SAO PAULO, November 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Soccer is considered the world's most beautiful game. And EF Education First (EF), the world leader in international education, will make sure that to the ears of soccer fans headed to Brazil for the 2014 World Cup, English will be the world's most beautiful language.

EF ( http://www.ef.com ) has been selected as the World Cup's Official Language Training Provider by Ola, Turista!, a partnership between Brazil's Ministry of Tourism and Fundacao Roberto Marinho that is responsible for preparing the country's host cities for the World Cup. Using EF's advanced online learning technology, Englishtown, the South American country's waitresses and taxi drivers will learn how to welcome and guide the million tourists projected to descend upon Brazil.

We are honored to be working with Brazil on this important project, says Peter Burman, President of EF Corporate Language Training. We will leverage our experience as the Official Language Training Supplier to the Beijing Olympics to provide Brazil with the best training.

A pilot started in August, and the massive project - up to 80,000 Brazilians will study under EF each year until 2014 - will officially be launched in January 2010. The course includes 15 levels of online language lessons, which include innovative videos, interactive multi-media games, pronunciation lab work that teaches English and Spanish. EF's Englishtown courses can be accessed at any time so learning is a 24-hour-a-day experience.

EF has presented us with a highly-structured tool, with a consistent methodology, says Roberto Marinho Foundation's General Manager of Tele-education, Nelson Santonieri. We will focus on the student so that they complete the course successfully.

The impact of EF's massive effort to educate such a broad swath of Brazil's hospitality workers will linger far beyond the World Cup. Helping total beginners to introduce themselves in English, as well as instructing more advanced speakers to describe historic attractions, will undoubtedly boost the tourism industry infrastructure. In Brazil, we don't have a so-called 'second language,' says Rogerio Meireles of EF Sao Paulo. This is the beginning of creating a new structure to cater to tourists here.

Media inquiries contact: Anna Esaki-Smith Tel: +852-2111-2370 / +852-6343-7952 Email: press@ef.com

SOURCE: EF Education First (EF)

CONTACT: Anna Esaki-Smith, +852-2111-2370 / +852-6343-7952, press@ef.com