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SMART helps Disney teach English in China
Children in China are experiencing an immersive, interactive way to learn English. Disney English is one of China's leading English-language learning institutes for children, and SMART products are now embedded in the program, creating an ideal and immersive learning environment combining innovative technology with Disney's strong track record of English learning through timeless stories and characters.
Disney English is committed to empowering children to interact across borders and cultures by achieving English language fluency. Children aged two to twelve achieve English fluency through a unique learning system called the Disney I.S.A. (Immersive Storytelling Approach). The curriculum was developed in consultation with a prestigious international advisory board, and the program has been highly successful at centers across China, including those in Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Nanjing, Ningbo, Suzhou and Hangzhou.
Part of the Magic Theater
Trainers use the Disney English Magic Theater to create lessons that immerse children in the narrative world of timeless Disney characters and stories. In all of the training centers, the theaters include SMART Board™ interactive whiteboards, along with the latest surround sound and digital equipment, enabling students to interact with the content as they learn. Altogether, Disney English trainers are using 104 SMART Board interactive whiteboards to teach their students.
Young learners are quick to engage with this curriculum, which was specially designed for Chinese children. The curriculum features over 300 original Disney English songs, written by artists such as Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Ralph Covert, and vocabulary that is more broadly used in China than in other regions of the world. Using the interactive whiteboards, trainers can make notes in digital ink on the surface or save students’ work and review it with parents or other trainers.
Facilitating the teaching process
Disney English chose the SMART Board interactive whiteboard because of its ability to improve student engagement, motivate students and simplify the teaching process. Trainers can use it to storyboard lessons and revise lesson materials. And they see firsthand how the interactive whiteboard helps students learn. "They can physically manipulate the language," says Hilary, a Disney English trainer in the Xujiahui Center in Shanghai.
A magical match
The opportunity to help Disney English bring its world-class ELL program to Chinese children fits well with SMART's philosophy. "Immersing children in a highly visual, interactive learning environment is an educational strategy that lends itself perfectly to the SMART Board interactive whiteboard," says SMART founder and CEO Nancy Knowlton. "We are proud to be part of the Disney English team in China."
Having experienced the benefits of the SMART Board interactive whiteboard for the past four years, Disney English plans to expand its use of SMART products with the opening of new centers as consumer demand rises. As the program grows, SMART plans to work with Disney English to make learning even more hands-on and engaging for young learners in China.
