English, baby! Named First U.S. Online ETS Preferred Vendor
TOEFL® Practice Online now sold through Englishbaby.com
Princeton, N.J. - February 15, 2008
Educational Testing Service (ETS) and English, baby!, entered into an agreement today for English, baby! to join ETS's Preferred Vendor Network (PVN) as the first purely online vendor in the U.S. English, baby! will sell TOEFL® Practice Online (TPO) through its website, Englishbaby.com.
TOEFL® Practice Online recreates an authentic TOEFL iBT® testing experience and helps familiarize test takers with the format and question types, and assists with their readiness for test day. TPO is derived from previously administered TOEFL iBT® tests and provides instant scoring by ETS, the makers of the test. The TOEFL® (Test of English as a Foreign Language™) test is administered in more than 160 countries to persons seeking to enter over 6,000 institutions of higher education worldwide.
English, baby! ("Ebaby!" for short) is an American-English cultural magazine and social networking site for students worldwide who are learning English as a second language (ESL). Rather than focus the curriculum on grammar and memorization—instruction that students already receive in textbooks—the website virtually immerses students in American language and culture using videos, original lessons based on pop culture, and user-generated content. By connecting English learners from around the world through a hip, MTV-like format, the site provides a venue for students to share experiences and discuss topics of interest, while practicing a common language.
"With 1.5 billion people learning English worldwide, we welcome English, baby! to our growing worldwide vendor network," says Paul A. Ramsey, Senior Vice President of ETS' Global Division. "English, baby!'s work with international education, specifically English-language learning through its popular online ESL community, is very well aligned with ETS' mission to advance learning for all people."
"English, baby! is honored to be ETS' first online Preferred Vendor in what is truly a merger of traditional and non-traditional educational strategies," says John Hayden, President and CEO of Versation, the company that operates English, baby!. "We are pleased to be able to offer TPO to our 650,000 Ebaby! members, and hope that it will open doors for them and encourage them to study abroad."
ABOUT ETS AND ETS GLOBAL
ETS is a nonprofit organization with the mission to advance quality and equity in education by providing fair and valid assessments, research and related services for all people worldwide. Founded in 1947, ETS designs, develops, delivers and scores more than 50 million tests annually in more than 180 countries, at over 9,000 locations worldwide.
ETS's Global Division and its related subsidiaries have offices around the world to meet the needs of non-U.S. based entities in Asia, Canada, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. In serving individuals, businesses, educational institutions, government agencies and membership organizations worldwide, ETS offers valid and reliable assessments, research and related services such as customized solutions workforce products and services, and research-based teaching and learning tools.
For more information, visit the ETS Global website.
ABOUT English, baby!
Founded in 2000, English, baby!, set out to teach English to the world in an innovative manner, virtually immersing students in American culture and natural English. Social networking features were introduced in 2006 and growth surged. Englishbaby.com is now one of the largest social networking sites for English language learners in the world with over 650,000 members and 1 million unique visitors per month.
Versation, the company that operates English, baby!, also provides a powerful suite of student management software for educational institutions. Versation's student recruitment and alumni management products help reputable institutions increase enrollment and maintain valuable relationships with past students.
For more information, visit Versation at www.versation.com.
CONTACT INFORMATION
ETS
Tom Ewing
Email: mediacontacts@ets.org
Tel: (609) 683-2899
Versation
John Hayden, Co-founder and CEO
Email: john@versation.com
Tel: (888) 418-8021 x2#
