Santo Domingo. – The program English by Immersion for Competitiveness celebrates 20 years consolidated as a success model for social development in the Dominican Republic.
This is what the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology (Mescyt) considers, Franklin García Ferminwho highlighted that for two decades The initiative has become a space to promote social mobility and professional development of thousands of young people throughout the national territory.
“English by Immersion She is the pretty girl of our ministry. His impact is tangible: young people who today are teachers, entrepreneurs, tourism employees and bilingual professionals that contribute to the growth of the country,” the minister expressed through a press document.
Given the achievements achieved in recent years, the head of Mescyt announced the launch of the program Virtual English for Employabilitywhich will work in a complementary way to in-person immersion, in order to expand access to more students through online education.
Important advances
The initiative emerged in 2005, when the country faced the urgent need to train bilingual personnel for companies, free zones and tourism. This is how he remembers it Roxanna Hacheone of its founders, highlighting that thanks to the program, learning the English language was democratized.
“He English was seen as a privilegea language of the elites. But With this program we democratize access to the language and we reached every corner of the country,” said Haché.
He also highlighted the methodology with a communicative approach as key to success. “The student stops translating and learns to think in English. That was our bet, and today it is a reality that has transformed the teaching model throughout the country.”
Change of lives
Many of the young people who have gone through the English immersion classroomstoday they work as teachers, academic coordinators, tourism professionals or employees in contact centers.
Such is the case of Luis Daniel Matías, who pointed out that “the English opened the doors to work in international agencies and promote cultural exchanges that transform the vision of young Dominicans.”
Another success story is Antonio Perezwho went from student to teacher, and currently coordinates a center in his community.
The program, which currently has more than 129 centers nationwide, has trained more than 250,000 Dominicans in these 20 years, and according to authorities it has established itself as one of the most successful public policies of Mescyt.
These considerations were presented within the framework of the celebration of the anniversary week carried out by the direction of Foreign Languages, led by Giseh Cuesta, director and the coordinating team, who reported that the celebration began on the 11th of the current month and will culminate with a graduation on December 3.
