For Immediate Release
Contact: Wayne Henninger – (570.573.6556) / wayne@statelywaynemanor.com
The SuperGroup Teams with the State Department To Pioneer New English Language Learning Approach Virtual reality experience to engage teen English language learners overseas
Atlanta, GA – The SuperGroup, a trendsetting web communications agency, has been chosen by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State to develop a virtual reality English language interactive education program. This innovative learning experience will be geared to teens overseas with an initial release date of September, 2010.
The SuperGroup will develop an engaging language-learning website experience that will allow the targeted audience to learn English via intriguing characters, entertaining storylines, and real-life situations.
“To make language learning effective for the targeted learners, an enjoyable, and robust environment is needed – one where they can interact with virtual characters, and learn from ‘real life’ situations,†said Chris Wallace, principal at The SuperGroup. “This interactive experience will allow kids to learn English communicatively, and, equally important, to learn about the positive aspects of American culture. The creative challenge for The SuperGroup is to make the educational process feel natural, not artificial. By placing kids within virtual situations that will mirror real life, we’ll achieve that.â€
Website characters might travel to landmarks like the Statue of Liberty or simply visit a typical American restaurant to order a burger and fries. Instead of teens memorizing and reciting new words over and over, they will immerse themselves within a real situation, and learn English in context.
The SuperGroup’s interactive work dovetails with the State Department’s English Access Microscholarship Program. To monitor the learners’ progress within the interactive experience, the customized language learning platform tracks student progress in various activities that are then linked back to language learning standards. A national team of applied linguists and distance learning experts, including those at the State Department’s Office of English Language Programs, will oversee the content and instructional technology development.
