Yes, I Can
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Yes, I Can () is a
teaching method A teaching method is a set of principles and methods used by teachers to enable student learning. These strategies are determined partly by the subject matter to be taught, partly by the relative expertise of the learners, and partly by constrai ...
for adult
literacy Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...
which was developed by Cuban educator and first trialled in
Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
and
Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...
in 2000. To date, this method has been used in 29 nations allowing over 6 million people to develop basic literacy. The program was originally developed in Spanish and known as ''Yo, sí puedo''. It has now been translated into many languages including Portuguese,
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
,
Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several Indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, an Indigenous South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language ...
,
Aymara Aymara may refer to: Languages and people * Aymaran languages, the second most widespread Andean language ** Aymara language, the main language within that family ** Central Aymara, the other surviving branch of the Aymara(n) family, which today ...
, Creole and
Swahili Swahili may refer to: * Swahili language, a Bantu language officially used in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes. * Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa. * Swahili culture, the culture of the Swahili p ...
. The Yes I Can literacy method uses pre-recorded lessons on video or DVD that are delivered by a local facilitator. Yes I Can also uses an alphanumeric association between numbers and letters. The program consists of the following teaching materials: the student booklet, a facilitator manual and 17 videos or DVDs which present recordings of 65 classes with actors taking the parts of teachers and students. These materials are implemented by a team of local facilitators who are trained and supported by technical advisers. The process consists of three stages: a preliminary period of
socialization In sociology, socialization (also socialisation – see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is the process of Internalisation (sociology), internalizing the Norm (social), norm ...
and training, the actual lesson blocks in which literacy is taught and a third stage known as post-literacy. The program is also available in
braille Braille ( , ) is a Tactile alphabet, tactile writing system used by blindness, blind or visually impaired people. It can be read either on embossed paper or by using refreshable braille displays that connect to computers and smartphone device ...
for the blind, and for deaf people, and for people with mild intellectual problems. Método de alfabetización "Yo, sí puedo" Other programs are linked to Yes I Can, including ''Yo, sí puedo seguir'' or Yes I Can Continue, which aims to consolidate and develop the basic literacy skills participants learn in the Yes I Can program.


History

Yes I Can emerges from a strong tradition of literacy education that has existed in
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
since the 1961 Cuban Literacy Campaign. The 1961 Campaign reduced the illiteracy rate in Cuba from 23.6% to 3.9%. Since that time Cuban educators worked in many countries to help develop adult literacy prior to the development of Yes I Can, notably in
Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...
and Nicaragua. It was on the basis of such examples of Cuban educational aid that in 1995 the African country of
Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...
requested Cuban assistance to combat illiteracy. Due to a very high illiteracy rate (over 50%) and the difficulties of addressing this entirely through face to face teaching Cuba proposed a program delivered by radio. However the President of Niger,
Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara General Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara (9 May 1949 – 9 April 1999) was a Nigerien military officer and diplomat who ruled Niger from 1996 until his assassination. He seized and lost power in military coups. Baré Maïnassara, a Maouri, a subgro ...
, was killed in a
coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
before the new approach could be implemented in Niger, and it was instead trialled in Haiti and Nicaragua. Following this Dr. Leonela Relys Diaz and other educators at the Latin American and Caribbean Pedagogical Institute (IPLAC) developed a similar program utilising television.


The lessons

Yes I Can classes are delivered using a combination of
distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance; today, it usually involves online ...
and
community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...
participation. The classes are convened by a local facilitator. The classes are organized around a discussion topic, which introduces a key letter or word for the lesson. The facilitator uses a series of pre-recorded classes usually on DVD and the accompanying workbook as the basis of the literacy class. The DVD depicts a small literacy class in which the teacher explains the lesson and exercises in the workbook and the students ask questions and make comments. The facilitator can stop and start the DVD-class, to allow their students to complete the exercises, discuss particular points, or repeat sections if required. In some cases economic and technical problems prevent the use of the DVD lessons which can cause inconsistencies in how the program is implemented. There is an introductory block of lessons designed for people with no prior experience of reading and writing which include exercises to practise holding a pen and forming simple shapes. In cases where participants already have some literacy experience these lessons can be skipped. In later classes students work with more complex blocks of text and learn other skills such as how to fill out forms with basic personal data. Students are considered to have successfully completed the program when they have produced a simple letter to a friend including description and opinion. The local facilitator works as the link between the virtual class of students in the audiovisual recording and the real participants. A 2006
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
review of Yes I Can notes, "The role of facilitators has received both recognition and criticism". The report notes their strong social commitment, but notes problems in terms of the consistency of teaching skills amongst relatively untrained people.


Alphanumeric method

The alphanumeric approach uses knowledge of numbers to develop a knowledge of letters. This was introduced to the program on the suggestion of Dr
Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...
and based on the understanding that numbers are more familiar in everyday life to people who are illiterate. The vowels a, e, i, o, u are associated with the numbers 1-5 and the consonants are associated with numbers roughly in correspondence to their frequency of use. Many illiterate people in Cuba were able to deal effectively with money and quantities, an education that they got on the streets. Linking literacy with numbers and money is one of the reasons it has been so successful. This aspect of the program has, however, been criticised on the grounds that the introduction of letters combined with numbers overwhelms the non-literate person. This criticism failed to take account of the fact that many illiterate people are numerate with regards to money and tradeable quantities.


Community wide approach

Within the Yes I Can method low literacy is not understood as an individual issue but rather as a
social issue A social issue is a problem that affects many people within a society. It is a group of common problems in present-day society that many people strive to solve. It is often the consequence of factors extending beyond an individual's control. Soc ...
that requires a community wide approach. This process is referred to as socialization and involves mobilising as many people as possible to take part in the campaign in a variety of roles. This process aims to develop a community wide understanding of the links between literacy and wider social and economic development goals. In relation to this aspect of the campaign UNESCO has noted that Yes I Can, "is in fact more than a method. It would be more appropriate to understand it as a literacy training model that goes beyond processes, materials, strategies etc., as it includes, both explicitly and implicitly, concepts of literacy training, learning,
life skills Life skills are abilities for adaptive and positive behavior that enable humans to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of life. This concept is also termed as psychosocial competency. The subject varies greatly depending on social no ...
and social mobilization, and involves a wide range of actors with varied roles from the beneficiaries of the literacy training to other stakeholders such as state entities and other concerned institutions".


Developing and maintaining literate communities

Yes I Can allows students to develop their reading and writing skills at an intelligent but basic level. However the program does not claim to establish a level of literacy that is self-sustaining without additional attention. Consequently, a third phase of the campaign, known as the 'post-literacy' phase (''Yo, sí puedo seguir'') provides opportunities for graduates to undertake activities that consolidate and extend their new literacy. These may take the form of ongoing courses, employment or becoming a facilitator for a new intake of students.


Achievements and prospects

In 2006 the
UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize {{COI, date=September 2023 The UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize (Korean, Hangeul : 유네스코 세종대왕 문해상) is an annual prize awarded to three institutions, organizations or individuals "for their contribution to the fight against illi ...
was awarded to IPLAC for its work in developing and promoting the Yes I Can program. In 2012, it also received the "Mestres 68" Prize. Cuba has offered this method to the international community and has suggested that with its implementation illiteracy could be eradicated globally within 10 years and at a cost of just $1.5 billion. Yes I Can has been implemented in a number of linguistic and cultural contexts including the following:


East Timor

Yes I Can has been used in
East Timor Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...
in a national campaign which began in 2006 with the arrival of 12 Cuban literacy advisors. By the end of 2007, literacy classes had commenced in over 400 local government areas of the country. Although initially delivered in Portuguese, new materials were later designed in
Tetum Tetum may refer to: * Tetum language, an Austronesian language ** Tetum alphabet, used to write the Tetum language * Tetum people, an ethnic group of East Timor and Indonesia {{disambiguation Language and nationality disambiguation pages ...
, the most widely spoken of Timor's many languages. The program became known by its Tetum name, Los Hau Bele. The campaign mobilised over 200,000 people to participate in classes, and a workforce of over 600 local literacy facilitators and community organizers, who were trained by the Cuban advisors. The campaign ended in December 2012, by which time every one of East Timor's thirteen districts had been declared free of illiteracy.


Australia

In 2012 a formal licence agreement with Cuba enabled the first pilot project of Yes I Can to be initiated in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. The campaign was first implemented in
Wilcannia Wilcannia is a small town located within the Central Darling Shire in north western New South Wales, Australia. Located on the Darling River, the town was the third largest inland port in the country during the river boat era of the mid-19th c ...
, in far-western
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
and has since expanded to Bourke and Enngonia with plans for further expansion in 2015. The pilot was initiated by the National Aboriginal Adult Literacy Campaign Steering Committee and managed by the
University of New England University of New England may refer to: * University of New England (Australia), in New South Wales, with about 26,000 students * University of New England (United States), in Biddeford, Maine, with about 6,000 students See also * New England Coll ...
in partnership with Wilcannia Local Aboriginal Land Council. The
Literacy for Life Foundation Literacy for Life Foundation is an Aboriginal Australian not-for-profit organisation focused on improving the literacy levels among Aboriginal Australians. It was formed in 2013 by three prominent Aboriginal leaders, Pat AndersonDonna Ah Chee a ...
is a partnership between key agencies and individuals involved in the campaign.


Aotearoa New Zealand

Yes I Can methodology was used in
Aotearoa ''Aotearoa'' () is the Māori name for New Zealand. The name was originally used by Māori in reference only to the North Island, with the whole country being referred to as ''Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu'' – where ''Te Ika-a-Māui'' means N ...
,
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
in the Greenlight program implemented between 2003 and 2007 through the
Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
-led
tertiary Tertiary (from Latin, meaning 'third' or 'of the third degree/order..') may refer to: * Tertiary period, an obsolete geologic period spanning from 66 to 2.6 million years ago * Tertiary (chemistry), a term describing bonding patterns in organic ch ...
institution
Te Wānanga o Aotearoa Te Wānanga o Aotearoa is a Māori people, Māori university and tertiary education provider with over 80 campuses throughout New Zealand. The indigenous-led organisation works towards "whānau transformation through education" including the r ...
. Cuban educators worked with their counterparts in Aotearoa New Zealand in a diagnostic stage which resulted in the development of a new program, Greenlight Learning for Life. Greenlight, consisted of 4 modules which were designed to take students from level 1 to level 3 on the NZ framework – essentially to university entrance standard. Traditional Maori pedagogy and identity were emphasised in the development of materials.


Other locations

A version of Yes I Can has been implemented since 2007 in
Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...
and enjoyed widespread success. Since 2007, in
Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
almost 20,000 people have learned to read and write using the program. In Angola over 300 000 people have benefited from the campaign. Yes I Can is also being implemented in the city of
Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...
which is the first experience with the Cuban method in Europe. The Latino Alliance for Literacy Advancement de New Mexico plans to implement the Yes I Can campaign in 4 pilot sites in the US state of
New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
in 2015.


References

{{reflist


External links

* https://adulteducationpastpresentfuture.wordpress.com/ * http://www.smh.com.au/national/from-cuba-with-love-20140718-3bvp5.html * http://www.lflf.org.au/ * http://www.lowitja.org.au/wilcannia-little-town-yes-we-can * http://www.smh.com.au/world/cubans-bring-democracy-one-letter-at-a-time-20090904-fbh5.html Learning methods Learning to read Education in Cuba