Bilingual Blunder
Okay, right off the bat - Approx. 17% of Canada's population is children/youth under the age of 15. A survey conducted in 2003 by the Canadian Teachers’ Federation says watching TV is a daily pastime for 75 percent of Canadian children, both boys and girls from Grade 3 to Grade 10.(...) Thus, the average child in Canada spends on average 42 hours a week in front of the television or computer.(...)
That is a huge demographic. A huge demographic of children being subjected to not only the tripe that's on the tube, but gallons and gallons of information that's being processed through their developing brains on a daily basis.
Television stations make millions off colourful, musical shows that get kids hooked. And if they promise a jump on a learning curve, parents will eat that shit up with a spoon. Anything to make their kids smarter and give them that 'edge' and parents forget that they're propagating the problem of hours in front of the boob tube.
That said, science has taught us that children's brains are like little sponges and that they suck up all the information they can get their hands on. Languages, specifically, seem to be the hot topic on parent's minds. While most children are raised in unilingual homes, many parents encourage bilingualism and trilingualism, and go to the only free source they have to impart this wisdom onto their children: The Television.
With shows like Dora the Explorer and Ni Hao Kai Lan, children are getting their noses rubbed in some other languages the world has to offer. But what about the languages they need?
Canada has two official languages: English and French*. Being Canadian and living in the political center of our great nation, I know the importance of having these two languages. And despite the fact that I speak both languages in my home to my children, I also fall back on television for that extra edge. What I've noticed, however, much to my dismay, is that there really is very little programming available to transition my child into both official languages.
Sure Spanish and Chinese are great languages to know and no doubt can come in very useful later in life, but my child won't get very far on knowing just his colours and numbers and the odd greeting or animal. And I understand that it's really to encourage an interest in other languages and cultures, and shouldn't be used as a teaching tool, but common'! Where's all the French?
To be fair, shows like Sesame Park on CBC Mornings and the odd French word gets spewed by hosts on other Public Television stations like TVO, but the problem with this method is that they're either on when my child is at school getting his education, or just part of the shtick the host is playing off of.
Where's the entertainment value? Where's the hook? Why are there no shows teaching my kid the basics he needs in a country where we officially accept and EXPECT this language to be present and often times more proficient than the globally dominated English?
Canada takes great pride in it's broadcasting system, and so we should! I can attest to the fact that most of our Canadian-bred children's programming is multi-cultural - Hell, we can even boast of having Native and Innuit programming FOR KIDS!. And while there are many French-Only telivision stations, the problem therein lies in their French-Only programming.
There is an estimated 7 millions French speaking persons in our country and an estimated 17.4% speak both official languauges. Thus, it needs to be said that THAT'S a huge demographic that we need to tap.
NB: Official bilingualism is the term used in Canada to collectively describe the policies, constitutional provisions, and laws which give English and French a special legal status over other languages in Canada’s courts, parliament and administration.(...)
That is a huge demographic. A huge demographic of children being subjected to not only the tripe that's on the tube, but gallons and gallons of information that's being processed through their developing brains on a daily basis.
Television stations make millions off colourful, musical shows that get kids hooked. And if they promise a jump on a learning curve, parents will eat that shit up with a spoon. Anything to make their kids smarter and give them that 'edge' and parents forget that they're propagating the problem of hours in front of the boob tube.
That said, science has taught us that children's brains are like little sponges and that they suck up all the information they can get their hands on. Languages, specifically, seem to be the hot topic on parent's minds. While most children are raised in unilingual homes, many parents encourage bilingualism and trilingualism, and go to the only free source they have to impart this wisdom onto their children: The Television.
With shows like Dora the Explorer and Ni Hao Kai Lan, children are getting their noses rubbed in some other languages the world has to offer. But what about the languages they need?
Canada has two official languages: English and French*. Being Canadian and living in the political center of our great nation, I know the importance of having these two languages. And despite the fact that I speak both languages in my home to my children, I also fall back on television for that extra edge. What I've noticed, however, much to my dismay, is that there really is very little programming available to transition my child into both official languages.
Sure Spanish and Chinese are great languages to know and no doubt can come in very useful later in life, but my child won't get very far on knowing just his colours and numbers and the odd greeting or animal. And I understand that it's really to encourage an interest in other languages and cultures, and shouldn't be used as a teaching tool, but common'! Where's all the French?
To be fair, shows like Sesame Park on CBC Mornings and the odd French word gets spewed by hosts on other Public Television stations like TVO, but the problem with this method is that they're either on when my child is at school getting his education, or just part of the shtick the host is playing off of.
Where's the entertainment value? Where's the hook? Why are there no shows teaching my kid the basics he needs in a country where we officially accept and EXPECT this language to be present and often times more proficient than the globally dominated English?
Canada takes great pride in it's broadcasting system, and so we should! I can attest to the fact that most of our Canadian-bred children's programming is multi-cultural - Hell, we can even boast of having Native and Innuit programming FOR KIDS!. And while there are many French-Only telivision stations, the problem therein lies in their French-Only programming.
There is an estimated 7 millions French speaking persons in our country and an estimated 17.4% speak both official languauges. Thus, it needs to be said that THAT'S a huge demographic that we need to tap.
NB: Official bilingualism is the term used in Canada to collectively describe the policies, constitutional provisions, and laws which give English and French a special legal status over other languages in Canada’s courts, parliament and administration.(...)
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