The Language Teacher
October 2000
eigoTown.com and ELT News
James Hursthouse
"Off the Presses" -- an appropriate name indeed for this new TLT column, given the fact that the first company to be featured publishes almost exclusively without going anywhere near a press. "Off the Presses and onto the Internet!"
Still, publishing is publishing, and I'm very happy to take up TLT's offer of an opportunity to let you know about developments at ELT News and its parent company, eigoTown.com. Our company's overall goal is to provide a wide range of solutions, combining the Internet and multimedia technology with English education, to meet both learners' and teachers' needs. I'd like to explain a little bit about how we're going about this.
Many of you will already be familiar with ELT News (www.eltnews.com). The site is visited by thousands of ELT professionals weekly, and we have over 10,000 subscribers to our free email newsletter. A "one stop" information source for those interested in building or enhancing an ELT career in Japan, ELT News includes teaching ideas, interviews with luminaries in the ELT world, message boards, a jobs board, and of course, regularly updated news from the ELT world.
eigoTown.com -- Japan's premier Website for anyone interested in English
What you may not be aware of is that ELT News is part of a larger environment called eigoTown.com, an Internet-based community designed to be the nexus of everything related to English in Japan. Launched in March of this year, the site has quickly established itself as the place that Japanese people can turn to for a wealth of information about such things as studying English, teaching English, and traveling to English-speaking countries to work or to study or simply to have fun.
Let's imagine that one of your final year English majors is planning a trip to the US to study for three months after she graduates. How can she make use of eigoTown.com?
She can practice English in eigoCollege. Interactive daily quizzes, including one relating specifically to travel English, provide a convenient way to test English ability. She can also visit our hosted Chat Rooms to practice with expert speakers in "real time."
She can read high interest articles about life in the US (and other English-speaking countries), including the experiences of other Japanese people in Culture Cafe. High-profile interviewees have included Hollywood actress Kudo Yuki and Apple Japan President Harada Eikoh talking about the difference that English skills have made to their lives and work.
She can find a language school in Japan for a little extra English practice before she goes. Our "Studying in Japan" Database lists over 9000 schools, which are all searchable by location and type of program.
She can find practical guidance to help her prepare for traveling overseas in Ryugaku Plaza, which includes information about visa requirements and financial matters. Sample application letters to schools and home stay families help make sure the trip gets off to a good start. If she can't find the information she needs, she can "Ask the Expert" for the USA, who will provide the answer that she needs by email.
She can use our lively Message Boards to ask others who have been to the States, perhaps even to the same school, for advice. She can find an American e-Pal, and exchange emails.
She can buy a book or video about the US, along with a couple of English novels for the flight over, from eigoStore.
When she gets back to Japan, she can find a job that requires her newly improved English skills in our Jobs Section. There is also advice on application procedures and issues related to working in international environments.
Language school owners -- register your school for free in the Database
I'd like to invite any TLT readers who run language schools to register their services in our Database. It's free to register and it makes sense to have your school appear when an eigoTown.com visitor searches for courses in your area. Also, don't forget that an ad on the ELT News jobs boards is a proven, cost-effective way to recruit native speaker teachers. Contact me at <james@eigotown.com> or come to the ELT News stand at JALT2000 in Shizuoka for more details about either the eigoTown.com Database or the ELT News Jobs page.
Another reason to come and visit us at the conference is to enter our draw to win a stylish new Power Mac G4 Cube -- the computer that proves that good things really do come in small packages.
The ELT Software Store
The third company in the eigoTown.com "triumvirate" is the ELT Software Store, currently representing over one hundred language-learning products. Our flagship product, ELLIS (English Language Learning and Instruction System), is a comprehensive interactive language-learning solution for learners at all levels. It combines graphics, full-motion video, digitized sound, voice recording, and animation in a user-friendly environment. For more details, contact Kenny Hong on free phone 0120-050-815.
ELLIS at JALT2000
Dr. Frank Otto, Founder and Chairman of the Board of CALI Inc. (the publishers of ELLIS), is one of this year's featured speakers for the JALT2000 Conference. Dr. Otto has over 33 years of experience in the application of technology in language learning. Come to his featured speaker workshop on the afternoon of 2nd November to find out how technology and language training have come together to create opportunities for both teachers and learners.
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