De-mystifying the Phonemic Chart

in Language Play, Pronunciation, Spoken Fluency, Teaching

When I started teaching the chart seemed practically incomprehensible to me. Even as I grew to understand it (and Adrian Underhill’s layout is the only one that seems to make sense) it felt like a great cognitive load to place on students (‘Think English spelling is hard? Now learn all these symbols!’). The DELTA, if anything, made it seem less accessible (unvoiced bilabial plosive, anyone?).

Adrian Underhill, though, strips all that away through use of gesture and mime, by focusing on the chart as a ‘geographical map’ of the mouth which helps locate the physical movements we make in production, using simple prepositions of place to describe movement. Read more

This is just to say… William Carlos Williams

in Language Play, Poetry, Pronunciation, Reading

This Is Just To Say

By William Carlos Williams

I have eaten

the plums

that were in

the icebox

and which

you were probably

saving

for breakfast

Forgive me

they were delicious

so sweet

and so cold

The Genius of Knock Knock Jokes

in Children, Language Play

Knock knock!	Knock knock!	Knock knock!
Who’s there?	Who’s there?	Who’s there?
Cows go	Little old lady	Europe
Cows go, who?	Little old lady who?	Europe who?
No, silly, cows go MOO!	I didn’t know you could yodel!	You’re so childish!

Language Play – Alliteration and Rhyme

in Language Play, Vocabulary acquisition

Persuasion, poems, puns. We use language to connect, to communicate, to conceal; for literature and laughs. From the time we begin to babble as babies language play is something we all do. Here are some of our favourite no materials, no preparation, rhyming and alliteration games. Read more

Why rhyme?

in Language Play, Poetry, Vocabulary acquisition, Word creation

My daughter, Lyra, is learning a poem for a school poetry competition. She wanders around the house muttering lines and rhymes to herself, making up new ones when she forgets the original (which she often does).

Listening to Lyra’s evident enjoyment of the poem I began to wonder what it is about rhyme that we find so appealing.