Phonics for learning
Phonics teaching step-by-step | TheSchoolRun
Sort your phonemes from your graphemes, decoding from encoding and digraphs from trigraphs with our parents' guide to phonics teaching. Our step-by-step explanation takes you through the different stages of phonics learning, what your child will be expected to learn and the vocabulary you need to know.
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What is phonics?
Phonics is a method of teaching children to read by linking sounds (phonemes) and the symbols that represent them (graphemes, or letter groups). Phonics is the learning-to-read method used in primary schools in the UK today.
What is a phoneme?
A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound. The phonemes used when speaking English are:
Print out a list of phonemes to practise with your child or listen to the individual sounds being spoken with our phonics worksheets.
Phonics learning step 1: decoding
Children are taught letter sounds in Reception. This involves thinking about what sound a word starts with, saying the sound out loud and then recognising how that sound is represented by a letter.
The aim is for children to be able to see a letter and then say the sound it represents out loud. This is called decoding.
Some phonics programmes start children off by learning the letters s, a, t, n, i, p first. This is because once they know each of those letter sounds, they can then be arranged into a variety of different words (for example: sat, tip, pin, nip, tan, tin, sip, etc.). While children are learning to say the sounds of letters out loud, they will also begin to learn to write these letters (encoding).
They will be taught where they need to start with each letter and how the letters need to be formed in relation to each other. Letters (or groups of letters) that represent phonemes are called graphemes.
Phonics learning step 2: blending
Children then need to go from saying the individual sounds of each letter, to being able to blend the sounds and say the whole word. This can be a big step for many children and takes time.
Phonics learning step 3: decoding CVC words
Children will focus on decoding (reading) three-letter words arranged consonant, vowel, consonant (CVC words) for some time.
They will learn other letter sounds, such as the consonants g, b, d, h and the remaining vowels e, o, u. Often, they will be given letter cards to put together to make CVC words which they will be asked to say out loud.
Phonics learning step 4: decoding consonant clusters in CCVC and CVCC words
Children will also learn about consonant clusters: two consonants located together in a word, such tr, cr, st, lk, pl. Children will learn to read a range of CCVC words (consonant, consonant, vowel, consonant) such as trap, stop, plan.
They will also read a range of CVCC words (consonant, vowel, consonant, consonant) such as milk, fast, cart.
Phonics learning step 5: vowel digraphs
Children are then introduced to vowel digraphs. A digraph is two vowels that together make one sound such as: /oa/, /oo/, /ee/, /ai/. They will move onto sounding out words such as deer, hair, boat, etc. and will be taught about split digraphs (or 'magic e').
They will also start to read words combining vowel digraphs with consonant clusters, such as: train, groan and stool.
Phonics learning step 6: consonant digraphs
Children will also learn the consonant digraphs (two consonants that together make one sound) ch and sh and start blending these with other sounds to make words, such as: chat, shop, chain and shout.
Encoding, or learning to spell as well as read
Alongside this process of learning to decode (read) words, children will need to continue to practise forming letters which then needs to move onto encoding.
Encoding is the process of writing down a spoken word, otherwise known as spelling.
They should start to be able to produce their own short pieces of writing, spelling the simple words correctly.
It goes without saying that reading a range of age-appropriate texts as often as possible will really support children in their grasp of all the reading and spelling of all the phonemes.
Phonics learning in KS1
By the end of Reception, children should be able to write one grapheme for each of the 44 phonemes.
In Year 1, they will start to explore vowel digraphs and trigraphs (a group of three letters that makes a single sound, like 'igh' as in 'sigh') further.
They will begin to understand, for example, that the letters ea can make different sounds in different words (dream and bread). They will also learn that one sound might be represented by different groups of letters: for example, light and pie (igh and ie make the same sound).
Children in Year 2 will be learning spelling rules, such as adding suffixes to words (such as -ed, -ing, -er, -est, -ful, -ly, -y, -s, -es, -ment and -ness).
They will be taught rules on how to change root words when adding these suffixes (for example, removing the 'e' from 'have' before adding 'ing') and then move onto harder concepts, such as silent letters (knock, write, etc) and particular endings (le in bottle and il in fossil).
Free phonics worksheets and information for parents
For more information about the phonics system look through our phonics articles, including ways to boost phonics confidence, details of the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check, parents' phonics questions answered and more.
We also have a large selection of free phonics worksheets to download for your child.
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Phonemic Awareness
Phonics is a fundamental part of learning to read the English language.
It is the relationship between sounds (phonemes) and their spellings (graphemes).
Through phonics, children can improve their:
- pronunciation
- spelling
- literacy
- comprehension
- vocabulary
Fun with phonics
Phonics.com is a FREE online reading program that teaches phonics for children in kindergarten and up. Learning with Phonics.com is a colorful combination of words, sounds, images, practice and play. Each lesson focuses on a different group of consonant and vowel phonemes, with sound cards to show the relationship between letters and pictures.
Free phonics resources
Free worksheets and online activities help kids review their skills before moving on to the next lesson. These free resources are also perfect for teachers to use in the classroom or as part of their lesson plans.
The Phonics.com program has been developed to align with the Common Core K-5 Reading Standards Foundational Skills:
- Print Concepts
- Phonological Awareness
- Phonics & Word Recognition
- Fluency
The first release of Free resources, the Phonics Alphabet, covers the 42 phonemes that make up the English language.
These are essential for reading fluency and are taught in the Common Core order.
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Teaching phonetics at the initial and secondary stages of education
Teaching phonetics at the initial and secondary stages of education
Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies the sounds of speech and sound structure of the language. You can learn to master the sound side of the language in any age, so it is necessary to pay attention to it already at the initial stage secondary school. Primary school age, according to numerous teachers and psychologists is a very important step.
Children of this age have high perceptiveness, which makes it easier for them to assimilate the material, also many of them have an interest in new, including a foreign language, here The main thing is to be able to maintain and increase motivation. GEF standards carry communicative orientation, individual approach, which gives great opportunities for instilling the interest and desire of the child to learn a foreign language. Many students are so passionate about the subject that they continue to study and to improve a foreign language all my life, making it not only a hobby, but also area of professional interest. Child's success in learning a foreign language language at the initial stage of education, in particular in the development of phonetics, in many respects depends on the professionalism of the teacher, his ability to independently correctly play sounds. However, I have a number of questions:
1) What is the essence of teaching phonetics?
2) How to determine the most favorable conditions for language learning start, and suitable methods?
3) How to identify barriers that may arise when learning phonetics?
Having answered these questions, I am going to identify suitable means to eliminate difficulties and fill gaps in knowledge of phonetics at students.
The main goal of teaching phonetics in elementary and secondary schools is the formation of phonetic or auditory-pronunciation skills.
Hearing-pronunciation skills are divided into:
- auditory, which involve the formation of actions and operations to recognize individual phonemes, words, semantic syntagmas, sentences;
- pronunciation skills - involve the ability to correctly articulate sounds and combine them into words, phrases, sentences. This requires the ability to place stress, use pauses and intonation;
- rhythmic intonation skills are knowledge of logical and expressive patterns of stress and intotones. It is this group of skills, and more precisely, their absence betrays us as foreigners. Practice shows that it is easier learn how to pronounce sounds correctly, than how to intonate correctly. So Thus, one of the most important prerequisites for communication is the development auditory-pronunciation skills, or the ability to perceive and correctly associate an audible sound or intooneme with its corresponding meaning, and produce sounds and intotones corresponding to certain meanings.
Violation phonetic correctness of speech, incorrect sound and intonation its design by the speaker leads to misunderstandings and misunderstandings on the part of listener. The most common causes of phonetic errors are: reasons:
- replacement of one phoneme by another: table - cable;
- as a result of incorrect syllable division: a name - an aim;
- as a result of incorrect stress: ‘import - im’port;
- as a result of using a different tone instead of the required one: peremptory Sit down (high fall) instead of the polite Sit down (low rise).
Teaching phonetics in general is an auxiliary character and is subject to the development of speech skills. The question arises as to whether whether to concentrate work on pronunciation at the initial stage or to conduct it in throughout the entire period of study.
Initially, as I have already emphasized, they are laid basics of speaking, listening and reading. Working on pronunciation is an indispensable element in teaching a foreign language and is an intensive character.
The development of listening and pronunciation skills should occur along with learning of language material. The sequence of introduction of sounds reflects functional approach: the first to master those sounds that are needed for pronunciation of the first structures, as well as the most frequent sounds, which allows quickly include structures and vocabulary in speaking and listening.
Average task stage - to prevent deautomatization of auditory-pronunciation skills, to maintain the achieved level their formation. To do this, when working on language material, you need to focus students' attention on the phonetic side of speech. Phonetics separate stages of the lesson are assigned, at which phonetic training or phonetic exercises are carried out. It does not have a fixed place in the lesson, it depends on sequence of performing those tasks where students may encounter phonetic difficulties that the teacher must anticipate and help students to avoid.
Phonetic skill - the ability to pronounce sounds correctly, to put stress where necessary; pronounce everything intonation correctly, etc.
Two methods are known the main approaches in teaching this aspect of the language. Modern methods training is based on a combination of these two methods. Let's take a closer look at them in detail.
Articulatory an approach.
According to this method there are three main groups of phonemes:
-- Coinciding in both languages
-- Mismatched
-- Partially matched
Most difficult to assimilation are the last two groups, with overlapping are the most difficult to grasp. Mastering their articulation is enough difficult task due to the fact that hearing the difference in their pronunciation for The untrained ear is a challenge. This applies to consonants and vowel sounds.
As for "thorns", then one of the most popular British phonetic courses and called "shiporsheep", which translates to "ship or sheep."
In addition to longitude and brevity, when working with English sounds, you need to pay attention to diphthongs.
It is very difficult at the initial stages of learning English to hear difference between a vowel and a diphthong derived from it.
Thus, the main the provisions of the articular method in teaching English are reduced to following:
-- Requires input phonetic course for the correct setting of sounds.
-- Every sound needs to be carefully worked out separately.
-- To be studied the work of the organs of articulation to ensure the purity of the pronunciation of each sound.
-- Shaping pronunciation and auditory skills must be produced separately.
Acoustic approach
In this case, the accent is put not on the assimilation of articulation, but on the perception of speech by ear, its imitation. Assimilation of speech takes place in the speech flow, based on repetition and imitation speech structures. This method is very good and justified in conditions of need. quickly learn a foreign language, immerse yourself in the conversational environment and survive in the country the language being studied.
This approach is pure form is not particularly good for a comprehensive school, since not all children have naturally good phonetic hearing. It is quite simple to explain or show in order to correct a mistake in those children who made it because of undeveloped speech hearing. Therefore, the most effective today in teaching English in schools is an approach based on a combination the approaches discussed above, or a differentiated approach.
Differentiated approach
In this approach, as in acoustic approach, much attention is paid to listening to authentic speech. This is supplemented by an explanation of the ways of articulating sounds, however, unlike articulatory approach, this happens without the use of terms, more in an accessible and understandable way. Since this method is typical for most schools and other educational institutions, consider the features the formation of phonetic skills at various stages of learning on his example.
Initial learning is necessary to build the foundation of good pronunciation, which involves correct intonation, observance of pauses, knowledge of the features word stress in a sentence and correct articulation.
It is necessary for normal the functioning of students' oral speech. Mistakes in pronunciation interfere the implementation of the main goal of the language - communication, i.e. mutual understanding.
For mastery the phonetic basis of a foreign language, it is necessary, first of all, to learn articulation pattern characteristic of native speakers of this language, that is, the position organs of speech at the time of the absence of articulatory movements.
teacher with help special exercises should ensure that the articulation pattern foreign language eventually became familiar to students, and they could even not to notice the moment of restructuring from one articulation mode to another.
Practice in speech communication reflects the degree of phonetic skills as integral components of oral speech.
Phonetic control skills are carried out when performing speech exercises in reading, listening, speaking and writing.
Form of control may become phonetic competitions for reading poems, playing short dialogues, tongue twisters and even phonetic exercises.
The purpose of phonetic charging:
- anticipation and removal of possible phonetic difficulties: auditory, pronunciation, rhythmic-intonation;
- practicing phonetic skills that were not enough formed.
The content of phonetic charging can be:
- reading words, sentences, microtexts, poems, proverbs, patter.
- reading complex parts of sentences, phrases from the beginning or from end.
- listening for errors.
- dialect recognition.
- definition of attitude towards someone or something by intonation.
- pronouncing the same phrase with different intonation.
- repetition after the announcer in pauses.
- repetition synchronously with the announcer.
- recognition of words by ear.
- recitation of verses, dramatization of dialogues.
At the initial stage, work with phonetics goes on continuously. students constantly listen to the sample speech of the teacher or speaker, repeat the samples, get used to intonation clichés.
Therefore, on the one hand, teaching phonetics on the initial stage is easier than the middle stage. Because in the middle the volume of reading to oneself increases, small passages should be read regularly texts aloud, and if necessary, work out the most complex and important phonetic phenomena at the pre-textual stage, paying attention to rhythmic intonation patterns.
Primary school provides basic knowledge, skills and abilities in all school disciplines, including foreign language. Scientists- linguists, methodologists agree that teaching phonetic skills in the initial stage should be given a special role. Knowledge and implementation of goals and tasks of state standards in the subject "English language", programs, which the teacher works, allow you to create an individual trajectory development of the language personality of the child. The teacher has the right to choose approaches to teaching phonetics skills.
When teaching phonetics it is considered appropriate to use technical means.
They give students sample for good pronunciation. Students try to imitate this pattern. speech and strive for it.
Hearing-pronunciation control skills are carried out when performing speech exercises in listening, in reading or speaking. And only in this case it is possible to objectively judge the the degree of practical knowledge of the phonetic side of foreign speech.
Literature
Anufriev A.F., Kostromina S.N. How to overcome difficulties in teaching children // Psychodiagnostic tables. Psychodiagnostic methods. - M.: Publishing house "Os-89", 2000. ¬¬- 272 p.
Watson E.R. Practical phonetics of English language. - M.: MIOO, 2009.- 56 p.
Galskova N.D., Gez N.I. learning theory foreign languages // Linguodidactics and methodology: Textbook for students. Lingu. Un-tov and facts. Foreign language of higher educational institutions. - M.: Publishing Center "Academy", 2004. - 336 p.
Oparina E.
A. Methods of teaching foreign languages in diagrams and tables: Lecture notes / E.A. Oparina; Ryaz.state.ped. un-t im. S.A. Yesenin. – Ryazan, 2005.
Solovova E.N. Methods of teaching foreign languages: Basic course of lectures: A guide for students of pedagogical universities and teachers / E.N. Solovova. -M.: Education, 2002.
Content and methodological principles of teaching phonetics
The term "phonetics" comes from the Greek word phone "sound" or phonetics "sound" and literally means "the science of sounds (speech)" .
Phonetics is sometimes defined this way: “Phonetics is the science of the sounds of speech.”
But such a definition must be recognized as incomplete and insufficient, since phonetics studies not only the sounds of speech, but also, for example, syllables, stress. Therefore, the general definition of phonetics should be broader.
Phonetics is a linguistic discipline that studies the sound side of the language as a whole, the sound means of the language, which include speech sounds, syllables, stress, intonation.
The main place among them is occupied by the sounds of speech: this is the main means of shaping the language, its materialization. Therefore, speech sounds constitute the main object of phonetics, and the study of speech sounds, respectively, constitutes the main part of phonetics.
In phonetics, there are several relatively independent parts:
- phonetics proper, which studies general issues of the sound side of the language, in particular, the sounds of speech from the side of their articulatory-acoustic properties and features, as well as issues of phonetic articulation of speech in general;
- phonology (Greek phone "sound" and logos "teaching") - the science of the functional side of speech sounds, phonemes and their system;
- accentology (lat. accentum "stress") - the science of stress;
- to ensure that students are aware of the main cases of correspondence and inconsistency between pronunciation and spelling and get acquainted with the most important norms of Russian literary pronunciation;
- to use the knowledge of information from phonetics by schoolchildren when teaching spelling (spelling and punctuation), when teaching expressive reading, orthoepic norms of the Russian literary language.
The contents of the section are:
Sounds of speech. Vowels and consonants. Word stress. Vowels are stressed and unstressed. Hard and soft consonants that do not have paired sounds. Voiced and voiceless consonants that do not have paired sounds. Speech sounds and letters. Alphabet. The sound meaning of the letters e, e, u, i. Designation of softness of consonants. Soft sign to indicate the softness of consonants. Identification signs of orthograms. Vowels after hissing. Vowels after c. Spelling of unstressed vowels, voiced, voiceless and unpronounceable consonants. Syllable. Word hyphenation rules. The main elements of transcription: the sign of softness and square brackets.
Together, the above concepts, reflecting the essential features of the sound system of the Russian language, constitute
the basis of knowledge about it.
As noted by the well-known Russian scientist M.T. Baranov, when studying the section of phonetics, general methodological and
particular methodological principles apply.
He refers to the general methodological principles:
- extralinguistic,
- functional,
- structural-semantic,
- principle of inter-level and intra-level relationships,
- normative-stylistic and historical principles.
The extralinguistic principle involves the comparison of language units and realities. Thus, when students are introduced to the meaningful function of phonemes (in school terminology, sounds), it is natural to observe the sound and reality.
The functional principle is to show the functions (ie roles) of linguistic phenomena in language and speech. There are no units in the language that do not perform a particular function or a number of functions. Thus, the functions of phonemes consist in creating the sound shell of a word and in distinguishing words, the function of words is to be a means of naming realities, sentences - a means of reflecting events.
When studying certain linguistic phenomena, it is necessary to inform students of their functions and make observations confirming the role of these functions.
The structural-semantic principle determines the consideration of linguistic phenomena from two points of view: from the point of view of structure (structure) and from the point of view of the meaning that a given linguistic structure has. So, for example, the form of the prepositional case of a noun expresses object meaning with some cases, spatial meaning with others.
Interesting
The principle of inter-level and intra-level relationships involves the establishment of dependence, on the one hand, between units of the same level (their changes under the influence of each other, for example, in phonetics - voicing or stunning consonants in certain conditions) and, on the other hand, between units different levels (possibility or impossibility of functioning). For example, there is a direct connection between vocabulary and morphology in the formation of word forms: the word leaf in the meaning of “plant organ” has the genitive plural form of leaves, and in the meaning of “a flat piece made of some kind of metal” sheets.
The normative-stylistic principle consists in revealing the mechanism for choosing linguistic phenomena in speech from the side of their
norms of use and appropriateness of use depending on a number of conditions, for example, the addressee, intention, genre and style of speech.
Compliance with the normative-stylistic approach to linguistic phenomena in the process of their study provides students with correct and emotionally expressive speech.
The historical principle involves taking into account the historical changes that have been preserved in one form or another in the modern literary language. Historical explanations given by the teacher in the process of learning the language form a materialistic view of the language, contribute to a better understanding of the essence of linguistic phenomena.
Each section of the science of language has its own specifics. In the process of their study, further notes M.T. Baranov, it is necessary to take into account, in addition to general methodological principles, particular methodological ones that follow from the specifics of these sections of the science of language.
