New Online Language Tool

Imagine that you wake up one morning in a hotel in some other country. The telephone rings, the doorman wants something from you, and suddenly a detective is standing in your room and wants to interrogate you.

Unfortunately, you don't understand a word. With the help of gestures, you learn that a woman has been murdered in room 40. The suspicion quickly arises that you may have been involved in the murder.

This is what happened to Anna, the heroine in the Mission Berlin German course.

Three Adventures -- Three Languages

Mission Berlin is one of three 26-part adventures that make up the language learning program Mission Europe. Together, Mission Berlin, Misja Kraków and Mission Paris offer a unique approach to learning German, Polish and French. Users can experience the three missions from the perspective of a computer game player who joins each virtual heroine on an adventure in Germany, Poland and France.

Along the way, virtual heroines Anna, Eva and Suzanna have to outsmart the time gangsters, who are out to change the course of national history. The game characters are stalked and hassled and sometimes don't even know who's a friend or an enemy.

In Berlin, Anna comes up against gangsters trying to foil Germany's reunification. In Kraków, Suzanna has to stop the enemy from reversing Poland's membership in the European Union. And in Paris, heroine Eva faces an opponent who wants to send France back to the era of Napoleon III and re-establish the monarchy.

Innovative language learning

Each of the three protagonists thinks in her native language and is confronted with much more than just everyday situations in a foreign language -- Anna, Eva and Suzanna constantly find themselves in danger.

By successfully completing each mission, not only the heroines but also the users gain insight into each country's language and culture.

The language content of each mission corresponds to Level A1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

"We would like to give young Europeans the opportunity to discover German, French and Polish in a fun way," said Sabine Hartert, director of Deutsche Welle's language course department. "The original and innovative learning adventures open up new possibilities for conveying material in a memorable way. The Mission Europe project proves that language learning doesn't have to be boring."

More offers Online

Mission Europe is a co-production of Deutsche Welle, Radio France Internationale, Polskie Radio and Radiofabrik Salzburg and is sponsored by the European Commission's Lingua-Program.

The language courses are not only broadcast by the project partners, they are also available to re-broadcasters and via Podcast. All audio content can be downloaded from the Internet.

In addition, fans of Mission Europe can download mobile phone ring tones, trailers and wallpapers free of charge. Interactive exercises are available for both language learners and teachers.