, 1976, Chapter V, Education and Culture,
Article 39). It also reflects the importance that Ché Guevara placed on learning and
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Chapter 4: Pedagogy and the Cuban Context 119
training in action and his belief that there was no better educator than practice (Holst,
2009; p.157-8).
Before becoming university teacher educators, case members shared similar
experiences as pre-service teachers, despite training at different pedagogical
universities in Cuba. While practicum or field experience is an important and integral
component of teacher education in Western systems, and “English language teaching
(ELT) practicum has come to be recognized as one of the most important aspects of a
learner teacher’s education during their language teacher training program” (T.
Farrell, 2008a, p.226), the practical experience gained by pre-service teachers in
Cuban schools is significantly different, both quantitatively and qualitatively. During
their university training, case members began teaching their own English language
class in schools in the second year of their studies, with an increasing teaching load
until they were teaching four days per week in their fifth and final year (Figure 1.3).
As pre-service teachers, the case members were not relieving a regular teacher but
became class teachers, responsible for their own classes, with an experienced teacher
in the school being a mentor, available for advice and support. Pre-service teachers
are staff members at the school and are paid a salary which is less than that paid to
graduate teachers. The priority given in Cuba to experiential learning within ELTE,
including practicum and research, is indicated by the allocation (fifty two percent) of
student teachers’ time over their five-year degree to ‘Estudio-trabajo’ (Figure 1.2).
Experiential learning: research
A companion pedagogical principle to Ché Guevara’s commitment to learning
and training in action is the idea of developing theory from practice (Holst, 2009,
p.158). Research into teacher education strongly supports the benefits for pre-service
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120 Chapter 4: Pedagogy and the Cuban Context
teachers of learning research skills, and the contribution that such skills can make to
their teaching practices through reflection and professional development (Rust,
2009). The case members each completed two research projects during their
university training, and they serve as mentors to pre-service teachers while they
undertake pedagogical research in the schools where they teach. The undergraduate
research projects have much in common with action research, being a self-reflective,
systematic and critical approach to enquiry by participants who are at the same time
members of the research community (Burns, 2009; Dinkelman, 2003).The projects
chosen by each pre-service teacher focus on pedagogical issues that they have
identified while undertaking ‘Estudio-trabajo’, expressed as a scientific problem or
hypothesis and addressed using systematic scientific inquiry, otherwise known as
‘scientific method’.
Teacher educators prepare pre-service teachers to undertake their research
projects by providing lectures and discussions on educational research methods. If
their progress is satisfactory, in the first years of the course, pre-service teachers are
permitted to submit a formal research paper, a ‘diploma paper’, in Year 5.
If a student during their whole course, is unable to get over 4 points as a
grade, he has to sit for a government exam or test. But if you get 4 or more,
you have the possibility to present your diploma paper. (Rolando, Interview
1, 270411).
The opportunity to submit a formal ‘diploma paper’ on their final major
educational research project is given to the better performing pre-service teachers
and is valued by them. The research training prepares language teachers to be able to
use research methods to critically reflect on their own teaching in the expectation that
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Chapter 4: Pedagogy and the Cuban Context 121
it will contribute to continuous pedagogical improvement. By way of example, some
recent research topics are: “A set of activities to contribute to a more efficient
development of the speaking skills in first year learners of the Military School
Camilo Cienfuegos in Guanabacoa, Havana”; “A set of activities to promote
motivation towards English in Eleventh Grade”; “A set of evaluation activities to
assess the students’ speaking skills”; and “A set of tasks to develop oral
communication skills in Integrated English Practice 2”.
Summary
The pedagogy of Cuban English language teacher education can be understood
in postcolonial terms as demonstrating resistance to paternalistic representations of
Cuba in Western discourse; and hybridity is shown in the way that English language
is promoted to meet Cuban needs, despite its past neocolonial associations and its
present association with US hegemony. Cuba has made a deliberate choice to use
English language as a tool for achieving its own objectives. Cuba demonstrates
through its own agency that English can be taught in a way that respects Cuban
independence and makes use of the Cuban context.
Communicative language teaching (CLT) has been critiqued in many countries
for not being sensitive to local cultures and contexts (Bax, 2003; Tsui & Tollefson,
2008); however it has been adapted over the past thirty years in Cuba to respect the
Cuban socio-political system and culture, and incorporate institutionalised Cuban
values. These observations support the view of Holliday (1994) that the problem of
cultural insensitivity is not with CLT but with how it has been implemented in some
places.
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122 Chapter 4: Pedagogy and the Cuban Context
The context of Cuba, its social and linguistic environment, has a profound
effect on how university teacher educators are trained and how they prepare language
teachers. The political system is evident in the institutionalised values of solidarity,
collectivism and collaboration; how universities are integrated with and serve
community needs; and how English language is taught for international
communication that is needed to achieve national objectives of economic
independence (with international tourism being the most valuable Cuban industry),
solidarity and internationalism. These values are also manifested in the collaborative
relationships of teacher educators with each other and with pre-service teachers.
English language teacher education draws from various resources and particularly a
recent Cuban ELTE coursebook, which uses CLT and draws on the local
environment and cultural context. Teacher educators contextualise themes and
activities, with reference to local landmarks and topical issues, and Cuban heroes.
This enables pre-service teachers to feel reflected in the teaching material and
increases their levels of engagement and participation in classroom discussion and
creative activities.
ELTE at El Varona aims to develop all aspects of communicative competence;
in particular, to give students an appreciation of the relationship between culture and
language, and an understanding of the linguistic and sociocultural variation in
English use. Teacher educators present English as a global language with “an
infinitely variable linguaculture, used in different cultural contexts all over the
world” (Risager, 2010)
Teacher educators at El Varona aim to develop pedagogical competence in pre-
service teachers to prepare them to teach effectively, particularly in primary and
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Chapter 4: Pedagogy and the Cuban Context 123
secondary schools. The role of the teacher educator as mentor, ethical role model and
emotional support is a core part of the pedagogy and contributes to the ‘pedagogy of
tenderness’ that characterises Cuban education (Turner Martí & Pita Cespedes,
2001). A supportive environment is established in the classroom, and teacher
educators maintain mutually caring and respectful relationships with pre-service
teachers. Teacher educators work in partnership with pre-service educators to support
their investment in learning the language, and facilitate their progress to develop
their own identity as specialist language teachers.
Some of the distinctive features of the pedagogy of ELTE in Cuba are
collaborative support, peer observation and mentoring. Colleagues who teach the
same subject and the same cohort of pre-service teachers work collaboratively to
plan and prepare lessons; and are coordinated and facilitated by a colleague with
extensive teaching experience, who assists with queries or issues relating to
pedagogy, methodology and general classroom management. The collaboration seen
in all aspects of the pedagogy of Cuban ELTE, has been described as characteristic
of innovative Western teacher education systems which have addressed the
weaknesses of traditional systems (T. Russell, et al., 2001). A policy of continuous
pedagogical improvement is emphasised at El Varona and teacher educators are
expected to reflect on their own pedagogy and praxis with the support of peer
observers, mentors and supervisors of methodology; and to learn from reflection on
and research into their own practices. These expectations are also in line with recent
studies on effective teacher education in Western contexts (Loughran, 2011).
A singular aspect of Cuban ELTE is the allocation of fifty two percent of the
five-year degree course to “Estudio-trabajo”, the field experience of pre-service
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124 Chapter 4: Pedagogy and the Cuban Context
teachers, which involves them having responsibility for their own class of students
for the last four years of their teacher training; and conducting school-based
educational research projects. These components reflect a commitment, as expressed
in the constitution, that universities not be ivory towers of academia, but rather be
partners with and serve their community. Use of research skills to understand and
reflect on teaching practice (T. Farrell, 2008b; Rust, 2009), and well-scaffolded
practicum (T. Farrell, 2008a), have been found to contribute significantly to effective
teacher education and development of a teacher’s identity. The development of
professional identity is a core element of the pedagogy of teacher education and good
teaching (Korthagen, 2004); and is explored in the next chapter.
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Chapter 5: Professional identity and the Cuban context 125
Chapter 5: Professional identity and the Cuban context
In this chapter I address the second research question: “How are the
professional identities of these English language teacher educators influenced by the
Cuban context?” In particular, I bring to the fore themes which arise from the data
and are pertinent to the research question, including the commitment of teacher
educators to their profession as a vocation; and their identification as bilingual Cuban
English language teacher educators.
This chapter is organised into four sections. The first section explores the
identity of case members as language teachers and teacher educators. In the second
section I examine the significance of communities of practice for the case members.
The next section explores the significance of imagined communities to their identity.
The chapter concludes with a summary of the key points that have emerged from this
analysis of the professional identity of these Cuban English language teacher
educators.
Development of the professional identity of teacher educators
The importance of teacher educators in the preparation of language teachers
has recently led to an increased focus on their work and identity (Dinkelman, 2011;
Murray & Kosnik, 2011). The professional identity of the case members in this study
owes much to their positive early experiences of learning English language and the
people associated with those experiences; and shows how language teachers may
influence their students’ attitudes to learning and identification with a foreign
language. Some case members invested in learning English at an early age through
the influence of family members (e.g. Julia and Rolando), and in one case due to an
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126 Chapter 5: Professional identity and the Cuban context
inspirational teacher (Ofelia). By contrast, Alfredo had no early interest in the
language but was inspired to learn it and become an English language teacher
educator due to his positive experiences with teacher educators while studying at El
Varona. As with Ofelia, his investment in the language was due to the example of
excellent teachers and teaching, although in his case it happened at university rather
than at school. These examples demonstrate that reasons for investing in learning
English as a foreign language are idiosyncratic and that family members and teachers
can be influential.
In the years after the ‘triumph of the revolution’, at least in some business
sectors, English language was still associated with social prestige. An uncle who
worked in the Cuban horse-racing industry of the 1960s was the stimulus for
Rolando to learn English.
And since I was about maybe 9 or 10 years, I used to go out with one of my
uncles, and he was involved in the horse-racing business, so most of his
friends spoke English. As I was a kid, it was impossible for me to understand
a single word at the time… my uncle tried to explain to me in a few words
what a foreign language was, and how important it was for a person to be
important (Rolando, Interview 1, 260411).
Rolando recalled that, even in post-revolutionary, Cold War times, when
Russian was rivalling English as the most important foreign language (Irizar, 2001),
through an uncle’s influence, he became determined to learn English. Geopolitical
events, particularly tensions between the USA and USSR and hostility from the USA
towards Cuba, resulted in changed attitudes to English in Cuba, however, for
Rolando, his English language skills brought qualifications, professional recognition,
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 5: Professional identity and the Cuban context 127
a successful university career in Cuba and the experience of overseas travel to study
and teach in Grenada and Jamaica.
Julia’s interest in the language stemmed from her relationship with her father,
and his interest in English. She also had a cousin who liked US music and popular
culture and who lent her an English dictionary.
I studied here (El Varona), but I always liked English because I had a close
relationship with it, because my father likes English and we have a very
close relationship, me and my father. He doesn’t speak English very well,
but he learnt English in order to read, because he loves reading (Julia,
Interview 1, 270411).
The fact that her father could read English but not speak it well can be
understood in the Cuban context where many people study English but opportunities
to practice speaking are limited. Also, with the exodus from Cuba after the revolution
of a large proportion of the English-speaking professional tier in society, there was a
dearth of educators with English speaking skills, which resulted, in the early 1970s,
with Cuban universities limiting their definition of English language competence to
reading skills (Corona & Garcia, 1996, p.96).
The case members have positive attitudes to English language and various
reasons for learning it; before pursuing careers firstly as language teachers and later
teacher educators. In independent Cuba, their choice of professional careers is an
example of hybridity (Bhabha, 1994) and resistance to hegemonic Western
discourse. Their positive relationship with the language contrasts with attitudes to the
language in a nearby country that also used to be a Spanish colony. Puerto Rico is a
neighbouring Caribbean nation which also came under US control in 1898 and where
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128 Chapter 5: Professional identity and the Cuban context
“American authorities tried to force Puerto Ricans to use English as the language of
instruction” (Muniz-Arguelles, 1989, p.460) . Despite being part of a
‘commonwealth’ with the USA, a century later, Spanish is still preferred by the
majority of Puerto Ricans and teaching of English continues to meet resistance.
While Puerto Ricans recognise the usefulness of English language, many see it as a
manifestation of US imperialism and a threat to Puerto Rican national identity
(Pousada, 2000). Language imposition often causes an ethnic group to develop an
unconscious and universalised imperative against learning that language (Giroux,
1983; Medina, 1994). By contrast, in Cuba, where people are encouraged to learn
English in support of Cuban independence and socialist objectives, attitudes to the
language are positive. For example, Juan talking about his student teachers said:
I think, most of them study it because they like it, they like English. …They
do, they like it, they love it (Juan, Interview 1, 250411)
Recent studies of the identity of teacher educators in England found that many
considered that their mission is to produce ‘good teachers’. They regard themselves
as ‘gatekeepers’ to the profession (Murray, et al., 2011), a view that resonates with
advice that Ofelia gives to her student teachers.
I always advise my students that everything you do you should do with love.
If you don’t love teaching, you are destroying people. Because you are
showing the wrong part of what a teacher is. So, I always say: Teach if you
are motivated and if you love what you are doing, otherwise change. (Ofelia,
Interview 1, 260411)
Ofelia tells her students to find a different career, unless, like her, they love
teaching and are committed to teaching as a vocation. Ofelia considers that good
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 5: Professional identity and the Cuban context 129
teaching depends not just on pedagogical competence but on the inspiration, beliefs
and identity of the teacher as an individual, a view supported by Korthagen (2004).
A good teacher
All case members mentioned teachers and teacher educators who they admired,
who significantly influenced the development of their identity as teacher educators,
and who showed the importance of ‘pedagogical modelling’ in the development of
their professional identity (John, 1996). The characteristics of these role models
indicate the traits that are valued by the case members in ‘a good teacher’. They
include excellent English skills, ability to motivate and inspire students, being well-
organised and developing good lesson plans, managing classroom dynamics
effectively, teaching students as individuals with different learning needs, and being
creative (Focus Group, 260511). Teacher educators in Cuba must also satisfy
community expectations as ethical role models and mentors for their pre-service
teachers. Case members emphasise the need to create a friendly, supportive
classroom culture where pre-service teachers feel confident about expressing their
opinions.
The attitude the teacher assumes in the classroom, it’s really important…It
determines how his or her students will react … The teacher should not be
prescriptive. He’s supposed to keep an open mind and lead the building of
knowledge. …It is important. It’s supposed to be with tenderness, with
intelligence. (Alfredo, Focus Group, 260511)
Alfredo believes that teacher educators should encourage students to say what
they think, regardless of whether that view is the dominant one; and they should
encourage critical debate and analysis, “with tenderness”. Juan described one of his
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130 Chapter 5: Professional identity and the Cuban context
role models who taught him methodology of teaching a foreign language, who spoke
excellent English and from whom he learned a great deal.
She was really a motivating person – an encouraging person, and very
demanding too, and she taught me how to work a classroom out, how to deal
with different learning difficulties and how to prepare my lessons. (Juan,
Interview 1, 250411)
In similar vein, Ofelia was inspired to pursue her career as an English language
teacher by someone who taught her as an adolescent. When she was thirteen years
old, she had a teacher who made English classes fun for young teenagers, and he
inspired in her a determination that “I want to teach teenagers and make them love
English as if it were Spanish.” (Ofelia, Interview 1, 260411).
In the Cuban context, where all professional salaries are comparable and low,
the rewards from teaching are not financial but come from other sources such as
positive feedback and respect from student teachers, peers and the community. For
example, Ofelia describes how she felt about a letter that she received from a group
of her senior students, praising a lesson she had given.
The most important moment in my life when teaching was the fact that my
students wrote a letter for me, I still have it, and they told me they had seen
the most amazing lesson in their lives, and so I cried (Ofelia, Interview 1,
260411).
The fact that Ofelia describes this event as “the most important moment in my
life when teaching” indicates the significance of her professional role in her life. For
Ofelia, being a teacher educator is not just something that she does during work
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 5: Professional identity and the Cuban context 131
hours, when not at home with her children and husband. She puts a lot of herself into
her teaching, including love and intelligence, and feels rewarded by a letter of
appreciation from her students. A similar emotion was described by Julia who has a
young child and likened the satisfaction that she feels when seeing pre-service
teachers learning English to the pleasure she gains from her own child’s development
“Well it’s really good to see, when you see a student that is using English, like a
child during its first steps” (Julia, Interview 1, 270411). She went on to say “It’s
really good to see how a student is able to speak and to develop communicatively
speaking, with something you taught him. That’s really rewarding for me.” So, for
these Cuban teacher educators, their investment in being a good teacher is
considerable. It is not just a job, but is an important part of their identity: who they
are and how they are regarded in society. They are not satisfied with doing things in
the same ways, but value opportunities to improve through continuing reflection,
feedback, and in-service professional development.
Professional development
At El Varona there is a commitment to provide teacher educators with
opportunities for professional learning and an expectation of career-long professional
development. Professional development is a core part of teacher education and
contributes significantly to the development of teacher educator identity through
their careers (Huston & Weaver, 2008; Malm, 2009). Cuban teacher educators are
encouraged to reflect on their practices, individually through action research, and
collectively through peer observation, mentoring and collaboration, with the
understanding that reflection will contribute to their continuing professional
development (Geyer, 2008; Loughran, 2011).
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132 Chapter 5: Professional identity and the Cuban context
The Board of the Faculty of Foreign Languages at El Varona provides on-
going professional development and training opportunities for teacher educators and
encourages them to undertake postgraduate courses, particularly for Master and
Doctorate degrees. Alfredo, Juan and Ofelia are studying for Master degrees while
working as teacher educators. Teacher educators with pedagogical doctorates play a
leading role in providing focused professional postgraduate training courses for other
teacher educators, particularly to address methodological weaknesses that have been
identified by teacher educators themselves, such as correction techniques and
teaching pronunciation; or where the Board wants to raise awareness about a specific
topic and improve teaching skills, such as on “Philosophy and methodology of
research methods” and “How to write a scientific article” (Mercedes, Interview 1,
250411).
Case members value the opportunity to learn from and share pedagogical
experiences with academics and teaching practitioners.
Well my institution, especially my faculty, provides a lot of time for practice
with natives (native speakers), to prepare with outstanding personalities;
teachers from other universities, who come from England or US, or Canada
most of the time, and they give us the possibility to interact in postgraduate
courses. (Ofelia, interview 1, 260411)
The Faculty, FLEX at El Varona, facilitates collaboration with educators from
other Cuban universities as well as visiting academics, particularly from the UK and
Canada, but also from the USA and other countries, including Australia. In Cuba,
unlike many other Outer and Expanding Circle countries, there is no discrimination
in employment against non-native speakers (Moussu & Llurda, 2008). Case members
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 5: Professional identity and the Cuban context 133
are all bilingual Cubans, who learnt English in Cuba from bilingual Cubans, and who
are respected professionally for their personal experience of language learning and
learning strategies and their linguistic multicompetence (V. Cook, 2007).
Nevertheless, they value the opportunity to share perspectives on pedagogy with
educators from other countries, and the opportunity to use their communicative skills
in intercultural situations, including with ‘native speakers’.
An example of professional development for teacher educators is a biennial
national symposium, hosted by El Varona, entitled “Encuentro de Profesores de
Lenguas por una Clase Mejor” (Meeting of Language Teachers for a Better
Classroom). From 19-21 May 2011, I attended the symposium with the participants
in the Collaborative Teaching Workshops and more than 100 other teachers and
teacher educators from many Cuban higher institutions. Over a three day period,
participants conducted and joined in concurrent pedagogical workshops and critically
discussed presentations on ELT pedagogy by Cuban and international English
language academics from the UK and Canada. Two keynote presentations were
given by guest academics from the UK, the first by a lecturer from the University of
Essex on best practice in teaching EFL, with a focus on ‘Content and Language
Integrated Learning’ (CLIL); and the second by a teacher educator from the
University of Westminster who co-authors international TESOL course books, and
who spoke about a ‘Lexical Approach’ to English as an International Language.
Cuba’s economic and socio-political environment is never static, and like other
nations, it responds to changing global circumstances. The professional identities of
teacher educators and language teachers are influenced by many factors including the
external political environment, their personal experiences and the communities in
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
134 Chapter 5: Professional identity and the Cuban context
which they participate (Figure 2.1). The present environment of economic reform in
Cuba could be expected to have some impacts on teacher education and professional
identity (Cameron, 2010).
Changing social context and professional identity
In the present environment of economic reform in Cuban society, where more
Cubans are managing small businesses, and foreign investment and tourism continue
to expand, a concern has been expressed that talented students may be attracted to
higher salaries away from education which may reduce the quality of pre-service
teachers recruited into the education system (Breidlid, 2007; Krieger, 2008). Case
members commented that, with an increasing range of employment options
becoming available to them, many student teachers are not committed to a long-term
career as an English language teacher.
After graduating, language teachers are required to teach for three years and
after that period, they can decide whether or not they wish to continue teaching. Case
members noted that a significant percentage of their students have both integrative
and instrumental motivations for studying English which do not include a desire to
be an English language teacher.
They just say “I like the language and I like English to communicate with
people from other countries”. They rarely mention that they want English to
teach other people – although they start falling in love with the career as the
time passes by. (Julia, Interview 1, 270411)
In this quote, Julia explains that although pre-service teachers voluntarily
choose to enter university to study English, many have not decided to have a career
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 5: Professional identity and the Cuban context 135
as an English teacher. Mercedes (Mercedes, Interview 1, 250411) says that most of
her pre-service students enter the University course “because they like English, not
because they want to become teachers… they see English as a tool.” Alfredo
(Alfredo, Interview 1, 260411) agrees and states that “In first year when they first get
here, most of the students are pretty much after English, after the language” for its
own sake. By their 3rd
Year, Ofelia estimates that at least half of the pre-service
teachers are enthusiastically committed to becoming language teachers.
Well, in the case of the students I have right now, my 3rd Year students, 50
percent of them are very motivated towards teaching. The other percent is
planning to change to more… some other opportunities, tourism, you know
tourist guides, or to work on translating (Ofelia, Interview 1, 260411)
As many as half of the pre-service teachers who are more than half way
through their teaching degree course, may leave teaching, after completing their
three-year teaching commitment, hoping to use their English language skills in jobs
that are more financially rewarding or less demanding. There are also some pre-
service teachers who want to emigrate from Cuba who regard English language
competence as a useful skill, “some of them maybe they want to leave the country
and they need English before they leave.” (Mercedes, Interview 1, 250411). Whether
or not pre-service teachers decide to develop a long-term career as a specialist
English language teacher or as teacher educator, they gain skills from their studies at
El Varona that contribute to personal pleasure and satisfaction and which may help
them to pursue other careers, and participate in various communities of practice, both
real and imagined.
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
136 Chapter 5: Professional identity and the Cuban context
Communities of Practice
Canagarajah (2004, p.116) claims that what drives us to learn a language is
“the construction of the identities we desire and the communities we want to join in
order to engage in communication and social life”. A significant facet of the
professional identity of teacher educators at El Varona is membership in the
discourse community of their peers – their community of practice. This group
engages in a process of collective learning, shares a passion for what they do and, as
with any community of practice, they learn how to improve their practices together
(Wenger, 2009). The case members participate in various communities of practice,
such as those who teach the same year cohort of pre-service teachers; those who
participate in working groups with teacher educators from other institutions; and
those who participated in the Collaborative Teaching Workshops (Chapter 6,
Collaborative teaching workshops).
A collaborative culture is a feature of the professional environment of El
Varona. Julia, who lectures to 1st Year students, feels united with her community of
practice of 1st Year “Integrated English Practice” (IEP) teacher educators and she
missed her community when participating in the Collaborative Teaching Workshops
as part of this study, when she worked with other teacher educators of different
subjects and different year cohorts (Julia, Interview 1, 270411).
It would have been like peer observing. I would have liked someone from
First Year to be there (in the workshops) and say how he or she presents or
how he or she does this or that. …I was the only one working in First Year
(Julia, Interview 2, 300511).
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 5: Professional identity and the Cuban context 137
Julia would have preferred having one or more of her 1st Year colleagues with
her to share the workshop experience and learn together. This quote indicates how
much Julia values and perhaps depends on working closely with the community of
practice of her peers. In contrast to Julia’s feelings, two more experienced teacher
educators (Rolando and Juan) enjoyed the opportunity in the workshops to work
alongside and share ideas with diverse colleagues with whom they do not normally
work closely; and to discuss with them the wide range of TESOL topics that
emerged. For Rolando, the workshops were a “wonderful opportunity” to discuss
stimulating topics and learn more about the professional views of others, particularly
younger teacher educators (Rolando, Interview 2, 270511). Rolando was excited by
collaborating with teacher educators from different disciplines, with different
teaching experience and different ages. Juan also appreciated the opportunity to work
collectively with the mixed group: “Everybody had the chance to work in teams and
to collaborate and work in cooperation with all the participants, which is really nice”
(Juan, Interview 2, 260511). A collaborative environment has been identified as a
key element of successful teacher education, both because of the benefits it brings to
teacher educators; and because of the value of providing a collaborative model to
pre-service teachers to adopt in their own teaching (T. Russell, et al., 2001).
Another community of practice comprises the teacher educators at university
with pre-service teachers as they undertake their practicum. Being treated as a
professional colleague by a teacher educator, after she had started her practicum in
2nd
year, was a memorable experience for Julia.
What I enjoyed the most was when I was in second year we had this
excellent teacher who still teaches here nowadays. And all our lessons, he
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
138 Chapter 5: Professional identity and the Cuban context
took us into account as teachers. He always took our opinions into account
very seriously and that was important for us (Julia, Interview 1, 250411).
Having their professional competence recognised by the community of practice
of teacher educators and English language teachers is important in the development
of the professional identity of pre-service teachers (Tsui, 2007). From their second to
fifth years of university study, pre-service teachers are supported by teacher
educators while they work in schools for increasing amounts of time; and in schools
they have the support of a school-based mentor. They are accepted as peers and
colleagues by other school teachers. Case members recalled that when they were
teaching as undergraduate pre-service teachers in schools, during their own ‘Estudio-
trabajo’, they were still studying at university to improve their own English language
communicative and pedagogical competence. Ofelia observes that during ‘Estudio-
trabajo’, pre-service teachers must negotiate multiple identities as both learners and
teachers of English language: “So they study but they teach. It’s difficult” (Ofelia,
Interview 1, 260411).
While membership of communities of practice can be significant aspects of
professional identity, many people also appear to be drawn to and benefit from
membership of imagined communities of practice that offer an increased “range of
identity options” (Norton & Gao, 2008). The relevance of imagined communities to
the identity of case members is explored in the next section.
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 5: Professional identity and the Cuban context 139
Imagined communities
A different person
Relatively few Cubans have the chance to travel overseas but case members
agree that learning another language opens the mind and imagination to other
cultures and perspectives. When they and pre-service teachers learn English, or any
foreign language, they believe that in many ways they become a different person.
When a person decides to study a foreign language, he’s not just going to
have a feeling that he’s different, but really he is, or he becomes a different
person; …So I don’t think that it’s only a feeling but a reality - you become
another person. (Rolando, Focus Group, 260511)
Rolando speaks about the impact of learning a foreign language on identity and
the transformative power of language learning. While opportunities to use English in
Cuba are limited, knowledge of another language enables teacher educators to
identify as members of imagined communities; in this case being part of a global
community of English speakers. Cubans are familiar with a Latin American,
Caribbean perspective on the world, and being communicatively competent in
English provides them with one or more different lenses through which to view the
world, because of the association between culture, language and identity (Norton &
Toohey, 2011).
National and cultural identities
Although the concept of national identity can be contentious (Holliday, 2010),
it can also become significant in people’s lives when national sovereignty and
survival are perceived to be threatened, as is the situation in Cuba (Phan Le Ha,
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
140 Chapter 5: Professional identity and the Cuban context
2008). Anderson (1991) explains that national identity depends on membership of an
imagined community of individuals, who do not all know each other, but who share
various characteristics usually including language. While Cuban culture and society
are diverse, a distinctive ‘Cubanness’ or Cubanidad is apparent to foreign outsiders
(Schultz, et al., 2011), and important to Cubans, who identify as part of an extended
Cuban family, united under their national flag, a popular symbol of independence
and national identity, among all ages and cultural groups. A group of visiting US
educationalists recently observed that Cuban pedagogy, particularly the ‘pedagogy of
tenderness’, contributes to development of “a strong national identity that is based in
community – being in the community, being a part of community, contributing to
community” (Schultz, et al., 2011, p.56). The case members identify strongly with a
common set of values which are “institutionalised” in Cuban pedagogy (Juan,
Interview 1, 250411) including friendship, collaboration, collectivism and solidarity
with their peers, their students and their community (Focus Group, 260511).
English language has been used to exclude people from power and to
discriminate against social groups in many places, such as in India (Ramanathan,
1999), in Africa (Phillipson, 1992) and for Aboriginal peoples in Canada
(Pennycook, 2001b) and Australia (Stephens, 2010). In Vietnam, while English does
not have social influence, it does serve as a ‘gatekeeping tool’ for educational and
employment opportunities (Nunan, 2003; Phan Le Ha, 2008). In Cuba, however,
access to English language classes is free, equitable and accessible throughout the
country. Case members, who come from different parts of Cuba, all identify
professionally as bilingual, English language teacher educators and demonstrate
through their pedagogical practices their commitment to their national identity and
Cuban values.
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 5: Professional identity and the Cuban context 141
Summary
Case members identify strongly with their vocation as English language
teacher educators. Their professional identity (Figure 2.1), formed through the
interaction of their personal experience, professional context and external political
environment, is central to their pedagogy of English language teacher education
(Mockler, 2011). Most case members invested in learning English from relatively
early ages, influenced by a desire to understand the language, and in some cases,
influenced by family members and teachers.
As well as identifying as bilingual users of English, case members assumed the
professional identity, firstly of English language teacher and later of English
language teacher educator. The transition from one to the other does not seem to
have been problematic, as has been described in some Western contexts (Loughran,
2011; Murray, et al., 2011), but was scaffolded through the support of the university,
and facilitated by entering into a collaborative professional environment, where they
benefited from peer observation, mentoring and professional development.
The concept of ‘native speaker’ has little or no relevance for English language
teacher educators in the Cuban context where case members are professionally
recognised as bilingual, multicompetent L2 users of English (V. Cook, 2007). The
case members belong to various communities of practice which contribute to their
professional identity, by recognising them as competent teacher educators. They
collaborate with the broader community of English language teacher educators in
higher institutions throughout Cuba, meeting at least biennially at El Varona, and
participating in national working groups to prepare textbooks and other teaching
resources, and to review curricula and syllabuses. Within the Faculty of Foreign
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
142 Chapter 5: Professional identity and the Cuban context
Languages at El Varona, they contribute to the community of practice of English
language teacher educators with weekly meetings and joint in-service training
courses; and individually they are part of communities of practice with their peers
who lecture the same subject for the same Year cohort of pre-service teachers,
supporting each other through peer observation and mentoring. In each community,
their contribution is valued and respected and members benefit personally and
professionally from the collaboration they experience.
Each case member, as well as sharing Spanish as their first language, shares a
common national history, common struggle for survival, and common values of
collaboration, collectivism and solidarity; and while acknowledging their personal
differences they share a common national identity. While notions of national identity
can be problematic due to the risk of discrimination based on national stereotypes
and essentialism (Holliday, 2010), when national sovereignty is perceived as being
under threat, as in Cuba, such an identity can take on greater significance for
individuals (Phan Le Ha, 2008).
Teachers are held in high esteem in Cuban society and are expected to show
moral and ethical leadership as educators as well as being mentors and moral guides
to their students. The cultural capital gained by case members from their personal
interest and career in English language, includes a respected vocation and
professional employment that is valued by Cuban society; and for some the
opportunity of international travel to study and work abroad. Other less tangible
benefits are their relationships with peers and pre-service teachers; the satisfaction
they gain from seeing pre-service teachers becoming successful English language
teachers; and collectively contributing to Cuban society and national objectives.
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 5: Professional identity and the Cuban context 143
Through their identification with their vocation as teacher educators of English
language teachers, the case members resist patronising representations of Cubans in
Western colonial discourse (Speck, 2005). By learning and teaching English for their
own purposes and in support of national aims and internationalism, these six people
manifest their identity as intelligent, professional, independent, Cuban teacher
educators. Their teaching strategies, which are examined in the next chapter, are
informed by global research and trends in English language teaching; however they
use their personal experience, language skills and pedagogical competence to adapt
their pedagogy to the Cuban teaching environment and the needs of their student
teachers.
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 6: Teaching strategies in the Cuban context 145
Chapter 6: Teaching strategies in the Cuban context
In this chapter I address the third research question: “What teaching strategies
do these teacher educators consider to be most suitable for teaching English speaking
in Cuba?” The purpose of this exploration is to understand what general techniques
are used in classroom activities; as well as specific teaching strategies. The
perspectives and practices of case members and other teacher educators were
revealed through the stimulus of a series of collaborative workshops. The activities
they demonstrated in the workshops were based on their preferred classroom
practices, innovative ideas, and personal interests.
This chapter is organised into four sections, with the first providing an
overview of the general techniques used to teach English speaking skills. In the
second, I present three teaching strategies demonstrated by case members. In the
third section, the organisation of a series of collaborative teaching workshops is
described (see Appendix C) together with reflections on the workshops by case
members (see Appendices D and E). The chapter concludes with a summary of the
salient findings regarding the teaching strategies used by teacher educators to teach
English speaking skills.
General techniques
Pedagogy of tenderness
The classroom culture at El Varona reflects the “pedagogy of tenderness”
(Turner Martí & Pita Cespedes, 2001), a characteristic of Cuban education generally,
which emphasises the individuality of students and the importance of caring
relationships for learning. Cuban teacher educators value supportive relationships
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
146 Chapter 6: Teaching strategies in the Cuban context
with pre-service teachers; and understand and respect them as individuals with
different needs, living conditions and family circumstances. Case members
emphasise the need to build confidence and self-esteem in pre-service teachers by
providing a learning environment where their views and perspectives are
acknowledged and valued, and where they can overcome shyness and fear of making
errors.
Ofelia (Focus Group, 260511) believes that teacher educators should “Make
them (pre-service teachers) know that we respect all they decide to do in the
classroom and that we are just facilitators to help them speak.” She explains that her
role is to facilitate speaking by pre-service teachers, by establishing a culture of trust;
and that “creating the right atmosphere is important… between students and teachers,
and students and students: to be partners in the classroom” (Ofelia, Focus Group,
260511). In terms that are similar to Freire’s ‘liberatory pedagogy’ (Freire, 2000)
Ofelia affirms that the teacher educator and pre-service teachers improve their
English language speaking skills together, by working collaboratively in a
partnership. ‘Liberatory education’, which builds on Freire’s educational philosophy,
is “characterized by an educator acting as a partner with the student and by the
educator trusting and empowering the student as well as stimulating his/her creativity
and ability for critical thinking and action” (Gomez Castanedo & Giacchino-Baker,
2010, p.74).
Learners as individuals
Pre-service teachers arrive at El Varona with different English language skills;
different motivation and investment in the language; and diverse life experiences,
and teacher educators recognise and provide for their needs.
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 6: Teaching strategies in the Cuban context 147
Not all the students (pre-service teachers) in the same class have the same
motivation, have the same difficulties, and they don’t have the same level of
communicative competence. So, it is not fair to guide all of them in the same
way to reach the same goal. (Rolando, Focus Group, 260511)
Rolando (Rolando, Focus Group, 260511) emphasises the importance of
understanding the differences between students, such as their willingness to
communicate; and the need to make pre-service teachers aware of the range of
learning strategies that may suit individual learners and their particular learning
styles. He reveals an aspect of the ‘pedagogy of tenderness’ which is the expectation
that teacher educators will get to know and understand their students as individuals.
Ofelia talks about how useful this knowledge can be in ELT.
If they are shy or not, what are the reasons? Family members: people who
they live with and the way they react in front of others. So, it helps because
when talking about oral skills it is important to know the way they react in
any situation in which they are exposed to language interaction. If they are
inhibited or not… If they feel comfortable in talking in front of others or not.
(Ofelia, Focus Group, 260511)
Ofelia emphasises that the behaviour of pre-service teachers in the classroom
may be influenced by their personality and what is happening in their lives more
generally (Focus Group, 260511). She comments “Human beings are difficult. And,
feelings are really difficult. And we have to manage with problems, social issues,
temper…everything is related.” Julia considers that shyness and the fear of making
errors in front of others are significant factors that inhibit some of her 1st Year class
from improving their English speaking abilities; and are obstacles to identifying
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148 Chapter 6: Teaching strategies in the Cuban context
weaknesses and helping them to improve (Julia, Interview 2, 300511). These
obstacles make the use of appropriate corrective feedback all the more critical.
Correcting errors
A theme that emerged strongly from the data is the importance of overcoming
the fear in pre-service teachers of making errors (Corder, 1981); and the importance
of giving appropriate corrective feedback. From the extensive body of research into
second language acquisition (SLA), it is clear that in a communicative classroom
corrective feedback can help SLA and be used to draw learners’ attention to errors in
ways that are appropriate for the student and the context (Ammar & Spada, 2006;
Schmidt, 2001). Teacher educators agree about the need to encourage pre-service
teachers to talk without being overly concerned about making ‘mistakes’, whether
they result from slips or inattention; or are errors due to misunderstanding or lack of
knowledge.
Having the students talk, feel free to talk no matter if you make mistakes. Of
course if those mistakes do not interfere with communication it’s OK. . At
the end of the day, they can profit from that. (Juan, Interview 1, 250411)
Juan regards mistakes as learning opportunities. By encouraging pre-service
teachers not to be embarrassed about making errors, the teacher educator can identify
how they may be helped. He also stresses the need to give corrective feedback in
ways that do not inhibit communication or oral skill development (Juan, Interview 1,
250411). Case members agree that the lack of opportunities to speak English is an
impediment to developing speaking skills, so they give pre-service teachers every
opportunity to speak in class. For some student teachers, however, shyness or fear of
feeling foolish in front of peers remains a significant psychological hurdle (Ofelia,
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 6: Teaching strategies in the Cuban context 149
Focus Group, 260511). Learning from some painful experiences she had as a student,
Ofelia avoids embarrassing individuals in her class in front of others when they make
errors (Ofelia, Focus Group, 260511). Juan describes how teacher educators should
allow mistakes to occur in a group discussion without interruption, provided that the
speaker is intelligible, and provide general corrective feedback later without drawing
attention to the individual.
Never forget that principle, mistakes are not always mistakes. So, if it
doesn’t interfere with communication and understanding let it go. That’s the
way it works, and they feel comfortable when talking. (Juan, Focus Group,
260511)
Case members agreed that errors should only be corrected in ways that do not
inhibit communication and fluency, and that in the Cuban context, speaking as much
as possible in English should be the main priority.
Cuban context
As described in relation to pedagogy (Chapter 4, Pedagogical competence) and
reported by Lopez Corria (1999), teacher educators motivate pre-service teachers by
eliciting and introducing topics and issues that are relevant and engaging, using texts
written by Cubans that pre-service teachers feel reflected in, and by contextualising
ELT, using local examples and references. In a sense, this can be seen as resistance
to the dominant Western cultures that traditionally dominated the teaching of English
as a foreign language (W. Baker, 2012). Case members are also conscious of the
need to prepare pre-service teachers to communicate with speakers of English from
around the world, and increase their intercultural awareness. From their studies of
ELT in Vietnam, Kramsch and Sullivan (1996) concluded that ‘appropriate
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150 Chapter 6: Teaching strategies in the Cuban context
pedagogy’ should meet local needs and respect local cultural sensitivities, while also
ensuring that learners have the skills to communicate in the global ‘market place’.
They assert, in relation to ELT, that “the notion of appropriate pedagogy should be a
pedagogy of both global appropriacy and local appropriation” (Kramsch & Sullivan,
1996, p.199). In the Cuban context, relatively isolated from many of the variations of
English language in the world, the socio-cultural elements of second language
acquisition are of special interest and importance, because of the relationship
between language, culture and identity (Norton, 2010; Risager, 2007); and the need
for pragmatic competence in intercultural communication (L. E. Smith & Nelson,
2007).
Intercultural awareness
ELTE is significant in Cuba partly because of the need for people to participate
in and support aid missions to many countries; and also to support international
relationships, tourism and academic research. Teacher educators focus on linguistic
and socio-cultural variation in English language use around the world, particularly in
the USA, UK, Canada and the Caribbean. Ofelia talks of the need for her students to
be aware of cultural differences.
You need to know about the culture of the country if you are learning the
language. If you don’t know anything about Australian people, how are you
going to behave in front of those people, when you have certain
communication with them? It is important to be appropriate everywhere, so
you need culture. Culture is the most important thing when teaching, because
you teach English through culture. (Ofelia, Interview 1, 260411)
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Chapter 6: Teaching strategies in the Cuban context 151
Ofelia expresses her belief in the importance of becoming not just multilingual,
but multicultural, because she understands that the meaning of language often
depends on the social context and cultural norms in which it is used. She says
“That’s why teaching about culture at the same time as using the language is very
important.” (Ofelia, Focus Group, 260511). The case members draw on the various
ELT course books and audio and video recordings which are available to them, as
well as referring to television shows and documentaries to demonstrate socio-
linguistic and cultural differences in English use. Alfredo, referring to the embedded
cultural messages within spoken or written English texts from other countries,
alludes to the importance of teaching students to be critical when viewing, listening
or reading material, particularly from different cultures and political contexts.
There are some students (pre-service teachers) who receive very well
whatever moral they get from every situation we present in English. And
there are some others that don’t pay that much attention to the, I mean the
influence between the lines. Because whatever we present as language – are
pieces of language with a message in between. (Alfredo, Interview 1,
260411)
Alfredo refers, albeit indirectly, to the importance of being critical consumers
of mass media. He encourages pre-service teachers to be aware of unspoken cultural
assumptions ‘between the lines’ in all texts that they encounter. Although access to
external sources of information in Cuba is controlled, including internet access,
television and radio, teacher educators and pre-service teachers are able to watch
many popular foreign television entertainment programs, particularly dramas and
comedies from the USA, which are shown on national Cuban television channels and
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
152 Chapter 6: Teaching strategies in the Cuban context
these can be a useful resource for teaching about English language (Alfredo,
Interview 1, 260411).
They pay attention to these TV series, basically looking for the drama, I
mean the plot, what is going on, and sometimes they miss the details. I mean
obviously it is something that helps us sometimes because we have
something to point out in class “Yeah, this happened and this girl left the
boyfriend and went to the other one and whatever”, and “what happens if
something like that happens?”, and then we have some tools in our hands to
work with. (Alfredo, Interview 1, 260411).
Alfredo is able to use popular English language television programs as a
stimulus for discussion with pre-service teachers, and takes the opportunity to
unpack and critique the assumptions, values and cultural norms presented “between
the lines” in material produced in countries with different political systems and
cultures.
Many, particularly younger, Cubans enjoy African-American genres of music
such as hip-hop and rap, which challenge social norms and modify and play with
English language as an expression of resistance to and alienation from mainstream
Western culture. Pennycook (2010, p.77) notes that “the performative nature of hip
hop lyrics, may not only reflect local language conditions, but may both actively
resist current ways of thinking and produce new ways of thinking about languages
and their meanings.”. Other Cubans want to learn English simply because they enjoy
North American pop culture, television sit-coms and drama shows, and want to be
able to understand the English lyrics and scripts; and get information from the
internet (Juan, Interview 1, 250411). Juan observed that his student teachers seem to
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 6: Teaching strategies in the Cuban context 153
enjoy the English language, more than the French language, which they are also
required to learn and teach.
I think, most of them they study because they like it, they like English. It’s
not the same -I can’t say the same with French. Some like French and some
don’t. Most of my students like English… They do, they like it, they love it.
They feel motivated every time they can understand what they are saying in
a film or you know on these television shows (Juan, Interview 1, 250411)
This quote indicates how significant English language is in Cuba due to its
links with popular music, television programs, films, computer games, global mass
consumerism and youth culture generally. Television has long been a central focus of
domestic life in Cuba; and is an important tool for maintaining a national
revolutionary consciousness, appreciation of Cuban culture, and mass entertainment
(Pertierra, 2009b). As early as the 1970s, Cuban households were watching imported
soap operas, situation comedies, films and children’s programs from the UK, USA,
Eastern Europe, Russia, and even “Skippy, the Bush Kangaroo” from Australia
(Pertierra, 2011, p.204); and English-language television programs, many of which
are made in the USA, continue to be popular and a reason for learning English. For
teacher educators, their professional task is facilitated when their students enjoy
learning and want to learn English.
In Cuba, where the language is not commonly heard outside the classroom,
exposure to linguistic variation in the English language is limited. In 2011, the
national television English course on Universidad Para Todos produced a series of
programs about the different cultures, geography and linguistic peculiarities of Inner
Circle English-speaking countries, including Australia. I was invited to participate in
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154 Chapter 6: Teaching strategies in the Cuban context
the latter program and was interviewed about Australian geography and climate,
Aboriginal culture and Australian popular culture, as well as linguistic differences
with English spoken in Australia and New Zealand, the UK and USA.
Case members use the internet, DVDs, CDs, MP3 players and audio tapes to
expose pre-service teachers to some of the linguistic and cultural differences in
English language globally.
Even though the teacher is a model – the model they should imitate, it is
important for them to listen to the other accents, like the American accent,
we have introduced also the British accent. So, it’s important for them to
listen to that. (Mercedes, Interview 1, 250411)
This quote shows that teacher educators model for pre-service teachers English
speaking skills, such as pronunciation, rhythm and intonation; and also believe that
pre-service teachers need to be familiar with some of the global variation in the
language. Juan models his speech on recordings of ‘native’ English speakers that are
available at El Varona as well as on popular music, TV and films, not because he
wants to sound North American, but to improve his intelligibility when speaking
English with people from around the world.
I will never speak like Americans do or like British people do, so my accent
will never be the same, because it is a Cuban accent…but I have always tried
to imitate, to repeat and repeat let’s say utterances from recordings and it has
really worked with me. (Juan, Interview 1, 250411)
Most lecturers, particularly the older teacher educators are satisfied with their
Cuban accents and one senior faculty member told me “I don’t sound American or
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Chapter 6: Teaching strategies in the Cuban context 155
British. I have a Cuban accent and am proud of it” (Collaborative Teaching
Workshop, 120511). However others, particularly younger pre-service teachers,
more influenced by mass consumerism and Western popular culture, want to perfect
a North American accent.
Ofelia believes that her students would benefit from having more practice in
speaking English, particularly with native speakers (Ofelia, Interview 1, 260411).
Her view, shared by other case members, does not reflect a lack of confidence in
Cuban ELTE; rather, the lack of opportunities to speak English outside the
classroom. Pre-service teachers and teacher educators welcome the chance to put
their English skills into practice with speakers from different countries, including
‘native speakers’. The benefit is perceived as increasing their familiarity with
regional linguistic variations - lexically and phonologically - and to assess their
intelligibility in intercultural interactions.
Intelligibility, comprehensibility and interpretability
In the context of a discussion of World Englishes and standards for English
during a workshop on Day 7 (appendix C), I described three components of
understanding English in international contexts: intelligibility, comprehensibility and
interpretability. They are defined respectively by Smith and Christopher (2001) as
recognising words; understanding the literal meaning of words; and understanding
the meaning of words in a given socio-cultural context. I used the example provided
by them of a misunderstanding between a Muslim, Turkish taxi driver and an
Australian woman passenger, which came about not due to a lack of intelligibility or
comprehensibility, as the taxi driver heard the words spoken by his passenger, and
understood their literal meaning, but due to problems of interpretability – due to
different cultures, traditions, religions and laws (L. E. Smith & Christopher, 2001,
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156 Chapter 6: Teaching strategies in the Cuban context
p.92-93). The example resonated with the Cuban workshop participants and
stimulated lively discussion.
The example you gave us, I mean the Turkish taxi driver, is a good example
that demonstrates that understanding is not always comprehension. And in
this area, I would like to continue researching and talking about it. (Rolando,
Interview 2, 270511)
Rolando would like to explore and discuss the importance of socio-cultural
factors in communicative competence with his fellow teacher educators, particularly
the relevance of interpretability in Cuba where English is used for international
communication and target speakers could be from the Inner, Outer or Expanding
Circles.
Teaching strategies
The strategies used by teacher educators to teach English speaking were
demonstrated by them in the Collaborative Teaching Workshops. Teaching strategies
are understood here to refer to the techniques, procedures and activities that are used
during instruction (Jeffrey, 2006). The communicative strategies observed at El
Varona aim to encourage pre-service teachers to undertake a challenge or engage in a
task while expressing their ideas and beliefs by speaking English. This ‘task-based
approach’ has the benefit of being enjoyable, involving lots of communication, using
a context that is personalised and relevant to participants, and the language explored
arises from their needs . In this way, language learners encounter useful ‘chunks’ of
language, lexical phrases, routine utterances and collocations that may otherwise not
have been introduced to them (Richards & Rodgers, 2001).
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Chapter 6: Teaching strategies in the Cuban context 157
The workshop activities, which were predominantly task-based, could be
classified in various ways. For convenience, I group them in terms of three strategies:
namely Learner-centred Teaching; Active Teaching; and Collaborative Learning. I
also analyse a lesson plan used by Juan in the Collaborative Teaching Workshops, to
exemplify a range of communicative activities that he used in one structured lesson
to teach English speaking skills.
Learner-centred teaching
This strategy places the pre-service teacher at the centre of learning. The
student teacher assumes responsibility for learning and the teacher educator is the
facilitator. Learner-centred practices emphasise the importance of positive personal
relationships between teacher educators and students, respecting students’ ideas and
facilitating higher order thinking, with the expectation that students take
responsibility for their learning (Pierce & Kalkman, 2003).
Case members consider that pre-service teachers are more likely to engage in
debates and discussions if they have had a part in choosing topics which have social
relevance and appropriateness for them. Such topics tend to be issues that have come
to the fore in Cuban society as matters of concern and which may become the focus
of collective, community action. For example, private vehicle ownership in Cuba is
very low and dependence on public transportation is high. Although the situation has
improved in Havana in recent years with importation of modern Chinese buses,
unreliability and crowding on buses is still a matter of public interest. Environmental
issues are also of general concern.
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158 Chapter 6: Teaching strategies in the Cuban context
During the workshops, one group presented a song, “La Zanja” (the ditch) by
popular group Buena Fé, in Spanish, as a stimulus for small group discussion in
English of urban environmental issues. The song is about an open drain in an urban
environment in Santiago de Cuba, where children had played for years. When the
song became a ‘hit’, local authorities were embarrassed into action to fix the
drainage problem for the community. Another teacher educator described a series of
classroom activities to explore, in English, social responsibility, an issue suggested
by pre-service teachers. The activities included discussing and defining the topic,
self-revelation in small groups which included discussion of unplanned pregnancy,
and narrative writing; leading to presentation of personal monologues to the whole
group.
The importance of exploring themes and topics, suggested by pre-service
teachers which relate to the socio-political Cuban context and have social relevance
was reiterated by Ofelia.
My students are always interested in talking about … health problems,
because they are always interested in learning terms, because medical terms
are always difficult for them. Because it’s a fact that you need to read
warnings for medications, and they need to know specific terms. (Ofelia,
Interview 1, 260411)
This quote illustrates that as well as being motivated to speak English by topics
of social relevance, pre-service teachers may also have instrumental reasons, such as
learning about medical warnings on imported products and instruction manuals. Case
members stressed the importance of ensuring that pre-service teachers have sufficient
prior knowledge of the topic for discussion to participate in the classroom and
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Chapter 6: Teaching strategies in the Cuban context 159
practise their English oral skills. Pre-service teachers are required to show
responsibility for their own learning by using research skills to broaden their
knowledge of topics prior to class discussions, and come to class prepared to
participate actively (Ofelia, Interview 1, 260411).
Active teaching
This strategy requires pre-service teachers to be active in the learning process,
and a priority is given to ensuring that activities are engaging, challenging and
creative. Based on the idea that many individuals learn best by practising skills rather
than listening to someone talk about the skill (Buehl, 2001), active teaching
encourages students to be active participants in their own learning (Hermin & Toth,
2006) and involves students in doing things and thinking about what they are doing
(Bonwell & Eison, 1991).
Case members emphasise the importance of ensuring a playful and creative
atmosphere in the classroom, using imaginative games and role play to challenge and
engage pre-service teachers and make learning fun. Juan, and other case members,
uses humour and games and small group activities, which stimulate pre-service
teachers to engage enthusiastically, and interact with each other in English (Juan,
Interview 1, 250411). Various case members describe how pre-service teachers enjoy
taking on different roles and personalities when learning English oral skills, and how
useful drama can be to overcome inhibitions about speaking. In role plays and other
dramatic situations students enjoy pretending to be whoever they want to be (Ofelia,
Focus Group, 260511). Julia also finds that different kinds of role play and
information gap activities work well, where students are able to develop dramatic
scenes and dialogue ad lib. Sometimes these dramatic scenarios are made more
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160 Chapter 6: Teaching strategies in the Cuban context
realistic by contextualising them in locations and situations well known to the
students, for example “You are sitting in a park in 23rd and L” (Julia, Interview 1,
300511). Case members find that imagination and role play engage the pre-service
teachers and help to build their confidence with English language and their self-
esteem, “it simply makes them feel that they are better persons” (Mercedes, Focus
Group, 260511).
Another activity uses English to describe preparation of typical Cuban dishes.
This includes ‘pre-teaching’ a range of relevant vocabulary related to specific food
items, utensils and cooking actions; after which small groups are given a recipe and
the task of discussing ingredients and methods with family members, preparing the
dish together, and reporting back to the class in English – and sharing their dish.
An example of using drama to stimulate active, creative learning is
demonstrated by an inter-school English language festival; hosted biennially at El
Varona; in which secondary schools from the Havana region compete through
dramatic performances, including speeches, music, and song and dance. The
secondary school students present aspects of the cultures of different English
speaking countries (such as the UK, Canada, Jamaica, Trinidad and South Africa).
The festival is presented by Young Pioneers (Festival Pioneril de la Lengua Ingles),
concurrently with the biennial symposium “Encuentro de Profesores de Lenguas Por
Una Clase Mejor” (Meeting of Language Teachers for a Better Classroom).
Collaborative learning
In these activities, teacher educators guide collaborative learning in ways that
facilitate interaction between pre-service teachers. Pre-service teachers work
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Chapter 6: Teaching strategies in the Cuban context 161
collaboratively in small groups to accomplish a common learning objective. Students
at various performance levels can work together toward a common objective and be
responsible for one another's learning as well as their own (Gokhale, 1995).
Collaborative group work makes it easier to gain a sense of achievement, and largely
removes the need for one person’s achievement to be at the expense of another,
which could happen in more competitive situations (Crookes, 2003; Ruys, Van Keer,
& Aelterman, 2010).
Many of the teaching activities in the Collaborative Teaching Workshop
involved participants being organised into small groups, working collaboratively and
interacting with other group members. By way of example, in one session, at the
request of participants, I provided background information about a fatal cancer that
threatens the survival of the Tasmanian devil, an iconic Australian animal, well-
known in Cuba because of a popular US American cartoon character. Given the
current state of knowledge of the disease and the prognosis that the Tasmanian devil
will be extinct within 15 years unless action is taken, small groups of participants
were asked to discuss the situation and propose five strategies to save the species,
assuming that adequate funding were available. Following animated discussion, each
group reported their strategies to the whole class, and after discussion, priority
ratings were given by the whole group to the range of strategies proposed.
Participants were engaged and stimulated, and rewarded to know that their
suggestions closely matched the actual response to the disease in Tasmania. In his
final interview, Juan commented:
We learnt about all these campaigns to save the Tasmanian devil. And we
provided some ideas on how we can do that. So doing that we also learnt
how to have our students interchange, you know, ideas and things, and to
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162 Chapter 6: Teaching strategies in the Cuban context
feel confident to speak, and to make them feel aware that everything they
say is accepted and not anything is wrong. (Juan, Interview 2, 260511)
Juan enjoyed the experience of guided collaborative learning and reflected that
an important element in the activity was the understanding that participants views are
respected and that, in this case, there are no absolute rights and wrongs. Juan
presented a well-paced, structured lesson sequence on the topic of “A good teacher”,
which resulted in animated interaction within and between small groups. I present it
here as a case within a case, to exemplify a Cuban lesson plan for collaborative
learning (Figure 6.1).
The whole group is guided through an initial warm-up activity to activate prior
knowledge and perspectives on the topic “A good teacher” Participants are engaged
by using a memory game, which inevitably involves some playfully competitive
interactions. The following stage involves physically separating participants into
self-selected groups of 4 or 5, who share personal reflections on teachers’ who have
made an impact on them, and recount the qualities which they remember as being
significant to them. This allows participants to interact, actively listen, and creatively
use English language to describe their own experiences. The whole class is then
given a scenario to imagine, in which they are a school principal who needs to
interview a potential new teacher, and each individual writes a list of the
characteristics they would be looking for. This involves a change from group to
individual work and reflection.
The class is then divided into two groups, one of which discusses and agrees on
the qualities of a good teacher, while the other does the same for a good student.
Once again, group work enables participants to interact and discuss and test their
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 6: Teaching strategies in the Cuban context 163
ideas with peers. The next stage is led by the teacher who compares the two lists of
qualities on the blackboard.
“A good teacher”
To explore “what makes a good teacher”, a warm-up activity is to get one
student to say an adjective describing a good teacher, and then each student in turn,
going clockwise, must remember what has been said, and add another adjective, until
someone cannot remember a word; whereupon another student can commence again,
using different adjectives. Students then discuss in small groups any teacher who
made a significant impression on them, and discuss the teacher’s attributes. They
then imagine they are the Principal of a school and before interviewing a prospective
new teacher, must write down a list of characteristics to describe what sort of person
they seek.
Divide the class into two groups and each group lists the characteristics of a
good student and a good teacher; after which the teacher compares the lists in the
blackboard. Working in pairs, students role-play a job interview, taking it in turns to
play the Principal and the teacher applicant. For further extension, students
individually prepare and deliver a 5 minute monologue on “what makes a good
teacher”.
Figure 6.1 Structured lesson sequence: A good teacher
Next, the participants pair up to role play a job interview, and take it in turns to
play the Principal and the teacher applicant. Role play enables each person to
identify with the teacher applicant and the Principal, and to use English creatively to
develop a realistic dialogue. If there is sufficient time, or for homework, participants
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164 Chapter 6: Teaching strategies in the Cuban context
prepare a 5 minute monologue on “what makes a good teacher”, and deliver the
monologue to the groups that they had worked with earlier. Juan maintained interest
and engagement by monitoring interactions and ensuring that common learning
objectives were achieved, in a well-paced, well-structured lesson.
Collaborative teaching workshops
Organisation
Nine workshops were conducted over four weeks, from 3 to 23 May 2011.
Each 90 minute workshop took place in a large classroom at El Varona after teaching
had finished for the day. The number of participants varied from 12 to 20 (potentially
six case members and fourteen other teacher educators, teachers or senior pre-service
English teachers) depending on other demands on their time. The workshops were
intended to be a stimulus for the case members and provide a safe environment in
which to discuss issues relevant to global TESOL; to prepare and present short
activities aimed at developing English language speaking skills; and to interact
collaboratively and facilitate peer observation and feedback. On most days, there was
the added stimulus of a presentation by a guest speaker or me, on a topic relevant to
TESOL internationally (Error! Reference source not found.).
By chance, during the nine workshops, a three day biennial symposium,
“Encuentro de Profesores de Lenguas Por Una Clase Mejor” (Meeting of Language
Teachers For A Better Classroom), took place at El Varona, attended by all of the
workshop participants and me, exposing them to international guest speakers from
UK and Canada, as well as discussions with English language teacher educators from
other pedagogical universities and higher learning institutions in Cuba. After the
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Chapter 6: Teaching strategies in the Cuban context 165
symposium, case members jointly reflected on their experiences in a Focus Group
discussion.
Workshop participants were asked to provide written feedback in a brief
evaluation after Workshop 3, to enable changes to be made to the conduct of
workshops 4 to 9, and again after the final workshop 9 which followed shortly after
the three day symposium. Responses were overwhelmingly positive regarding the
organisation of the workshops and the collaborative culture established (Appendices
D and E). The main change effected after Workshop 3 was that, to be a “less
passive” participant, I presented more information about Australia, Australian culture
and TESOL in Australia. Case members reflected on the workshops in the Focus
Group and second round of interviews.
Reflections
Case members were forthright in discussing the collaborative workshops and
this type of professional community of practice. Several participants would have
liked more workshops, and case members indicated what they would like to include
in any future workshops (Appendix E). Cuban teacher educators are accustomed to
working collaboratively with peers, and undertaking collective tasks and projects.
First of all I have to say that all the workshops, nine workshops - were really
interesting – more than interesting – they were really fruitful because
everybody profited from them. And I think that this is a great opportunity for
sharing things, experiences. (Juan, Interview 2, 260511)
Juan reflected on the value that he and teacher educators generally give to
collaboration, cooperation and teamwork. This is a recurring theme in this study
which appears to be characteristic of ELTE pedagogy at El Varona. Teacher
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166 Chapter 6: Teaching strategies in the Cuban context
educators value working collectively with colleagues, their ‘community of practice’,
to learn from each other and to support each other. Other teacher educators also
considered that the workshops were informative and enjoyable, and while many
aspects were similar to what they experience in their weekly planning and
development meetings with peers, they valued the opportunity to actively participate
and share their ideas. Ofelia appreciated that in the workshops there was no
hierarchy, everybody’s input was valued and respected, and participants were
actively engaged as “co-workers”.
I really appreciate these kinds of workshops. Why is it so? Because in some
other workshops, it is not compulsory for us to show what we do. We just
learn passively from others. But in this way we have the responsibility to
show what we do. (Ofelia, Interview 2, 260511)
Ofelia makes the point that postgraduate courses and workshops are generally
presented by Cuban lecturers with Master or Doctorate degrees and participants tend
to be relatively passive listeners. For Rolando, the workshops were an opportunity to
discuss stimulating ELT topics and learn more about the views of others, particularly
younger teacher educators with whom he does not usually work closely (Rolando,
Interview 2, 270511). Reflections of the three younger teacher educators differed
only slightly. They each enjoyed the interaction with colleagues and Mercedes found
that the value of consulting with colleagues, exchanging ideas and getting critical
feedback on professional practices had been reinforced (Mercedes, Interview 2,
300511). Alfredo appreciated the way that all views were accepted and differences of
opinion were respected (Alfredo, Focus Group, 260511). All case members valued
collaboration among peers and collective professional teamwork and Julia suggested
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Chapter 6: Teaching strategies in the Cuban context 167
that future workshops might include groups of peers, who teach the same subject and
year group, to facilitate team building and learning (Julia, Interview 2, 300511).
The Cuban teacher educators and language teachers showed that they prefer to
work cooperatively and collaboratively, and gain strength and motivation from their
peers and professional colleagues. Juan summed up many of these ideas in his final
interview.
But above all, it is a good way, when we are interacting and working in
groups. It is a good way of fostering these values of solidarity, of friendship,
of cooperation and the like. … And all these workshops and the activities
presented by you and by members of… I mean the participants, were really
focused on that, and developing students’ speaking skills – and also the
interests of the participants which I think can be also the interests of the
students. (Juan, Interview 2, 260511)
Juan considers that the workshops were successful in developing English
speaking skills by engaging with the interests of the participants. He also commented
that the workshops demonstrated to the teacher educators, how in their own
classrooms, they can facilitate pre-service teachers to interact and feel confident to
speak and “to make them feel that everything they say is accepted and not anything is
wrong” (Juan, Interview 2, 260511).
Summary
The strategies used to teach English speaking skills reflect the ‘pedagogy of
tenderness’, and build on the caring relationships and collaborative partnerships that
exist between pre-service teachers and teacher educators. They focus on establishing
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168 Chapter 6: Teaching strategies in the Cuban context
a classroom culture of trust in which student teachers feel confident about expressing
in English their own opinions about any subject. Teacher educators model English
speaking and pronunciation and actively involve pre-service teachers in a respectful
environment in which they feel able to speak without fear of making errors and able
to speak about and creatively act out scenarios drawn from their daily lives. The
teacher educators model to pre-service teachers a range of appropriate ways of
providing corrective feedback which encourage fluency and intelligibility and build
confidence (Ammar & Spada, 2006). Case members demonstrate hybridity by using
American English as the standard for Cuban vocabulary, orthography and
pronunciation, and by selectively enjoying and adopting different aspects of North
American culture. Teacher educators also benefit from their students’ motivation to
learn English due to the appeal of popular Western culture, particularly music that
uses English creatively, with code-switching and resistance to mainstream culture,
such as in US African-American, Puerto Rican and Caribbean rap and hip-hop.
In many ways the stimulus of the Collaborative Teaching Workshops reflects
and extends the collaboration that is a feature of English language teacher education
(ELTE) at El Varona. Nevertheless, the workshops also provided an opportunity for
teacher educators from different subject areas and different Year groups to work
together, discuss a broad range of topics of relevance to global TESOL, and share
and critique each other’s teaching practices in a safe and respectful environment. The
eclectic range of activities and presentations from the workshops demonstrated how
seemingly mundane daily events and activities can be used to engage learners and
encourage English speaking, particularly when everybody has an opinion and wants
to share it. Activities like cooking black beans and rice, a Cuban national dish, can
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 6: Teaching strategies in the Cuban context 169
result in animated discussion, when everyone’s mother or grandmother recommends
their own variation.
Finally, the Collaborative Teaching Workshops provided me with an
opportunity to work alongside Cuban teacher educators, to prepare and present
TESOL topics and activities as peers, and to share the supportive and collaborative
camaraderie that is a feature of Cuban pedagogy. Teaching strategies demonstrated
by the teacher educators are creative and innovative, building on common values,
diverse Cuban culture and everyday scenarios in which participants feel their own
experiences reflected. The strategies make use of communicative, logically
sequenced, well-paced activities, often involving small groups and with lots of
activity, noise and fun. Cuban ELTE facilitates pre-service teachers to develop sound
communicative skills, and become intelligible bilingual speakers of English.
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Chapter 7: Conclusions 171
Chapter 7: Conclusions
Findings and Implications
The purpose of this research project is to examine, through a postcolonial
‘lens’ and intrinsic case study research design, the context, pedagogy and identity of
a group of university teacher educators who prepare specialist English language
teachers in Cuba; and to learn what strategies they consider most suitable for
teaching English speaking skills. In this concluding chapter I summarise my findings
regarding the influence of the Cuban context on the pedagogy and professional
identity of these teacher educators, and the teaching strategies they use; and
tentatively suggest some implications and opportunities for further research.
Despite some notable international recognition of Cuba’s educational
achievements (e.g. Breidlid, 2007; Carnoy, et al., 2007; Gasperini, 2000), the
‘hostility to difference’ in Western discourse (Andreotti, 2011), neoliberal policies of
the World Bank and IMF, and the exclusion of Cuba from some international forums
by the USA, has meant that teacher education, and specifically English language
teacher education (ELTE), in Cuba have been largely ignored in Western educational
discourse.
This study contributes much-needed insights into Cuban ELTE noting that key
features include a ‘pedagogy of tenderness’, collaborative environment, peer
observation, mentoring, modelling of good practice and career-long professional
development for teacher educators. Teacher educators gain pedagogical feedback
within a supportive community of practice, and are encouraged to make explicit their
teaching practices while striving for continual improvement. All of these features
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
172 Chapter 7: Conclusions
have been identified in contemporary Western educational discourse as contributing
to good practice (Korthagen, et al., 2006; Loughran, 2011; T. Russell, et al., 2001).
Cuban pre-service teachers have significant field experience during their five-year
degree course, with extensive scaffolded practicum and pedagogical research
projects. Recent research has shown that such pre-service teaching practice and
development of inquiry skills make important contributions to effective, innovative
teacher education (Rust, 2009; K. Smith, 2011; Swennen, et al., 2008).
Many aspects of Cuban ELTE are regarded as ‘good practice’ in Western
teacher education. The distinctly Cuban features are the way these aspects are
combined in a five year course, of which over half the time is allocated to
experiential learning (practicum and research) in schools; the ‘pedagogy of
tenderness’; and the Freirean nature of the collaborative partnership between teacher
educators and student teachers. In common with key aspects of Freire’s pedagogy of
the oppressed (Freire, 2000), Cuban pedagogy values people working and learning
together in a relationship of mutual respect, enhancing community and building
social capital through dialogue, and locating educational activity in the lived
experience of participants.
Postcolonial theory provides a perspective for exploring the cultural and
educational significance of ELTE pedagogy in Cuba in the context of the country’s
remarkable transformation and independence since the ‘triumph of the revolution’ in
1959. The concepts of representation, resistance and hybridity have been chosen for
this exploration. Through their pedagogy and professional identity, case members
show resistance to neo-colonial representations of Cuba, racist stereotypes and
paternalistic attitudes (J. Johnson, 2003; Perez, 1995). They contextualise their
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 7: Conclusions 173
practices using the Cuban context, and demonstrate respect for local values, socio-
political institutions and Cuban history, heroes and cultural diversity. The case
members demonstrate a degree of hybridity in their identity by being simultaneously
attracted to and repelled by aspects of US culture and society. While they have
adopted and embraced some aspects, they reject many others. Despite the perceived
threat to the sovereignty of their nation, for example as manifested in the US trade
embargo and the 1996 Helms-Burton Act, there has been and remains a close
relationship between Cubans and US citizens at a personal level, with many Cubans
having relatives in the USA, and with many shared sporting and cultural interests.
Teacher educators teach and enjoy the English language, that was once associated in
Cuba with wealth, privilege and ‘linguistic imperialism’ (Corona & Garcia, 1996),
but which is now freely available to all Cubans from an early age. English language
is promoted and made accessible in Cuba, to benefit Cubans personally, such as
through access to US popular mass culture, as well as to support Cuba’s international
relations, growing tourism industry and solidarity with other developing nations.
One way that Cuba resists the aftermath of colonisation is through its
commitment to internationalism and international solidarity. The teaching of foreign
languages including English is essential to Cuba’s unique international, justice-
based, aid program. This remarkable program, unwavering in the face of economic
privations, has seen the Cuban people participate in internationalist missions in many
postcolonial nations of the global ‘South’ (see Hickling-Hudson, 2009), including a
recent Aboriginal adult literacy project in Australia (Boughton, 2009; Schultz-Byard,
2012).
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
174 Chapter 7: Conclusions
The results of this research support the view of many educators around the
world that the professional identity of teacher educators is a core part of the
pedagogy of English language teacher education (Dinkelman, 2011; Korthagen,
2004; Loughran, 2011); and the development of the identity of teacher educators is
influenced by the external political environment, the professional context and their
personal experiences (Mockler, 2011). Teacher educators in this study initially
identified as English language teachers and later developed an identity as a
university-based teacher educator. In the absence of prejudice favouring ‘native’
English-speaking teachers, their professional identity is not shaped by Western
discourses of ‘non-native’ speakers (Pavlenko, 2003a), a contrast with many other
TESOL environments (Holliday & Aboshiha, 2009; Selvi, 2011). The case members
are confident, bilingual users of English who studied English as a foreign language in
Cuba, and who are recognised by their institution, society and peers as multi-
competent, professional, bilingual English language teacher educators. Case
members recognise the advantages of being bilingual speakers of Spanish and
English, able to draw on their personal language learning experiences and knowledge
of their L1, Spanish, as appropriate and necessary, to contribute to their teaching
practices. As found in studies of teacher educators and language teachers in other
countries (Swennen, et al., 2008; Tsui, 2007), an important aspect of the identity of
case members is their participation in communities of practice in their profession.
They participate mainly with peers in their discipline, and then more broadly with
other teacher educators in the university; and may also collaborate and communicate
with English language teacher educators nationally and internationally. Case
members also identify to some degree as Cuban participants in a global community
of English speakers.
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 7: Conclusions 175
In Cuba, perhaps as a reflection of the ‘pedagogy of tenderness’ or perhaps
because this pedagogy is a reflection of Cuban values of collectivism, collaboration
and solidarity, teacher educators work collaboratively with each other and value
caring relationships with their peers and students. In the so-called post-method era,
teaching of English to Cuban pre-service teachers is guided by the principles of the
communicative approach however, as suggested by Kumaravadivelu (2006) and
others, teacher educators use ‘principled pragmatism’ to determine how best to teach
English in communicative ways. They use and respect the local culture, language
needs and socio-political environment of the pre-service teachers, getting to know
each student individually and recognising their differing needs as language learners.
As English language is used globally for international communication, the case
members understand the plurality of the language around the world and emphasise
the importance of intercultural intelligibility and context-dependent pragmatic skills
(L. E. Smith & Nelson, 2007). The Cuban English language teacher educators adopt
a transnational stance and contextualise their teaching practices in the local culture
and environment while acknowledging the diverse linguacultures associated with the
language globally (Risager, 2010).
Communicative teaching strategies are used by the teacher educators to teach
speaking skills, and include ‘learner-centred teaching’ (Pierce & Kalkman, 2003),
‘active teaching’ (Hermin & Toth, 2006) and ‘collaborative learning’ (Ruys, et al.,
2010). Strategies for teaching English language speaking skills build on a caring
classroom culture in which pre-service teachers are encouraged to develop self-
confidence and overcome their fear of producing ‘incorrect’ English, whether due to
slips or errors. Through drama, games and creative play, pre-service teachers are
encouraged to use their imagination to explore different roles and take on different
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
176 Chapter 7: Conclusions
identities, while practising and enhancing their English speaking skills. Teacher
educators engage pre-service teachers by eliciting from them topics of social
relevance and appropriateness, to explore in a supportive environment. While pre-
service teachers make use of their knowledge of and interest in Cuban life, both they
and teacher educators also explore, compare and contrast the differences in English
language (viz. phonology, pragmatics, registers etc.) in different locations and socio-
cultural contexts worldwide.
English language teacher education (ELTE) in Cuba is centrally coordinated
and integrated from the national to the local level; and follows a national curriculum.
A five year course to prepare specialist English language teachers for the school
system, from primary school to pre-university colleges, covers a wide range of
pedagogical subjects in addition to specialist English language modules. A feature of
ELTE in Cuba is the priority given to experiential learning, ‘Estudio-trabajo’. This
has two components: practicum and educational research. The importance of field
experience for pre-service teachers has long been appreciated in the preparation of
teachers generally (Crookes, 2003; T. Farrell, 2008a), and in Cuba ‘Estudio-trabajo’
comprises over half of the five-year teaching degree and involves pre-service
teachers being responsible for a language class as the class teacher from the second
to the fifth year of their studies.
The school-based educational research which pre-service teachers undertake
during their final three years of study involves them in identifying research questions
and conducting systematic studies with the aim of improving pedagogical aspects of
English language teaching in their school environment. The commitment to training
pre-service teachers to learn and use research skills reflects the expectation that they
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 7: Conclusions 177
will use these skills during their teaching careers. Application of teacher research to
classroom practices has been identified as making an important contribution to
reflection and pedagogical improvement (T. Farrell, 2007; Rust, 2009).
This case study focuses on the particularities of a group of six teacher
educators at one university. El Varona is Cuba’s largest teacher training institution
and is influential in the pedagogy of ELTE in Cuba and these conclusions apply only
to that institution. However, having discussed Cuban ELTE at a symposium with
over one hundred educators from other Cuban institutions during the course of this
study; having seen how the national curriculum is implemented at El Varona; and
having heard from case members who trained in other universities of pedagogical
sciences (particularly Holguin, Matanzas and Villa Clara), I tentatively suggest that
these findings may be indicative of ELTE practices at other Cuban pedagogical
universities. Further research is required to be more definitive.
This study has focused on the context, pedagogy, identity, and teaching
strategies of one group of six, university-based, English language teacher educators.
This is only part of the story of English language teaching (ELT) in Cuba. Future
research in Cuba might explore how English language television classes are made
accessible at negligible cost (e.g. only a few cents per workbook for the Universidad
Para Todos television course) and explore their impact and effectiveness. It would
also be valuable to investigate the development of professional identity of pre-service
English language teachers as they become qualified teachers; and to compare ELTE
in Cuba with other postcolonial Caribbean nations, particularly Puerto Rico, a former
Spanish colony which is now part of a US ‘commonwealth’. Assessment of the
effectiveness of ELTE at El Varona was beyond the scope of this study. However, it
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
178 Chapter 7: Conclusions
would be valuable to include in future studies some measures of effectiveness in
terms of learning outcomes such as communicative competence (grammatical,
discourse, sociolinguistic, strategic and pragmatic competence), particularly in
intercultural communication given Cuba’s need to communicate in English with
people from many different cultures.
Educators in North America and Europe have called for more research into
Cuba’s teacher training system to better understand the reasons for its success
(Breidlid, 2007; Gomez Castanedo & Giacchino-Baker, 2010). The significance of
this study derives from the postcolonial concept of resistance to negative, Western
representations of Cuba’s independent path, and hearing the voice of the non-
Western Other, the bilingual, professional Cuban English language teacher educator.
This study has brought to the fore the key elements of the pedagogy of English
language teacher education in Cuba, not through observations by a Western
academic researcher, but through the voices of dedicated Cuban teacher educators,
who have spoken for themselves.
Limitations of the study
Time
The limitations on time available to complete the degree of Master of
Education by research, meant that time for fieldwork in Cuba could not extend for
more than 8 weeks. However, by using the time efficiently, I was able to gather
sufficient information-rich data to answer the research questions. I was conscious
that the study placed an increased burden on the six case members who are full-time
lecturers at El Varona; and several of whom have family and child-caring
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 7: Conclusions 179
responsibilities; yet they were generous in the time they gave to participate in
interviews, a focus group, and collaborative workshops.
Opportunities to observe classroom teaching
Given the difficulties of international communication and formal approval
processes before I travelled to Cuba, the research project was planned so that it was
unnecessary to observe teacher educators or school teachers in classrooms, but rather
aimed to learn from working collectively with teacher educators in collaborative
teaching workshops. Nevertheless, I was invited to join different case members and
workshop participants in their classes, offices and homes, and was able to observe
classes informally and interact freely with pre-service teachers in classrooms and
around the campus. No limits were placed on my access to people or places
throughout my stay at the Faculty of Foreign Languages at El Varona.
Implications
For teacher educators
The case members were interested and expressed some surprise to learn how
rapidly English language has been spreading and being taken up around the world,
and the implications for teaching English as a global language and the ownership of
English more generally. Continued discussion among teacher educators both within
and outside Cuba about current debates around the global use of English language
and the range of contexts and cultures in which it is used outside the Inner Circle
would enable a multi-directional exchange of perspectives on English as a global
language (Jenkins, et al., 2011; Seidlhofer, 2011). Teacher educators expressed
interest in further debate about the implications for standard forms of English in
global TESOL; and the sociocultural implications of communication between L2
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
180 Chapter 7: Conclusions
English language users (L. E. Smith & Nelson, 2007). In particular, exploration of
the relevance of intelligibility, comprehensibility and interpretability in intercultural,
communication in English would be valuable.
For the Faculty
Collaborative practical teaching workshops
Participants were enthusiastic about the collaborative culture and format of the
practical teaching workshops that were associated with this study. They enjoyed the
opportunity in the workshops to actively participate and work with colleagues in
small groups to prepare and demonstrate activities based on personal interests, and
Cuban themes and topics, and to share ideas and thoughts in a safe, non-judgmental
environment.
For the University
Facilitating international ELT volunteers
Some teacher educators mentioned that they and student teachers would benefit
from more experience working with and conversing with volunteers from
Anglophone countries, to increase their familiarity with English language diversity.
In turn, volunteers would gain valuable professional insights from working with
Cuban colleagues and experiencing the particularities of the Cuban ELTE
environment. There may be many international English language teacher educators
and teachers who would welcome such professional engagement and wish to
volunteer their services. They could also exchange practical teaching ideas with
Cuban teacher educators for mutual benefit, as currently occurs with Canadian
teachers and teacher educators. Engagement of volunteers would be facilitated if a
point of contact was established within the university administration at El Varona,
and advice provided about the required administrative process, such as a letter of
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Chapter 7: Conclusions 181
invitation from the university, visa application, accommodation options, transport
and period of volunteer work.
Further research
Study of the identity of English language pre-service teachers
The present study focused on the pedagogy and professional identity of a group
of English language teacher educators. A complementary case study of the
motivation, experiences and professional identity of a group of English language pre-
service teachers could include both 2nd
and 5th
year undergraduates to explore the
changes they experience during their field experience in schools (‘Estudio-trabajo’).
Study of the national television English course, Universidad Para Todos
The present version of the nationally televised English course, Universidad
Para Todos, began in 2000 at the direction of former President Fidel Castro, and has
proven popular. A mixed study of the uptake, impact and effectiveness of the course,
involving surveys and interviews of participants and presenters would be valuable.
Comparative postcolonial study of English Language Teacher Education
A comparison of ELTE in Cuba with another postcolonial nation in the
Caribbean, the former Spanish colony Puerto Rico, would provide a sound basis for
critiquing the Cuban system of ELTE and evaluating its relative strengths and
weaknesses. Such a study could include measurement of the effectiveness of ELTE
in terms of developing communicative competence, particularly in contexts of
international communication involving both L1 and L2 users of English; and
pedagogical competence.
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
182 Chapter 7: Conclusions
This case study is the first to use postcolonial theory as a paradigm for
examining an aspect of Cuban teacher education. It presents a tentative
understanding of the context, pedagogy and professional identity of Cuban English
language teacher educators, and the ways that ELTE in Cuba demonstrates hybridity
and resistance to hegemonic western discourse. This research can be a basis for more
extensive exploration of the Cuban model of teacher education and specifically
English language teacher education, which in turn may lead to more comparative
research exploring Cuban ELTE in relation to other developing nations.
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
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English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Appendix A 199
Appendices
Appendix A
Procedure for fieldwork in Cuba (Stage 2)
Stage 2: research plan in Cuba
T1T2Interviews
De-briefing session
Sharing workshops
Community of practice
Focus group
PHASE 1
PHASE 2
PHASE 3Interviews
Key
T1 = initial ‘theory’ or understanding of ELTE in Cuba, after first interviews
T2 = modified ‘theory’ following workshop, focus group and final interviews
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Appendix B 201
Appendix B
Interview Questions and Topics
(adapted from Borg, 1998 and Barkhuizen, 2008)
The interview will use few (about 3-5), open questions, to elicit the views and
opinions of the lecturers. It will avoid leading questions, however, follow-up
questions will be asked to tease out the meaning of initial responses and probe emic
issues. Four principal questions will be asked:
1: Describe your personal story of teaching English RQ1 & RQ2
Introduce yourself and tell the story of your interest in English teaching.
Why and how did you become an English language teacher?
2: Describe your English language learning experiences RQ1 & RQ2
Describe 3 moments that you remember from your experience of learning
English.
What kind of pedagogy was used by your English teachers and what or who
has/have been the greatest influence(s) on your teaching?
3: Describe how you learnt to teach English and your pedagogy RQ1 & RQ3
What have been your best and worst experiences in teaching English?
What methods and strategies do you use and prefer, particularly for oral skills?
What concerns do you have about your students’ oral English skills?
4: In what ways does the Cuban context influence ELT in Cuba RQ2
How does your institution help you to teach English language?
What role do you think English language has in the lives of your students?
Why do you think your students want to learn English?
What role, if any, does Cuban culture, history, politics have in your classroom?
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Appendix C 203
Appendix C
Schedule of Collaborative Workshops
(3 – 23 May 2011)
Grp Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9
Tu
3/5
We
4/5
Th
5/5
Mo
9/5
We
11/5
Th
12/5
Mo
16/5
We
18/5
Mon
23/5
1 CM5, PO8 A: A Good
Teacher
I: Holguin
Arts Festival
2 CM1, CM3,
CM4
I:Spanish
Pop Song,
La Zanja
A: IPA
Minimal pairs
game
3 CM6, PO7,
P12
A: Listening
strategies
I: Cooking
lexis, Cuban
recipes
I: Normandy
and French in
English
4 PO9, P13,
P14
A: Analysis of
a speaking
unit
5 P10, P11,
P15
A: Personal
likes and
dislikes
I: Cuban Art
Academy
6 CM2, P16 I: Discuss
T/F
statements
A: Find
someone
who..?
Guest
talk
Alejandro
Torres:
Caribbean
writers
Isora
Enriquez: ELT
on TV
(Universidad
para todos)
Juan-Carlos
Vega: Spanish
speakers;
minimal pairs
fly swat game
Hugh Dellar: casual
discussion, lexis
and grammar
Topic Introdn to case
study; Austn
geography and
culture; plan
of workshops
Historical
spread of
English;
World
Englishes
Linguistic
imperialism;
Global
language;
Evaln pt 1
Evaluation
feedback;
dictogloss;
Caribbean
short stories
Whistle
dictation 1;
History of ELT
in Cuba; French
in Australia
Whistle
dictation 2,
using the
Cuban context
Turkish taxi
driver;
solving
mysteries
Pronunciation;
body language;
rhythm and
nursery rhymes
Feedback on
Caribbean short
stories; Tas Devil;
awards, Evaln pt 2.
Key:
Activity (A) = Included a participant-led (solo, in pairs or threes) 15 min speaking exercise with the whole group (one or more each afternoon).
Interest (I) = Participants working individually in pairs or threes, gave a 15 min. presentation on one day - on a subject that they are passionate about or a lesson on a particular skill e.g. cooking
black beans, Afro-Cuban dance or singing etc.
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Appendix D 205
Appendix D
Interim written evaluation
Feedback after Workshops 1, 2 and 3
5 May 2011
CODE What have you
liked?
What would
you like to
change?
What could
be done
better?
Other comments
CM1
Julia
I really liked the
presentations on English
spreading in the world,
and about interesting facts
I didn’t know.
Having less
interaction with the
Cuban experience and
adding more about
how this is done in the
rest of the world.
A less passive
attitude from the
host [Steven]
Everything has been
really good; the
experience and the
interaction. I’d like this
to be a postgraduate
course.
CM2
Mercedes
The atmosphere. I feel
comfortable working with
my colleagues.
Nothing Dynamics of the
activities
The lecturer [Steven]
makes us feel that all
our opinions are
valuable. There’s no
right or wrong.
CM3
Alfredo
I really liked the exchange
in English about English
and teaching.
The timing. I work
better in the
mornings.
I think it is very
accurate the time
duration of our meeting.
One hour and a half
neither satisfies you nor
makes you bored. You
keep up interested.
CM4
Ofelia
I’ve liked the way we
learn from other people’s
experiences, having fun
We don’t have
enough time, so I’d
change schedule to
make it last.
I think everything’s
perfect.
I’d like to know more
about the way English
is taught in your
university.
CM5
Juan
Everything. It was
awesome. I have enjoyed
and learnt a lot.
It was a pity that we
only had nine
workshops and for only
one and a half hours.
CM6
Rolando
I’ve been very pleased
with all the activities
we’ve been involved in.
The way the teacher
[Steven] has organised
each daily activity.
To have a longer time
(maybe two more
weeks) developing
this type of activity.
Just at the moment I
don’t have an idea,
but I’m sure every
day we meet is
better than the
previous one.
P07 It has been very
interesting for me to learn
more about Australia and
the way English has
spread so fast throughout
the world. Also the
presentations of my
colleagues have been very
useful for my work as a
teacher.
Nothing Everything is OK
for me.
We could have some
courses like this one
every year, or more
often.
P08 It’s good to prepare
activities and share them
with the group because
we can learn from others.
We have the chance to
interact and speak.
- - We have faced the
experience of others.
The members of the
group speak freely
without fear. Even
though we do not
belong to the same
schools we can teach
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
206 Appendix D
and learn.
P09 That we have socialised
and so learned from one
another
So far – nothing. Dialectically
speaking everything
can be done better,
even when it is the
same activity.
Thank you for
achieving in a very soft
way what we sometimes
feel unable.
P10 Everything given with my
classmates because, I
think, that every day in
the workshop we are
learning a lot.
Nothing would be
changed. It’s very
interesting for me.
Everything is fine. I consider that this type
of activity could be
prepared most of the
time between us.
P11 I have liked the
information given about
Australia and the way
different groups have
developed the activities
Nothing Everything is OK
P12 I liked the presentations,
especially Julia and
Ofelia’s and your speech
about Australia
For you to talk more
about Australia.
P13 Everything goes on in a
very nice atmosphere,
there’s the priceless value
of “collective”
intelligence in our
meetings. Everything is
properly conducted.
- - So far it has been great.
I guess everybody feels
at ease, and most
important everyday we
can learn something
new, from the professor
[Steven] and from our
comrades.
P14 You respect everybody’s
opinion. It is very
relaxing and we learn
from one another.
Nothing.
P15 The interchange of
experiences in applying
communicative activities.
I would like to know
activities apply in
Australia at language
schools.
To interact with
authentic materials.
Teacher [Steven] must
focus on our
corrections.
P16 I liked the presentations
given by colleagues. I’ve
learned too much about
these topics.
Everything is OK - No comment.
(*Note: Codes CM 1 to CM 6 are the six case members; and code numbers P07 to 16 are other UCPEJV lecturers who
participated in the workshops. The same codes are used in Appendix C, to indicate groupings)
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Appendix E 207
Appendix E
Final written evaluation
Feedback after all nine Workshops
23 May 2011
CODE What did you
like best?
What did
you like
least?
What was
new or
different
for you?
Will you be
able to use
anything
from the
workshops
in your
teaching in
future? If
‘yes’, what?
Would you like to
attend other
workshops on ELT
strategies? What
topics would be
most interesting?
CM1
Julia
Presentations about
fluency and word
and sentence stress.
Using nursery
rhymes and other
things.
Nothing.
Everything
has been
great.
Ways of
dictating
things to
students
(dictation
exercises are
not too much
used in our
classrooms)
I already have.
Yes. Exercises on
word and sentence
stress, dictation
exercises.
Information about
World Englishes.
Absolutely. Interesting
topics: getting fluency in
English; teaching
pronunciation patterns;
common phrasal verbs and
meanings in colloquial
language.
CM2
Mercedes
The lecture about
globalisation; and
the lecture about
interpretability,
intelligibility and
comprehensibility
Also, phonetics and
all the interest
activities my
colleagues did.
Some
interruptions
from people in
the audience.
The heat!
Everything
was either
new or
different for
me.
Yes. The
activities about
homophones
(phonetics); the
mystery solving
activities.
Yes. Anything related to
improving English lessons.
CM3
Alfredo
(absent for this
final evaluation )
CM4
Ofelia
I liked oral
presentations about
the Tasmanian
devil. I’m a nature
lover
It wasn’t
enough for
me. I wanted
more time.
The way to
organise the
schedule
divided into
interests and
activities.
Yes. All the
activities, ideas
and vocabulary I
learnt during this
time.
Of course. Socio-cultural
competence
CM5
Juan
The presentations
the teacher
[Steven] made
about Australia,
English present and
future, and the
Tasmanian devil
- The things I
learnt about
the
Aborigines in
Australia
Of course. The
history of
Australia as well
as the campaign
for saving the
Tasmanian devil.
Absolutely. I guess topics
that have to do with
learning strategies, styles
and methods for teaching.
CM6
Rolando
The possibility we
had to interact
about the most
diverse topics in
English. The
presence of ‘our’
teachers in the most
important event of
our faculty [Por
una clase mejor],
The duration
of this
‘amazing
language
party’
I learnt a lot
of things, so I
would like to
continue this
fantastic
experience.
Yes. Especially
data associated to
‘intelligibility,
comprehensibility
and
interpretability’;
about Australia;
identity and
language learning;
and a Lexical
Yes. Any associated with
ELT methodology.
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
208 Appendix E
and… to have the
opportunity to meet
you Steven and
Hugh (Dellar)
Approach [Hugh
Dellar]
7 All the activities
were great to put
into practice in
class.
- Many things
were new,
mainly those
about
Australia, the
Tasmanian
devil and
others. But I
enjoyed them
a lot.
The song in
Spanish; use of
drawings to
practice
narratives;
dictation
exercises.
Of course. Developing oral
skills in class.
8 Oral presentations,
not only by the
teacher [Steven]
but by the Cuban
teachers too
- My old
memory can’t
remember. It
was really
good.
Some of the
techniques
presented: the
songs in Spanish,
minimal pairs,
dictation;
activities to
develop oral
skills.
9 I wouldn’t like to
choose, but the
class
demonstrations
won this time.
The
coincidence
there was with
other school
tasks.
This was my
second season
[with Steven]
and it was
totally
different, even
the topics we
had had.
In fact, I have
been using
everything.
Sure thing.
10 Everything you
gave us.
- This was the
first time I
received a
course like
this so I’m
learning a lot
and thanks for
everything.
Yes, the way of
teaching English,
the games we use
here, and all what
I learned in the
workshop
Yes of course. Whatever
you want. You are the best
11 The way you
organised the
workshops. Your
dedication.
- Inviting some
other teachers
to share with
us.
I’m not sure
because I don’t
teach English (at
present). Anyway
activities were
very interesting.
Of course. Australian
culture.
12 Our dear teacher
[Steven] and the
atmosphere of the
work.
Only three
weeks
Yes. The story
of the French
explorers in
Tasmania.
Yes. Teaching a
foreign language
using Cuban
songs.
Yes. Workshops on ELT
strategies by the dance and
the theatre.
13 I really like
everything. It was
really
collaborative; it
was very
professionally
conducted and
filled out any
expectations.
- Not really
new, but very
useful, from
professional
guidance and
input from the
teacher
[Steven] - a
whole group
work job.
Yes. Mainly it has
made me more
reflective and at
the same time
some new and
interesting
techniques such as
whistle dictation.
Yes. Mainly related to
teaching practice,
particularly different kinds
of interaction patterns at
different stages in the
teaching-learning process of
any content.
14 We learn many
new ways to work
with our students in
the classroom. The
atmosphere that
you were able to
create.
I liked
everything.
The aspects
related to the
Tasmanian
devil. It was
the first time I
heard about it.
Yes. Aspects
related to listening
activities and the
activity related to
vocabulary (food)
Writing (writing strategies)
English Language Teacher Education in Cuba: Context, Pedagogy and Identity
Appendix E 209
15 The interaction of a
native English
speaker and
Spanish speakers.
The short time
for the
workshops
It was
different for
me because
we made
ourselves
presentations
in the
workshop
Yes. The
activities
proposed for
people interaction
in the classroom.
Yes I would. I like general
topics.
16 - - - - -
(*Note: Codes CM 1 to CM 6 are the six case members; and code numbers 7 to 16 are other UCPEJV
lecturers who participated in the Collaborative Teaching Workshops)