Sesame English
An Inspired Early Introduction to Conversational English
| Niki and Tingo (Sesame English) |
The multimedia Sesame English initiative seeks to introduce non-English-speaking children to conversational English in a fun, exciting and interesting context. The partnership with Berlitz International launched in 1999, and is composed of 52 15-minute episodes, each using comedy, physical action, and music to appeal to four to seven-year-olds while introducing basic English expressions, vocabulary, and structures. Sesame English stresses communicative English, presenting the language as it is spoken throughout the world.
Each episode weaves four different language categories together. These include practical phrases used in everyday conversation, such as “What time is it?”; useful, frequently used words, such as “mother” and “water”; phrases that elicit a physical response, such as “look at me,” or “put on your coat”; and grammar and other language conventions, such as “I’m” and an adjective (“I’m scared,” “I’m hungry”).
Sesame English also presents all of the letters of the alphabet and makes direct comparisons between letters whose similar sounds may be confusing to some viewers (e.g., P and B; L and R). The series also presents the numbers one through 20.
Throughout the series, the curriculum is broken down into seven thematic topics: family and home; animals and pets; food and eating; weather, seasons, and time; friends; toys, games, and sports; and looking back (past-tense verbs).
Each Sesame English episode introduces a comical storyline embedded in an upbeat magazine format that also features Sesame Street’s Muppets, as well as animation and live-action inserts. Much of the programming illustrates communicative English as Americans actually use it.
The program features Tingo, a new Muppet character created especially for Sesame English who shares key concepts and themes in the audience’s native language. His energy and language abilities speak to children, and he and his sidekick, Niki, introduce many basic English concepts in stories and songs. Niki is a typical American teenager who loves music, sports, movies, and books, and is the singer in a rock band called Children at Play. Niki introduces Tingo to American culture, and he then speaks to the camera in the child’s first language to explain the points Niki has made.
The series is available on DVD and offers bilingual instruction in five languages: Spanish, Hmong, Mandarin Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean. The DVD also includes an English-only track that all students can use. Other Sesame English components include “View-and-Dos,” worksheets that reinforce concepts from the episodes, as well as full-color activity books based on episodes. A picture dictionary and flashcards are also available.
Trivia
Tingo is an exchange student living in the United States.
Number of Seasons
One
Number of Episodes
52
Episode Runtime
15 minutes
Format
Magazine
Producers
Sesame Workshop
Target Audience Age
3-11
