Learn a Language on a Long Flight
Singapore Airlines is ahead of the curve on this one: It was reported by CNN that the airline would be offering language learning programs on their in-flight entertainment delivery system: KrisWorld. SIA and an American language school, Berlitz International, to produce crash-course learning programs in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Greek, Russian, Portuguese, Mandarin, Cantonese and Japanese. If you’ve ever flown from Asia to practically anywhere, you’ll know that the double digit flight hours seem to pass like an eternity. This is a very intelligent idea and it’s a wonder it hadn’t been thought of earlier. How many movies can you possible watch before you feel like you’re wasting your time?
The courses are designed to just give the student a “practical grasp of a foreign language through the use of key words and phrases,” explains Betty Wong, an SIA in-flight services representative. The programs will do this through the use of games and “a pronunciation function.” When you finish the programs, they’ll even send you a certificate.
Currently there are eleven languages covered on two thirds of the SIA fleet. The program started in July 2004 and at the end of 2005, they intend to cover twenty languages.