Students and staff can now use any University-networked PC to watch 50 satellite channels broadcasting in 13 languages.

The Foreign Language TV service (FLTV) broadcasts will help students improve their language skills and enhance cultural awareness. The service is available across the University’s UK campuses and improves access to a far wider range of live foreign language TV than previously available.

Four satellite dishes on the roof of the Trent Building receive feeds from broadcasters around the world, allowing students and staff to watch live TV across 50 channels. These will be available on networked PCs on any of our UK campuses, although the service cannot be accessed via laptops or with wireless devices.

The languages supported by the new service are Arabic, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Slovene and Spanish. There are also several additional channels broadcasting in English, such as the BBC, CNN and Al Jazeera, which also has an Arabic channel.

The channels offer a range of mainstream programming. As well as news and factual programmes, fans of soap opera, for example, can catch up with shows on Canal de las Estrellas while brushing up on their Mexican Spanish.

Daily news digests of French, German, Spanish and German broadcasts are automatically recorded and are available in the Self Access Centre or by using the FLTV video on demand facility. Recordings of specific programmes can be requested by staff teaching modern foreign languages.

Marisa Marmo, Director of the Language Centre and a lecturer in Italian Language, said: “The Foreign Language TV service will help staff and students consolidate and build on their existing language skills. Watching FLTV can significantly improve listening skills and familiarise students with the sounds and rhythms of a foreign language. It’s also an enjoyable way to learn new phrases and can help increase motivation and proficiency.”

Oranna Speicher, a lecturer in German language, (pictured) said: “Being able to access up-to-date and topical audio-visual resources in the target language is an integral part of the coursework requirements we set for our students in the classes with a language competence of B1 and above (European Framework of Reference). The FLTV service is ideal for this purpose, not only from an authentic language point of view, but also with regard to its availability.””

The Language Centre offers high-quality language learning to more than 1300 students studying foreign language modules across the University. Additionally, the Language Centre facilities are also made available to students studying degree courses with compulsory language elements as well as being a service for staff and students to learn or improve language skills as a self-access service.

For more on the service, visit
www.nottingham.ac.uk/go/fltv