Programmes
Who are the programmes for?
Whilst all students can benefit from linguistics-based instruction, these programmes are intended for students with particular learning needs, especially those who have not succeeded with traditional phonics and tutoring approaches.
Why these programmes?
Foundational reading skills are best developed through methods which directly teach the alphabetic code. Although a traditional phonics approach works for a large percentage of students, many others require instruction that makes language structure much clearer.
In reading instruction, a one-size-fits-all approach is not ideal, so programmes have been differentiated to cater for learners with diverse needs. All programmes, however, adhere to the same essential instructional principles.
EARLY READERS
This programme provides intervention for students in kindergarten to Grade 1 who are showing signs of not acquiring early reading skills. It is also appropriate for adults who have had little or no prior reading instruction. Special attention is given to basic alphabet skills for learners who do not know most of the letters of the alphabet and/or have difficulty sequencing them.
Programme content includes:
​
-
awareness of speech sounds through multi-sensory instruction
-
phonological and phonemic awareness skills
-
alphabet skills
-
phoneme-grapheme correspondences, systematically covering the 40+ speech sounds in English
-
common and tricky words such as who and once
-
types of written syllables
-
orthographic patterns and word study methods to strengthen orthographic memory
-
spelling integrated with decoding instruction
-
fluency practice with words, sentences and connected text
INTERMEDIATE READERS
The typical learner in this programme will be in Grade 2 or above, and will have learned the alphabet and acquired some knowledge of sound-symbol correspondences, but without having mastered grade-appropriate reading skills. The programme is comprehensive, covering all of the code-based skills needed for proficient decoding. It is suitable for adult learners who already have basic literacy skills.
Programme content includes:
​
-
awareness of speech sounds through multi-sensory instruction
-
phonological and phonemic awareness skills
-
phoneme-grapheme correspondences, systematically covering the 40+ speech sounds in English
-
common and tricky words such as who and once
-
types of written syllables
-
rules for decoding multi-syllable words
-
the most common affixes in English; word roots of Anglo-Saxon, Latin and Greek origin; and morpheme analysis
-
orthographic patterns and word study methods to strengthen orthographic memory
-
spelling integrated with decoding instruction
-
fluency practice with words, sentences and connected text
EXPERIENCED READERS
Learners in this programme, who include accomplished adults with dyslexic-type reading difficulties, will already be able to recognize numerous words on sight, but will also have gaps in their code knowledge that impact their ability to quickly decode unfamiliar and/or longer words.​ This accelerated programme targets specific knowledge and skills to efficiently boost their reading ability. For these learners, instruction focused on how to decode words such as cat and happy would be inappropriate. What they need is an understanding of the rules that govern English words so that they can confidently decode new words, especially unfamiliar multi-syllable ones. A key instructional strategy is the use of novel words, which require learners to think about the rules that determine how a word should be read.
​
Programme content includes:
​
-
all speech sounds in English
-
phonological and phonemic awareness skills
-
less common phoneme-grapheme correspondences
-
tricky words such as separate and liaison
-
types of written syllables
-
rules for decoding multi-syllable words
-
the most common affixes in English; word roots of Anglo-Saxon, Latin and Greek origin; and morpheme analysis
-
orthographic patterns and word study methods to strengthen orthographic memory
-
spelling integrated with decoding instruction
-
fluency practice with words, sentences and connected text
BILINGUAL READERS
This supplemental programme equips learners who speak Jamaican Creole (JC), but are learning to read in Jamaican English (JE), with the skills needed to detect the differences between the two languages using contrastive analysis (CA). Because JC and JE are closely related, without explicit instruction, learners may find it difficult to distinguish features of one language from those of the other. A lack of awareness of these language differences will interfere with both accurate decoding and comprehension.
​
Programme content includes:
​
In addition to the content of one of the reading programmes, learners will be taught to contrast JC and JE at the level of:
-
speech sounds
-
morphemes
-
vocabulary
-
grammar
-
pragmatics (social language use)
LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION BOOSTERS
Skilled reading depends not just on decoding (the ability to fluently translate print into speech), but also on language comprehension. This involves readers using their broader language knowledge to make sense of what they read. Although the ability to understand language develops in natural contexts of language use, such as conversations and independent reading, each programme is designed to boost language comprehension by addressing key features of 'book language' that can impede comprehension for some readers.
These include:
​
-
complex syntax (grammar), which is used more often in print than in speech
-
sophisticated vocabulary, words with multiple meanings and figures of speech
-
text structures, including expository and narrative texts
​
INSTRUCTION IN ALL PROGRAMMES IS...
-
LINGUISTICS-BASED. Research shows that effective reading instruction is grounded in what linguistics has revealed about the structure of language.
-
EXPLICIT & DIRECT​. At least 25% of learners will not 'crack the code' without help, and instruction that isn't clear and straightforward leads to unnecessary difficulty learning to read.
-
SYSTEMATIC. Language is comprised of systems (e.g., phonology/sounds and morphology/word structure) that provide a basis for a methodical progression in instruction.
-
DIAGNOSTIC. Ongoing assessment in the form of progress monitoring ensures that instruction is individualized, targeted and appropriate at each stage of learning.
-
CUMULATIVE. The logical nature of English allows instruction to be planned in such a way that simpler concepts can be taught first and provide a foundation for more complex ones.
-
MULTI-SENSORY. The brain learns best when multiple pathways (e.g., visual, auditory, kinaesthetic) are simultaneously utilized to process new information.