From Madonna to the Monkees, from trendy movie dialogue to swapping e-mails and jokes, the lessons strive to give students a feel for how English is spoken in the real world. Zach Hoffman, the company's vice president for Web development, recalls how his own Japanese students coped in the classroom just fine as long as he stuck to traditional teaching materials. But whenever students visited the United States, they returned feeling defeated and more language-challenged than ever. They weren't able to grasp mainstream culture because they'd had no real exposure to it. The Web site looks nothing like a staid classroom environment.
Bright graphics dance across the screen.
Buttons directing students to other pages flash and buzz. Online trivia tests are graded immediately with scores posted at the bottom of Web pages splashed with purple and orange. We're simply giving them the interactive tools to do that. The company got its start two years ago, when Hayden offered to write e-mails for some of his Japanese students. Responding to clamors from others, Hayden expanded the enterprise to include online clients.