New York Times News Syndicate (NYTNS) videos and Harvard Business Review (HBR) articles – along with news from Agence France Presse – are now being used as learning resources on distance Business English training, goFLUENT’s e-learning platform.

Christophe Ferrandou, goFLUENT’s CEO, said: “goFLUENT’s e-learning platform contains topical videos, articles and quizzes, all graded according to the learner’s ability to understand and speak English. As the learner’s English language skills develop, so that learner can access more linguistically complex and informative versions of these videos, articles and quizzes.

“Naturally, we want to give our learners a wide range of news and features – especially business-related material – which adheres to high production values and the highest standards of reporting,” Ferrandou continued. “We’re confident that the materials from NYTNS, HBR and, indeed Agence France Presse will inform and edify our learners as they explore the English language as well as develop their proficiency in that language.”

In addition, goFLUENT learners receive live, individual coaching, via telephone, with a native English speaking tutor. This not only helps the learner to discuss – and receive feedback on – any aspects of the English language that are difficult for her/him to grasp but also helps to train the learner’s ear to make English conversation more natural.

After taking a test to determine her/his level of English, the goFLUENT learner can work on these educational resources. Articles are shown with difficult words highlighted and, as the learner scrolls over them, the definition appears afterwards. there are exercises and quizzes that test the learner’s comprehension. these consist of open questions (not multiple-choice) where the learner must come up with the right answer. There are also spaces where the learner must write a phrase that is heard in a video.  Grammar exercises that are related to words used in the video are also available.

Participants can also listen to articles from the HBR while the text scrolls on the screen. As is done with the videos, the articles are also accompanied by exercises and a vocabulary list.

Comment: As with all areas of technology delivered learning materials, it seems that learning English via e-learning is becoming ever more sophisticated and ’relevant’ to learners’ needs (via contextualisation and some personalization of the learning materials).