BBC goes on tour to help non-native English speakers to pick up the lingo and learn local info

Press release issued: 13 October 2006



BBC Roadtrip image (courtesy of BBC)
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BBC Learning English - bbclearningenglish.com - the English language teaching department within BBC World Service goes on tour on the 16 October.

The trip will highlight the department's freely available, innovative and interactive online educational resources designed to help non-native English speakers improve their English and provide classroom materials for teaching.
Paul Scott, Editor of BBC Learning English said:

"Our site is ideal for people who want to improve their English and integrate better with English-speaking communities, but need an extra bit of support or are unable to go to classes."

The theme of the tour is 'Journeys' and the team wants to gather personal stories from local English learners about journeys - metaphorical or literal - which have made a big impact on their lives.

The team will be visiting Cambridge on 19 and 20 October where they will be visiting Anglia Ruskin University, local language schools and migrant groups to run lively, interactive sessions showing people how they can make the most of the BBC's free online and radio resources.

There will also be an evening at Anglia Ruskin University, where some 50 local teachers and language experts will have the chance to explore the range of teaching and learning material which bbclearningenglish.com offers and find out how they can become involved with the BBC's work.

Commenting on the unique road trip idea, Sarah Schechter, Head of English Language, at Anglia Ruskin University said:

"We offer a wide range of high-quality English as a Foreign Language courses and visits such as this enhance the student experience, allowing our students to benefit from the wealth of knowledge outside the classroom as well as within it."

The team is also making programmes based on interviews with the local community so that learners around the world can hear a range of British voices and find out more about Britain's towns. In the Cambridge package, our international audience meets Michael Beaumont, a family butcher from Fulbourn. Michael introduces his new herd of cows and explains how he hopes farming his own produce will give him the edge over the supermarkets.

Said Jackie Dalton, a Learning English producer coordinating the trip:

"Over a million people worldwide are enjoying our free internet and radio material, but we also want people living in Britain to benefit from our resources. bbclearningenglish.com is fun, interactive and a fantastic way to learn English and find out more about the world at the same time."

To find out more about the tour, visit the specially created website bbclearningenglish.com/roadtrip from 16th October.

To use the free English language teaching and learning resources visit bbclearningenglish.com

To find out more about English as a Foreign Language programmes at Anglia Ruskin University contact Nick Hillman, EFL Programme Leader on 0845 271 3333.

For more information, please contact:

Jackie Dalton
Producer, BBC Learning English
RM 200 NE, Bush House,
London WC2B 4PH

tel: 0207 557 0474
email: Jacqueline.dalton@bbc.co.uk

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