'Second Life' TEFL in the United Arab Emirates

The British Council have continued to expand their reach, leading the way in teaching English worldwide. Already, in 2009 they have rolled out a huge TEFL project in the United Arab Emirates. At the TESOL Arabia 15th annual International Conference in March they launched an online Web 2.0 style interactive service, designed to provide open access to resources for students and English teachers alike.

The website is full of different areas aimed at different users, from content for teachers to fun learning zones and “Second Life” areas for teens only with English used as lingua franca. This new system also has a section called “Premier Skills” in partnership with the Barclays Premiere League.

The aim is to use the worldwide interest and recognition in football, and in particular the English Premier League, and turn it into a productive learning tool. It uses videos and audio clips of interviews from players, coaches and fans and gets students interacting in something they are already passionate about. There are even interviews with foreign players talking about how they learned English when they moved to their Premier League clubs.

With technology and the internet moving so fast, there are great new innovations and ideas that bring people closer together and help learning be more fun and enjoyable. The British Council seem to be at the forefront of many of these new ideas and continue to do a great job in leading the way when it comes to TEFL teaching around the world.