Pearson
Pearson Roadmap
Bringing real-world English to life through broadcast-quality storytelling.
- English Language Learning
- 20 original films
- B1 and B1+
Produced at ITN Productions
Services
- Creative development
- Editorial research
- Scripting
- Casting
- Location filming
- Production
- Post-production
The challenge
Pearson wanted to bring the real world into the English language classroom.
Roadmap is an eight-level English language course for adults, designed to build confidence in communication through engaging, relevant content.
Our brief was to produce 20 short films across the B1 and B1+ levels, each illustrating key language from the course while offering learners an entertaining diversion from the traditional textbook lesson.
The challenge was to create films that felt like television, not teaching resources, without losing sight of the learning objectives behind them.
Our approach
We developed an original series of presenter-led factual films, taking learners out of the classroom and into everyday British life.
Working from Pearson's curriculum briefs, we researched stories, developed creative treatments and wrote scripts that brought the target language naturally into real-world situations.
We cast television presenters Will Best and Sally Williams, sourced locations and contributors, assembled the crews and managed the entire production process, from initial concept through to filming, editing, graphics, music and final delivery.
The result was a series that combined authentic conversation, humour and engaging storytelling with purposeful language learning.
Featured film: What Next?
What does virtual reality have to do with the future of work?
In this film from Roadmap B1, presenter Will Best explores how businesses are using virtual reality to bring employees together.
From experiencing a terrifying virtual plank walk to joining a team-building event at London's Shard, Will discovers how technology is changing the way we work and interact.
Along the way, learners encounter natural spoken English, with a particular focus on making predictions, asking questions and responding to others.
It's a good example of our approach: finding a genuinely entertaining story that delivers the learning objectives without feeling like a lesson.
Roadmap B1 Unit 1 – What Next?
The result
20 original films, produced across two levels of Pearson's Roadmap course, bringing authentic British English, real people and contemporary stories into the language classroom.
By combining educational expertise with the production values of factual television, we helped Pearson create a learning experience that gave students a window into the world beyond their textbooks.
Credits
Produced by ITN Productions for Pearson. Project led by Storyline Learning founder Dan Mills during his time at ITN Education.