Telly talk: A big hand…

When I was a very small kid my parents had big plans to bring me up as a bilingual child. This was before they had my brother, almost three years later, and clearly before they sussed out that not being bilingual themselves might cause a bit of a knot in these plans. As a result, this meant that I knew how to say ‘yes’, ‘no’, ‘thank you’ and ‘good morning’ in French when I was a wee thing, but every other word that passed my lips was either in English or a jibberish of my own making. My folks weren’t the only aspirational young parents with linguistic ambitions, as Sesame Street’s basic Spanish animations attested, but that was about it on the multi-lingual toddler programme. And then someone at CBeebies had a good idea.

“Someone at CBeebies had a good idea”

Magic Hands is a bit of a revolution. Introducing British Sign Language to its young viewers, with bright animation, friendly presenters and classical poetry – yes, really. You and I may have forgotten any children’s poetry that didn’t feature Roger McGough or Roald Dahl but these programmers have dug up some gems from Robert Louis Stevenson, Roger Stevens and Michaela Morgan. Anyway, at a poem per five-minute programme, cheerfully illustrated as the live action presenter delivers the verse whilst also signing it, plus introducing themselves and the poem’s context using sign language, is an impressive and captivating feat. Plus, it provided a little reminder to me of quite how many new words and ideas a small person has to take in every day, as I focused myself on the task of picking up a vocabulary in British Sign Language – something I’ve never tried to learn before.

In a world where social exclusion is becoming all the more obvious, as our class system was subdivided last week by the BBC into seven new separate classes, it’s more than admirable to be introducing programmes for the little ‘uns that helps to tear down an exclusion barrier that’s been up for… well, possibly since time began.

Magic Hands is fun too. Just in case you thought it was simply a worthy idea with no attention to entertainment. Admittedly, I’m not the show’s key demographic, but as presenter Ashley explained that he was ill in bed and bored in the lead-up to Robert Louis Stevenson’s poem ‘The Counterpane’, his predicament was easily relatable and his enthusiasm drew me in.

I think my parents had the right idea in trying to take advantage of that point when my linguistics learning brain was in overdrive. When little kids are engaged and switched on to being information sponges, picking up unusual words and adult mannerisms that can seem bizarre, this seems like a very good time to be learning another language. Especially one already used so freely in the country you’re already living in.

Magic Hands, CBeebies, daily, starting Monday 22 April 2013