Yoana Rodríguez Rodríguez is a teacher at the University of Matanzas, Cuba. She is interested in updated researches about ELT. She has written about reading comprehension and the development of integrated linguistic abilities. Her current professional interests focus on linguistic topics. Email: yoana.rguez@umcc.cu

 

Introduction

Nowadays, Cuban economy creates new relationships with the world. The communication in English language is essential for university students and is taken as part of theprofessional abilities they have to develop. That’s why High Education in Cuba decided to establish the demands of the CEF, the organization that endorses the international standards to define linguistic competence.

Accounting and finance professionals deal with a great responsibility in increasing our economy. A system of didactic activities was put into practice for accounting students, with the aim to develop their linguistic abilities, due to the great importance of a good command on English Language to have access to the most updated information about these topics in the world.

 

Development

Boswood (1990) brought the “communication for specific purposes “approach. He considers that the communicative event is the result of a previous task where the students make a research about a professional topic.

The resolution of professional problems is of high importance in the teaching –learning process for accounting students, this aspect is achieved through the integration of reproductive, productive and creative activities to give a solution to a communicative task about their profession.

 

Didactic activity. Title: Foreign investment in Cuba

Organization: Class

Type: Workshop

Learning outcomes - the students should be able to:

- to select relevant elements from a text in English language about foreign investment using researching information strategies,

- to explain the importance offoreign investment for the economy using a text in English language.

Content: Foreign investment and its economic importance:

- new technical vocabulary related to foreign investment.

Means: original / authentic texts in English language aboutforeign investment.

Encyclopedic Dictionary of International Finance and Banking.

Method: joint elaboration with the communicative approach.

Class procedures:

Previously to the activity the professor will ask the students to look for information about the importance of foreign investment to our economy. During the research the students will get in touch with an updated professional approach according to the new economic development in Cuba.

The activity will be introduced with an exercise in which the students will expose the results about their research. The workshop will take place in teams; the students will have the opportunity to share opinions about the topic.

The professor will bring the students the text: Prospects for foreign investment in Cuba and will assign the first exercise to look for the general idea (Exercise 1), then the students will find out the main ideas and the supporting ones in each paragraph (Exercise 2).

At this point the problem case will be introduced, through the question:What’s the importance of the foreign investment in Cuba to our economic development? (Exercise 3). The students using the previous knowledge and the text will discuss and debate about the topic; the professor will clarify all doubts to contribute communication in class.

Conclusion: to conclude the activity the professor will assign to act out a dialogue to expose the most relevant aspects about the topic to achieve the students` self knowledge (Exercise 4).

Evaluation: An analysis about achievements and difficulties to give solution to the activities and a comparison on the students´knowledges before and after the lesson will take place at the end of the workshop.

Text: Prospects for foreign investment in Cuba.

As part of the updating of the Cuban economic model, foreign investment in Cuba orients to the diversification and expansion of export markets, access to advanced technologies, imports substitution, obtaining external financing, the creation of new sources of employment, catchment of management methods and linking it with the development of production chains, as well as the change in the energy matrix of the country through the use of renewable energy sources. Once again, the Havana International Trade Fair, in its 34th edition, reaffirms its status as Cuba and the Caribbean's most important event of this kind, and one of the most representative in Latin America, said Rodrigo MalmiercaDíaz, minister of Foreign Trade and Investment, upon inaugurating the fair yesterday, October 31, set to continue through November 4 at the Expo Cuba fairgrounds. Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment Rodrigo Malmierca reported that the portfolio contains 395 projects, 69 more than were proposed in 2015, representing a total of 9.5 billion dollars. He noted that the portfolio has been improved qualitatively as well, with a greater variety of sectors included, both potential and fully studied proposals, and incorporates possibilities for joint work with cooperatives. The document includes specific data on foreign investment on the island, with tourism as the sector with the most international partners. Energy and food processing are also sectors attracting attention. The Mariel Special Development Zone is again highlighted, with 24 projects in this area proposed. Once again this year, Venezuela, China and Russia return as important partners, and Spain has sent the most exhibitors; while France, Italy and Japan have expanded their participation. Attending for the first time are Ethiopia, Tanzania and Gabon, according to Malmierca.

Reading   comprehension   exercises.

Ex.1 Read the text and write its general idea.

Ex.2 Read the text and select the main ideas and the supporting ones.

Ex.3 What’s the importance of the foreign investment in Cuba to our economic development?

Ex.4 Act out a dialogue to explain the most significant aspects of the foreign investment to Cuba´s economy development.

 

Conclusions

The system of didactic activities offers the opportunity to improve the English learning process through the development of the integrated linguistic abilities.

The integrated use of updated didactic resources in English language brings about the students interest about their future profession.

 

References

Bécquer, M; Vázquez, A; Abreu, A (2011). Self-evaluation in English language. A proposal of workshops for its development. Education and Development workbooks. Vol 3, Nº 28 (june 2011) [On line]. Available in: http://www.eumed.net

Felipe, K. (2016).Prospects for foreign investment in Cuba.  [On line]. Available in: http://www.cubadebate.cu.

Boswood, T. (1990). Communication for Specific Purposes: Establishing the Communicative Event as the Focus of Attention. In: Acts of 4^th Annual International Conference on Pragmatics and Language Learning. Urbana-Champaign: University of Illinois.

 

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