This is one of my son's all-time favourites, and his older cousins (6 and 8) are mad about it, too. Funnily enough, it is something adults can sit around and howl with laughter at as well.
Yes, it's Shaun the Sheep!
What I love about these kind of kid's programs is that they don't have any dialogue in them. Everything is picked up from the context and actions.
Now, for language learners, some teachers avoid these because of the very fact there is no dialogue in them and there won't be any "comprehensible input" for them to listen to.
What I think they're missing is:
1. These episodes appeal to and really interest kids - they become engaged;
2. Kids decide for themselves how the story ought to be vocalised, and are willing to ask for help if they can't name or describe something;
3. The stories become perfect for any language learning level, because everything is visual and contextual and they can tell or talk about the story using whatever language they have at their disposal;
4. They can be watched over and over again, with richer descriptions applied incrementally (I watched Jamie go from one word scene descriptions to very active "what is happening now" utterances, and then on to rich cause and effect accounts, predictions and then even inferences).
I think half the problem with videos/DVDs for teachers is that they automatically worry too much about the "level" of the language input involved. If we make the input visual and contextual, then we have a beautifully rich resource for encouraging language output - especially experimentation with language.
By the way, I see absolutely no reason why the Shaun the Sheep episodes wouldn't work with older teens and adults as well. They're absolutely hilarious, and there are many layers of inference possible.
:-D
