| Winterthur, Switzerland, April 2006 | | | | forthcoming exam." |
| | | | |
| The language school wds in Winterthur, | | | | Practical Help Without the Exam |
| Switzerland has recently launched the PC | | | | |
| program "Pass First Certificate", an | | | | The program can also be used advantageously |
| educational program used as preparation for | | | | by people not wishing to take the exam. For |
| the most popular and most recognized English | | | | all those who just want to brush up their |
| language examination "University of Cambridge | | | | skills in English, Pass First is the ideal |
| First Certificate in English, which is taken | | | | companion. |
| by over 270,000 students of English each | | | | |
| year. | | | | Swiss Made by a Brit, For the Whole World |
| | | | |
| The program, which runs on the Windows | | | | The product was developed at the wds Language |
| platform, consists of over 500 exercises in | | | | School in Winterthur, Switzerland. Together |
| grammar and vocabulary. A built-in 'grammar | | | | with a team of professional programmers, |
| booklet' offers help and explanations at the | | | | experienced language teachers and the |
| click of a button. All parts of the | | | | award-winning design company Meyer-Hayoz |
| examination are practiced realistically and 5 | | | | Design Engineering, the project lasted around |
| actual exams can be taken, the results of | | | | 5 years. Project leader William Dobbs is |
| which are then evaluated. In addition, there | | | | delighted with the reactions already |
| is a dictionary of 5,000 recorded words, with | | | | received, the most important bookshop chains |
| explanations and translations currently in | | | | in the country, various language schools, |
| German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese | | | | companies (including the most recent partner |
| and Greek, | | | | Media Markt) and individuals have already |
| | | | placed orders for the product. Pass First is |
| It Will Not Replace the Teacher | | | | the first wds software product to be |
| | | | developed for the general public. Previously, |
| When asked if this program could replace | | | | the company developed tailor-made language |
| standard teaching, the author William Dobbs | | | | learning programs for organizations such as |
| replied that this would never be the case. | | | | Swiss Telecom and the Swiss Post. |
| "We see the program as the ideal complement | | | | |
| to classroom teaching and learning. It can | | | | More Information |
| never replace the group dynamics and | | | | |
| inter-personal contact found in the | | | | Further information and demo versions can be |
| classroom. What is does, though, is provide | | | | obtained from:wds / pass-english-exams |
| learners with a multitude of additional | | | | |
| practice materials. Our target users all have | | | | PO Box 2217 |
| the same aim, to pass the First Certificate | | | | |
| exam, and they usually know very well where | | | | CH-8401 Winterthur, Switzerland |
| their weaknesses lie. Often the teacher does | | | | |
| not have enough time to concentrate on | | | | E-Mail # # #wds is a private language school |
| individual needs. The solution is Pass First. | | | | based in Winterthur, Switzerland. Its owner |
| Users can look up any points they are not | | | | is the author and project leader of |
| sure of , can do more exercises on various | | | | pass-english-exams, the suite of multimedia |
| topics, they can refer to additional | | | | programs for ESOL (English for Speakers of |
| explanations, test themselves and generally | | | | Other Languages) examinations. |
| gain a lot more confidence to tackle the | | | | |