The Children’s Television Workshop has partnered with worldwide language services firm Berlitz International to develop and distribute a new program called Sesame English.

The program aims to teach English to children around the globe with the help of a new Muppet named Tingo, created by the Jim Henson Co. Tingo will speak 4,000 languages and teach kids common expressions, vocabulary and American culture. Sesame English will also feature repurposed Sesame Street library material of Muppets, animation and live-action programming.

The multimedia educational series will consist of 52 15-minute episodes, which began production this month. CTW, which has committed US$15 million to the project, plans to present the show at MIPCOM in October.

The first episodes will be launched in Japan, China and Taiwan by spring 2000, followed by introductions in Europe, Latin America and North America.

The programs will also be introduced in Berlitz’s Language Centers worldwide and will be complemented by print, audio, video and CD-ROM instructional materials developed by the firm.

Berlitz also plans to develop products and school programs aiming to teach English-speaking kids other languages, using the Sesame name, logo and characters.