Watching TV and movies is one of the most popular ways for ESL students to improve their English skills.
DISH surveyed more than 1,000 Spanish-speaking customers and found that 70% were interested in watching an ESL channel to expand their English vocabulary. A further 85% said that watching TV and movies was their favorite way to study English.
To meet this demand for ESL programming, DISH Latino TV and Sling TV launched a new HD channel called Inglés Para Todos last month. DISH says that they’re the first pay-TV provider to create a channel solely dedicated to helping viewers learn English.
In a statement, Alfredo Rodríguez Diaz-Marta, vice president of DishLATINO and Sling Latino, said:
“We are constantly looking for new ways to best serve our audience and there is no question that English proficiency is a bridge to prosperity and empowerment for many Latinos in the United States. We are proud to build upon our 20-year history of supporting the Hispanic community with the launch of Inglés Para Todos.”
The channel is available to all DISHLatino subscribers at no additional cost. Subscribers of Sling TV’s “Best of Spanish TV” service will also be able to access the content for free.
To help busy students brush up on their English on the go, DISH has made the programming available On Demand and on the DISH Anywhere app.
Educational programming designed for all skill levels
DISH Wireless has created a wide variety of educational content for Inglés Para Todos, making it a great resource for ESL students of all skill levels.
Shows like “English with Emma” and “English with Rebecca Ezekiel” are filmed at a whiteboard just like a traditional, in-person class. They’re designed to help beginners learn important vocabulary before progressing to more advanced topics.
The channel also has content for intermediate and advanced ESL students that puts everything they’ve learned into context. Programs like “The Communication Show” teach students words and phrases they’ll need to know to navigate real-life situations like going to the bank or doctor’s office.
The show’s actors speak in both English and Spanish to make the lessons easier to understand and highlight important words and grammar concepts on-screen. The short segments range from one to twenty minutes long.
Inglés Para Todos also has a quiz show called “The Verb Circus” to help viewers gain a better understanding of verbs. Contestants compete to see who can translate the most sentences correctly and win the grand prize.
In addition to classes and other educational content, Inglés Para Todos has a variety of subtitled movies in English and Spanish. There are international films, documentaries, classic Mexican movies, and more.
DISH Partners with Eugenio Derbez to Promote New Channel
To promote their new channel, DISH launched a new ad campaign featuring Mexican crossover actor Eugenio Derbez last month.
The series of commercials was filmed almost entirely in Spanish. In one of them, Derbez has a nightmare about mispronouncing English words while presenting an award and says he uses Inglés Para Todos to brush up on his English skills.
In a statement about the partnership, Derbez said:
“As a child, I dreamt of making it to Hollywood, and I knew that learning English was going to be the key to getting there. Learning to speak English has not only given me the power to achieve my dreams but to also serve as a voice for others who aspire to succeed in the United States. I am proud to partner with DishLATINO to launch Inglés Para Todos.”