Phonics

When learning English, learning the letter sounds (phonics) is the most important step to help your children to read and spell. Learning phonics helps children make the connection between the letters of the alphabet and the sounds they represent. The English language can be compared to a code, so knowing the sounds of letters and letter combinations will help your child decode words so s/he can learn to read easier and faster. 
Research by every English language speaking country has shown the fastest and most effective way to teach a child to read and spell is by focusing on the alphabet sounds, not the alphabet letters. Most English speaking countries and International Schools in HK are now using Synthetic Phonics with clear improvements in reading and spelling. 
Synthetic Phonics is putting sounds together to make words, rather than focusing on the alphabet A – Z as a whole. With Synthetic Phonics we focus on learning groups of sounds such as s m c t g p a o. From this group of sounds children can immediately start to put letters together to form words. E.g. s-at, m-at, c-at.
At Catiline we have discovered that when children learn a b c d and on to z, they cannot start making and reading words until they get to the end of the alphabet. Only then can they start to put sounds together, and only if they remember all those sounds! Synthetic Phonics starts to put sounds together immediately and makes reading and spelling easier, faster and more fun!
We are currently trialing this new system with the future aim to focus more on this method of teaching phonics. We aim to build children's speaking and listening skills more quickly, as well as to prepare children for learning to read by developing their phonic knowledge and skills. 
To help your children to start hearing and recognising the sounds here are a few ideas you can try:　
  • Play the ‘I-Spy’ game with your child at home, when you go for a walk, or in the car.  
“I-Spy something that begins with the ‘s’ sound.” Give your child some examples such as snake, sat… then give your child some clues for them to guess the ‘s’ word you are thinking of. When they get it right, it’s your turn to guess.
Most importantly have fun with your child; learning a second language should be fun and relaxed to give your child feelings of confidence and motivation.
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