One of the central paradoxes of textbook authorship in Indigenous languages is that some of those for whom the textbooks are intended find it challenging to read them. Here, through examining cases of Quechua across the Andes in Peru and in Ecuador, we consider the role of orthography in this paradox. Textbook authors must decide on an alphabet…

Invented spellings refer to incorrect attempts to spell words while writing, which are important indicators of children's development of phonemic awareness. Making Words is a popular activity to teach phonics and spelling, in which students manipulate letters in sequence to construct target words and then sort them into rhyming patterns. This…

This paper synthesizes research on dyslexia remediation, word recognition development and the Malay language writing system to design and develop a Malay language word recognition intervention program (MyBaca) for children with dyslexia. Malay is alphabetic, is highly transparent, with salient syllabic units. The program is designed based on…

This study explored the relationship between legibility in handwriting scores and compositional scores of students in grade five in one Northwest Georgia school. The ability to recall and write the letters automatically may impact the composing skills of students engaged in the writing process. Handwriting, often considered a motor skill in young…

In this article, I deal with the transition from traditional "school" forms of instruction to educational processes that are fully mediated by digital technologies. Against the background of the idea the very institution "school" is closely linked to the invention of the alphabetic writing system and to the need of initiating…

Gaining facility with spelling is an important part of becoming a good writer. Here we review recent work on how children learn to spell in alphabetic writing systems. Statistical learning plays an important role in this process. Young children learn about some of the salient graphic characteristics of written texts and attempt to reproduce these…

As new research shows how effective systematic and explicit teaching of language-based skills is for students with learning disabilities--along with the added benefits of multisensory techniques--discover the latest on this popular teaching approach with the third edition of this bestselling textbook. Adopted by colleges and universities across…

A series of lessons designed to explain what the Initial Teaching Alphabet (i.t.a.) is and to prepare prospective teachers of i.t.a. materials and methods as thoroughly as possible is presented. The eight lessons of the course, for each of which a separate booklet is provided, include the following: (1) The difficulties of traditional orthography…

This book suggests that first graders could express themselves on paper more easily and naturally if they were taught the Initial Teaching Alphabet (i.t.a.). The chapters take up (1) the neglect of writing skills in a reading-oriented nation, (2) a comparison of the writing performance of students who learned the i.t.a. with that of students who…

As a poet and language educator, I invite and encourage writers to take risks in their writing, to engage innovatively with a wide range of genres, to push boundaries in order to explore creatively how language and discourse are never ossified, but always organic; how language use is integrally and inextricably connected to knowledge, identity,…

A kindergarten teacher tested her theory that her students could progress beyond learning a letter a week by creating a project to introduce students to letter names and sounds. By using interactive writing and key words, she encouraged students to write. In the process, they learned alphabet letters and sounds. (Author/SM)

There are several practical reasons for preferring syllabic writing in teaching the Eskimo language to non-Eskimos: (1) the use of syllabic writing avoids the Roman letters t, l, n, s, g, and r, which stimulate the pronunciation habits of French or English; (2) syllabic writing is well-suited to Eskimo because of its small number of vowels; (3)…

THREE METHODS OF TEACHING READING, THE INITIAL TEACHING ALPHABET (ITA), THE DIACRITICAL MARKING SYSTEM (DMS), AND THE TRADITIONAL ORTHOGRAPHY (TO) METHOD WERE COMPARED IN 21 FIRST GRADES FOR THE THIRD YEAR. A FOLLOWUP STUDY WAS MADE OF THE NEW DMS GROUP FOR A SECOND YEAR. TWO HUNDRED NINETY-NINE STUDENTS OF AN ORIGINAL SAMPLE OF 393 STUDENTS WERE…

This first volume of a 3-year course in Chinese includes a textbook, vocabulary, and character lists. A workbook has been designed for the text (see FL 002 773). Each lesson is divided into sections involving such learning devices as pronunciation drills, pantomime, questions and answers, pattern practice, stories vocabulary, dictation, dialogues,…

The work itself should help a person who is going to teach reading and writing. Practical suggestions are offered in the final two chapters, while the opening three give intellectual perspectives. A theme binds the work of letting the consciousness of writing as a visual system be increased and of breaking the spell by which letter phonetics can…