The language barrier between immigrant parents and their English-dominant children is a daily and relatively unnoticed problem in 12 million U.S. households. The intergenerational language gap often leads to adverse health outcomes for both children and adults: (1) it hinders young children's ability to communicate with their parents when they feel sick; and (2) as children are inevitably relied upon as interpreters for family members during office visits and medical emergencies, they are ill-prepared both linguistically and mentally for the difficult task. This proposal seeks to develop a television program that can bridge the intergenerational language gap and improve the health status of all members of an immigrant household. During Phase I, treatments (blueprint) for a 10-episode television series will be created for Mandarin-speaking Chinese viewers, with 1 particular treatment fully developed into an animated pilot episode. A sample population of 60 participants, including children, parents, educators and health providers will view the pilot episode and assess its effectiveness using a variety of test instruments. Their feedback will be used to determine the project's feasibility. Project Narrative: This proposed project will develop an innovative television program that combines language and healthcare education and can be enjoyed by both children and parents together. The television program aims to enhance children's language skills in their heritage language, improve parents' English proficiency, provide exposure to? health education, and promote intergenerational communication. ? ? ? ?
