First immersion in English strengthened communicative skills

The first 60 middle school students from educational institutions in the department, from the municipalities of Tena, La Mesa and Arbeláez, strengthened their communication skills in the English language for four days through cultural, recreational, sports and everyday activities.

“Overcoming my fear of speaking English and interacting daily with young people from other educational institutions, and making friends, was a unique and motivating experience for learning this language. It was four days of total immersion and personal enrichment,” said Juana Beltrán, a 10th-grade student at the Kirpalamar Educational Institution in the municipality of Arbeláez.

The closing of the first immersion program in 2017 culminated as an enriching life experience for the participating students, who carried out academic and pedagogical activities framed within playful environments, led by expert coaches in the English language.

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For his part, the dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Political Science, Darwin Andrés Díaz Gómez, began his remarks at the closing ceremony with the phrase, “We educate for life.” He indicated that our institution educates for life and that the young participants are being called to be part of the 21st-century generation, where today's globalized world demands speaking more than two or three languages. He added...

Furthermore, our university envisions itself as a translocal university, engaging in dialogue with the world, because these types of joint activities combine efforts to strengthen bilingual education in Cundinamarca, Díaz Gómez pointed out.

The Director of Educational Quality of Cundinamarca, Luis Gabriel Peñaranda Díaz, highlighted the importance of immersion programs and how they build human capital in relation to the development of job skills for strengthening bilingualism in the department.

Finally, the first day of immersion in 2017 was marked by emotional messages of friendship and personal growth from the students, as stated by Jaider Leguizamón Rodríguez, a student from the Ernesto Aparicio Educational Institution in La Mesa.

“The experience has been interesting, but above all, enriching. The teachers have helped us interact with other students to make friends. They've also taught us to overcome our fear of public speaking and speaking in English, to sharpen our thinking, and to act under pressure in a playful and natural way. Regarding the facilities, I found them beautiful, with many green spaces and swimming pools. These spaces were used by the teachers for everyday activities. My expectations have grown, and I feel I need to push myself even harder. This learning environment has demanded that I give my best because in the future I want to speak English fluently, since speaking a second language is an academic and professional opportunity,” the young student emphasized.

The closing ceremony was presided over by the General Secretary of UCundinamarca, Luz Angélica Vizcaíno, the English Coordinator of the Institution, Fabián Leal, the Bilingualism Coordinator of the department, Yelitza Parra and her team, principals of the IED, and other administrative management personnel of the strategic alliance of the Cundinamarca Bilingüe Learning More Together project.