SOUTHEAST'S FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT PUTS ACCENT ON TV

Southeast Missouri State University's foreign languages department puts the accent on television.

For the past month, students have been able to watch German, Spanish and French language programming via satellite, and next semester an Asian channel from Japan will be added to the menu.

Students have watched the foreign shows on a television set mounted on a hallway wall and outfitted with exterior speakers in the basement of the Grauel Building, where the foreign languages department is housed.

They have also viewed the programming from cable channel 19 in their campus residence halls or checked out video tape recordings of the TV programs to watch at home.

"I think we are the only university in the service region that broadcasts live TV in the languages that we are teaching," said Dieter Jedan, chairman of the foreign languages department and a native of Germany.

French, Spanish and German are currently taught, and a Japanese language class will be added next semester.

"We have had Japanese off and on, if there was a need," he said. "There are a lot of Japanese companies within our service region."

The TV programs are viewed not only by students but also by faculty. Jedan said all of the faculty in the foreign languages department view the shows.

The programming runs 24 hours a day. It includes everything from Spanish-language soap operas to French-language cartoons and news broadcasts in French, Spanish and German.

"We hope this will move the classroom into the home," Jedan said.

Southeast receives two channels from Germany, two Mexican channels, French-language channels from the province of Quebec, Canada, and a couple of French- and Spanish-language stations from the Caribbean.

But there are many more whose programming can be pulled off the satellites free of charge.

Many of the channels have a similar lineup. "Normally they start out with morning news. They have talk shows, game shows, cartoons and travelogues," Jedan said.

"A Spanish major might also be able to watch German news in Spanish," he pointed out. That's because German television broadcasts in several languages, including Spanish and English.

With seven hours difference between Germany and the Midwest, German morning talk shows air in the evening here, he said.

In Germany, all the television commercials run a single, half-hour block once a day. Germans pay a monthly fee that helps pay the cost of television programming.

"Students like to watch soaps more than anything else," said Jedan, adding that cartoons are also a big hit.

The hallway area near the television set is a popular gathering spot for students. "During weekday mornings, it's always crowded around here."

Even students who aren't majoring in a foreign language watch some of the programming.

Some students find the commercials interesting. Others have tuned in a French-language channel from Canada to watch a National Hockey League game.

As to the Mexican soap operas, some of the scenes are rather risque compared to American television. "We don't censor it. If there are nudist scenes, that is fine with us," Jedan said.

Ann Huebner, a junior from St. Peters majoring in German, enjoys watching the German newscasts. "You can't learn a language without being exposed to the native speakers," said Huebner, who would like to teach English in Germany.

Huebner spent about four months in Germany earlier this year, and learned of the flooding in the Midwest from afar. "All the flood coverage I saw was in Germany."

Huebner said that based on German newscasts she had expected the flooding to have been worse than it was.

"I think it is good exposure to a language," agreed sophomore Laurie Rigdon of Jackson, who is also majoring in German. "I watch it between classes."

The television programming was put in place with the aid of a $1,000 grant from the university.

Jedan said the university already had two downlinks in place, which were used sparingly for teleconferences.

Jedan said the university administration enthusiastically supported the idea of making better use of the satellite dishes, and the project was put in place late in the fall semester.

Part of the cost involved the purchase of a VCR so the programming could be taped. "We have already taped maybe 20 or 30 hours, and all of the tapes are checked out. There's an interest in them."

Because the university has only one available cable channel on campus right now, different days are reserved for different languages.

For next semester, French-language programming will be aired on Sunday and Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday will be reserved for German programming, Thursday and Friday for Spanish, and Saturday for Japanese.

Also next semester, the foreign languages department conference room will be hooked into the cable system so the programming can be viewed there.

Jedan said he hopes eventually to expand the foreign language programming to three cable channels on campus, and he would like to see such programming made available on the community's cable system as well.

The television programming benefits not just foreign language students but also the rest of the student body by helping to internationalize the curriculum, he said.

"We have 8,500 students. Every one of them needs that kind of TV," said Jedan.

In today's global marketplace, students in everything from journalism to business need to be aware of international events and the cultures of other countries, he said.

"It's good to hear news from the French, Spanish or German perspective," he said.

Jedan said the television programming should benefit Southeast students who don't get exposure to French-, Spanish- and German-speaking people and cultures as readily as students in some other areas of the country.

Currently, there are about 45 foreign language majors at Southeast, and approximately 80 minors. Jedan said he hopes to see the number of majors increase to about 80 in the next two years.

Jedan said area high schools can also benefit from the TV programming. The department plans to tape the TV programs and make them available to high school foreign language teachers.