BellTIME
Teanga:
FYFFES TO SUPPORT UNICEF’S POLIO VACCINATION
PROGRAMME IN SOUTH SUDAN
Following the success of the polio vaccination project
in Nigeria last year (as well as earlier malaria
prevention work in Mozambique) Fyffes will once
again support Unicef to assist in eradicating polio in
sub-Saharan Africa. This year, the polio vaccination
programme takes place in South Sudan, with the goal
to immunise as many young children as possible
against the deadly virus.
According to Peter Power, Executive Director,
UNICEF Ireland, “Every year, about 29,000 children
under the age of five die every day mostly from
preventable causes. With Fyffes’ support an
estimated 250,000 children in South Sudan alone will
be immunised against polio. UNICEF is delighted to
partner once more with Fyffes, as well as Fyffes’
customers, to protect the most vulnerable children
from this deadly disease. By investing in children’s
futures, we empower them to build a better future
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for themselves, their families, their communities and
our world.”
This year’s campaign is once again spearheaded by
Irish Rugby Player and Unicef Ambassador, Donncha
O’Callaghan. Special Freddy Fyffes packs of bananas
will be in store across Ireland from October to
December - and for every bag bought, Fyffes will
donate one life-saving vaccine.
Speaking during a recent field trip South Sudan,
Gerry Cunningham, MD of Fyffes Ireland said “Our
hope is that this latest project in Sou th Sudan will
mirror the outstanding success we had last year in
halting the spread of polio in Nigeria, as well as
malaria prevention in Mozambique. It is estimated
that Fyffes support has helped save the lives of over
1 million children through vaccinations and
prevented more than 200,000 cases of malaria”
A picture and
voiced based
language
learning tool
Teanga: Language Lego!
Teanga is a picture and voiced based language learning
tool. Students place pictures into "grammar space" to
create phrases that can be voiced, recorded and
compared with a teacher’s voice. All major grammar
patterns are covered. The student learns to speak more
confidently as she learns the patterns and vocabulary by
osmosis. All languages and dialects can be learned and
spoken using a common set of images, shapes and
symbols. This self-directed learning is text free and so
lends itself best to those who are text averse (dyslexics)
and those learning a language with an alien script
(Chinese/Arabic). Teanga is launching an English
language version in October and Gaeilge in November.
We anticipate having a portfolio of a thousand languages
and dialects within a few years.
Teanga is based on a global set of pictures (words),
shapes (parts of speech), colours (word gender) and
symbols (grammar markers). By placing these elements
together (mashing) the user creates a unique phrase with
a unique audio output. This is then recorded within the
browser and compared with that of a native speaker. The
user can then re-record her voice to conform with the
pattern established within the lessons. Pronunciation,
intonation, vocabulary and grammar are the skills honed.
Students naturally learn those elements which are
common to all languages. Currently the software is at beta
stage on a browser but the ultimate design direction will
allow us to easily migrate to a mobile platform.
Many of the existing solutions are often text-intense and
focus on providing a full language offering to users;
Teanga focuses solely on the spoken word aims to
support and accelerate pre-intermediate students (A1-B2).
We believe that the spoken word is the key to gaining
confidence in a new language. Eventually we will create
audio phrase books, games and a communication tool. By
adapting the interface we can also reach younger
students and even senior citizens who wish to revise
languages learned in their youth. Due to the unique output
of every "mash" Teanga is ideally placed as a testing
engine for the spoken word
To get involved in this exciting project please contact
Shane Walsh at [email protected].
www.teanga.me
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