Sunday, October 27, 2024

Why do kids shut down from learning to read?


 

Recently I posted a video broadcasted in over 100 countries that teaches the wrong sounds of the letters. Many toddlers listening to this video will shut down/disengage from decoding and blending. Those promoting this video claim it to be an entertainment video.

You can find the video here. LINK

I made a comment

According to some, this is an entertainment programme, not an educational one so it does not matter. These clowns have made many believe that kids can differentiate between what is entertainment and what is academic.

Is this how to teach the sounds of the letters? The British are the main culprits in creating 'dyslexic' kids.

Suri Charles commented as follows:

Regardless of their fluency in the language being taught, teachers often carry a strong accent influenced by their native language. This accent can shape how they model sounds and words for their students, potentially affecting the students’ pronunciation and decoding skills.

Pronunciation varies widely, even among native speakers of the same language, due to accents and regional dialects. English speakers from the UK, for example, can have quite distinct pronunciations depending on whether they are from North, South, East, West England, Scotland, or Ireland. Similarly, when it comes to learning English as a second language, speakers of Mandarin, Tamil, Malay or other non-English native languages may naturally bring their phonetic influences to the way they pronounce certain sounds, like the number "three." Achieving a perfect, universally accepted pronunciation should not be the goal. What matters most is clarity and mutual understanding. Most importantly in academics, that is reading with comprehension.

Note: I don’t understand what accents and different pronunciations of words have to do with this post. I am talking about the effect of this video on kids and this teacher talks about accent.

Suri Charles

Differences in pronunciation may not be the sole factor in disengaging kids from learning to read, but there are other nuances to consider when discussing this complex issue.

Allow me to explain for the sake of learning and understanding.

When a child learns to read, they must 1st understand the sounds that individual letters and letter combinations (phonics) make.

Decoding is the process of breaking down written words into these sounds, and blending is putting the sounds together to form words.

If a child struggles with decoding or blending sounds, IT CAN IMPACT their ABILITY to PRONOUNCE words correctly because they might not associate the correct sounds with the letters.

So, if a child doesn't know the sounds of letters or cannot blend them properly, it will affect their pronunciation of words as they read.

Note: What complex issue is this woman talking about? Is decoding and blending words complex?

I am not talking about not being able to blend affecting the pronunciation of words. I am talking about kids shutting down/ disengaging from learning to read due to confusion.

Luqman Michel

You said, 'If a child struggles with decoding or blending sounds, IT CAN IMPACT their ABILITY to PRONOUNCE words correctly because they might not associate the correct sounds with the letters.' This is the gist of my post. When kids cannot blend fuh - ah – tuh (the sound of the letters as pronounced in the video) to form the word fat many of them struggle but figure out that it is fat. These are the kids who figure out how to read in later grades. However, about 20% of kids can't make sense of fuh-ah-tuh to form fat or dug- ah -guh to form dog and as a result, they shut down from learning to read. They disengage from learning to read and we classify them as dyslexic.

You said: 'So if a child doesn't know the sounds of letters or cannot blend them properly, it will affect their pronunciation of words as they read.'

This can be rectified. But once a kid shuts down/ disengages from learning to read he usually leaves school as a functional illiterate as did Tom Cruise. This has nothing to do with different accents or how people pronounce words.

Here is the full discussion on Facebook.

Why do kids shut down from learning to read?

I made a comment

According to some, this is an entertainment programme and not an educational one so it does not matter. These clowns have made many believe that kids can differentiate between what is entertainment and what is educational.

Is this how to teach the sounds of the letters? The British are the main culprits in creating 'dyslexic' kids.

Cathy Pua

Luqman Michel perhaps it’s all English- speaking countries! It’s rampant in Australia 🇦🇺

Luqman Michel

Cathy Pua This is broadcast in over 100 countries including Malaysia. I wrote to Gobind Singh Deo as he was the minister in charge of Multi Media at that time. He passed the buck back to Astro. Astro in turn asked me to write to Baby TV. Yes, many teachers around the world teach it this way and kids disengage from learning to read.

Suri Charles

While teaching approaches significantly impact reading success, this claim oversimplifies the complexities of reading difficulties. Children learn in diverse ways, and some may have specific needs that go beyond traditional teaching methods. Therefore, it is crucial to continuously improve teaching strategies to accommodate all learners.

Effective educators constantly adjust their methods based on what works best for their students, recognizing that different students have different learning needs.

Luqman Michel

Suri Charles, when it comes to teaching kids the sounds represented by letters there is only one way - don't teach kids letters with extraneous sounds. If you listened to the video clip above you will understand. What is fuhahnuh? How will a kid blend this?

Suri Charles

Luqman Michel, the teaching of reading, particularly phonics, requires a specific and structured approach. Adding unnecessary sounds to letters, such as saying "fuh" for the letter f, can confuse children as they learn to blend sounds into words.

I understand the importance of teaching letter-sound relationships clearly, without extraneous sounds.

Luqman Michel

Suri Charles Thank you for this comment. Yes, adding additional sounds to consonant sounds is what confuses many kids. Fortunately, many such kids somehow figure out how to read as the years go by. We should be concerned about the kids who disengage from learning to read due to this confusion.

Suri Charles

Luqman Michel You're correct that decoding is a fundamental skill for reading. If a child struggles to decode words, it can hinder their ability to comprehend text and build fluency. Teaching decoding skills, including letter-sound associations, is essential before moving on to more complex skills like comprehension and fluency.

Therefore, before a child can effectively blend sounds to read words, they need to understand the individual sounds and their associations with letters or letter combinations. Phonics instruction typically follows a progression that starts with teaching letter sounds and then moves on to blending those sounds to form words. This foundational knowledge is essential for developing strong reading skills.

Regardless of their fluency in the language being taught, teachers often carry a strong accent influenced by their native language. This accent can shape how they model sounds and words for their students, potentially affecting the students’ pronunciation and decoding skills.

Pronunciation varies widely, even among native speakers of the same language, due to accents and regional dialects. English speakers from the UK, for example, can have quite distinct pronunciations depending on whether they are from North, South, East, West England, Scotland, or Ireland. Similarly, when it comes to learning English as a second language, speakers of Mandarin, Tamil, Malay or other non-English native languages may naturally bring their phonetic influences to the way they pronounce certain sounds, like the number "three." Achieving a perfect, universally accepted pronunciation should not be the goal. What matters most is clarity and mutual understanding. Most importantly in academics, that is reading with comprehension.

 

Luqman Michel

Suri Charles, I think you got it wrong. I am not talking about the pronunciation of words. I am only talking about the sounds of letters. Did you listen to the Charlie and the Alphabet clip and compare it with the letter sounds pronounced by the kid from Lagos? Let us not go into comprehension which you must be an expert in.

You appear to have missed the whole point of this post. You are shooting from the hip without having listened to the clip. The title is 'Why kids shut down from learning to read'. Differences in pronunciation of words will not disengage any kid from learning to read.

Suri Charles

I appreciate your perspective, though I believe there may be some misunderstanding. I did listen to the clip and addressed the concerns raised, including offering counterpoints where I felt appropriate. My intention was to engage in a constructive discussion, not to dismiss the topic. Differences in pronunciation may not be the sole factor in disengaging kids from learning to read, but there are other nuances to consider when discussing this complex issue.

Allow me to explain for the sake of learning and understanding.

When a child learns to read, they must 1st understand the sounds that individual letters and letter combinations (phonics) make.

Decoding is the process of breaking down written words into these sounds, and blending is putting the sounds together to form words. 

If a child struggles with decoding or blending sounds, IT CAN IMPACT their ABILITY to PRONOUNCE words correctly because they might not associate the correct sounds with the letters.

So, if a child doesn't know the sounds of letters or cannot blend them properly, it will affect their pronunciation of words as they read.

Luqman Michel

You said, 'If a child struggles with decoding or blending sounds, IT CAN IMPACT their ABILITY to PRONOUNCE words correctly because they might not associate the correct sounds with the letters.' This is the gist of my post. When kids cannot blend fuh - ah - tuh to form the word fat many of them struggle but figure out that it is fat. These are the kids who figure out how to read in later grades. However, about 20% of kids can't make sense of fuh-ah-tuh to form fat or dug- ah -guh to form dog and as a result, they shut down from learning to read. They disengage from learning to read and we classify them as dyslexic.

You said: 'So, if a child doesn't know the sounds of letters or cannot blend them properly, it will affect their pronunciation of words as they read.'

This can be rectified. But once a kid shuts down/ disengages from learning to read he usually leaves school as a functional illiterate as did Tom Cruise. This has nothing to do with different accents or how people pronounce words.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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