All About Teaching and Learning Phonics
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maltbibi:
Praising is the best way to motivate a child ! Every mommy should be like youThroughout the process I kept praising her. She realised that mummy was happy and become more confident in reading.
I think 'm going to start her on 2a tomorrow. Isit too soon to start her on 2a?
Since she can finish reading book 1b, you should certainly start her on 2a now. Every child's should progress at a pace that he/she is comfortable with. -
kidsfirst:
Going to language centres for 2 hours a week will not be helpful. Especially when the child still attend daily kindergarten where most of his classmates come from the HDB heartland and speak Singlish, or if the child is being taken care by maids who do not speak good english. He will definitely be influenced to speak Singlish.Hi all,
I believe that many parents (or at least for Singaporean parents) are concerned about whether their child will grow up speaking Singlish. And on such grounds, most parents would enroll their child into language centres that boast of supplying native English teachers.
How important is the ability to speak proper English without any hint of Singlish? And would phonics lessons eliminate the problem of the child picking up Singlish?
Ideally you should send your child to a full day preschool, like the Pat Schoolhouse, where all the teachers are native speakers.
But then remember that when your child goes to government schools, almost all the teachers are locals, and they are not going to speak like the British or Americans.
My hubby told me, that he has been taught to pronounce \"their\" as \"dia\" by his teachers. But the fact is that \"their\" should be pronounced in the same way as \"there\".
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/their
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/there
My hubby was from ACS !
Phonics will help in proper pronunciation, but only to a certain extent.
For example, if you use phonics to pronounce the word \"salmon\", then it is wrong. \"Salmon\" should be pronounced as \"samun\", without the \"l\" sound.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/salmon
Try to pronounce \"http://mw1.meriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/audio.pl?intrig04=intriguing\" using phonics and it is going to sound very funny.
There are many words in English which are not phonetic ! The best way, like what my hubby has been doing since he was a child, is to listen to BBC radio everyday. His parents speak English with a Hokkien accent. But my hubby has always been mistaken to have studied in an overseas university (he actually graduated from NUS).
I guess it is very important to speak proper English without any hint of Singlish, if you want your child to become a lawyer, a DJ, a newscaster, etc. I know many engineers, doctors, lecturers(university and polytechnic), etc who do not speak perfect English !mrswongtuition:
mrswongtuition,I would prefer my son to know when to use Singlish and when not to use it. Totally not knowing Singlish in Singapore would register him as an 'alien'. Even caucasians who come here to work/live pick up some Singlish after a while!
Singlish when speaking with friends is fine, but one must know the limit & when to use proper English (at work, school, etc)
You brought up a good point
A local child who goes to a local school, but speak like the British or American, may be labeled as \"acting\".
I used to work with many Americans in my ex-company. Once I asked an American colleague, whether he has problem understanding Singaporeans' way of speaking English. He said that we sound OK. He told me that the Americans from their Southern states sound a lot worst ! -
sleepy:
Does he understand the content of the story & narrate back to you in own words? ie. reading with understanding?tamarind:
This is a page from the Minpins by Roald Dahl. My boy just read it 2 nights ago. He can read every word on the page without any help from me, except for a few words like \"completely\", \"tantalizing\", \"desire\". There are usually less than 5 words on each page that he needs help.
I noticed even though my girl can read chapter books but she may not really understand the story. I was told in such instance the book is too 'chim' for her even though she can each & every sentence
sleepy,
You have brought up a very important point Yes understanding what he reads is most important.
For my boy, since he is not yet 5 years old, I don't ask him to narrate it back to me in his own words. I don't want to make reading too stressful to him. I act out the story with him to make sure that he understands what he is reading. He actually asks lots of questions as he reads and so I know that he is making an effort to understand the story.
For my 6 year old girl, I also did not make her narrate the story to me in her own words. But as she reads, she makes comments about the story, and so I know that she understands what she reads.
For example, when she was reading the Wizard of Oz, there is a part where the people of the Emerald City said that the Wizard built the city for them. She told me that she read in other pages, that the Wizard actually said that the people built the city for him, and she wondered why there are contradictions. I did not even remember this detail. I had to go through the pages again and I realized that she is correct !
Even though my girl is reading independently, I still insist that she reads out loud to me, a few pages from a book of my choice every day. She is now reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland(unabridged version). As she reads, we discuss about the story, or the meaning of certain words, or she can tell me what she thinks or feel about the characters or the story. I want her to enjoy reading , and not think too much about learning as she reads.
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Hi,
Just to share my joy.
My son has finally master his lettersound using Tamarind's method.
Has started teaching him 2 words yesterday.
Mummies, never give up and keep on trying. :rahrah: -
Charmaine_chong:
Charmaine,Hi,
Just to share my joy.
My son has finally master his lettersound using Tamarind's method.
Has started teaching him 2 words yesterday.
Mummies, never give up and keep on trying. :rahrah:
I am happy to hear that Well done !
To other mommies,
I took more than 2 years to teach my son to read. He is now reading at a level that no enrichment classes can achieve at his age. I believe that mommies can achieve the best results at home, so long as we are consistent and make sure that our kids learn everyday. -
Hi Tamarind,
My gal is 5 yrs old and she is attending Phonics classes in her kindergarten for the past 9 mths. So i believe she is familiar with the 26 alphabets sound. After reading your blog, I attempted to play games with her on the \"Words Cards\" (I personally find it very good and economical)...Initially, she is pretty good with \"AT\" 2 letter words and able to find the 3 wordings that associate with \"AT\"....after 5 mins, she lost her interest and refuse to continue with the remaining 2 letter words
Wondering is there any technique to get her attention & interest? :?:
As recommended from your blog, I just placed an order for Leapfrog Letter words and talking factory :lol: Hopefully my boy who is 2+ loves to watch and start picking up his basic phonics skill. -
Hi Tamarind,
To add further, I took your advise reading books to my kids ....WONDER! Both my 5yrs old + 2.5yrs old love this activity so much they insist is a must every night....has been doing that for the past 1/2 yr.... And I do see my elder gal improves in her reading skill (though sometimes she still got mix up with some of the letters like the, they, them, their... :idea: ). Nevertheless, its a great encouragement just by following your blog!!! Thanks. -
Hi Tamarind,
Thanks.
Hi mummies,
Aside two words blending that is on going now. I let him watch educational dvd, listening to nursery ryhmes and play play … when i am at work.
My maid will read a book to him and teach him to do some homework eg: maze, math…Usually he can complete 6-10 pages.
Before bed time, i will read him chinese graded readers (read the same book for 2 weeks) + his favourite books by pointing the words + Some other assessments. -
EatNonStop:
When my boy was learning phonics using our word cards, I try to explain the meaning of the words to him, by using real objects or demonstrating the action. For example, when I taught him the word \"fin\", I would take out a real fish from the fridge and let him touch the real fin. When I taught him the word \"dip\", I let him dip a Glico stick into milk, which he enjoyed very much. So every day when he was learning, we would be going around the house looking for things or doing things that matched the words and it was very interesting for my boy.Hi Tamarind,
My gal is 5 yrs old and she is attending Phonics classes in her kindergarten for the past 9 mths. So i believe she is familiar with the 26 alphabets sound. After reading your blog, I attempted to play games with her on the \"Words Cards\" (I personally find it very good and economical)...Initially, she is pretty good with \"AT\" 2 letter words and able to find the 3 wordings that associate with \"AT\"....after 5 mins, she lost her interest and refuse to continue with the remaining 2 letter words Wondering is there any technique to get her attention & interest? :?:
Another mommy told me that she hid the cards in different places of the house, and her little girl had fun trying to look for those cards.
One idea is to put the papers onto toy cars. For example, put the letter \"c\" on one car, then the letters \"at\" on another car, then roll them towards each other and when they hit, read out the word.EatNonStop:
You are welcomeo add further, I took your advise reading books to my kids ....WONDER! Both my 5yrs old + 2.5yrs old love this activity so much they insist is a must every night....has been doing that for the past 1/2 yr.... And I do see my elder gal improves in her reading skill (though sometimes she still got mix up with some of the letters like the, they, them, their... ). Nevertheless, its a great encouragement just by following your blog!!! Thanks.
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Charmaine_chong:
Charmaine,Hi Tamarind,
Thanks.
Hi mummies,
Aside two words blending that is on going now. I let him watch educational dvd, listening to nursery ryhmes and play play .... when i am at work.
My maid will read a book to him and teach him to do some homework eg: maze, math...Usually he can complete 6-10 pages.
Before bed time, i will read him chinese graded readers (read the same book for 2 weeks) + his favourite books by pointing the words + Some other assessments.
Thanks for sharing. You are really very dedicated in making sure that your son is learning !
In my case, I have delegated Chinese to my mother :oops: She makes sure that they read their Berries Chinese materials everyday.
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