English by mobile – in Bangla
Filed under: Community, Conversation, New Web Creations, Web services
At Third Sector Web we have always delivered our web sites for clients with translation embedded into the pages. Helping to spread news and information across communities in languages other than English.
The BBC World Service recently updated their news on a service that enables Bangla speakers to get English lessons via their mobile phones.
In Bangladesh, the project lead, Sara Chamberlain, was also able to persuade service providers in the country to make the English lessons available at half the pre-existing mobile rates.
The BBC has also created a website, Janala, which means window, so that younger learners can get to grips with English directly from the web.
‘Bangla is one of the world’s great languages. Tagore, the giant of Bengali literature, was the first person from Asia to become a Nobel laureate back in 1913. So it’s not surprising that following independence from Pakistan in 1971, Bangla was adopted as the language of instruction in Bangladesh’s schools and colleges.
The unintended consequence has been that English has waned over the last few decades…the vast majority of young people have gone through the education system without picking up the ability to speak or understand spoken English’.
The Janala service has hundreds of short, three minute English lessons available for free, from any web enabled computer. A great use of technology in a learning environment.
You can read Sara Chamberlain’s original post here.
You can find the home page of Third Sector Web here.
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