EF Education First will be the official provider of language courses for the “Olá, Turista” (Hello, Tourist) project

23  octubre  2009

EF's online school will develop a new course with specific contents to qualify/train 80,000 Brazilians who will work at the 2014 World Cup.

EF Education First, provider of the largest online English school in the world, was selected, via an international bid, to be the provider of language courses for the “Olá, Turista” project, which is a partnership of the Roberto Marinho Foundation and the Ministry of Tourism, to qualify tourism trade professionals for the 2014 World Cup to be hosted in Brazil.

“We are proud and excited to work on this project with the Roberto Marinho Foundation,” said Peter Burman, worldwide president of EF.  EF was the official provider of language training services for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, an event that can be compared, in terms of magnitude and scale, to the World Cup. “Thanks to our experience, we can provide customized and intensive language courses, thus helping Brazil organize the best World Cup of all time,” said the executive.

By using an e-learning tool, the online program to qualify professionals, a joint development with Roberto Marinho Foundation, has the objective of involving trade tourism and the Brazilian population in an extensive campaign to improve the reception of tourists in the Country. 

EF was selected to develop the pedagogic/educational platform of “Olá, Turista”, and is also responsible for the development of the English and Spanish modules of the program. The course consists of the following levels: basic, professional and regional. The contents of the classes include areas with tourist appeal, commerce, gastronomy, lodging/hotels, health, security and transportation.

This is not the first time EF works in events of such magnitude. Last year, the company worked in the Beijing Olympic Games. For Nelson Santonieri, general manager of Roberto Marinho Foundation, the participation in Beijing was critical for the selection. “EF also presented us a very structured tool, with a consistent methodology, Portuguese language support for the students; ultimately, all those variables were determinant for our selection.
We will always work with the focus on the students, to ensure them a successful performance/conclusion in the course.

“Olá, Turista!” will be implemented in three 2014 World Cup hosting cities and in the surroundings: Rio de Janeiro (Angra dos Reis, Búzios, Paraty and Petrópolis), Salvador (Lençóis, Maraú, Mata de São João and Porto Seguro), Manaus (Barcelos and Parintins), São Paulo and Fortaleza with a capacity to reach up to 80 thousand tourism professionals. “We will assess the first results and adopt strategies to ensure that the students remain motivated till the end of the course,” explained Santonieri.

In the beginning of August, a pilot application for 500 participants was held in two cities, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador, and, as from January 2010, it will also be implemented in the remaining Brazilian cities.

“We will launch a totally customized on-line course, with specific classes, grammar and progress follow-up bulletins,” explained Rogério Meireles, general manager of EF. According to the executive, the students will be able to access the courses from any Internet-connected computer, 24 hours a day.

In addition to tourism agents that will work in the preparation of the Word Cup, EF will also qualify professionals who will have direct contact with the public, including clerks, receptionists, waiters, tour guides, cabdrivers and phone operators, among others. The program will help enhance languages and, as a result, the Brazilian hospitality.

Estimates consider that 3 billion spectators will watch the games and more than 1 million tourists will visit the Country in that period.

For additional information about the program, please visit www.olaturista.org.br.

About EF Education First 

 Education First (EF) (www.ef.com), is the largest private education company in the world. Founded in 1965 with the mission of “breaking geographic, linguistic and cultural barriers”, EF Group has 29 thousand employees, 400 schools and 75 offices in 51 countries. 

EF has the largest on-line English school in the world, with over 15 million users. It was founded in 1996, and its mission is to use technology as an essentially better way to learn English. Since 2001, the online school has operated in Brazil helping adults, youths and employees of corporations learn English. The teaching methodology was specifically developed for an e-learning course and combines high tech and native teachers who are available for the students 24 hours a day. The company offers basic English courses, business-oriented English modules and industry specific English, in addition to preparatory courses for TOEIC® e TOEFL®.

EF Corporate Language Training (www.ef.com/corporate), is a worldwide leader of language training for professionals. With 40 years of experience, EF offers courses targeting the business area, specialized in helping companies meet their goals by qualifying their collaborators. In 2008, it was the area of EF that achieved the highest growth in Brazil.
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