Perfect Match: Brazilian Kids Learn English by Video Chatting With Lonely Elderly Americans

It's such a great, simple idea: Young Brazilians want to learn English. Elderly Americans living in retirement homes just want someone to talk to. Why not connect them?

FCB Brazil did just that with its "Speaking Exchange" project for CNA language schools. As seen in the touching case study below, the young Brazilians and older Americans connect via Web chats, and they not only begin to share a language—they develop relationships that enrich both sides culturally and emotionally.q

The differences in age and background combine to make the interactions remarkable to watch. And the participants clearly grow close to one another, to the point where they end up speaking from the heart in a more universal language than English.

The pilot project was implemented at a CNA school in Liberdade, Brazil, and the Windsor Park Retirement Community in Chicago. The conversations are recorded and uploaded as private YouTube videos for the teachers to evaluate the students' development.

"The idea is simple and it's a win-win proposition for both the students and the American senior citizens. It's exciting to see their reactions and contentment. It truly benefits both sides," says Joanna Monteiro, executive creative director at FCB Brazil.

Says Max Geraldo, FCB Brazil's executive director: "The beauty of this project is in CNA's belief that we develop better students when we develop better people."

To read the article in full check here.
CREDITS
Client: CNA
Project: "Speaking Exchange"
Agency: FCB Brazil
Executive Creative Directors: Joanna Monteiro, Max Geraldo
Digital Creative Director: Pedro Gravena
Creative: Vinícius Fernandes, Bruno Mazzotti, Daniel Alves, Mauricio Bina
Creative Technologist: Márcio Bueno
Digital Production: Brave.ag
Project: Lia D'Amico
Technology: Gerson Lupatini, Caio Mello
Account: Mauro Silveira, Alec Cocchiaro, Pedro Führer, Thiago Figueiredo
Planners: Raphael Barreto, Lia Bertoni, Pedro Schneider
Media: Alexandre Ugadin, Tiago Santos, Fábio Tachibana, Sandra Carvalho, Fábio Menezes
RTV: Vivi Guedes, Ana Flávia de Lucca, André Fonseca
Production Company: Hungry Man
Director: Ricardo Mehedff
Co-direction: Fábio Pinheiro
Photographers: Fernando Young (Brazil), Grant Weiss (Chicago)
Production Company: Hungry Man
Account Production: Mariana Marinho
Editor: Rodrigo Resende
Managing Partner: Alex Mehedff
Executive Production: Alex Mehedff, Rodrigo Castelo
Postproduction: Hungry Man; Psycho
Postproduction Supervisor: Rodrigo Oliveira
Sound Producer: Timbre
Client Supervisors: Luciana Fortuna, Nicadan Galvão, Diego Marmo, Ricardo Martins

 For more info about this awesome program check here.

Okay so the last time I kind of cheated . But here's a real post :)

All students have different strengths and weaknesses, this may seem obvious but this fact is often lost in the blur of activity needed in a classroom each day. There are many differences between the school classroom and the ESL classroom. Most commonly this is the class size. The smaller class size in the ESL classroom allows for more attention to each student and tailoring of the style of class to the overall group makeup. Here are a few ways to squeeze more out of that classtime.

Integrate Groupwork

Groupwork is strange for many students in Asia as it is not something they have to do in school. In many Asian countries the education system is decades behind modern thinking. Whilst this allows a certain type of student to excel, it also stifles a good proportion of learners who are not suited to this didactic education system. Using groupwork will at the very least stimulate interest and activity for the novelty value and at also allows the stronger students to help the weaker students. There are a variety of different group activites that can be adopted to suit and target language or learning goal.

Optimize Oral Communication

While checking out and composing are both crucial, needing students to speak as often as possible assists implant the audio and feel of the language in a student's mind. Establishing a convenience with speaking English in front of other individuals is essential to general ESL success.

Make use of a Diverse Driving lesson Strategy

ESL students will certainly come from a range of academic and cultural backgrounds. As in any class, each student will certainly discover the English language in different ways.

Include Cultural Driving lessons to Customize

Making the English language individual and appropriate assists your students get interested and internalize the driving lesson strategy. In doing so, you will certainly assist your students discover the language pleasurable and fascinating.

Limitation of Dictionary Use

Attempt to restrict the quantity of time students invest seeking advice from a glossary or dictionary. Asking students to memorize expressions and words is great, however make certain that most of course time is invested putting these words and expressions into practice as opposed to simply reciting words from a dictionary. This can end up being uninteresting and recurring, and supplies little context to make your driving lesson pertinent.

Offer Research to Keep English a Focus After Course

Your ESL students will certainly more than likely be returning to a home that does not regularly make use of English in discussion. This functions as an extra obstacle for your students to conquer. While no student jumps at the opportunity to do more research, offering your students work to exercise on when they are far from the class is the very best method to guarantee that they aren't totally forgetting the English they discovered in your course that day.

Attempt Tongue Twisters

Tongue twisters can be an enjoyable obstacle for your ESL students. Asking your students to pronounce phonetically comparable words gets them to believe and stop about exactly what they are stating and how they are stating it.

Have Students Check out Aloud

Your students need to exercise reading aloud frequently. This is an excellent method to mix auditory, oral and reading abilities. It will certainly likewise help them end up being more comfy speaking English in front of their peers.

Let Students Make Mistakes

Let your students resolve their errors. Whether they are speaking, checking out or composing English, permitting them to fix themselves will certainly help them get a much better grasp on the language. It might be appealing to insert with the right pronunciation or spelling, however if a student can acknowledge his/her error and remedy it, they are really making progress.

Instruct by Doing

The finest method to instruct English as a 2nd language is to design each element of your driving lesson strategy prior to asking students to iterate it. By modeling your driving lesson for your ESL students, you will certainly assist them feel comfy with exactly what you are asking them to do.

To make your ESL students feel comfy exercising their brand-new language, get them to work in pairs or bigger groups so that they can assist each other. While checking out and composing are both crucial, needing students to speak as commonly as possible assists instill the audio and feel of the language in a student's mind. Making the English language individual and pertinent assists your students get interested and internalize the driving lesson strategy. While no student jumps at the possibility to do more research, providing your students work to exercise on when they are away from the class is the finest method to make sure that they aren't totally forgetting the English they found out in your course that day.
The finest method to instruct English as a 2nd language is to design each element of your driving lesson strategy prior to asking students to iterate it.