Eduss Coded Phonics - making English phonetic
Eduss considers the phonetic approach to be the best way to learn to speak and read a language.
However, unlike most other languages, English is NOT a phonetic language.
Who can benefit from this program?
The Eduss Coded Phonics Program is suitable for:
- Young native English speakers learning to read;
- Students needing remediation;
- Young students wanting to accelerate their reading skills;
ESL students of any age who have had elementary instruction in English grammar.
Why is English so difficult?
An appreciation of this problem can be quickly understood when we realize that modern English, which is a hybrid of Old German, Latin, Greek, French and - to a lesser extent - many other languages, uses an old 26-letter Latin alphabet to represent/spell the diverse sounds from these many language sources. This 26-letter alphabet soon proved inadequate to spell the various new sounds of the words adopted into English from these different languages.
Here are just a few examples of the complexities that have arisen as a result.
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There are more than 80 letter or letter groups that represent the 18 basic vowel sounds in English. One example of this is the fact that the letter "a" makes nine different vowel sounds:
cat, any, orange, watch, soda, cake, about, talk, father
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Even consonants represent different sounds. For example, the "sh" sound in "sheep" can be spelled in 12 different ways:
| 2 |
ng |
|
|
sh |
13 |
|
| u |
n |
c |
• |
t |
ou |
s |
| 1 |
ng |
k |
|
sh |
13 |
|
| a |
n |
x |
• |
i |
ou |
s |
There are many silent letters. For example:
|
9 |
|
|
| c |
o |
m |
b |
and many others. |
The answer - modern technology and Eduss' unique coding system.
The program introduces students to the basic vowel and consonant sounds, illustrates the use of these sounds and then tests the students on the sounds they just learned. To ensure students pronounce each sound correctly, the program has video clips of the mouth movements made to pronounce each of the vowel and consonant sounds of English. The program's inbuilt feature for students to record and playback their attempt increases their ability to emulate the correct sound in the program.
Eduss' unique coding system allows the student to quickly identify vowels and consonants visually (vowels are red and consonants are blue), and the sounds they make no matter how they are spelled. This is especially important given that English has so many different ways to spell many of the sounds in the language.
The code
- Vowels are colored red with a numerical superscript that codes their sound;
- Consonants are colored blue and given a phonetic superscript if they are not phonetic;
- Consonant digraphs are underlined to show that the two letters make only one sound;
- Silent letters are coded gray
Program scope and sequence
The program consists of two stages with 13 lessons in each stage. The first stage of the program teaches students 10 vowel sounds - the short and long sounds of a, e, i, o, and u - and 22 consonant sounds.
In the second stage of the program, students continue and complete all 23 vowel sounds, the consonant digraphs and blends. In addition, they are shown most of the ways the various diphthongs (combined sound of two vowels) are spelled e.g. the er sound in her, which is vowel sound 14 is used:
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| • when the vowels er, ir, and ur occur at the ends of words as in |
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| • when the vowels er, ir, ur, and ear are followed by another consonant as in |
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| • and when the consonant w comes before or as in |
These spellings account for over 95% of the ways this vowel sound is spelled in English.
Program format
The program uses a colorful, animated format that does not resort to the gimmicks of a game to engage the learner. The object of the program is the student's mastery of all the sounds of English and many of the elementary graphemes (spellings) of many vowels and consonant sounds.
The program also contains a comprehensive tracking module that provides feedback on the progress and mastery the student achieves as s/he moves through the lessons. This allows the supervisor to quickly identify the exercises and sounds the student is finding difficult to master.
Phonics Fundamentals - an explanation
The Phonics Fundamentals section of the program is a veritable goldmine of information about why English is the way it is. Notes on each of the 26 lessons, provide invaluable information on each of the letters and many graphemes of the English alphabet, the different sounds they make, and when these sounds are made.
The section, "Why is English so Difficult" shown above has been taken from parts of the Phonics Fundamentals Module.
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