A study of instructional techniques used in the teaching of primary school students by means of interactive television: feedback, dialogue and interaction in a visual educational medium

The expansion of the teaching of Languages Other Than English to smaller primary schools in country areas of Queensland has been hampered by the lack of suitably qualified teachers. Efforts to teach these languages using distance education technologies such as the teleconference phone have resulted in limited success. The use of live interactive television has been mooted as one possible solution to this problem.

This study investigates the nature and quality of teaching using one-way interactive television with two-way audio to two classes of Japanese in a small primary school in Central Queensland. It pays specific attention to the visual and interactive properties of the media used. The formative research methodology used is based on case study, ethnographic techniques relying on the collection of data through observation, videotape and interview. The analysis provides identification and detailed descriptions of instructional techniques within a theoretical framework encompassing learning theory, instructional design and distance teaching of Languages Other Than English. This study concludes with recommendations for action designed to build on the effective pedagogy identified here.