(ATR) For the first time, Education First will hand out English-language courses to all of those who applied to be a volunteer for the 2016 Olympics.
Three-hundred thousand Brazilians will receive the course for free, including the 70,000 chosen to be volunteers for the 2016 Games. An event will be held on Aug. 28 to give the volunteers their licenses.
The course is provided by Education First, who helped train volunteers in the English language for the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and 2014 Olympics in Sochi. Rio 2016 and Radio Globo have already distributed 10,000 licenses to taxi drivers in the city, and a total of 1 million licenses will be distributed before the Games by EF.
"I think that what is very important is not only for the Olympics, because what we have here is a product of legacy," Andres Marques, general manager of EF Englishtown, said to Around the Rings.
"In Brazil, we need to extend these programs to get more groups that need to get some help. The size of this project is bigger than previous ones."
Marques says EF is working with the secretary of education in the State of Rio de Janeiro to help with distributing licenses to educational programs. On top of that initiative, the company says 500,000 licenses will be passed out for other educational purposes around Brazil.
The online courses last four months and have three levels: "General English," "Beginner English," and "Upper Advanced English." According to Flavia Fontes, head of volunteers for Rio 2016, the plan was always to hand out the classes to everyone who applied to be part of the Games.
"We said we would like to have something to give as a gift to say you are part of us by just applying, and EF liked the idea and came on board," Fontes told ATR.
"It is important that the volunteers know English for the service we are providing during the games, and it is important for them to take that for their lives. It is a benefit that can change their lives, and if they really dedicate themselves they can put it on their CV, getting better jobs and enjoy a little more of their lives."
Written by Aaron Bauer in Rio de Janeiro
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