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Abstract:
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There is an old proverb that says, “All the children of the world speak the same
language.” It does not matter where one travels in the world, does not concern the city,
the province, the country, nor the continent, all children around the world are the same in
many ways. There is another saying that states, “All the children smile in the same
language,” meaning all children find happiness in their common and everyday things. In
these sayings, the word language is used in a different way. The word language is not
used in the usual way it is most commonly defined. According to Merriam Webster’s
Dictionary 2008, language is a noun and can be defined in several ways. Here are just
three of the definitions.
1. Communication of thoughts and feelings through a system of arbitrary signals, such as
voice sounds, gestures, or written symbols.
2. The expression of ideas by means of speech-sounds combined into words.
3. Such a system as used by a nation, people, or other distinct community; often
contrasted with dialect.
Many definitions of language have been proposed. Any succinct definition of
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language makes a number of presuppositions and begs a number of questions. The
definition of language proposed by this project is that children in particular have a special
language through which they communicate and connect. It is one of their emotions, of
smiles and laughter. It’s a child’s daily business, no matter where they live, to create the
good feelings that lead to smiles, laughter and amusement. Besides using their native
tongue to communicate, children can also use this language of common interests,
emotions or feelings to communicate no matter where they are from.
All Children Speak the Same Language, is an educational video dealing with
culture. It serves to show, to compare and to focus on the differences and similarities in
the daily lives of several Spanish-speaking children living at an orphanage in a very
underprivileged town called Monte Cristi in the Dominican Republic, to Englishspeaking
children living in most any city in the United States. Both sets of children
speak two different native languages (Spanish and English), but in school are learning to
speak either Spanish or English. Even though the Dominican and American children are
being raised in drastically different environments they have many similarities between
them. Although it might seem trivial, something as simple as common interests between
the children like favorite foods, favorite activities, sports, games, attitude toward school
and daily schedule or routine supports the hypothesis that all children speak the same
language. This language can be defined as the language of amusement and happiness
through which common connections are made. Even though these groups of children are
living in separate worlds, their likes and dislikes all lead to the same thing and same basic
goal: happiness, having fun and an innate interest in other children of the world. The
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native spoken languages the children speak are different, where they live is different, and
the cultures they are growing up in are significantly different, but despite these
differences most of the children interviewed find happiness, comfort and amusement in
common activities like spending time with friends, playing sports, playing games,
learning and going to school or eating foods they enjoy.
The video comes with a book of activities, assessments and resources that explore
the differences and the similarities between the children’s daily lives, cultures, and
countries. The first section of the book is a Teacher’s Guide to be used by both Spanish
and English teachers. The video and its activities can be used in a classroom filled with
English-speaking students learning Spanish or vice versa. It has a statement of purpose
and objectives, as well as an instruction of how to use the video and book activities. It is
intended to allow other teachers to understand how to use the video in their own
classrooms. The second section of the book is for student use with reproducible
activities. It contains comprehension questions for each episode, fill-in-the-blank
activities for the interview episode of the video, organized worksheets for note-taking and
annotations, a quiz (with links to an online quiz as well), and a supplemental reading
(written by Lauren Wehner) in Spanish and English on the Dominican Republic. In
addition to the book, the video also comes with an interactive white board activities for
teachers and students to manipulate after viewing the video, and to review the answers to
the exercises. The activities are created in Smart Board Notebook Software and may
only be used if the instructor has Smart Board Notebook Software. The Smart Board
activities are printed as PDFs in the end of the activity book for viewing.
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The video has four chapters. (Total Running Time: 119 minutes (about 2 hours)
1. A series of interviews with several Dominican children ranging in age from six to
eighteen years old. The younger children are interviewed in Spanish and the older
children are interviewed in English. (60 minutes)
2. An overview of the History of the Dominican Republic from past to present. (18
minutes)
3. A short, guided tour of the town of Monte Cristi, its landmarks, schools, homes
and the orphanage. (22 minutes)
4. A question and answer series with Christine Kitts, representative of the
Orphanage Outreach program, explaining how the orphanage itself opened and
grew into what it is today. This last episode also answers the questions of why
these forty children are living in the orphanage instead of with their families. IT
IS AN EXTRA VIDEO, not necessary to watch if time does not allow. It is on a
separate DVD. (19 minutes)
Sources of Data:
-A personal visit to the Orphanage in Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic and schools
(location where all video was shot)
-Video interviews with Dominican children
-History of the Dominican Republic by Bryson Adams, spokesperson for Orphanage
Outreach Program
-Orphanage and orphan information provided by Christine Kitts representative of
Orphanage Outreach program
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- Websites used for minimal information
http://www.hispaniola.com/dominican_republic/info/history.php
http://www.hispaniola.com/dominican_republic/destinations/north_monte-cristi.php
Conclusions Reached:
After viewing the videos with different groups of American children ranging in
age from seven to fourteen, and after completing and discussing the activities with these
children, it can easily be concluded that children, regardless of where they live, their
culture, or the language they speak have many similar interests and ways of life. Most of
the American children presumed initially, that they would have no connection and
nothing in common with orphans living such an extremely different life than their own.
After viewing the videos, these American children were able to connect to a variety of
different things that interested them, and the Dominican children.
Children have the same basic needs as they grow and are nurtured. They need
love and attention, food, respect, and to have fun. It is the enjoyment that is the universal
language for most children. It’s the language of their emotions, of smiles and laughter.
It’s a child’s daily business, no matter where they live, to create the good feelings that
lead to daily amusement. All of the Dominican children interviewed in this video found
that amusement in almost the same basic things each day, as did the American children
who viewed and connected to these interviews. |
