Sesame Street Targets English-Language Learners

NEW YORK/CANNES, October 13: Sesame
Street English, a new 26×2-minute series
from Sesame Workshop, features anime-style versions of the show’s signature
Muppets introducing preschoolers to the English language.

Sesame Street English, which can be adapted for classrooms, uses research-based
methods to provide introductory language skills necessary to build a basic
English vocabulary. Each all-English episode introduces one letter, sound and
word, using visuals and rhythms. Sesame Street Muppet characters, including Cookie Monster, Big Bird,
Bert, Ernie and Grover, are featured in a new anime style.

The series is part of a larger
project that encourages English-based proficiency at an early age. Sesame
Street English also features 26 video
lessons, delivered via multiple platforms. Each Sesame Street English package comes with supplementary materials, including a
parent-support guide in the native language and an interactive “magic” pen,
which children can use to select segments, play games or sing Sesame songs in English.

“There are so few programs that
present English-language lessons in a meaningful context, and also encourage
young learners to read and have fun doing so,” said Dan Victor, Sesame
Workshop’s executive VP of international. “Using tools of the 21st century, Sesame
Street English is designed to appeal to Sesame
Street’s core audience, who are learning
and reviewing with the favorite muppet friends.”

—By Kristin Brzoznowski