Phonics has been in education for many years in various countries throughout the world. However, in Malaysia it is now becoming the latest word in schools. Teachers and parents are now adding phonics to their method of teaching English to children. So what is phonics and how does it help with the acquisition of English?

Phonics involves learning the sounds heard in the English language and how to use these
sounds to read and write. The English language is made up of approximately 42 principal sounds. Once children learn to hear these sounds in words and represent them with letter symbols, they are well on their way to understanding the nature of the English language. The children learn how to utilize their knowledge of sounds by blending the sounds together to create a word. In fact, they are beginning to ‘crack the code’ of the English language.

It is important to remember that phonics does not involve learning simply the letter names of the alphabet. Instead, we must remember that phonics means learning the sounds of the English language. For example, the word rain has four letters but only three sounds: r-ai-n. When reading and writing this word, phonics concentrates on listening for the three sounds in this word.

In order for phonics instruction to be effective, teachers and parents need to think in sounds and train children to hear these sounds. Good phonics’ programmes deals with teaching children more than just the 26 letter sounds of the alphabet, by focusing on the 42 principal sounds and showing how these sounds can be blended together. They also look at how these phonemic skills can be utilized to read and write words in English.

The inclusion of phonics in education places an emphasis on ‘word attack skills’ rather than expecting children to learn thousands of words by memory. Teachers who follow a phonics approach to reading and writing believe that it is much quicker and easier to learn 42 sounds rather than thousands of words by sight. The children do not need to rely on the teacher for teaching them correct English vocabulary. Why? Because the children will be able to use their sounds to read words for themselves.

Once children learn sounds and learn how to blend them together, they will be able to read approximately 90% of the words in the English language. The other words that do not follow a phonetic pattern are simply learned by memory. But there are not many of these words.

Many kindergartens and learning centers in Malaysia are beginning to adopt the teaching of phonics as part of the English programme. The results speak for themselves. During our visits to kindergartens, we witnessed children learning to crack the code of English. It was amazing to see children reading, using the skill of blending the 42 principal sounds heard in the English language. There was no doubt about it, they were reading.

It is important to remember, however, that phonics should not be treated in isolation when teaching the English language. Phonics itself, is a great tool for learning to read and write. However, in an environment where English is a second or foreign language, teachers still need to focus on helping the children develop a spoken vocabulary of English words. That way, when they eventually learn how to blend sounds together to read and write words, they will have more of an awareness for the meaning of the words they have created. Spoken English needs to be used in conjunction with phonics.

There are many phonics programme that have been devised for teachers to utilize. It is important to carefully choose a phonics programme that is simple, easily understood by the children and effectively teaches the 42 principal sounds of the English language. Jolly Phonics is one such programme as it follows a multi-sensory approach as a means of giving the children an awareness of these 42 sounds. This programme gives children the necessary tools for reading and writing English in a way that is fun and successful.

Jolly Phonics courses for teachers and parents are offered through Extrazeal (M) Sdn Bhd. The courses are conducted by both local and visiting Jolly Phonics Professional Trainers from Australia.

Five Simple Activities to Develop an Awareness of Sounds:

1. Break down words in sounds not letter names.
   
   For example: r - ai – n; sh - i - p; b - ea - ch
   
   As you can see, the words are broken down into the sounds we hear when we say the words. Each word contains 3 sounds even though there are more than 3 letters. Remember to have a picture to correspond with each word. Children who are learning a new language need pictures to assist them with the meaning of words.
    
2. Clap the sounds in words. Three claps mean three sound (e.g., f-i-sh); four claps mean four sounds (e.g. f-r-og). Allow your child to blend the sounds together to recreate the word.
    
3. Play ‘I Spy”. Children try and guess something in the room that begins with a particular sound.
    
4. Play with words. Change the first sound of a word and add a new sound to create a new word. Foe example, tin…lets take the ‘t’ away and put a ‘f’. What do we
   have now?… lets take the ‘f’ away and put a ‘b’, What do we have now?
   Remember, we are talking in sounds not letter names and the children are listening to the sounds in the word.
    
5. Create a table of objects containing a particular sound. For example, ‘s’. Objects chosen can have this sound at the beginning, middle or end of the word. Objects can include, glasses, bus, scissors and sock.

By Tina Di Mauro and Celeste Musgrave
Literacy Development Consultants
Jolly Phonics Professional Trainers
Email: cee7@bigpond.com