Early Reading and Speaking Skills for Malaysian Children.

When young children are exposed to books and other reading material, they eventually get used to reading and adopt speaking the language. Different stages are used to ensure the children get whatever they are taught; the early reading and speaking skills are essential to the children. Taking Malaysia as an example where children are taught English as their second language at schools and other study areas. The parents and teacher make sure that the children are taught this language at their young ages. One of the methods that are commonly used to teach children the new style is the Phonetic approach. This method is used from the kindergarten level of education when the children are fresh and have commenced their training. The purpose of this paper is to explain the phonetic approach method that may be used in teaching the English language to students in schools.

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Introduction

I interview a teacher from, Malacca Expatriate School, which is an international, co-educational school which started in the year 1980. The school offers British International Curriculum to the children of the local areas of Melaka Malaysia. The schools have an academic year that starts in September and ends in July. Moreover, the school offer the Cambridge International Examination and thus follows the Cambridge curriculum for both the secondary and primary level. The students' performance is evaluated by a test done at the end of the term by the school and by the Cambridge Checkpoint Assessment which is done at the end of the sixth year and year nine in the form of external tests (Halse, 2018). The students then begin a two year course in their tenth year where they are finally tested with an International General Certificate of Secondary Examination (IGCSE) at the end of the eleventh year.

The teacher has taught in the school for even years, and she knew the school's history of the phonic method of teaching. The schools have a framework that is used to promote intellectual engagement and thinking skills for their students. The phonics, vocabulary and spelling and punctuation and grammar are all used for English study. She further explained that the punctuation and grammar are divided into writing and reading to reflect the diverse ways in which punctuation and grammar are applied in all of the skills. Speaking, writing, and text are used in developing intelligent management and thinking ability (Halse, 2018). The curriculum is formulated in such a way that it enables the students to communicate effectively and confidently and grow critical skills so that they can be in a position to respond to a variety of media, information, and text with understanding and enjoyment.

Malacca Expatriate School at first used the Callan method in teaching their students. Callan method was formed in 1959 by Robin Callan; the technique is based on the transformed English learning scheme. The process was based on speed and repetition, which eventually guaranteed success to the student learning the English language. However, the school transformed and introduced the Phonetic approach in the year 2011, which was adopted by the teachers and the students. Callan method was suspended as the students had a difficult time with it. The technique produced excellent results as the students were able to learn English, and they could speak and read.

Phonetic Approach Method

The need for reading and writing in any language should not be under-rated, as in future each child relays to what he or she had learned in a class. The phonetic method entails a lot of skills which assist student end up being able to write, read, and speak in English. In every language, there are a set of letters as symbols that are combined to come up with a word and later sentences that means something. The methods assist the children in decoding symbols, and they can speak out by a combination of sounds. Students are also able to write different symbols systematically, and in such a way, they can be differentiated. Phonics method is an amicable method of teaching young children as it us enjoyable and doesn't need too much commitment. Children quickly adapt to the technique, and later they can speak, read, and write.

Much research has been done on the phonetic method of teaching on the way it can be used to affect the young children. According to Hopkins, (1971), he stated that the technique was for enjoying a good deal of influence and success opportunities to learn to note letters and be able to form words. Moreover, the materials used in the method are presented in such a way that the children can discover the construction if words. Thus they are helped to recognize vowels and consonants as they look in a word. There is no basal or linguistic reading that is successful in all occurrence. Children are exceptional and proper care should be taken so as the most suitable program for each kid and their ability. The phonetic method gives the teachers a chance to be able to know the most appropriate approach to teach each child. Strang, (1954) testified that many types of research had been made to find out the most effective way to school out of the many methods. One of the studies showed that the phonetic approach had no much advantage over the combination of other means, even in the teaching of phonetically regular language. The other one showed that the intensive phonetic training in names and letter sounds was found to have a favorable consequence on reading accomplishment.

Learning Formulation

The phonetic approach classroom diverges from the entire language homeroom in some distinct ways. The work areas are organized in gatherings; additionally; when the kids are situated, they each face the writing board at the front. Truth be told, when we go into the room, the kids are located at their work areas all engaged toward the writing board at the front of the room. The instructor, Mrs. K, is discussing the consonant y, and the kids are attracting the letter the air in substantial clearing movements. After a few times working on drawing the letter the air, she requests that the children pick an accomplice and rests on the floor to make the state of the message. After the kids have settled once again into their seats, Mrs. K at that point moves to the slate where she has taped an enormous publication board. She asks the kids to think from every one of the words they realize that start with the sound/y/, and she records the rundown as every child anxiously needs to add a word to the review. When this rundown is created, Mrs. K, at that point, passes out a paper isolated into six areas. She requests that every child compose six words that start with the letter y and afterward to draw an image of that word in the square.

After the kids complete their pages, Mrs. K guides the understudies' regard for the chalkboard, where she shows the best possible approach to compose the letter y. She at that point requests that the kids work on writing the letter y a few times on lined paper she disseminates. After the penmanship practice, she claims that every one of the kids goes to the examining corner since they are going to check a book. She has composed five words on a frame by her adjustable seat. Mrs. K first audits five words that will show up in the story; they are going to peruse together. She discloses how to sound out the word which, taking note of that it has the sound/y/yet does not pursue the/y/spelling rule as in tone, dump, and line. After taking the books, a few kids alternative perusing the story round-robin style. When one kid achieves a word he doesn't have the vaguest idea (stop), Mrs. K requests that he sound it out. He battles, so she asks him, "What sound does S make?" He discloses to hear the sound of every one of the four letters and after that pronounces them together, radiating with his success (Hall and Moats, 1999).

Activities involved in the Phonetic approach

Different activities are used in the phonetic approach method to assist the kids in understanding whatever they are taught in their classes. This activity can be either fun or educational at the same time. Moreover, these activities stimulate the phonemic awareness in the elementary school and pre-school; they make the children ready for reading and writing. Some of these activities have been affected by clear influences which are from other corrections that include drama, neuro-linguistic, technology, and psychology. Some of these activities include;

Voice Setting

Current ways to deal with the educating of practical phonetics have turned out to be worried about building up an all the more legitimately local like 'voice quality' or 'setting,' which can't be accomplished through acing sound portions alone. Voice quality alludes to symbol highlights of a given language, for example, pitch level, vowel space, unbiased tongue position and the level of stable movement that are regular to speakers of an objective assortment and come about because of utilizing organs of expression with a specific goal in mind.

General highlights which add to the nature of the English voice incorporate the situation of the larynx, which is impartial or marginally brought down, hence giving, for the most part, a fiercer and increasingly full impact. The larynx is utilized overwhelmingly with low energy and low pressure. Consequently, English sounds slightly loose and 'raspy.' The supply track is likewise very impartial and loose except for the tongue tip which will, in general, be exceptionally dynamic, often moving towards the alveolar edge. It is fundamental for the substitutes who wish to sound all the more legitimately English to wind up mindful of these attributes and to attempt to adjust their very own voice quality (Hayward, 2014). It very well may be accomplished through various activities, including the perception and impersonation of articulatory developments utilized in communicating in English. The accompanying systems might be helpful to build up some full highlights of the English voice.

Drama Techniques

There is a developing interest in joining dramatization voice procedures into the instructing of down to earth phonetics as they demonstrate to be exceptionally proficient in empowering substitutes to oversee their expression and conquer petrified pronunciation. These procedures center mainly around heating up the organs of discourse through tongue activities and expanding pitch go through inflection works out. Besides, they offer profitable bits of knowledge into the mechanics of speech, the way toward breathing just as to assistance screen the state of the mouth, stance, and non-verbal communication (Hayward, 2014). Dramatization voice regulation systems are fun, and they likewise help to lessen the pressure, which is regularly an element of discourse generation in a foreign language.

Other drama procedures that are these days often connected in pronunciation instructing include performing exchanges or scenes from a play. Obsessive contribution and setting given by the emotional circumstance cultivate open fitness and lead to expanded compassion and confidence. When showing substitutes will, in general, go past the typical furthest reaches of familiarity and accuracy, and there is an unmistakably visible improvement, especially in inflection. The kid can also contribute to improving their language by having a section whereby they tell a story using the English language. Moreover, other activities, such as the drawing of different letters and other words, would also assist kids in their learning. This triggers a sense in their minds, and it is hard for them to forget what they had drawn, thus makes it easier for them to learn the language.

Resources Used For Created Activity

Use of Models and Pictures

An all-inclusive way to deal with training reasonable phonetics approaches it...