Bilingualism: English phonics in early childhood education
Bilingualism is one of the main objectives of education in many schools. Teaching children to pronounce the English language correctly is the objective pursued by the new methods to teach English-speaking children to Spanish-speaking children. From 2 or 3 years old, children can adapt their phonetic
Bilingualism is one of the main objectives of education in many schools. Teaching children to pronounce the English language correctly is the objective pursued by the new methods to teach English-speaking children to Spanish-speaking children. From 2 or 3 years old, children can adapt their phonetic device to pronounce English phonemes as Anglo-Saxon children would. Juan Luis Yagüe del Real, Director of the Eurocolegio Casvi, tells us in this interview with
GuiaInfantil.com what the phonetic method used to train bilingual children from two years of age consists of. Jolly Fonics, a new method for bilingual children
What are the weak points of people who speak Spanish when learning English and why? What measures do you propose to train bilingual children?
The main problem we have always had people who have Spanish as their mother tongue or Spanish has been to communicate naturally in English and overcome the barrier of pronunciation. In Eurocolegio Casvi we use, to achieve bilingualism, a method of reading and writing, known as Jolly Phonics, to teach phonetics to children, from the Early Childhood Education courses, so that they can learn the correct pronunciation of the English language from a young age.
At what age are children prepared to speak in public?
We have created an independent subject of conversation, which is done in small groups and with native teachers, to introduce the children in a conversation immersion in English, while we create the obligation to speak English in a natural way. We must bear in mind that we have implemented the International Baccalaureate in which one of the subjects is English, and one of the tests of this subject is to record the students in video making an exhibition, with which we have to prepare them during the whole stage bilingual school to be able to speak in English in English at age 16.
How do you teach children how to pronounce English phonemes that cost adults so much?
Practicing and adapting English phonemes since the children are very young. Jolly Phonics is a phonetic method that is used in the United Kingdom to teach English children to read and pronounce correctly.
What is the Jolly Fonics system and when do the children work with it?
Jolly Phonics is a phonetic method that teaches children the 42 English phonemes and helps them identify the spelling with the sound they have to pronounce. The sooner you start working with him the better. In Eurocolegio Casvi we started working with Jolly Phonics to promote bilingualism since the child is two years old, and it is developed throughout the children's stage, so that when they finish Infant Education children are able to read and pronounce in English.
What can parents expect from the Jolly Fonics system?
That their children learn to pronounce perfectly the English words, and to read in English applying what they have learned with this method to be bilingual students.What is the learning of English sounds and phonemes?
In bilingualism it is essential to start when they are very young. The children assimilate the sounds by associating graffiti, drawing, sound, songs and stories that reinforce the sound of said writing. The sounds and phonemes are learned to pronounce correctly from the beginning.
What advantages do children get with this pronunciation method compared to other traditional systems?
Bilingualism is acquired in a rewarding and playful way for children. You have to see how children of 3, 4 or 5 years are able to pronounce in English or Spanish, depending on who they are with. If they are with theirteacher pronounce the word in English and if they are with their teacher, they read and pronounce the word in Spanish. How is it different in terms of results?
The results that children read earlier in English than in Spanish are so spectacular. At 3 years old, the child reads in English.What material do children need to work with this system?
The material they use at school is class cards and software for the digital board.
What is the best way to complement the Jolly Fonics method with other teaching methods so that children are fluent in English?
The Jolly Phonics method is complemented by specific classes of conversation, in small groups, taught by bilingual and / or native teachers. From very young, children are introduced to an immersion in English, which invites them to develop in that language.Does this method also apply to other languages such as German and French?
To learn French and German, other phonetic methods are used that have the same philosophy, but not Jolly Phonics since it is a specific phonetic method for the English language.Marisol Nuevo.
