Kaplan has announced a new partnership with the Godparents Network Uruguay training teachers to provide English language education to rural Uruguayan schools.  

The partnership between the Godparents Network and Kaplan’s online English school – a branch of Kaplan International Languages – will provide a free 10-week online training course and certification to cohorts of 10 rural Uruguayan teachers.  

“We’re happy to do something that increases the diversity in our classrooms and puts English training somewhere it is really valued and needed.  

“We keep ourselves, our staff and our learners motivated when we have students for whom meeting people from all over the world and studying English with them is an amazing experience,” Joe Bleazard, Kaplan international online English school principal told The PIE News.  

The partnership aims to train 40-50 teachers per year, with the first cohort of teachers having recently completed their certification.  

The Godparents Project was initiated in 2018 under the Inglés Sin Límites program, which works to provide English language education to rural Uruguayan schools that are often hindered by their geographic isolation.  

“It is also to ameliorate the rural urban divide in Uruguay where several rural schools do not have an English teacher who can ‘speak’ English to a good enough level to be a language role model to the students,” said Bleazard.  

Since 2019, teachers have been supported by volunteers and partners like Kaplan to assist with teacher training.

Today, over 550 schools have benefitted from the teacher training, growing from 25 schools in 2020.  

I hope and believe learning English can be a good in and of itself too, by giving people a common language to talk to others around the world

Joe Bleazard

The program’s success over four years has been attributed to its use of video lessons and detailed teaching strategies to empower local teachers.  

“So, for very practical reasons routed in the role of English as a key criteria for employment and a key form of social capital… I hope and believe learning English can be a good in and of itself too, by giving people a common language to talk to others around the world,” said Bleazard.  

Kaplan’s initial contact with the program came when one of KIL’s staff volunteered as a Godparent, working alongside English teachers in Uruguay to overcome barriers to language learning.  

In the future, Kaplan is looking to also provide training to the mentors that Godparents provides to schools, adding another level of support on the ground.