English for You - In the Streets of Dresden 1974
English for You was a television program broadcast by East German television as part of its educational programming. The series consisted of two courses:
1966–1969: 62 episodes, 1978–1980: 55 episodes
The television language course "English for You" premiered on September 4, 1966. Pronunciation and grammar exercises were led by native speaker Diana Loeser. These were interspersed with dramatized scenes featuring actors Alan Clarke and Valerie Lester, both living in East Germany, as "Tom" and "Peggy." The content covered everyday situations as well as ideological and propagandistic topics such as the supposed difficulties of trade union activity and social problems in capitalist Great Britain. Filming took place on location in London and Coventry on two occasions.
The series was revised in 1978. While the basic structure was largely retained, more dramatized scenes were now filmed in Great Britain. Both the narrator and the actors were recast. While the first 26 episodes featured "Mike and Anne" in every episode, the remaining 26 episodes alternated between "Jeff and Linda" and "Dave and Jenny."
Episodes 1–26 were integrated into the English curriculum for 7th grade students in East German secondary schools, while the subsequent episodes were part of the English curriculum for 8th grade students.
Until 1989, outside of school holidays, each episode was broadcast several times a week in the early afternoon, the time designated for English lessons in schools. All episodes were produced in black and white.