An alternative communicative model for teaching and learning english. Distance education in COVID 19 times

Abstract

Distance Education and the tools provided by Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are highly demanded components in all Higher Educational institutions in Cuba, especially in the COVID 19 era. However, this education is a huge challenge since it encompasses multiple learning platforms based on technology and the Internet and requires computer skills from both students and professors. Nevertheless, for the University of Computer Sciences, the technological challenge is lower because it has the appropriate infrastructure and the training of professors as well as students to use it. However, the greatest challenge lies in the change of the communication model, which must move from face–to–face to distance education due to the urgent need to give continuity to the Teaching–Learning Process under exceptional conditions, caused by COVID 19. Hence, the objective derives in exposing the variants applied to the traditional communication model that result in satisfying the Basic Learning Needs (BNL) of students, specifically in the learning of English as a foreign language, following the standards of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), adjusted to the Cuban context. The research is supported by the consultation of specialized bibliography by the authors, as well as by the practical application of the adjustments made to the proposed model.