Talk:Muzzy
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[edit] Spanish DVD
BBC Muzzy Spanish DVD Level 1: a review
Muzzy is an award-winning language learning product for children, first produced by the BBC in 1986. According to its distributors, Early Advantage, the product is aimed at children aged 1-12 - what Early Advantage terms a 'window of opportunity' for language learning. Muzzy is available in French, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin and English as a Foreign Language.
This product aims to teach children languages with a cartoon in which all the spoken content is in the target language.
The cartoon's main character is called Muzzy, who is an alien from outer space with a fondness for eating clocks. Other characters who feature are a King and Queen, a Princess, a gardener, and Corvax the villain.
The cartoon is set in a place called Gondoland, and its storyline goes something like this: the gardener is in love with the Princess, who in turn loves the gardener. Corvax also loves the Princess, but the Princess doesn't love Corvax. Corvax becomes jealous of the relationship between the gardener and the Princess, and goes on to clone the Princess. His scheme, such as it is, backfires on him. Muzzy is in and out of the plot, and one of his early appearances is in a prison cell.
The cartoon is interspersed with language learning interludes featuring a sketch drawn character called Carlos.
20 years of Muzzy
What you may not spot on the Early Advantage website is that the cartoon called Muzzy was created in 1986. Originally designed to teach English as a Foreign Language, it was commissioned by the BBC. Muzzy was first sold by the BBC, and has since been taken on by Early Advantage.
Apart from being dubbed into different languages, during its twenty-year life span Muzzy has not been altered, though it is now sold with subsidiary language aids, such as a Parents' Guide and a Vocabulary Builder.
Since 1986, the practice of language teaching has moved on considerably. Muzzy has stayed the same.
Does the old adage 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' apply to Muzzy? There are two schools of thought: one is that the makers of Muzzy got it right first time, developing a language learning product so effective it needs no modifications. The other argument says that, while Muzzy has limitations as a language learning tool, it has not been deemed necessary to develop a superior version.
Is Muzzy an effective language learning tool?
Any parent about to spend 143 pounds* on a Muzzy DVD would ask: is my child going to learn a language by watching it? The answer depends on what we mean by 'learn a language'.
Children who enjoy watching a cartoon time and again will likely end up repeating words and phrases that feature in it. That's good, if the content is appropriate for children of that age group, and if it is useful in everyday life. Though some children find the cartoon boring, others definitely enjoy watching Muzzy, at least for a while**. So you would expect those children to be able to repeat bits and pieces of what they hear said - despite not necessarily knowing the meaning of what they are repeating.
What are the expectations of a parent when it comes to their child's foreign language learning? Maybe seeing their child learn a few new words or phrases is the goal, in which case Muzzy is an adequate learning tool - as long as it manages to hold the child's attention long enough for those words and phrases to be absorbed.
Many parents will want more for their children. Some ability to communicate in the new language perhaps.
What do parents think about Muzzy?
Because parents often don't have any grasp of the foreign language they want their children to learn, they can find it difficult to gauge how effective a way Muzzy is of learning that language.
If the parent doesn't understand what is being said in the cartoon, how do they know whether the language is suitable for their child - and how do they know their child is picking up the language?
One test is to see if the child speaks the new language on holiday. Research has shown that, when abroad, a few children are capable of regurgitating words they have copied from Muzzy, and, very occasionally, they have repeated phrases too. Some parents believe that progress to this degree justifies the cost of Muzzy.
Muzzy can show a child that trying to speak a foreign language need not be embarrassing. It also says: there are other languages out there!
Opportunities to practice the language
Muzzy's guide for parents offers little in the way of help when it comes to parental involvement as a way to stimulate the child's learning, despite the fact that many parents would welcome specific guidelines.
If the parent is not shown how to participate in the learning process, the child may be less inclined to learn.
Meanwhile, there is no signposting at all in Muzzy as to when the child should practice speaking. No icon on the screen, no direct talking to the camera. The cartoon characters do not request responses to their actions from the watcher.
Key language
Given that Muzzy's creators designed the content for child language learning, why at no point during Muzzy Spanish Level 1 do we hear 'My name is..' in Spanish? That's one of the most important and obvious phrases a child could utter!
Nor do we learn the way to say, 'How are you?' - at least not in the way a child might ask that question (Muzzy uses formal and old-fashioned language, not what children would use).
One explanation for these glaring misses - and others, like saying how old you are and repetition of the Spanish for 'hello' - could be that Muzzy is essentially dated. Another factor could be that the initial aim of Muzzy was to teach English as a Foreign Language, and therefore simply dubbing the cartoon into other languages does not take into account cultural differences or nuances of language.
Story versus language content
It could be that the storyline doesn't allow for key language to be included. Perhaps Muzzy was developed as a story first, with language content fitted around the plot.
It is highly unlikely that a similar product would be designed back to front these days, language objectives being the number one priority.
Language appropriacy
Not only has key language been excluded in the cartoon, much of the language found in Muzzy is unsuitable for children: 'I am fat'; 'We are free'; 'They are all Silvias'; 'Take him away!'; 'Prison bars'; 'Parking meter'.
And Muzzy himself eats clocks, which is hardly an example of good practice for little children.
Language in context
Some children sit down in front of Muzzy and become quite absorbed in the cartoon. Those children should be learning something of the new language. They are certainly hearing the words which are said by the characters, but one of the drawbacks with Muzzy is that it does, at times, present new language in an ambiguous way at best - and in a thoroughly confusing way at worst.
For example, there is a scene in which the Queen is talking while she uses a stick to knock down different types of fruit from trees. The viewer could be fooled into thinking the Spanish means, 'I am bashing a tree with my stick', when in fact she is saying, 'I like (name of fruit)'. This example suggests it is difficult to accurately present new language through a cartoon alone.
Muzzy is limited to the Gondoland setting, and so it doesn't introduce cultural contexts from different countries. For example, there's no sign of a Spanish market, or a Spanish fiesta.
Language content as a whole
Compared with the proposed 2011 curriculum for language learning in UK primary schools, Muzzy packs in a huge amount of grammatical points. It mixes complex forms of the imperative, both in a formal and informal context, and a range of different verb tenses. The language content in Muzzy exceeds that required at GCSE level, and many of the structures presented would impress an A level teacher, if the student were able to repeat them.
Even after watching Muzzy hundreds of times over, no child would be able to transfer much of the language into any kind of real-life context, such is its complexity. At best, the child would be able to repeat back some phrases, perhaps or perhaps not understanding what they mean.
Summary
Learning a second language is much easier for children than it is for adults.
It's no wonder that Early Advantage, the distributors of Muzzy, call this key period a 'window of opportunity' for learning a foreign language. It's an opportunity you'll want to seize. You'll also want to make sure you choose the right product for your child's foreign language learning.
Despite its flaws, Muzzy has dominated the children's language learning market for over twenty years. It has not evolved, perhaps because it has not needed to - rival products being few and far between.
As a parent, if you want your child to know there is such a thing as a foreign language, Muzzy will suffice. If you want your child to pick up a few words and/or phrases in a foreign language, Muzzy may suffice. If you want your child to get to grips with a foreign language, Muzzy will not suffice.
* Price as of 14 June 2006 for BBC Muzzy Spanish DVD Level 1. Price does not include P&P (£6.95)
** Sources: internet forums and children who watched BBC Muzzy Spanish DVD Level 1
[edit] Urgent plea for antivandal measures!
The page was vandalized too many times. That is, probably, because of the secondary "muslim" meaning of this word. Let's close it for unregistered users... --Yuriy Lapitskiy 13:37, 10 November 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Distributor
Early Advantage is not a subsidiary of the BBC. 128.122.253.196 03:00, 1 December 2006 (UTC)
[edit] portmanteau?
Is the word "Muzzy" some kind of portmanteau (e.g. Monster + Fuzzy)? Is it a correct guess? --Yuriy Lapitskiy 22:29, 10 February 2007 (UTC)
