University of Tennessee

In the fall of 1985, the Center for Extended Learning (CEL) at The University of Tennessee, which provides educational opportunities to adult learners at a distance, began to take a new direction. In a study of the literature relating to foreign language education, the document Strength through Wisdom: A Critique of U. S. Capability, a 1979 report to President Carter from the President's Commission on Foreign Language and International Studies, contained information CEL considered significant. Chapter Two, «Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade: Educating Americas Children for the Twenty-First Century», stressed the importance of beginning foreign language education at an early age:

One of the many specific recommendations in the Report to the President was that in «the media, particularly television, international education programs for young children should be increased» (8).

In light of these recommendations of the President's Commission and the renewed emphasis on foreign language education nationwide, CEL decided to develop a nontraditional program using videotapes to teach French to kindergartners. The program was completed in December, 1986, and was pilot tested in seven cities across the state of Tennessee beginning in January, 1987.

Because CEL felt the French program was successful, plans were begun to produce a similar series to teach Spanish to children in kindergarten through second grade in schools where there were no qualified foreign language teachers. Few good foreign language materials were on the market, and those that were available were designed to be used by teachers who knew Spanish.

The funding and the procedures for developing the series will be discussed briefly in this paper. The focus will be the goals of the program, program content, ancillary materials, and the testing and evaluation of the pilot phase of the project.

In an attempt to get funding for the Spanish project CEL submitted a grant proposal to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) in December, 1987. CPB agreed to fund the series in two phases on a 50-50 matching basis.

The conditions for funding as outlined by CPB included the production of two fifteen-minute videotaped lessons and accompanying ancillary materials that would be tested for usefulness at selected sites across the United States in Phase I of the project. Funding for the remaining twenty-eight programs in Phase II would be conditional upon the success of the pilot phase.

Other conditions for funding were the formation of a nationally-representative advisory committee and the employment of a research corporation to do testing and evaluation of the two pilot programs. CPB further recommended that CEL hire a professional scriptwriter.

The procedures for developing the series, called AMIGOS, included the formation of the team for the project. The duty of organizing the advisory committee was subcontracted to the Tennessee Foreign Language Institute in Nashville. Executive Director of the Institute, Dr. June Phillips, a nationally-recognized foreign language educator, followed CPB's directives regarding the make-up of the committee. Three foreign language experts, three elementary school teachers who know no Spanish, two instructional television programmers, and one independent television producer were asked to serve as advisors¹⁷⁶.

The committee met three times to discuss the preliminary plans, to preview materials as they were developed, and to analyze the results of the pilot evaluation. In addition, there was one telephone conference. The committee members were also sent the two scripts in Phase I for comments and suggestions. Two of the advisors were asked to serve as script readers for Phase II of the project, and three met for a final planning and brainstorming session in preparation for Phase II.

Other members of the team included the professional scriptwriter, the set designer, the set builder, musicians, an actor, an actress, and a production consultant. Those involved directly in the production were employees of The University of Tennessee's Center for Educational Video and Photography, CEL's co-sponsor of the project.

The goals of the series were challenging. Since the program was to be used by regular classroom teachers who were not qualified to teach Spanish, CEL determined that a FLEX (Foreign Language Experience) approach would be most appropriate. Unlike immersion programs in which the foreign language is used as the medium of instruction for all subjects studied and unlike FLES (Foreign Language in the Elementary School) where students are expected to achieve some proficiency in speaking and listening and sometimes in reading and writing as well, FLEX goals are less ambitious. Only oral skills are emphasized as children are given the opportunity to hear and repeat basic words and phrases.

The primary goal of AMIGOS is, therefore, to expose children to basic Spanish vocabulary. The other three goals of the series, in order of priority, are: to introduce children to Hispanic culture, to create an interest in the geography of countries where Spanish is the primary language, and to reinforce skills and concepts taught in the regular elementary school curricula.

The program content is carefully designed to assure that the four goals are met. Vocabulary relating to topics that are of interest to the young child is introduced. One of the definite advantages of teaching foreign languages to young children is, as Met points out, that «the topics introduced at the beginning levels of language courses -the numbers, colors, and the family- are at a level appropriate to the interests and intellectual needs of children. Few adults can sustain an abiding interest in discussing the colors of objects in the classroom. Further, many good language teaching strategies and games are exciting for children but are viewed as undignified by older learners» (13).

The vocabulary introduced in the programs is divided into two groups: Core Vocabulary and Other Vocabulary. Core vocabulary words or phrases are emphasized over and over through music, repetition in dialogue, direct teaching, graphics, etc. The «other» vocabulary is introduced and then emphasized in the next lesson. Review vocabulary words are also used in each program. In the dramatic segments the scriptwriter uses as many words taught previously as possible.

Incidental vocabulary is used throughout the programs. Spanish phrases and sentences are included as transitional devices and as a means of giving children an opportunity to hear the language used in a natural way. While some children will comprehend their meaning from the context, learning these expressions is not expected.

Music plays an important role in the presentation of vocabulary. Original songs were composed to teach specific words and phrases. Authentic Spanish songs will be used in Phase H to teach both vocabulary and culture.

Each program is divided into a number of different segments. In the dramatic segments core, other, and review vocabulary words and phrases are used. The dramatic segments

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center around the activities of Perro Pepe, the fanciful character who interacts with the television teacher, Señorita Fernández, and the on-camera children, who are also learning Spanish. The storyline in the dramatic segments of a given pro gram is continuous as Perro Pepe tries to work out a difficulty or find a solution to a problem.

In addition to the dramatic segments there are oral teaching segments in which core vocabulary is stressed. Words are written on the screen and excerpts from the dramatic sequences are isolated to show how the words are used in actual conversation. The purpose of these segments is for children to hear the Spanish words and see them on the screen.

Also included in each program are the direct teaching segments, which may be one of two types: 1) Señorita Fernández (or Perro Pepe) talking directly to the children watching television and teaching them about culture or asking them to repeat core vocabulary words for oral practice. Señorita Fernández makes it clear to the children that they are to repeat after her or respond in some way; and 2) Voice-Ovens with a children's chorus which repeats core vocabulary words.

Culture is taught in a variety of ways. In the storyline Señorita Fernández has a dual role. She is opening a small shop on a plaza, and she teaches Spanish to the children who live around the plaza. Various items that she has ordered for the shop arrive in boxes. The unpacking serves as an opportunity to discuss the Hispanic world. Geography is also introduced through these situations.

The final goal -to reinforce skills and concepts taught in the regular elementary school curricula- is accomplished primarily through the classroom activities described in the teacher's guide. While the lessons are designed for teachers with little or no knowledge of Spanish, teacher involvement is essential. The guide contains lesson plans for each program, which include suggestions for pre- and post-viewing activities and for follow-up activities, designed specifically for each grade level of the target audience to encourage reinforcement and extension of the television teaching. Teachers are urged to seek every opportunity to make the Spanish program an integral part of the daily instruction. For example, the suggestion is made in the guide that teachers integrate culture concepts into the social studies curriculum by pointing out cross-cultural similarities, such as basic human needs and differences.

Other teaching aids in the lesson plans of the teacher's guide are a list of the objectives for each program, the core and other vocabulary with phonetic transcriptions and English translations of the Spanish words, and a description of the cultural-geographical concepts. The words to the songs with phonetic transcriptions and English translations are also included.

Additional ancillary materials are provided along with the teacher's guide. One audiocassette tape contains some simple pronunciation drills for the teacher. The pronunciation of all core and other vocabulary words and phrases is then given. A second audiocassette tape has recordings of the songs sung in the programs. Teachers are encouraged to use the tapes with their students for pronunciation and for additional practice in singing the songs.

The testing and evaluation of programs one and two in the pilot phase of AMIGOS were conducted in March, 1989, by RMC Research Corporation of Hampton, New Hampshire. The four major questions used for the evaluation were¹⁷⁷:

1. Does the pilot program engage children's short and long term interest?

2. What components of the program are of the greatest interest to children?

3. What do children learn and remember from the program?

4. What is the reaction of teachers to the program and to audio and print materials? (1)

Four geographic areas (West, Midwest, South, Northeast) were selected for the testing and evaluation (3). Ten separate groups of children in kindergarten through second grade, who represented a diversity of community size, ethnicity, and sex, participated in the study. A total of 505 children viewed Lessons 1 and 2. Of these, 216 children were monitored for attention as they viewed the lessons, and 56 were interviewed in individual face-to-face sessions (4). Eleven teachers participated in the evaluation. The average years of teaching experience was ten (5).

Eleven different instruments were developed to capture child and teacher reactions to the program. A summary of the instruments, organized by type of respondent, follows: (2)

Child Instruments

1. Observation Records: Form for recording behavior of children as they viewed the programs.

2. Viewing Tally: Supplement to the Observations Record; raters tally degree of visual attention to the screen at the end of each segment for about eight to ten children in each viewing group.

3. Child Interviews: Three types of interviews were used: a basic program reactions interview; Lesson 1 and Lesson 2 interviews; and a follow-up interview.

4. Site Records: Form for recording details on the children observed and interviewed.

Teacher Instruments

1. Teacher Questionnaire: The questionnaire consists of two parts: Teacher overall reaction to the program, and reactions to the Teacher Guide and audiocassettes.

2. Teacher Follow-Up Interview: Questions conducted in-person for teachers about child interest in the program after viewing.

3. Activity Observation Record-Teacher-Led Activity: A form used by observers to record instructional post-viewing activities.

4. Reaction Log: A form used by teachers to make notes about anything which may have happened as a result of children viewing AMIGOS.

For the evaluation using the Observation Records children were observed to detect 1) expressions of pleasure, 2) comments and questions, 3) non-verbal activity, and 4) distracted behavior (13-14). The results indicated that after viewing both lessons children's comments indicated pleasure, interest, and curiosity about what was taking place in the program. Non-verbal activity included leaning forward toward the television screen, moving to the music, and pointing (13, 25). There was very little distracted behavior.

The results of the viewing tally for Lesson 1 revealed the overall average attention was 98 percent or an average of more than nine out of every ten children watching the television screen at any point throughout the program (8). The segments where the attention rates of the children were lowest (93-95 percent) relied on sustained talking or had little or no activity or opportunity for viewing audience to interact (11). The results of the viewing tally for Lesson 2 showed similar results with a 97 percent overall average attention.

Interviews with the children were a main source of information about their interest, learning from the program, and reactions to various aspects of the lessons. Three types of interviews were used: (30).

1) the basic interview, which followed the viewing of the first lesson, included thirty items, and lasted about 15 minutes;

2) the lesson interviews, which were keyed to the cognitive objectives of each lesson, contained 6 and 13 multi-part items, respectively, and required about 10 minutes each; and

3) a follow-up interview, which was done one to two days after the viewing of the second lesson, contained 11 items, and required 10 minutes to administer.

The four major categories of information sought from the children were: 1) general interest and motivation, 2) response to characters, 3) interest and attitude about Spanish language learning, and 4) understanding of the storylines (30).

In order to determine if children were motivated to watch more programs, researchers asked if the program gave them any ideas about what they would like to do. Most of the answers were about learning more Spanish words or teaching Spanish to their friends. Some children indicated they wanted to sing Spanish songs or play with Perro Pepe (32).

In response to the questions about reactions to the characters, most of the children indicated they would like to have Señorita Fernández as a teacher because they would have the opportunity to learn more Spanish (34). When asked what other children might like about Perro Pepe, the most common response (about one-third) was that children would learn Spanish from him (35).

Children were asked several questions to determine interest and attitudes about Spanish language learning. All the children thought they would learn to speak Spanish if

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they watched more programs in the AMIGOS series (38). Aspects of the program which they cited as helpful included the repetition of words, the amount of Spanish spoken on the program, and the translation of Spanish into English (38).

Most of the children understood the basic storyline and the purpose of the series. Almost half of the group interviewed identified the main concept as learning or teaching Spanish. After viewing the first lesson about four-fifths of the children identified both Señorita Fernández and Perro Pepe as Spanish teachers (40).

In the follow-up interviews children were asked what they remembered from viewing the programs. A majority could retell one or more aspects of the program. They mentioned playing games and singing songs in Spanish most often (41).

In the interviews about the lesson objectives children were questioned about the core vocabulary. Different levels of prompts were used (43). Children were also questioned about the geography taught in the two lessons. About two-thirds were able to provide a reasonably correct response when asked to tell one place or country where Spanish is spoken (44). Testing done on the songs revealed that in the case of a song with a familiar tune four-fifths remembered it. With other unfamiliar tunes recall was much lower (44, 47).

Questionnaires and interviews with the teachers were administered to determine reactions to the overall program and to the printed materials and audiocassettes. A five-point scale was used to rate the effectiveness of twelve features of the pilot programs. High marks were given AMIGOS for its portrayal of Hispanics (4.36), and its use of music and songs (4.27). The lower ratings were for visual reinforcement of the geography and cultural concepts (2.63), and for the number of different geography and cultural concepts presented (2.27) [60].

Teachers indicated that the format and content of the two programs had definite possibilities for a series. They also felt that the series would entertain children and stimulate an interest in learning Spanish. The concept and information were usually seen as appropriate for kindergarten through second grade (73).

Teachers viewed the guide as a useful tool but felt a need for more ready-made materials such as dittos, puppet patterns, etc. The activities were described as only somewhat innovative. Opinions about the audiocassettes varied. The pronunciation exercises were considered the least useful (74).

Some preliminary conclusions regarding children and language learning by television can be drawn from the pilot phase of the project. Children enjoy speaking another language and learning through this medium, but they must be given the opportunity to participate in order to maintain an interest in what they are watching. Pacing is important and places of physical relaxation are needed after moments of action and activity in order to allow for movement, stretching and «space to breathe» (14). While children like fanciful characters, such as Perro Pepe, it is not necessary to depend on fanciful characters or storylines to engage interest. An example would be the segment with the real puppy. Direct teaching and music are effective methods for teaching language concepts by television.

As a result of the formative evaluation conducted by RMC Research Corporation, the assessment of the pilot materials by the Advisory Committee, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's internal evaluation, funding for Phase II of the project was awarded. The projected completion date is June, 1990. AMIGOS will then be offered free for three years to all instructional television stations across the country. Videotapes will also be available for purchase.

In working on this project and seeking to provide a quality educational television program for children across the United States, the University of Tennessee shares the vision of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, as stated below:

Met, Myriam, et al. «Elementary School Foreign Language: Key Link in the Chain of Learning». Foreign Languages: Key Links in the Chain of Learning. In Northeast Conference Reports, Robert G. Mead, Jr., ed. Middlebury, VT, 1983.

The President's Commission on Foreign Language and International Studies. Strength through Wisdom: A Critique of U. S. Capability. Washington, D. C., GPO: November, 1979.

Hispania [Publicaciones periódicas]. Volume 72, Number 4, December 1989