Let TV Teach English to Families

Public broadcast TV launched a promising approach intended to teach reading through TV. Named “Between the Lions,” this 30-episode production is aimed at 4- to 7-year-olds using both whole language and phonics in fables, songs and humor.

As heartening as this effort is, its success depends on the extent of the English-speaking skill of the children involved. Whatever the culture, speaking and understanding its language are prerequisites to reading. Today’s deficiency is due to foreign and nonstandard English-speaking homes where the parents themselves lack the required fluency to pass on to their children.

According to a recent American Academy of Pediatrics report, research indicates that language development begins in the first few months of life. The speed of which babies and toddlers learn is related to the degree of exposure they have to conversation, interaction and repetition. Lisa Holt, assistant professor of biology and anatomy at Chicago’s Medical School, stresses the importance of the first five years of a child’s life. This is when vocabulary is built and sentence structure is learned. Both are basic to speaking and reading English. Today’s bilingual classes, phonics programs and mentoring, faced with the handicap of being five years too late, have been inadequate.

The presidential candidates’ call for Head Start and similar programs will help, but more is required. The need is for families to be exposed to and use English on a regular basis.

This, too, can be accomplished through television--a family English hour. A major network should devote an hour of its programming each weeknight: take one half-hour of an already existing program of family interest. Foreign language subtitles can be added if needed. The second half-hour can consist of a TV-led discussion of the issues raised on the show. Maybe the hour could end with a quiz ala “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” type in which the family can review the content covered.

“Between the Lions” is being initially funded by a $4.2-million grant from the Corp. for Public Broadcasting and aired by PBS. The “Family English Hour” I propose can be financed by commercials. Maximum success, however, will depend on more than program content. What will be required is a public relations effort directed by the schools, government leaders and minority organizations encouraging every family to view and participate, and for family members more fluent in English to explain difficult terms as the programs are watched.

Exposure is the key to speaking and understanding any language, the essential prequisite to learning to read.