Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and SK Telecom Partner on English Language Program

  • By Jim Barthold
  • 06/04/12

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) is combining its English language education materials with SK Telecom's T-Smart Learning platform to make them available any time, any where beginning in SK Telecom's Korean market.

The partnership is designed to "enhance the English proficiency and academic outcomes of students" starting in Korea and then moving to other international markets, the two companies said. HMH's English language resources are sourced from more than 1,000 titles, including Destination Math, SkillsTutor, and ScienceFusion. SK Telecom will provide technology such as viewers, apps, billing systems, certification systems, synchronization functions, and others to deliver the resources. The combined materials will be accessible initially via Samsung Android tablets.

The T-Smart Learning initiative is expected to include English-language modules for math, reading, and science with an initial focus on increasing and enhancing English language education in South Korea. The materials and technology will be sold to both consumers and institutions, starting with Korean primary and secondary school students by October 2012. Future plans include developing additional device-based educational material for students in markets in China and India.

The education-telecommunication alliance was hailed in a news release by Mark Tokola, deputy chief of mission for the United States Embassy in Seoul as a "stepping stone toward providing an optimal educational solution" that is "based on offering high quality content on top of cutting edge technology--not only to Korea but also to other international markets."

For its part, HMH said it considers the partnership to be part of an "ongoing commitment to combine research, content, and technology to advance teaching and learning environments around the world," said HMH President and CEO Linda Zecher in a news release.

HMH describes itself as "among the world's largest providers of pre-K-12 education solutions and one of the longest-established publishing houses." In Korea, HMH is working with a telecommunications provider that has more than 26 million subscribers, accounting for more than 50 percent of the market.

About the Author

Jim Barthold is a freelance technology reporter. He can be reached at [email protected].

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