Cuba makes English a priority in schools

Cuba makes English a priority in schools
AFP

Now that Cuba has restored diplomatic ties with the United States,
teaching English in schools will be a priority, the communist party
newspaper Granma reports.

In the 1970s, the study of English in Cuban schools was supplanted by
Russian, after the Soviet Union emerged as the communist island's main
benefactor following Fidel Castro's ascent to power in 1959.

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, English returned to Cuba's
academic curriculum. And since Havana and Washington restored ties in
July, interest in English has skyrocketed.

"The language is essential because every day we are going to have more
contact" with the United States and other countries, the communist
party's number two official, Jose Ramon Machado Ventura, told university
students over the weekend.

In 2008, two years after yielding power to his brother Raul, Fidel
Castro acknowledged the importance of speaking English.

"The Russians studied English. Everyone studied English, except for us.
We studied Russian," Castro said.

Source: Cuba makes English a priority in schools - 9news.com.au -
http://www.9news.com.au/world/2015/09/01/06/45/cuba-makes-english-a-priority-in-schools