Voice of America has a new on-line destination for Russian speakers who want to learn English.
The Russian edition of VOAs popular goEnglish.me language learning program is now on-line and it is loaded with useful tools that makes learning English fun, and easy. The program is free.
What makes goEnglish.me so popular is that users get a glimpse into everyday American life, while learning things they might need if they were traveling or studying in the United States. The site, which also has editions for Farsi and Mandarin speakers, is interactive and users can download lessons and information for use later or to share with friends.
The site is aimed at Russian speakers who have some knowledge of English, but are interested in learning how it is spoken in everyday American life. It also includes forums, blogs and group pages to allow users to dig deeper into American society through conversation.
Students use a headset and microphone to converse with avatars in the goEnglish.me lessons. Each lesson has phrases and sentences along with short exams. As users become more advanced they hear more English and less of their own language.
VOA Director Danforth W. Austin says, The Russian version of goEnglish.me is just the latest example in an expanding array of digital learning tools that visitors can find on our websites. Austin says, goEnglish.me is one more way for VOA, which employs an all-digital strategy to reach out to Internet users in Russia and the former Soviet Republics, to engage young Russians interested in dialog with Americans.