Rome (IT), March 2011 - The Italian Ministry of Education has become the second European government department - following France's Education Ministry - to work with goFLUENT, a provider of distance English training, in offering English language learning for schoolchildren.
This latest pilot programme, begun in November 2010 and organised by goFLUENT, links children at Rome's Piva Caesar Middle School via videoconferencing technology with English native speakers who are English language teachers based in the USA.
Using only an internet connection, a computer with a sound system, a webcam and a video projector, 22 children participated in this innovative learning process that complements traditional English teaching methods. Every child took part in ten of these web-delivered lessons, each of which lasted for thirty minutes.
Both the onsite teacher and the US-based trainer support complement each other's role in the classroom. The classroom teachers play a key role because they are responsible for making goFLUENT's interactive lessons meet the requirements of the Italian Ministry of Education.
Sally Van Dyke, one of the teachers, says, "It was amazing to see how quickly the students' familiarity with English improved. It was clear that the concepts that they had already acquired in the classroom were greatly enriched by goFLUENT's training."
The pilot project marks the second time that goFLUENT has worked with a national government to teach English to schoolchildren. Since 2008, in conjunction with France's Education Ministry, goFLUENT has made its brand of English language training available to children in the le Havre area of France in a project that involves 1,000 schools.
Nicola Musazzi, goFLUENT's Country Manager in Italy, comments, "The added value of our approach is shown in its playful and experiential approach to learning - and students of all ages benefit from the simplicity of the programme's construction as well as its high degree of personal interaction with the teachers."
The results of the pilot programme in Rome are now being analysed and are being shared with other Italian schools via the InnovaScuola web portal. InnovaScoula is an initiative of Italy's Department for the digitisation of public administration and technological innovation, along with the country's Ministry of Education University and Research.
