Cuba protests and the energy crisis: Learning English from the news

The current humanitarian situation in Cuba has reached a critical tipping point, drawing global attention to the island’s struggle with a failing power grid and severe resource scarcity. As the Cuba energy crisis deepens, citizens are facing unprecedented challenges that have sparked social unrest and international political tension. This lesson explores the linguistic and social nuances of the recent Cuba protests, focusing on how millions without power are navigating a collapsing infrastructure.

Lesson plan: Understanding the Cuba power crisis through news headlines
Level: Intermediate to Upper-Intermediate (B1-B2)
Time: 60 minutes
Topic: Current events, energy crisis, and social protests in Cuba
Objectives: To expand news-related vocabulary, practice phrasal verbs in context, and discuss the socioeconomic impacts of utility failure.

Background

The recent wave of protests in Cuba stems from a perfect storm of economic and infrastructural failures. For months, the island has been plagued by electricity blackouts lasting up to 15 hours a day in major cities like Havana. These outages are not merely an inconvenience; they have crippled essential services, including hospitals, public transport, and education. The Cuban government attributes these failures to a US blockade on oil shipments, which has prevented the country from receiving necessary fuel since early 2024.

As the national power grid collapsed, leaving the nation in total darkness, the frustration of the Cuban people boiled over. In cities like Moron, protests escalated from peaceful gatherings to more destructive acts as citizens expressed their desperation over shortages of food, fuel, and medicine. This humanitarian crisis is further complicated by shifting international relations and new economic policies, such as the government’s recent invitation for exiles to invest in local businesses to stimulate the economy.

Basic vocabulary

Introducing essential words related to social unrest and infrastructure failure is key to understanding international news reporting.

Vocabulary list

Here is the vocabulary list formatted in bulleted form, keeping your sentence case preference for the descriptions:

• Ransack (verb): Ransacked (v), ransacking (n/v). To search a place in a violent or careless way, often causing damage. Example sentence: Protesters ransacked the office building after the power went out.
• Grapple (verb): Grappled (v), grappling (n/v). To struggle with a physically or metaphorically difficult problem. Example sentence: The government is grappling with a nationwide blackout.
• Exile (noun): Exile (v), exiled (adj). A person sent away from their country, often for political reasons. Example sentence: Many Cuban exiles live in Miami and support their families back home.
• Blackout (noun): Blackouts (pl). A period when there is no light or power because of a failure. Example sentence: The 15-hour blackout caused all the food in the fridge to spoil.
• Shortage (noun): Shortages (pl). A state where something needed cannot be obtained in sufficient amounts. Example sentence: The fuel shortage has made it impossible for buses to run.
• Blockade (noun): Blockade (v). An act of sealing off a place to prevent goods or people from entering. Example sentence: The blockade has severely restricted the arrival of oil shipments.
• Collapse (verb): Collapsed (adj), collapse (n). To fall down suddenly or fail completely. Example sentence: The national power grid collapsed after weeks of strain.
• Protest (noun): Protest (v), protester (n). A public expression of objection or disapproval. Example sentence: The small protest grew larger as more people joined the march.
• Crisis (noun): Crises (pl), critical (adj). A time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger. Example sentence: The energy crisis is impacting every sector of the Cuban economy.
• Investment (noun): Invest (v), investor (n). The action or process of investing money for profit. Example sentence: The government is seeking investment from Cubans living abroad.

Vocabulary for extension

• Infrastructure (Noun/Infrastructural): The basic physical and organizational structures (e.g., buildings, roads, power supplies) needed for the operation of a society.
• Sanction (Noun/Verb): A threatened penalty for disobeying a law or rule, often used in international trade.
• Humanitarian (Adjective/Noun): Concerned with or seeking to promote human welfare.
• Relocation (Noun/Relocate): The action of moving to a new place and establishing one’s home or business there.
• Demonstration (Noun/Demonstrate): A public meeting or march protesting against something or expressing views.
• Deteriorate (Verb/Deterioration): To become progressively worse.
• Valuables (Noun/Valuable): Things that are worth a lot of money, especially small personal possessions.
• Takeover (Noun/Take over): An act of assuming control of something, especially the buying out of one company by another.
• Opposition (Noun/Oppose): Resistance or dissent, expressed in action or argument.
• Migration (Noun/Migrate): Movement from one part of something to another.

Teaching tips

• Use a “Word Map” to connect “Blackout” to related terms like “Grid,” “Fuel,” and “Generator.”
• Encourage students to act out “Ransack” vs. “Search” to understand the violent connotation of the former.
• Discuss the difference between “Grapple” (struggle) and “Wrestle” (physical or mental struggle) in news contexts.

Grammar spotlight

The lesson utilizes the Present Continuous to describe ongoing situations (e.g., “The island is grappling with…”) and the Past Simple for specific events (e.g., “Protesters ransacked the office”). Pay close attention to the use of the Passive Voice when the actor is less important than the action, which is common in news reporting: “Five people were arrested” or “Sanctions have been in place.”

To effectively discuss the Cuba energy crisis, students need to master specific structures common in journalism. News reporting often focuses on the results of actions or ongoing struggles, requiring a mix of the passive voice and continuous aspects.

The passive voice in news reporting

In news headlines and reports, the passive voice is frequently used when the action itself—or the person affected by it—is more important than who performed the action. This is common when discussing arrests, government policies, or infrastructure failures.

• Structure: [Subject] + [be] + [past participle]
• Example from lesson: “Five people were arrested in Cuba.” (The focus is on the arrest, not necessarily the specific police officers).
• Example from lesson: “Shortages… have been worsened by a US blockade.” (The focus is on the worsening conditions).

Grappling with the present continuous

The present continuous tense is essential for describing “trends” or “ongoing situations” that are happening right now. In the context of the Cuba protests, we use this to show that the problem hasn’t been solved yet.

• Structure: [Subject] + [am/is/are] + [verb-ing]
• Example from lesson: “The island is grappling with a nationwide blackout.”
• Usage tip: Use this tense to describe the “current atmosphere” of a story. For instance, “The economy is deteriorating daily.”

Stative vs. dynamic meanings of ransack

While “ransack” is a dynamic verb (an action), it is often used in the past participle form as an adjective to describe the state of a place after a protest.

• Dynamic (Action): “The group ransacked the building.”
• Stative (Result/Adjective): “The office was ransacked and messy.”
• Teaching tip: Encourage students to identify if the sentence describes the act of destruction or the result left behind.

Practice exercise: News transformation

Change these active sentences into the passive voice to make them sound like professional news headlines:

1. The government closed the power plant. → (The power plant…)
2. Police detained three protesters overnight. → (Three protesters…)
3. The blockade stopped the oil shipments. → (The oil shipments…)

Answers for teachers:

1. The power plant was closed by the government.
2. Three protesters were detained overnight.
3. The oil shipments were stopped by the blockade.

Useful phrases

Key phrases

• Millions without power: Used to describe the scale of a utility failure.
• Deep trouble: An informal way to describe a very serious or dangerous situation.
• Doors are open: A metaphorical phrase meaning that a country or business is ready to welcome newcomers or investors.
• Grapple with: A phrasal verb used to describe dealing with a difficult issue.

Teaching tips

• Have students practice the phrase “Doors are open” by creating sentences about their own hobbies or communities (e.g., “The doors are open for anyone who wants to join the book club”).
• Focus on the intonation of “deep trouble” to convey the seriousness of the situation.

Example conversations

Conversation 1: Basic description

Student A: Did you see the news about the power grid in Cuba?

Student B: Yes, it sounds terrible; millions of people are without electricity.

Student A: I heard the blackouts are lasting for 15 hours a day in Havana.

Student B: That must make it impossible for schools and hospitals to function normally.

Conversation 2: Adding details

Student A: Why is the energy crisis getting so much worse lately?

Student B: It’s partly because of the blockade preventing oil from entering the country.

Student A: The protesters are starting to get desperate and have even ransacked some offices.

Student B: It’s a very difficult situation for the government to grapple with right now.

Conversation 3: More advanced

Student A: The Cuban government is now inviting exiles to invest back in the island.

Student B: That’s a huge policy shift considering the history of the Cuban revolution.

Student A: They are likely hoping that the “doors are open” message will bring in much-needed capital.

Student B: If the economy continues to deteriorate, they may have no other choice but to seek outside help.

Teaching tips

• Roleplay these conversations in pairs, focusing on using at least two vocabulary words from the list in each dialogue.
• Record the “Advanced” conversation and listen back to check for the correct pronunciation of “exiles” and “blockade.”

Teaching strategy

Use the Task-Based Learning (TBL) approach. Start with the news story to provide context, then move to specific language tasks (vocabulary and grammar), and finally have students complete a “news report” task where they summarize the situation using the new terms.

Here’s a 45-minute lesson plan

Step 1: Warm-up (5 minutes)

Ask students if they have ever experienced a power cut. How did they feel? What was the hardest thing to do without electricity?

Step 2: Vocabulary introduction (10 minutes)

Introduce the three main words: ransack, grapple, and exile. Use the chart provided to explain their meanings and forms.

Step 3: Phrase practice (10 minutes)

Explain the key phrases like “millions without power” and “doors are open.” Have students write one sentence for each phrase.

Step 4: Conversation practice (15 minutes)

In pairs, students practice the three example conversations. Then, they should try to create their own 4-sentence dialogue about a fictional crisis.

Step 5: Wrap-up and personalization (5 minutes)

Ask students: “If you were living in a 15-hour blackout, what is the first thing you would buy when the power came back on?”

Discussion questions

1. What are the main causes of the current protests in Cuba?
   • Answer: The protests are a reaction to electricity blackouts and shortages of food, fuel, and medicine, worsened by an oil blockade.
2. How does a nationwide blackout affect the daily life of a citizen?
   • Answer: It impacts public transport, education, rubbish collection, and the ability of hospitals to provide care.
3. What does it mean when a headline says protesters “ransacked” an office?
   • Answer: It means they searched the building in a violent or destructive way, often leaving it in a mess.
4. Why is the Cuban government inviting exiles to invest in the country now?
   • Answer: They hope that the investment will help improve the economy, which has been heavily impacted by the energy crisis.
5. What does the phrasal verb “grapple with” imply about a problem?
   • Answer: It implies that the problem is very difficult to solve and requires significant effort or struggle.

Additional tips

• Cultural sensitivity: Be mindful that students may have strong political views regarding Cuba or the US; keep the focus on the language and the humanitarian aspect.
• Visual aids: Use photos of Havana or a map of the Caribbean to provide geographical context.
• Adapt for level: For lower levels, focus only on “blackout” and “protest.” For higher levels, discuss the nuances of “sanctions” vs. “blockades.”
• Technology: If teaching online, use a shared digital whiteboard for students to group the vocabulary into “Causes” and “Effects.”

Common mistakes to address

• Grammar: Students often forget the preposition after “grapple.” Remind them it is always “grapple with.”
• Word choice: Using “ransack” when they simply mean “look for.” Explain that “ransack” requires a level of mess or violence.

Example activity

The Headline Creator: Give students three facts about a different world event (e.g., a drought in Africa or a strike in Europe). Ask them to write two headlines using “grapple with” and “shortage.”

Homework or follow-up

• Writing: Write a short paragraph (50-100 words) describing how you would cope with a “nationwide blackout.”
• Speaking: Record a 1-minute “breaking news” clip on your phone using at least three vocabulary words from the lesson.
• Research: Look up the term “National Power Grid” and find out how electricity is distributed in your own country.

FAQs

The situation in Cuba serves as a stark reminder of how vital energy infrastructure is to modern society. By understanding the language of the Cuba protests and the energy crisis, we can better engage with the global stories that shape our world.

What are your thoughts on how countries should handle energy shortages? Have you ever experienced a long-term power failure? Let us know in the comments below and share this lesson with your fellow English learners!