We are working in partnership with BBC Learning English on an educational initiative, BBC Janala, to significantly increase the number of people able to speak English who can contribute to the economic growth of Bangladesh.
BBC Janala (‘Window’), launched in November 2009 is a unique multi-platform project that harnesses multimedia technology to provide affordable education to potentially millions of people in the Bangladeshi-speaking community.
Start date: November 2009
End date: April 2011
Media types: mobile, online and television
Issue: education, economic development
Country: Bangladesh, the UK
Two years in the making, BBC Janala offers a new way of learning English on mobile phones, the internet and television.
Mobile
There are over 50 million mobile phone users in Bangladesh today – and the number is growing. By dialling “3000” any of these users can access hundreds of English language audio lessons and quizzes. Content is updated weekly and caters to all levels of experience with ‘Essential English’ for beginners, ‘Pronunciation’ for intermediaries and ‘Vocabulary in the News’ for those more advanced.
To make the lessons affordable, BBC Janala has teamed up with all six of Bangladesh’s mobile operators who have agreed to cut the cost of calls to the service by up to 75%. Each lesson lasts three minutes and costs less than the price of a cup of tea from a Dhaka tea stall (or 3 pence).
At the end of December 2009 – a month after launching – over 750,000 calls had been made to the mobile phone service.
Internet
A dedicated website www.bbcjanala.com has also been launched where users can access free content and join an online community of learners.
In the first few weeks, around 12,000 people registered to access lessons, create an online profile and interact with other learners in Bangladesh and across the world (over 90 countries at the time of writing).
Television
For television, we have created BBC Buzz, a weekly youth entertainment show that places English at the centre of young people’s everyday lives.
Broadcast in a prime-time Friday evening slot on satellite channel ATN Bangla, it mixes Bangla and English in features, comedy sketches, cartoons and discussions on subjects ranging from climate change to arranged marriage. Launched in October 2009, the show already has five million viewers.
A popular element of the show is Rinku’s World, an animation series following the ups and downs of a young office worker - Rinku - confronting his fear of English and love for his colleague Pinky. It links to audio lessons on mobile and web through BBC Janala.
2010 will see the launch of Bishaash, the first ever serial drama shot between Bangladesh and London. Expected to attract millions of viewers, the programme will be supported by a parallel half-hour learning show building audience learning of English used in the drama.
Research
Over the past year the BBC World Service Trust conducted a 8,300 person baseline survey together with a study of mobile and internet usage habits of a further 3,000 people.
Research was collected across urban, semi-urban and rural Bangladesh amongst our key target audience of 15 to 45 year olds. From this sample, a nationwide panel has been recruited to measure ongoing impact.
A high number of Bangladeshis surveyed– around 84% – said that English learning was a top priority for their future, and 99% said they wanted their children to learn.
Over half of those we spoke to are in a low socio-economic group, which means they live on less than £2 a day and are a key audience for the service provided by BBC Janala.
Research indicates that speaking English is no longer an ambition of the wealthy, and that good English is essential for anyone who wishes for better employment prospects.
Innovation and development
By tapping into the growth of Bangladesh’s mobile phone and television industry, BBC Janala is offering affordable English learning tools to millions of people, helping them with the chance of a better job and future.
The project is funded by the UK Department for International Development as part of English in Action , a major educational initiative launched in 2008 to raise the language skills of 27 million people by 2017.
BBC Janala is a partnership between the BBC World Service Trust and BBC Learning English and draws on the shared expertise of using the media to provide affordable and accessible education to all.
