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The Toy Man® News & Views
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Product Reviews / Evaluation Report Summaries (ERS) |
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Induction Certificate Number:
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74020111014-525
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Induction Date:
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October 14, 2011
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| Certificate License
Status: |  Active |
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Early Lingo Colors and Shapes in The Park - Chinese
by:
Rev. James G.W. Fisher - Editor / Product Evaluation Specialist
Evaluation Report Summary (ERS) Date:
10/14/2011
Introducing the Early Lingo Colors and Shapes in The Park - Mandarin Chinese Edition DVD. It is the first of its kind, offering 12 animated and live-action videos to teach a child the basic foundation of a foreign language; in this case, Chinese.
[ Please refer to A-2-Z Company Index for contact information.]
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Product Type
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Release Year
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Primary Usage
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Target Age / Max. Weight
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Target Gender
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Educational DVD |
2011 |
Consumer/Education |
6mo. - 6 years |
Female/Male
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 Evaluation Report Summary (ERS) - Index
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Evaluation Report Summary (ERS)
Category Rating Scores |
Category rating scores are based on scale from 1 to 5. Rating score must be 3 or higher to pass in each evaluation category.
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Age Compatibility |
Content Quality |
Creative playQuotient™ |
Individual Skill Improvement |
Marketability |
Overall Visual Appeal |
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5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
4.5 |
Final product / service rating is averaged from the sum total of ALL applicable evaluation category scores. Only scores of "3" or higher are published.
There are a total of 357 evaluation categories which are used in our evaluation process.
(NOTE: Not all categories are applicable to any one product or online service.)
Only 6 of the evaluation category rating scores for this New Inductee's evaluation are featured for public view.
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Critical Evaluation Information
These icons represent important attributes with which this product / service
is associated, contributes to, or encourages development of.
Select any of the unique icons below to learn more about the specific attribute it represents. |
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 Trade Industry Sales Types
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 Safety / Quality Classifications
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CE Marked | UL Approved | JPMA Certified | | (Not Applicable) | (Not Applicable) | (Not Applicable) | | | ASTM Compliant | eco-Friendly | eco-Conscious | | (Not Applicable) |  | |
| UPC Code / ISBN# | Manufacturer SKU | Age Grading | | 793573923776 | 45678123 | Labeled/Appropriate |
| Manufactured In | Safety Hazard/Warnings | | U.S.A. | Not Applicable |
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 About Our New Inductee
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| Before you buy a product, it's generally common practice to be familiar with what it does, the branding, and other details. We feel that the same rule applies to our "New Inductees" we announce each week, so this section is titled "About Our New Inductee." The information in this section will provide you with a quick yet accurate glance of what the product or service is all about. |
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FACT: "On
the average, children from prenatal stage to pre-kinder age level
can learn to speak up to 4 different languages fluently. After
this age level the ability for acquisition of new secondary languages
is reduced significantly." |
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 Additional Details & Perspectives
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| While it's great for some people who just want a cursory glance at what a New Inductee is all about, there are many others who have a greater appetite for more information. This section is titled "Additional Details & Perspectives". and will provide you with additional details and perspectives associated with the product or service being featured here. |
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"In
immersive learning, the language being taught is the predominant
language. No english is seen, heard, or experienced in any
manner. In this case, a stroller, 'shou tui che' is being
used for the term being taught. Object association is merged with
already acquired word association." |
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With the Early Lingo Colors and
Shapes in The Park - Chinese Edition DVD, basic, simple terms
such as stroller, slide, and similar objects of association which a
child is already familiar with, are used to create a new association
such as in this case, 'shou tui che'. Although a child
may already know what a stroller is, hearing nothing but the name
of the object in Chinese, the brain associates the object now with
the Chinese identification term.
Many colleges use the learning method of total language immersion for teaching
yet it is an established fact that young children, prior to kindergarten age,
are more proficient at language awareness through foreign language immersion.
Some excellent references on this subject have been provided below.
References
- Baker, C. (1993). Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism.
Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
- Anderson, H., & Rhodes, N. (1983). Immersion and other innovations in U.S.
elementary schools. In: "Studies in Language Learning, 4" (ERIC Document
Reproduction Service No. ED 278 237)
- Andrade, C., & Ging, D. (1988). "Urban FLES models: Progress and promise." Cincinnati,
OH and Columbus, OH: Cincinnati Public Schools and Columbus Public Schools.
(ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 292 337)
- Chen, Ya-Ling (2006). The Influence of Partial English Immersion Programs
in Taiwan on Kindergartners' Perceptions of Chinese and English Languages
and Cultures. The Asian EFL Journal Vol 8(1) http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/March_06_ylc.php
FYI: In multiple instances we discovered that some of the
children participating in our evaluation response study had a preference to
the use of the language being learned rather than their native language. According
to some of our child psychology experts, "...this can occur for a
variety of reasons ranging from personal preference on impulse as part of
their development to other external stimulation experience." |
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| "Early
Lingo Colors and Shapes in The Park transitions into
a new direction of interest. The lessons introduce a progressive
series of colors with each crayon being used to scribble, combined
with objects, animals, video, and cartoon animation." |
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 Independent Evaluator Reports
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In this section we have called upon the assistance of top industry professionals to evaluate the product in this evaluation summary.
These scholars form their own opinions from extensive analysis and produce detailed, in-depth reports connected with their own personal study and evaluation of the products submitted for independent evaluation.
The information to follow is comprised of excerpts from the independent evaluator reports that have been paraphrased, posted verbatim, or a combination of both in order to encapsulate an accurate presentation of the primary details conveyed in each report. This approach provides a completely independent perspective in the evaluation each product. |
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| PRODUCT | ONLINE SERVICE |
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| Name: |
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Numbers and Counting At The Farm
- French Edition |
| Target Age Group: |
6mo. to 6 years |
| Contribution: |
Progressive Skill Development |
| Platform: |
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Windows DVD |
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| Rating: |
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| | | |  This
Week's Independent Evaluator | | | | | |
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Professor of Educational Studies, Ph.D., Ed. - Immersion
Education
Director of Pediatric Foreign Language Development
The first and foremost point that needs to be understood is
that Mandarin Chinese is recognized globally as "...the canonical incomprehensible
language." The importance of that fact is that Early Lingo
has taken a language that for an adult requires an immense load
of study and practice to learn. They have taken the language
and developed a well structured lesson plan targeted for the
age group where children have the greatest level of success
in learning.
"With the Colors and
Shapes in The Park DVD, the organization
of the lessons was smooth in transition between audio
stimulation, and visual illustration of an object, animated
character, and/or real people was well done and simple!
A child's mind operates on a platform of simple logic.
This
DVD is wonderfully designed to be in sync with the simple logic
thinking of the target audience. The events in each lesson
were obviously well researched as for duration and content
used to ensure maximum level of influence through the immersion
method.
Where many of the total immersion DVD learning products I have
examined are being designed with the visual interpretation
of what is 'assumed' a child sees through the eyes of a mature
adult. This results
with an incongruent pattern
of the lesson presentation. Such is not the case here. What
an adult may see as being boring and redundant, a child within
the age range for which the lesson curriculum was designed,
sees it as a stimulating experience of familiarity, color,
sound.
The children I worked with in my
studies with both the Chinese and French Edition DVD's from
Early Lingo, the children showed an unquestionable fast acquisition
of the words and numbers with an eagerness to make use of the new
language they discovered were developing at a steady rate of progression.
*Although the Mandarin Chinese language
used in this DVD is more challenging to master than the French
version I evaluated, the females in the study groups
seemed to be drawn more to the Chinese DVD than the French. Whereas
for the males, there was a stronger desire to master the French.
This behavioral pattern remained consistent in all age groups
in my studies. In speaking with a fellowe professor in
Neuropsychiatry here at the university, we both determined that
this is something worthy of further analysis in a long-term
clinical study.
An interesting point to consider is that the children in all applicable
age groups showed the
same level of progression in their foreign language skill development. There
was little to no variance regardless of ethnic, physical,
mental or age considerations specific to each child. Quite
impressive for such a 'simple' creation for total immersion
language training in target age group for which the DVD's have
been created." |
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* PLEASE NOTE: At the request of our independent evaluators their names are not disclosed to protect their personal and professional privacy. Their labors are provided at no charge to assist us in providing a well-balanced and accurate product or service evaluation summary. All opinions and or statements from the independent evaluator(s) featured here do not represent the opinion of The Toy Man® Product Guide, any member, division of, or Epiphany Communications itself.
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Consumer Hands-On Evaluation
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| Nothing is more powerful than hands-on experience by a consumer with a product when it is under evaluation. Based upon that fact we put a number of products we currently are slated to evaluate at the mercy of consumers in a hands-on evaluation where anything goes. The information to follow will explore the responses from the participants in our spontaneous hands-on consumer evaluation of the products available for their review. |
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The
most exciting part of our evaluation from the in-house portion
of this evaluation report summary was the experience we had with
preschools in Brooklyn and Harlem NY, 3 preschools in Las
Vegas, and a preschool in Los Angeles and Ventura County,
CA. This was an integral part of our consumer hands-on evaluation
sgement.The results were very consistent across the board.
All
of the preschool directors and staff were delighted with their
experience with the DVD with "...distinct evidence
of excitement with all of the children." at all of the
preschools. |
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 A Sampling Of Our Evaluation
Category Ratings
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The rating
of a product is useless if you do not fully understand and comprehend
how the ratings is reached or what the value of the rating represents.
This need for clarity encouraged us to have this section titled "A
Sampling Of Our Evaluation Category Ratings". To assist you in
gaining a greater understanding of the evaluation category ratings
we use, a small sampling of the individual
category titles & rating
scores from the complete product review itself
for this product or service are featured below.
The categories which have been selected to be
featured in this evaluation report summary for public view, specify some of
the primary points of how and why each specific rating score was reached. |
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| The Featured Category Ratings Sampling For This Evaluation Summary Are Listed Below: |
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Age Compatibility: Rating Level - [5] 
Age compatibility is quite often seen as not being an important
category for making determining the value of a product. In our evaluation
of the Early Lingo Colors and Shapes in The Park - Chinese Edition
DVD, age-compatibility
was a very important factor to be taken into consideration.
To make the claim of a product being compatible with a wide range
of years in the post-natal-toddler class, validation of this is a challenge
to undertake. With the Early Lingo Colors and Shapes in The Park
- Chinese Edition DVD, there is a multitude of information
available on the Internet which can be used for a comparative analysis.
In this case, we have included 3 different references in language learning
studies to validate the results of our analysis.
Throughout all phases of our evaluation in this category, the Early Lingo
Colors and Shapes in The Park - Chinese Edition DVD unquestionably fulfilled
the demand for validation of it being accurate in labeling for age compatibility
with a perfect score of [5] Five
Stars] in this category for Age Compatibility. |
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Content Quality:
Rating Level - [5]
The Early Lingo Colors and Shapes in The Park - Chinese Edition
DVD is
a superior combination of color, animation, and immersive learning
education that may be so simple, yet so powerfully addictive to a child
whether infant or toddler. The content is well structured, researched,
and consistent in quality. The seemingly boring and redundant flow
as an adult sees it, for a child, is a wonderful new world to explore
and captivates the attention of a child completely.
The Early Lingo Colors and Shapes in The Park - Chinese Edition
DVD encourages
a child to learn while having fun while contributing highly to their
critical skills development simultaneously. The Early
Lingo Colors and Shapes in The Park - Chinese Edition DVD pulled
a perfect score of [5]
Stars] in this category for Content Quality. |
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Creative playQuotient™: Rating Level - [5]
Establishing the measure of Creative playQuotient™ with
the Early Lingo Colors and Shapes in The Park - Chinese Edition
DVD was more than a manageable task to handle. You may not
realize it, but there is a substantial level of creative Play that comes
from the education factor of this DVD.
No matter what the age of the child interacting with the lessons of
the DVD, there is a strong level of creative thought that is generated.
With each image seen, there is a virtual object association that
takes place in the mind of the child. The learning and creative
Play are in a perfect balance/ration, much like the idea of the ying
and yang figure, each totally different yet perfectly balanced and matched
in dimension.
The Early Lingo Colors and Shapes in The Park - Chinese Edition
DVD creates
a symbiotic relationship of education and creative self-Play in each
lesson; a premium balance of education and creative Play.
The Early Lingo Colors and Shapes in The Park - Chinese Edition DVD worked
its was
through our evaluation with the highest level of value and importance in this
evaluation category
with a perfect score of [5] Five
Stars]. |
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Individual Skill Improvement: Rating Level - [5]
For Individual
Skill Improvement, the Early Lingo Colors and Shapes
in The Park - Chinese Edition DVD swept through this evaluation
category without the slightest flinch. The excellent and well
structured combination of content in the DVD delivers a
substantial contribution to individual skills improvement.
In reviewing the independent evaluator's report combined with our own in-house
analysis results, the Early Lingo Colors and Shapes in The Park - Chinese
Edition DVD unquestionably delivers a powerful influence in individual skill
improvement. This occurs not just in the basic elements of skill development
associated with education and learning, but in development of self-worth and
independent reasoning.
Early Lingo Colors and Shapes in The Park - Chinese Edition DVD was
highly favored and passed this segment of our evaluation with a perfect score
of [5] Stars in the category
of Individual Skill Improvement. |
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Marketability: Rating Level - [4.5] 
When it comes to Marketability, Early Lingo Colors and Shapes in The Park - Chinese Edition DVD pulled its weight
well. The quality, functionality, level of contribution to skill
development and education that you find synonymous with the DVD
makes it such a simple task to perform in grasping the idea of the
level of Marketability of Early Lingo Colors and Shapes in The Park - Chinese Edition DVD being of the
strongest measure and will assure a sound ROI.
The primary challenge we had to tackle was
getting over the fact of how adults will tend to see things from an
adult perspective not as that of a child. Despite this, the packaging
still managed to be so strong in visual appeal that it still pulled
theEarly Lingo Colors and Shapes in The Park - Chinese Edition DVD to an almost perfect score in this evaluation category.
When
we were in final discussion for the scoring and feedback on the Early Lingo Colors and Shapes in The Park - Chinese Edition DVD, it was more than
clear that it had successfully pulled an almost perfect score of [4.5]
Stars in this evaluation category for Marketability. |
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Overall Visual Appeal: Rating Level - [5]
Overall Visual Appeal was a challenging evaluation
category to tackle with the Early Lingo
Colors and Shapes in The Park - Chinese Edition DVD.
You need to remember we are looking at not only the DVD itself,
but the DVD case as well. After careful examination
of both the DVD and the case itself, it was easy to see that the Early
Lingo Colors and Shapes in The Park - Chinese Edition DVD had
pulled itself to the very top..
It was easy to establish that the Early Lingo Colors and Shapes in The Park - Chinese Edition DVD completed this evaluation category
with a perfect score of [5]
Stars for Overall Visual Appeal. |
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