Description:

An educational video was produced for use in elementary schools. The show is called "Jennifer and Charles' Tanoshii Eikaiwa (The Jen and Chaz)," with 6 episodes included on one DVD. Each episode follows a story line similar to a TV show, while covering themes such as greetings, colours, animals, etc. The videos were distributed to all of the elementary schools in the city.

 

 

Objectives:

Because the video was produced in the style of a TV show, we were able to give elementary school students an opportunity to enjoy English. It is of course useful during classes, and it can also be shown at other times such as during lunch.

Because the concept initially came from the two ALTs, they dealt with all aspects of production, from planning to filming and editing. Each episode took approximately one to two months to produce.

 

Planning:

The ALTs would first decide on a theme, and then come up with a simple script. The themes included seasonal topics such as Christmas, as well as others that the ALTs, through their experience teaching at elementary schools, thought would be interesting to students.
For example, in the episode that focuses on numbers, there is a scene in a well-known local cake shop where the owner counts cakes. The students become much more interested when people they are familiar with appear on the video.
At this stage, the script consisted mostly of hand-written memos, with specific details being decided during filming.

 

Filming:

The only equipment used in filming was a home mini-DV video camera and a tripod. There was no special lighting, and only the camera's microphone was used for the sound.
The Kita-Murayama Audiovisual Education Centre is located next to the city office, and the ALTs were able to borrow all of the equipment from there (city residents can borrow the equipment for free).
Filming locations were often outdoors, but all other sets were created by the two ALTs, and no other filming staff was used. Locations were scouted ahead of time, and we received permission to film in privately owned locations such as supermarkets. In the case of the supermarket, there were restrictions about showing brand names, so it was necessary to have an hour-long meeting with the chief manager.
The ALTs are scheduled to work all day every Monday in the Board of Education, and they spent most of the day producing the video.
Costumes and other small props were procured at the 100-yen shop or second hand stores.

 

Editing:

For editing, the ALTs used a computer equipped with movie-editing software. This was also borrowed from the Kita-Murayama Audiovisual Education Centre.
Everyday after class for approximately three weeks, the ALTs spent about two hours in the Audiovisual Education Centre to complete the editing. A technician from the Centre assisted the ALTs with how to use the editing software and helped them get the desired results.
Adding captions, sound effects, etc. was the most time-consuming part of the editing process. In addition, all sound effects and BGM used in the video were free from copyrights.

 

Distribution:

The finished product was copied onto VHS tapes and distributed to the city's elementary schools.
The videos were distributed via the school mailboxes located in the Board of Education (each school has a box, and representatives from the schools come to pick up information from there on a regular basis).
A letter explaining the videos was also written by an ALT who is proficient in Japanese.

 

Making of the DVD:

Once six episodes were produced, they were compiled onto one DVD. The labels and packaging for the DVD were each hand-made by the ALTs.
The DVD authoring (transfering the data onto a DVD and adding chapters) took approximately one day.

Murayama City (Yamagata Prefecture)

School Education Division

Tel: 0237-55-2111