ALL CHILDREN SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE Lauren Kathleen Wehner B.A. Spanish University of Toledo, 2002 B.S. Education University of Toledo 2002 PROJECT Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in SPANISH at CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO SPRING 2010 i ALL CHILDREN SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE A Project By Lauren Kathleen Wehner Approved by: ________________________________________, Committee Chair Jorge A. Santana Ph. D. ____________________________ Date ii Student: Lauren Kathleen Wehner I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University format manual, and that this Project is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to be awarded for the Project. _________________________________, Graduate Coordinator ___________________ Edward Baranowski Ph. D. Date Department of Foreign Language iii Abstract of ALL CHILDREN SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE by Lauren Kathleen Wehner Statement of Purpose: 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 iv 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 English- speaking 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 v 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. vi 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 vii - 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. _______________________________________________________, Committee Chair Jorge A. Santana Ph. D. ____________________________ Date viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page(s) Teacher’s Guide…………………………………………………………………………...1 Dominican Republic Reading……………………………………………………………..4 Student Exercises: Pre-viewing video questions, Meet the Children……………………..7 Meet the Children during video activities………………………………………………..14 Post-viewing questions…………………………………………………………………..23 Student Exercises: History of the Dominican Republic…………………………………31 Student Exercises Monte Cristi………………………………………………………….60 Orphanage Outreach Notes………………………………………………………………69 Video Transcripts ………………………………………………………………………..70 Bibliography.…………………………………………………………………………….79 ix 1 TEACHER’S GUIDE Todos los niños hablan el mismo idioma All Children Speak the Same Language This video and its complimentary activities were created for teachers that teach the Spanish language in the United States. Teachers in the United States who have a large population of Spanish-speaking