|
fact it's probably easier - because the ability to see is developed
before the ability to talk. But don't take my word for it. Ask any producer of television
commercials. They use the same simple communication techniques. Look at TV any night, and
you'll hear someone screaming COCA COLA, or McDONALD'S - and at the same time the
brand-names appear in large colored words, often tied in with a jingle that's easy to
remember. And two-year-olds have broken the code. Now they can read because the message is
large enough to be interpreted."21
So Doman-trained parents not only talk new words
to their youngsters - loudly and clearly - they show them the words in big type, just like
TV commercials or company billboards do.
In many parts of the world parents have found it simple
common sense to label as many things as possible, so children can recognize written words
as well as those spoken, starting with all the names of important things: from baby's own
name to mummy and daddy, parts of the body and everything around the house. Printed
letters, three inches high (about 7 cm.), are recommended.
When preschools were combined with parent education
centers in the Pacific island of Rarotonga over 20 years ago, they labeled everything in
English as well as their native Polynesian language. They found it a great way to
encourage youngsters to read and speak in two languages.
In Malaysia, the Nury Institute has trained hundreds of
parents to teach their three- and four-year-olds to speak and read in both Malay and
English - specifically using the Doman technique.22
English-born teacher and author Felicity Hughes has
used similar methods to teach young Tanzanian children to read in both English and
Swahili.23 Many of those children have then
helped their parents read.
Felicity Hughes and the current authors agree - but
Glenn Doman disagrees - that phonetics have an equal part to play with the "whole
word" method of learning. Of the key words in English, about half are phonetic -
written approximately as they sound: hat, sat, mat, hit, fit, sit. The other half
are not phonetic, including such difficult spellings as through, tough, cough, where,
tight, weigh and bridge.
Learn only "phonetics" and you'll be able to
spell set, bet, get and met. You'll also quickly learn prefixes and suffixes such
as un, de, dis, re, ing and ed. But you won't be able to read Once upon a time
(phonetically: Wunce upon uh taim). And you won't be able to read the words from
one to ten (phonetically pronounced wun, tu, three, for, faiv, six, seven, ait,
Contents Page Preface
Introduction
|
