Even if you know some of the basics of English, you might find it helpful to review some materials on phonics. Basically, phonics is a method that teaches reading based on taking the audible building blocks of words and assigning meaning to them – similar to working with syllables. However, when you’re learning with phonics, there’s more of an emphasis on verbally sounding out each segment of a word. As you learn to recognize meanings associated certain groups of letters, you’ll have an easier time comprehending sentences – as well as speaking and writing them.
Correlating sounds to written letters
Once you know how to read, write, and speak a language, you may take for granted the ever-present relationship between what is heard and what is written. When you were learning to speak your native language, you probably encountered words that had to be broken down into smaller chunks that didn’t necessarily have meaning by themselves. Similarly, as you learned to read and write in your native language, you probably also had to rely on these verbal building blocks to learn how they were represented on paper.
Therefore, when you’re trying to learn a new language, you’ll need to work with these pre-existing correlations – as well as try to develop ones for the new language you’re learning. Phonics can help you learn the patterns of the English language by comparing them to your native language. While this may at first seem confusing, once you learn to correlate sounds to images, you’ll be able to use much more of your natural language acquisition abilities to help you along.
Getting the most out of your existing language patterns
Babies are the masters of language acquisition. Before they begin to study one language exclusively, they are capable of babbling every sound found in every human language on earth. However, as they grow and begin to practice one language, they lose the ability to hear and speak sounds that aren’t used in the language they’re learning – which is why you’ll always speak a foreign language with an accent. Unfortunately, once the ability to hear these different sound patterns is lost, you aren’t likely to gain it back later in life.
Even if you can’t hear a specific sound, you can still use phonics to help you identify those areas and build your comprehension skills. This will improve your understanding of written English, and may also help you identify weak points in your verbal speech patterns. While these exercises may seem very simple, they can be useful regardless of how much English you already know.
Unfortunately, many teachers feel that phonics is not the best method for teaching people how to read and understand English. Therefore, it’s rarely mentioned to individuals that are trying to learn English as a second language. If you believe your learning style might be better suited to learning English through phonics, consider investing in programs like “Hooked on Phonics” to help you improve your language skills
Dear Friends,
A few weeks ago, in a movie theatre, a person felt something poking from her seat.
When she got up to see what it was, she found a needle sticking out of the seat with a note attached saying'You have just been infected by
HIV'.The Disease Control Center (in Paris ) reports many similar events in many other cities recently. All tested needles were HI V Positive.
The Center also reports that needles have been found in cash dispensers at public banking machines. We ask everyone to use extreme caution when faced with this kind of situation. All public chairs/seats should be inspected with vigilance and caution before use. A careful visual inspection should be enough. In addition, they ask that each of you pass this message along to all members of your family and your friends of the potential danger.
Recently, one doctor has narrated a somewhat similar instance that happened to one of his patients at the Priya Cinema in Delhi . A young girl, engaged and about to be married in a couple of months, was pricked while the movie was going on. The tag with the needle had the message
'Welcome to the World of HIV family'.
Though the doctors told her family that it takes about 6 months before the virus grows strong enough to start damaging the system and a healthy victim could survive about 5-6 years, the girl died in 4 months, perhaps more because of the 'Shock thought'.
We all have to be careful at public places, rest God help! Just think about saving a life by forwarding this message. Please, take a few seconds of your time to pass along.
With Regards,
Short stories can be a good choice when learning a language because they are...short. It's like reading a whole book in a few pages. You have all the excitement of a story in a book, but you only have to read 5,000 or 10,000 words. So you can quite quickly finish the story and feel that you have achieved something. Short stories are published in magazines, in books of short stories, and on the Internet. You can also find short stories at EnglishClub.com English Reading.
Readers are books that are specially published to be easy to read. They are short and with simple vocabulary. They are usually available at different levels, so you should be able to find the right level for you. Many readers are stories by famous authors in simple form. This is an excellent way for you to start practising reading
By "Cornflakes Packets", we mean any product you can buy that has English writing on or with it. If you buy a box of chocolates, or a new camera, why not read the description or instructions in English? There are many such examples, and they all give you an opportunity to read real English:
Good luck with your reading. It will help you make a lot of Progress!
Books
Books are divided mainly into:
Some books are easier to read than others. It often depends on the author. Agatha Christie, for example, wrote in an easier style and with simpler vocabulary than Stephen King. You can buy books in specialised English-language bookshops in large cities around the world. You may also be able to find some English-language books in libraries. And if you have a British Council in your city, you can borrow many English-language books from their library