CRITICISM OF A COMMERCIAL PHONICS PROGRAM

The National 20 June 2017 Page 20

There is no clear understanding of the scope of phonics in teaching language to elementary school children. The focus of the American based programs is on teaching words. But that is only part of the picture. 

The key to teaching phonics is to teach language particularly to those with English as a foreign language. The young person learning language has a memory that will absorb words and sentence formats. 

A key faculty in the mind is the rhythm memory that comes in all words, sentences, rhymes, dances and songs. In teaching language we must develop the rhythm memory. 

Once absorbed in the rhythm memory the pattern is never forgotten. Many of us recall the songs and rhymes of our childhood. It is all locked away in our rhythm memory.

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There is a report in the media of a program in phonics being promoted in Papua New Guinea. The focus is on phonics, vocabulary development, spelling and word study. It is being promoted by Bilum Books.

Bilum Books focuses on the early grades with no focus on how the early grades fit into the .next level of grades in middle and upper primary school. There is focus on words with no work on putting the English words into English simple and complex sentences.

Our Holistic Phonics teaches students to read, write and understand how the English sentence patterns work. We base our work on our Tok Pisin program that follows the same basic patterns as simple sentence English. Please click:

DUK Tours: Tok Pisin Tree (Pidgin English)

www.duktours.net/2010/05/tok-pisin-tree-pidgin-english.html

By Bruce Copeland. Tok Pisin Tree (64 patterns). I came to PNG to serve at Igam Barracks during 1976-1977. I had just completed a Bahasa Indonesia course at ..

The American phonics programs are next to useless in helping the students to put their words into a language, particularly for those with English as a foreign language. 

Students are being taught to study trees not forests. They need to learn the rhythm of sentences that make up basic English and learn to put words and sentences together.

There are 50 sets of basic patterns in our program with 15 sets on this blog below. Each sentence in the sequences is to be chanted in rhythm twice. Each sentence is in weak strong weak strong rhythm. 

This is phonics for small children not an academic study of words. Young students love to chant patterns that become part of their permanent rhythm memory. They can learn hundreds of words on the way. Theory is for later.

Early sentences are based on a restricted range of simple words. Later sentences will focus on more complex and abstract words in more complex and abstract sentences.

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

He goes
He goes with me
He goes into the house
He goes to swim in the sea
He goes to buy some food
He goes to the market
He goes to sell his fruit
He goes at 6 o'clock

She goes
She goes with me
She goes each day
She comes back every night
She waits for me
She waits for me each day
She sells her food
She goes back home
She goes to sleep each night
She comes back every day

I have come
I have come to town
I have come to see you
I have come to talk to you
I have come to buy some food
I have come and will go back
I have come to see my friend
I have come with my two friends
I have come to talk with you.

I want to come with you
I want to eat some rice
I want to see my father
I want to do my work
I want to watch a movie
I want to go to sleep
I want to rest my feet
I want to cook the food
I want to sweep the floor

I will come
I will come with you
I will catch a bus
I will go
I will go and talk to him
I will come to town
I will come back at night
I will walk across the road
I will sit under the tree

Will he come?
Will he buy some food?
Will he shut the door?
Will he talk to us?
Will he look for food?
Will he light a fire?
Will he cook the food?
Will he eat the fruit?
Will he look for us?
Will he go back to school?

I would like to go with you
I would like to see you
I would like to sit with you
I would like to read a book
I would like to watch TV
I would like to follow them
I would like to pray to God
I would like to go back home
I would like to swim in the sea

Would you like to come with me?
Would you like to eat some food?
Would you like to watch TV?
Would you like to read a book?
Would you like to go back home?
Would you like to sit with us?
Would you like to come to town?
Would you like to sing a song?
Would you like to go to sleep?
Would you like to come with me?

I can come
I can come with you
I can come to Lae with him
I can not come with you today
I can not come with you 
I can wait and come next week
I can go by bus
I can buy the food
I can take the food with me
I can cook the food tonight
I can give some food to you

Have you seen my bag?
Have you locked the door?
Have you washed your hands?
Have you eaten your food?
Have you gone to town before?
Have you read this book?
Have you found your bag?
Have you been sick before?

Where are you?
Where are you going?
Where is my bag?
Where did you lose your money?
Where will you go?
Where will you live?
Where can we go?
Where is your house?
Where are we?
Where are we now?

Why have you come?
Why are you so sad?
Why is she sad?
Why are you so sick?
Why is there no power?
Why are you so happy?
Why don't you come with me?
Why did you not come?
Why am I sick?
Why did you not open the door?

There is a man at the house
There are two men at the store
There are no men
There are no men at all
There is no water
There is no water at all
There is no power
There is no food at all
There is no food at the store
There is plenty of food in town
There is a hole in the tank