Benesse unveils new English products for kids
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Benesse Corp., a major educational services company, has announced that it will release in October a new brand of English-learning materials aimed at preschoolers under the name Worldwide Kids English.
The new package for home learning aims at not just helping such young learners to become able to speak English, but also helping them develop a "global mind," or openness to accept different cultures and values in the world, the company stressed in a press conference earlier this month.
Mifuyu Watanabe, project leader for developing Worldwide Kids English, talked about what Benesse has found through providing various kinds of services for families with babies and young children. "What education-oriented parents in particular expect their children to develop," she said, "is not just skills in speaking English, but competence that will help them survive in today's global society."
The new service will deliver a set of DVDs, CDs, picture books, toys and other items every month over two years to users' homes, and materials for children will be entirely in English. By the time they finish all the materials after two years, children are expected to acquire 600 vocabulary words, while also learning about ways of life in different parts of the world--for example, how their counterparts in other countries spend a day or the different types of apples and ways of eating them.
However, the materials will not only emphasize differences, Watanabe added.
"We hope that children will learn that, for example, everyone eats breakfast, but they just eat different things," she said. "We believe that in cross-cultural understanding, it's also import!ant to encourage them to find out what they share [with children overseas]."
Worldwide Kids English also aims at facilitating richer communication between children and their parents. They will be encouraged to talk to each other while enjoying games offered by the package. Therefore, it offers full support for parents who usually are not confident in their own English skills.
"The most import!ant thing is how parents get involved in their children's learning, with interest and care," Watanabe said. "Other materials in this field often do not offer parents sufficient support, which usually ends up with them leaving their children to learn on their own."
Worldwide Kids English charges 189,000 yen per package. Benesse aims at attracting 8,500 users, which would mean sales of 1.5 billion yen, from October to March next year.
(Jul. 27, 2007)
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Benesse Corp., a major educational services company, has announced that it will release in October a new brand of English-learning materials aimed at preschoolers under the name Worldwide Kids English.
The new package for home learning aims at not just helping such young learners to become able to speak English, but also helping them develop a "global mind," or openness to accept different cultures and values in the world, the company stressed in a press conference earlier this month.
Mifuyu Watanabe, project leader for developing Worldwide Kids English, talked about what Benesse has found through providing various kinds of services for families with babies and young children. "What education-oriented parents in particular expect their children to develop," she said, "is not just skills in speaking English, but competence that will help them survive in today's global society."
The new service will deliver a set of DVDs, CDs, picture books, toys and other items every month over two years to users' homes, and materials for children will be entirely in English. By the time they finish all the materials after two years, children are expected to acquire 600 vocabulary words, while also learning about ways of life in different parts of the world--for example, how their counterparts in other countries spend a day or the different types of apples and ways of eating them.
However, the materials will not only emphasize differences, Watanabe added.
"We hope that children will learn that, for example, everyone eats breakfast, but they just eat different things," she said. "We believe that in cross-cultural understanding, it's also import!ant to encourage them to find out what they share [with children overseas]."
Worldwide Kids English also aims at facilitating richer communication between children and their parents. They will be encouraged to talk to each other while enjoying games offered by the package. Therefore, it offers full support for parents who usually are not confident in their own English skills.
"The most import!ant thing is how parents get involved in their children's learning, with interest and care," Watanabe said. "Other materials in this field often do not offer parents sufficient support, which usually ends up with them leaving their children to learn on their own."
Worldwide Kids English charges 189,000 yen per package. Benesse aims at attracting 8,500 users, which would mean sales of 1.5 billion yen, from October to March next year.
(Jul. 27, 2007)