Residents and officials of the Russian city of Sochi, the host of the 2014 Winter Olympics, can study English for free, the city hall said Tuesday.

Some of them may enhance there command of the "lingua franca" voluntarily, while the other must learn English as part of their work duties.

The local authorities hastily attempt to make their city tourist-friendly prior to the expected heavy inflow of foreign guests next February when the 22nd Winter Olympics will be held in the subtropical resort.

According to official website of the city, Sochi has stricken a deal with one of the world's leading English-teaching agencies in Sept. 2011. The teachers receive their remuneration from the city budget directly. [ So far, some 1,500 out of Sochi's 360,000 residents have utilized the rare opportunity to learn the basic English for a song, the city hall's representative Yelena Sigareva said.

In addition, last April the city launched a massive "A Word A Day" project among local residents to learn over 660 most frequently used words of the English vocabulary.

Unlike the Black Sea resort's residents, the Sochi officials study English mandatory, Sigareva said.

Each employee of the city services must learn at least one English word a day, she said. Sigareva did not specified if any tests have been conducted to check the progress of English fluency among the city clerks.

If "A Word A Day" project proves to be successful, it will be repeated during preparations for the Formula One competitions due in Sochi in October 2014 and to the Soccer World Cup due in 2018 in 13 cities across Russia. Endi

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)