extr@ was an educational TV series that ran from 2002 to 2004. There were four versions: English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

, French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

, German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

 and Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

. The latter was co-produced by RAI

RAI

RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...

 CPTO (Production Centre of Turin) for Rai Educational.

Plot

The English version has 30 episodes, and the other three languages have 13 episodes each.

Hector/Sam, with only a very basic grasp of the featured language, comes to stay with his penpal, Bridget/Sacha/Sascha/Lola. Hector's/Sam's efforts to get to grips with the language provide the central dynamic for the series' language learning content. The series is particularly suitable for adolescents and young adults who can relate to the contextual setting and implied meanings in the screenplay.

English

• Javier Marzan - Hector
• Julie Buckfield
  Julie Buckfield
  Julie Buckfield is an English actress.A graduate of the Sylvia Young Theatre School in London, Buckfield started her career aged 11 in the Cameron Mackintosh production of Les Misérables. She then auditioned for the part of Chrissy Mainwaring in BBC 1 teenage soap Grange Hill, but eventually won...
  
   - Annie
• Abby Simpson - Bridget
• Toby Walton - Nick

French

• Lawrence Ray - Sam Scott
• Marie Cordillot - Annie
• Vanessa Seydoux - Sacha
• Jean-Felix Callens - Nico

German

• Lawrence Ray - Sam Scott
• Britta Becker
  Britta Becker
  Britta Becker is a former German field hockey midfield player.Becker made her debut in the German women's field hockey team in 1991 and was the youngest in the Olympic squad in 1992. She was part of the 1995 winning team in the European Cup and the bronze medal winning team in the 1998 World Cup...
  
   - Anna
• Leontine Hass - Sascha
• Frank Brunet - Nic
• Guy Dano - Guy

Spanish

• Lawrence Ray - Sam Scott
• Celia Meiras - Ana
• Vanessa Otero - Lola
• Javier Marzan - Pablo

Episodes

• The Arrival of Hector/Sam
• Hector/Sam Goes Shopping
• Hector/Sam Goes Dating
• Hector/Sam Finds a Job
• A Star is Born
• Bridget/Sacha/Sascha/Lola Wins the Lottery
• The Twin
• The Landlady’s Cousin
• Jobs for the Boys
• Annie/Anna/Ana Protests
• Holiday Time
• Football Crazy
• A Wedding in the Air
• Changes
• The Bouncer
• Uncle Nick
• Cyber Stress
• Just the Ticket
• Kung Fu Fighting
• Every Dog has its Day
• The Entertainers
• Haunting at Halloween
• Truth or Dare
• Pilot Nick
• Art
• Alibi
• Can You Live Without
• Christmas
• Camping
• Love Hurts

External links

• http://www.channel4.com/learning/microsites/E/extra - extr@ - French, German & Spanish at Channel4.com
• http://www.teachers.tv/video/browser/988/811?order=transmitted&page=2 - extr@ - Sample downloads for teachers (UK only)
• http://matroskinf.mylivepage.ru/blog/458/1423 - Extr@ - Videos of all episodes (English and Russian subtitles)
• http://ww2.tvp.pl/4450.dzialy extr@ - English at TVP.pl
• http://www.channel4.com/learning/microsites/E/extra/english_flash_home.html - English at Channel 4
• http://www.teachers.tv/video/browser/991?page=1 - French, German & Spanish episodes online (first series only)
• http://www.manxman.ch/moodle2/course/view.php?id=4 - Systemic Functional Linguistics - An example teaching methodology using 'extr@' to motivate novice adolescent language learners.