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BBC Learning English China Team editor Alison Konieczny explains,
"The university tour really gave us the opportunity to connect
with our audience. We met and spoke with about 6,000 students who
shared valuable information and ideas about how they learn English.
Chinese learners tell us that online is by far the best way to learn
English so we created learning activities that not only do the job
but also look good and are lots of fun."
"The most important aspect of BBC Word Master and the learning
activities launching with it, is that they all use authentic, contemporary
language, giving learners in China a real insight into how the English
language is really spoken and how people really live in the UK.
What is also ideal for Chinese learners, most of whom have very
limited time, is that everything online at www.bbc.co.uk/china can
be downloaded either on to a desktop or into an MP3 and be completed
or listened to at their own convenience," Konieczny adds.
The game BBC Word Master was designed and built in house by the
BBC World Service New Media team. It challenges the English learner
to spell a missing word in a sentence against the clock. A score
is given for each correctly spelt word and, with 10 words to spell
per game, the aim is to improve on the score with each new game.
It has three levels of difficulty, up to 3,000 items of vocabulary
and the option to hear the sentence in English or, for struggling
learners, see it written in Chinese. The other learning activities
of BBC Word Master, which make learning fun are:
Take Away English: English learners are presented with
a topical article that could be found in any UK lifestyle magazine.
Using everyday contemporary language, subjects range from London
winning the 2012 Olympics to the history of the Notting Hill Carnival.
The articles can be read online or saved as a PDF. After reading
the article, English learners can read, listen to or download into
their MP3 a glossary of key words and phrases highlighted.
Real English: This is a two minute online audio of the
radio programme of the same name which teaches English learners
a new contemporary word everyday. The history of the word is explained
in both English and Chinese and is also heard being used in natural
conversation
BBC Learning English publishes free internet and radio resources
for English language learners and teachers. Its teams provide dedicated
resources to learners in China and the Middle East, and also collaborate
with the British Council providing online resources for teachers
of English as Foreign Language (EFL). BBC Chinese can be heard in
Mandarin on FM in more than 20 cities in China and on short wave
across the Asia Pacific for six hours each day.
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