Randal Blanco

Background

About Randal Blanco

With more than 20 years of teaching experience in Costa Rica and three years as an ESL teacher in a middle school in North Carolina, Randal Blanco currently serves as a full-time faculty member at Sede del Sur, Universidad de Costa Rica. He holds three bachelor’s degrees, two licentiate degrees, and two master’s degrees from Universidad Nacional. Since 2015, Mr. Blanco has specialized in English for Specific Purposes (ESP), culminating this year in a master’s degree in Applied Linguistics with an emphasis on ESP. Through several grants, he has led three university extension projects that have provided flexible ESP instruction to residents in rural communities of southern Costa Rica. These experiences with adult language learners have resulted in three publications and inspired his master’s research on EOP student teachers’ perceptions of lesson planning for adult learners. His commitment to integrating English teaching with disciplinary content also led him to complete the English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) course at Universidad de Chile. This professional development has directly impacted his work in curricular design for English courses supporting two upcoming majors at Sede del Sur: Logistics and Integrated Coastal Zone Management.