Abstract
Introduction: the teaching of medical English in Cuba has traditionally focused on technical vocabulary and decontextualized grammar, neglecting the communication skills essential for clinical practice. This gap between language training and the real demands of consultation—especially in primary care and international missions—has ethical and diagnostic implications.
Objective: to develop a pedagogical proposal for teaching patient-centered anamnesis in medical English, aimed at Cuban medical students.
Development: the proposal integrates three theoretical foundations: the patient-centered approach, the analysis of anamnesis as a discursive genre, and critical language pedagogy. Based on these, a six-session teaching sequence is designed that articulates the clinical use of verb tenses (present perfect, past simple), the formulation of open-ended questions, the ethical use of silence, and the critical adaptation of tools such as the SOCRATES mnemonic. The materials incorporate authentic expressions and metaphors from the Cuban context, ensuring their cultural relevance. The proposal includes an evaluation rubric that assesses both linguistic accuracy and the quality of interaction and empathy.
Conclusions: teaching anamnesis in English from a patient-centered approach is not just about training in a language; it is about training in the ethics of listening. The proposal enhances the humanistic strengths of Cuban medicine and prepares future professionals to project them in international contexts, demonstrating that it is possible to innovate pedagogically with existing resources.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Yulio Freije Suarez, Cristhian Luis Arroyo Castellanos, Sadiel Ernesto Sayas Pérez, Hilda de la Caridad Abra Arce, Arelys Esther Gener Ramirez (Author)