So I bought a copy of BBC Active's Biongiorno Italia! - not because I'm learning Italian (I am so not learning Italian), but because I will be visiting Italy later in the year and want to be able to read signs and ask for food and things.
I bought it specifically because it was made by the BBC, and I knew it was connected to a televised language course. I bought it because it called itself "A complete multi-media course".
I bought it because I assumed one of the three discs that came with it would contain at least clips from the TV show - something, I don't know, multi-media-like to go with their "multi-media" course.
I mean, it's the 21st Century, right? We've had CD-ROMS for decades now, DVDs are old hat and people get eBooks with video inserts for almost the same price as a normal print book (slightly cheaper, normally - which is a bit crazy when you think it through).
Surely a "complete multi-media course" from the BBC with a TV tie-in would have video clips? It's not unreasonable to think something like this might exist, and the BBC is usually at the forefront of everything cool and useful...
But, no, turns out "multi-media" just means "sound" in addition to "print". The discs are entirely audio. The book politely informs you that you may be able to catch repeats of the TV show occasionally and that you should check out their website to see when they might be screening...
Are you kidding me? You mean to tell me that, not only is putting video onto a disc too hard for the BBC but they can't even manage to put clips on the website? You have to catch a repeat?
What the Heck?!? It's a multi-media course package! This isn't 1975, where having a tape to play in your car is the latest thing in language learning. "Multi-media" in this day and age kind of implies "more than two".
Come on, BBC. You can do better than this. If anyone is likely to be able to produce a true multimedia package, you're the ones to do it. Step up, dudes.
Or, as they might say in Italian: fare di meglio.
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