MANILA, 28 July — Epol/Apple, the television show watched by Filipinos in the Middle East on The Filipino Channel (TFC), had won a citation from the Southeast Asian Foundation for Children’s Television.
Epol/Apple was recently awarded an ANAK Seal as a mark of quality programming for young people, according to a public relations officer of ABS-CBN Television, the mother station of TFC.
The same award was also given to ABS-CBN shows Pahina, Simsala Grimm, Mathtinik, Sine’skwela, Hirayamanawari , and Bayani, certifying that these programs were recommended for “family-friendly viewing,” Amy Mosura said in a press statement.
Launched in 1999 as a way to help young Filipino students gain competence and confidence in using the English language, Epol/Apple was first created in response to a survey showing that while Filipino children were growing up bilingual, they had a shallow comprehension of either language.
“They were also losing ground in grammar and vocabulary. Realizing the importance of building a strong foundation in the younger part of the population, ABS-CBN Foundation decided to create a show that will give children a chance to work on their English skills while acknowledging that their first language was Filipino,” said the press statement.
Based on a definite syllabus with particular curricular points to cover, the first season Epol/Apple episodes included vocabulary-building lessons, grammar-building lessons, songs and stories which served to show Epol/Apple’s young audience the English language at work. Set at the fictional small town San Gabriel, Epol/Apple’s successful first season included appearances by such talents as Monique Wilson and Audie Gemora, and used both English and Tagalog to make the lessons more meaningful to children, as opposed to presenting the lessons in English alone.
Acclaimed stage actor and children’s television veteran Bodjie Pascua has become the best friend of Epol/Apple’s young viewers through his character Luis for the past season.
With his sidekick and best friend, the friendly hornbill Porfirio, Epol/Apple now targets students at the Grade 2 level and above, and now spreads its targets to encourage their viewers’ love for reading, as well as to develop their audience’s English writing skills. Younger actors play a wide range of roles as the characters Mary Grace, Rap-Rap, Otep and Kenneth.
Produced by ABS-CBN Foundation, Epol/Apple airs every Thursday at 8:30 AM only on ABS-CBN.
