VIEWS & OPINION
Teaching phonological awareness effectively Comment by HESTER HOETTE, managing director of Lexicology
Research shows that children who are not taught to read confidently by the age of 8-9 are likely to remain poor readers for the rest of their lives. For international students, the challenge is even more complex. Many people try to categorise poor readers by their socio-economic status,
parental support, and of course, their gender. However, the problem lies with the fact that how we learn to read and spell is a science. Early readers and students with English as a second language (ESL) have to
follow the correct steps to learn to read and spell effectively. If I told you that this starts with phonemes and corresponding graphemes, followed by morphological awareness, you would understand why so many teachers aren’t taught the science of reading; many of their lecturers don't know the science themselves! As a result, millions of children are being set up to fail. Here is my step-by-step advice for teachers who need to, quickly and
effectively, teach young children to read, and international students to learn ESL.
Step 1 – letter sound correspondence When early readers become aware of the existence of a language decoding system, through phonological games, they start unravelling the letter sound system. At this stage students should only be presented with transparent, 'regular', one-syllable words such as hit, spot, strip. Once they have learned the sound-symbol correspondence of the sounds ‘s’, ‘p’, ‘o’, and ‘t’ they can not only read and write the word ‘spot’, but can also start to read words such as ‘top’, ‘pot’, and ‘stop’; realising the generic mechanism of the system.
It is at this stage that children with ESL start learning. They are already
aware of the existence of a decoding system, they just need to learn its functionality in the second language.
Step 2 - similar sound instruction It’s now time to slowly introduce the more complex 'irregular' sounds and letter blends. Initially these should be delivered in short vowel sound groups (e.g deaf-
said-thread), in long vowel sound groups (e.g theme-thief-meet-read), and finally the r-controlled vowel sound groups (e.g pain-pair). The most effective way of teaching children to master all stages of
development is through technology. The online Lexilogy learning platform is proven to be quick and highly effective for late or reluctant learners and students with ESL as it helps teachers deliver the complex learning protocol.
Step 3 - complex word structures It is when a child’s learning moves to the next stage of more complex word structures, that additional strategies such as morphemic awareness, an awareness that words may contain smaller units (morphemes) of meaning, need to be introduced. Despite the importance, few teachers know how to teach this, which is why Lexilogy simultaneously displays the different procedures required. By providing a resource that delivers the right stages of learning in the
correct order and in a fun and engaging way, technology continues to make teachers’ and students’ lives easier. I hope this has helped!
Brexit and the challenge for schools Comment by RUSSELL SLATFORD, Headmaster of Bournemouth Collegiate School
As Brexit crunch time fast approaches, all schools will be considering what effect the separation will have on our schools. As Headmaster at Bournemouth Collegiate School, I have, alongside many other Heads of boarding schools, the added dimension of how the process might change for recruiting boarders from the EU. My thoughts though this week were not on that aspect but on an
area that may affect us all. Over the course of last weekend we took a school trip to Belgium. It
was the centenary of the end of the Great War and a school group of 30 pupils and three staff visited many of the prominent historical sites. It was a particular honour and privilege for two pupils from the group, Jack and Amelia to lay a wreath on behalf of the school at the Menin Gate in Ypres. I went with my wife to Ypres a good many years ago now to find
the grave stone of my great-grandfather, my grandmother had never seen her father’s grave, so we laid flowers and took photographs for her. The reason I mention my own personal journey is the because of the lasting effect it had on me, and in talking to the young people who went from my school it seems to have had a similar profound impact on them. At a time when Brexit is at the forefront of our minds, when
nationalism and protectionism seem the political talking points of the day is it the case that borders that were once open will become more restricted? I hope not, as the systems and processes in place across the EU currently allow schools to help provide educational opportunities
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like this one. We shouldn’t underestimate the importance overseas trips, particular to events and areas of significance, can have on helping young people to develop deeper understanding and a sense of empathy or appreciation that can be harder to achieve in a school setting. Staff act in a ‘loco parentis’ capacity and being responsible for other people’s children on an oversea residential trip can be complex and understandably stressful. Currently the logistics of taking trips to Europe are thankfully straightforward, for instance schools are able to provide, with official authorisation, a list of non-EU pupils who are able to travel without a visa. With the rise of biometric identification for an increasing number of visa applications and with it a trip to your nearest embassy, normally in London, the current procedure from a school perspective is relatively easy. As we pass through the Brexit transitional tunnel will it be the case when we emerge the other side that our trip to the battlefields of the Great War will require a number of trips into London to apply for and collect visas, and will the non-EU pupils be required to go through a different and more cumbersome process? If so, trips like these may be more expensive and complicated, and may be lost, and with their departure we take away the richness, diversity and opportunities that come through our membership of the EU. Whilst the focus of the post-Brexit travel arrangement with the EU
will focus on immigration, tourism and the economy, let’s hope we don’t lose sight of the value and importance to the education of young people (and their teachers) travel around the continent brings to their lives.
December 2018
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