Wednesday 8 June 2016

COMMENT ON JOLLY PHONICS

Post Courier of Papua New Guinea 8 June 2016 Page 24

Jolly Phonics has much value but stops short at teaching words in sentence structures.

There is a report in the media on Jolly Phonics that can not go uncommented on. Written by Russell Jackson, the report claims that Jolly Phonics is fun and transforming reading and writing all over the world and that teachers have noticed huge improvements to the point that they are absolutely amazed.

The report states that Jolly Phonics focus on 42 sounds, letter formation, blending letter sounds to read words, segmenting identifying sounds, learning tricky irregular words. The report claims that the number of students needing remedial help is being dramatically reduced.

We would express the view that Jolly Phonics certainly helps with reading, understanding and writing words which is what every new phonics program does. But it does not teach the basics of sentence structure. 

It does not teach students the rhythm of words and sentences that is the very basis of written and spoken English. This is a massive shortcoming that is being addressed in our program in Papua New Guinea.

Students have to feel the smooth rhythm of sentences and feel the ways sentences are put together. Phonics is about feeling the poetry of words in structures. Jolly Phonics does not appear to do that in any way.

Over the last month, we have posted 5 reports on reading and feeling the poetry of sweet English. Students chant and clap. 

Teachers help them to understand new words by telling them to blend but the key focus is the rhythm of sentences. Students will come to implant on their souls the rhythm of all the basic patterns of English sentences. 

They will write elegant English as they advance through school with the memory of the rhythm of words and sentences. Some will become journalists, writers and masters of sweet and rhythmic English.

See the reports on this blog below that have attracted 1500 hits in the last month from Papua New Guinea. Clap your hands and chant the patterns below in weak-strong-weak-strong stress. 

There will be at least 80 sequences by the end of the year. The students will be skilled at stringing patterns together to make sentences. Then complex words will be slowly integrated year by year.

I go
I go
I go to town
I go to town
I go to buy some food
I go to buy some food
I go to school
I go to school
I go to learn to read and write
I go to learn to read and write
I go to bed
I go to bed
I go to bed to sleep at night
I go to bed to sleep at night
I wake up in the morning light
I wake up in the morning light.

Ours is the only program in Papua New Guinea to take children past words. Language is about sentences not just words. Jolly Phonics is about teaching words which is important but appreciation and use of sweet sentences must must be the primary aim of learning from elementary to Grade 12.

Bruce Copeland BA BEdSt (Qld)
Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (Cambridge)
Teacher of Tok Pisin - RAAF School of Languages Melbourne 1978-1992.
Teacher of English in Papua New Guinea schools - Elementary to Grade 12.

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