TV TRIALS IN CANADA

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29842, 7 June 1962, Page 11

TV TRIALS IN CANADA

The number of Canadian schools experimenting wi.h the possibilities of education by television is increasing. This year 1500 pupils in 27 elementary schools in Calgary. Alberta, are learning French via television by watching "Parlons Francais,” the first in-school course of television instruction ever to be offered on an international basis.

'’Parlons Francais," originally created by the Modem Language Project of Boston. Massachusetts. is a series of 15-minute film lessons presented weekly in a threeyear course.

Basic instruction, during the first two years of the programme uses the audio-lin-gual method of instruction which avoids the written word entirely. Emphasis is placed on the skills of listening and speaking so that the pupils will earn to think in French and assimilate it naturally. The third-year course will introduce reading readiness for the junior high school programme. Toronto, Ontario, is giving television a teat Four senior public schools are receiving French instruction on closed circuit television. Four other similar schools receive no television instruction, but follow a parallel coarse of study using textbooks, workbooks, filmsstripe and records. All eight schools receive one period a week of instruction by a French teacher. Teets will be made periodically to measure pupils’ growth in learning French under the different types of Instruction.