Comparing Pre-school English Reading and Phonics Enrichment

[buds]

http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=584 has feedback from parents
on the ICR programme, skkhor.

Chief, please help merge. Tks!

[MdmQ]

buds:

MdmQ:

Is there any enrichment centers in Singapore that uses the Letterland system to teach phonics? Thanks.

Tumble Tots.

thks!

[MdmQ]

MMM:

My nursery goes for phonics lesson at Jan & Elly. Personally think it's solid phonic teaching where they start at nursery and complete by K2 (advance stage).


Have a P1 son who went through the advance stage and we feel that his phonics knowlege is quite solid as compared to his elder sister who only did up to intermediate as she only started in K2.

I was undecided between ICR and J&E. But eventually went back to J&E for my youngest. Was told that ICR focuses on sight word rather than phonics (dunno how true is this). At their centre, they have quite alot of students who joined from ICR.

Where are the Jan & Elly centers located? thanks

[jkcy]

Just wondering aloud how important phonics is in a child’s journey in learning to read. My boy has apparently skipped the stage of using sounds to help him in reading (even though this was covered briefly in sch) and seems to be reading primarily by remembering sight words. I read somewhere that the goal is to read, it does not matter how a child reaches that goal as long as he is finally able to read.


Still, I would like to equip him with the skill of blending sounds but do not know of any bridging courses as most reading programmes incorporate this at the early stage when the child can’t really read yet. He already can read and I can’t seem to find a programme which addresses only building up his skill in the sound part. Any advice or thoughts to share?

[JJmum]

jkcy:

Just wondering aloud how important phonics is in a child's journey in learning to read. My boy has apparently skipped the stage of using sounds to help him in reading (even though this was covered briefly in sch) and seems to be reading primarily by remembering sight words. I read somewhere that the goal is to read, it does not matter how a child reaches that goal as long as he is finally able to read.


Still, I would like to equip him with the skill of blending sounds but do not know of any bridging courses as most reading programmes incorporate this at the early stage when the child can't really read yet. He already can read and I can't seem to find a programme which addresses only building up his skill in the sound part. Any advice or thoughts to share?

Hi jkcy

Agreed with you that it does not matter how a child reaches that goal as long as he is able to reach. As for reading, not all words can be pronounce by using phonics. Remembering sight words are needed too. Reading programme is not compulsory. However, it can be a head start for children to prepare them to read. What is essential is to cultivate a good reading habits.

[buds]

Heyya jkcy, JJmum is spot on! Phonics is but only one of the

methods to reading. Cultivating love for reading is still the
most beneficial of all. Not all children can learn using the
Phonics method, whatever the kind... since there are
many brand names out there.

I, for one did not develop reading skills using the Phonics
method. Only graded readers - Peter & Jane and almost
read all the Ladybird fairy tales / read-it-yourself as a
young girl. I have my mother to thank for that.
She read to me tirelessly despite working as a seamstress
from home and having to manage the housework while
caring for 3 young children back then.

In current context, where majority are pursuing Phonics as
the ultimate reading method..... it does not mean that it IS
the only method at all.

Do share how old your child is jkcy, and i'll see if i can offer
some pointers to help you help your child with the blending
aspect you're concerned about.

Regards,

[buds]

MdmQ:

Where are the Jan & Elly centers located? thanks

There's one along Upper Bukit Timah... @ The Rail Mall.

Address :-
432 Upper Bukit Timah Road
The Rail Mall, Singapore 678058
Tel: 6762 7783
Fax: 6762 7781

There is also another branch in Serangoon Gardens.

Address :-
11A Kensington Park Road
Singapore 557263
Tel: 6280 3722
Fax: 6280 5664

Click the blue link for more information on http://www.jan-elly.com/

[buds]

MMM:

My nursery goes for phonics lesson at Jan & Elly. Personally think it's solid phonic teaching where they start at nursery and complete by K2 (advance stage).

Jan and Elly has been around for awhile and has been
proven to be rather effective especially if a child starts
from the basic class or have been through their daily
playgroup lessons which do incorporate some intro on
phonetic sounds.

However, on the downside some of the parents who hv
been with J&E finds it takes to long to master the entire
Phonics syllabus. But that's why it is concrete i suppose.

What matters is parents shouldn't start last minute when
it comes to having children to learn any new skill... ie. to
read, to write, to swim... (etc) Children can take their time
to learn a new skill when they're given the opportunity to
pace up or develop at an appropriate time when they are
younger. This also enables the child to develop their level
of confidence and the less pressure they have at going at
it, the higher their self-esteem which may indirectly allow
them to progress / move up even more quickly than as
scheduled. An older child would be at a disadvantage as
they can feel pressured to complete each process to be
able to quickly show the results... More so for children in
K2 going P1..... or even P1 children as well.

I do have children at P4 and P5 channeled to me for 1-1
zoom in help with reading... especially for children who
do not come for English speaking backgrounds. It is more
challenging to work with older children but it is possible...

So... main tip to introduce reading and reading techniques,
skills or methods is to..... start early.

My 2 cents.

[jkcy]

Hi JJmum and buds. Thanks for your inputs. My son is going to P1 next year. I'm a believer in allowing children a carefree childhood so have not sent him for any academic-based enrichment since young. Instead, we do a lot of reading together and I'm happy that he now has a huge appetite for books.


Like buds, I also mastered reading without knowing what phonics was as a kid. In fact i can't remember how it happened. However, I'm revisiting whether to place more emphasis on phonics recently because I realised that it could also be a useful tool in spelling, though I am aware there are words where phonics rules do not apply. I was told that it would be boring to start him over in phonics if he already can read but I'm not too happy when he does not switch on his thinking cap in phonics when we ask him to try to read the words that he claims he does not know by simply using the basic letter sounds which I know he knows. I wonder if this stems from the fact that he has never been formally drilled in phonics and hence he quickly dismisses even very easy words (especially names eg Nana) as long as these are not under the high frequency words. If he does not try to apply even the simple phonics skills he has, he will have to memorize each word as it is when it comes to spelling - sounds tedious to me.

[buds]

jkcy, yes if taught properly..... knowledge of Phonics can

assist in spelling tests in future. Why did i say, \"if taught
properly\".......? Because there are many sounds made
with letter combinations and some of these combinations
make the same sound. So, if a child is not taught Phonics
and its rules properly, a child can end up making errors
for mistakes in spelling based simply on the sounds that
he/she thinks he/she hears. This can be exasperating for
some parents who find marks are lost just like that.

Examples are like :
1.fantastic may be spelt like ..... fantestik.
2.elephant may be spelt like ..... elefant.
3.restaurant may be spelt like ..... resteront.

....... and so on, so forth.

Having exposure to a lot of different genres of books is
also important to help children make sense of new vocab
and how to apply those vocab into sentences. There will
not be that much of an advantage by simply just being
able to read effectively using Phonics but not able to
understand what is being read or what the words mean..

For instance, a child should know from reading books
that this phrase -mane entrance... should
actually read.... main entrance.

Only with wide reading of books can a child understand
how & when to apply his/her knowledge of words that
he/she has learnt from Phonics lessons into what/how
he/she reads and writes in proper context.

That said, Phonetic knowledge though... does assist one
in better diction/pronunciation.

There are schools that your child can join at the blending
stage. It shouldn't be a problem. Your child may only need
a simple assessment of confirming he/she does INDEED
already have a concrete foundation of the single letter
sounds. Older children who can already read WILL find
having to start from the basics a bore and may not be
helpful in the sense of progression. A 1 to 1 class in this
case will be better for your child as it helps to zoom in on
areas where he needs help with and progress from there
instead of having to conform to a group's progress.

There will also be words which are one off... like in the
case of difficult-pronounce-names or names of people
in other languages or of other races...

Some words aren't actual English words too... so that
makes it even trickier. Try champagne... lingerie...