English reading rules from scratch. How to learn to read English - pronunciation rules and tips

Teaching preschoolers (and children in grades 1-2) to read is a topic that raises so many questions that I decided not to write about it in about preschoolers, but to highlight it in a separate article. So, today about the most pressing issues of teaching reading in English.

Very often, parents, remembering how they once learned the language, ask this almost classic question:

What about transcription?

First of all, transcription doesn’t teach you how to read.. And I never taught. Those who have studied transcription, admit it: when reading a text in English, do you imagine it written down with transcription symbols? Of course not. No transcription is needed to read.

Transcription helps you find out how to pronounce an unfamiliar word. Previously, almost the only way to find out when there was no teacher nearby was a paper dictionary. Therefore, while studying the rules of reading (in the fifth grade, by the way), we immediately took transcription icons so that the children could use the dictionary at home. I repeat, not for reading, for using a dictionary! But now we have a lot of all kinds of resources at our disposal. There is also a textbook with an audio application, where new words, texts, songs, etc. are voiced; you have a computer, smartphone or tablet with voiced dictionaries, and in extreme cases, almost any online dictionary provides the opportunity to listen to a new word. Children look at a paper dictionary less and less often. And that's okay. This is progress.

Secondly, transcription will only confuse a small child. It can be given starting from early adolescence. In the same fifth grade it is quite possible, although now it is no longer necessary. Imagine, a preschooler or a first-grader who has just recently learned the Russian alphabet is studying the English alphabet - these are already two sign systems that he must keep in mind. And here some introduce a third sign system, which is needed to decipher the second. Doesn't it sound complicated? Now imagine how difficult it is for a child. No, a child with a good memory will, of course, master this too. But why? Everything has its time.

Why can't you sign words in Russian letters?

Sometimes I see that some parents and even (oh horror!) colleagues sign the child’s word as it is read in Russian letters. You can't do that. Never. At all.

Firstly, Russian letters cannot convey English sounds. By writing words in Russian letters, you spoil your child’s pronunciation. Which, by the way, is formed most naturally in childhood.

Secondly, if the word is signed in Russian, what will the child do? That's right, he will read it. Do not remember how it is written in English, but read these very Russian letters. He will remember how the word sounds, but if he encounters this word in a new text, he most likely will not recognize it.

With preschoolers and primary schoolchildren, learning to read begins with alphabet And sounds. And the main role is played not by the alphabet, but by sounds. It is very easy to remember the alphabet - just regularly play alphabet songs for your child, which are available on YouTube great multitude. But in order to start reading, a child must learn which letter of the alphabet makes which sound. To do this, my students and I (using games with cards, videos, TPR - about it) for each letter of the alphabet, remember its sound and one or two words that begin with this sound. For example, seeing the letter Bb, children immediately remember the ball, and therefore the sound /b/. At home you can additionally listen to these: phonics songs.

There are two ways to teach children to read. And the best effect will be if you use both methods at the same time.

Whole word method.

This method of teaching reading is offered by the authors of most children's textbooks. According to this method, new words are given as follows: picture + word. Children look in the textbook at pictures with words labeled on them, listen, repeat after the speaker, play with cards. Typically, the teacher uses two sets of cards: picture cards and word cards. In special educational games with these cards, children remember which word goes with which picture.

That is, the mechanism is this: the child does not parse the word into sounds, he correlates the visual image of the whole word with its sound (thanks to this, the method of whole words can begin to be used in parallel with the study of the alphabet and sounds, without waiting until all the letters are learned). Then, seeing the studied word in the text, the child remembers how it sounds and can read it. This method is good because almost half of the words in English are exceptions that are not read according to the rules and there is simply no other way to learn these words or remember them.

Phonics teaching method.

The whole word method alone is still not enough. In order for a child to really read well, it is better to supplement the textbook with its whole-word method by studying reading according to the rules. For this purpose, phonics are used with children from 6 years of age - these are manuals where words are collected in groups, depending on what rule it is read by. By listening and reading these groups of words, the child develops reading patterns. For example, after listening, repeating after the speaker and, perhaps, playing the words cat-fat-mat-bat in games, most children themselves will be able to read the word sat and similar words.

Usually, phonics are beautiful books with pictures, audio and sometimes video applications (the ones I like are Oxford Phonics World for preschoolers and Sounds Great for starters, both in 5 parts), there are also interactive programs (Starfall, Teach Your Monster to Read) and video courses (for example, an amazing course Hooked on Phonics). Some authors provide phonics directly in the textbook, for example, the Family and Friends textbook contains phonics, but they are spread out over several years (!) of study. In fact, one school year is enough to learn all the rules of reading for children.

Gradually, when children learn to put letters into words, you can begin to select simple books for 4-5 year old children, in which each page has a huge picture and one small sentence. Many of them contain simple vocabulary that is already 80 percent familiar to students, but there is a lot of delight from such books - even if you read a whole book in English!

This is how, even from kindergarten, you can teach your child to read in a fun and interesting way, without discouraging him from learning transcriptions that he does not understand, and instill a love of reading.

I hope you found this article helpful. If you have questions or additions, please write in the comments. Good luck in learning English!

Publications on the topic:

Annotation for the book: The manual is intended for teaching reading to children beginning to learn English. It can be used by secondary school students...

Book summary: The book is a unique guide to the basic rules of reading and pronunciation in English. With her help...

Abstract to the book / collection of exercises: The collection is a selection of game-oriented lexical exercises on the following topics: ABC, “Parts of the body,...

Abstract to the book - textbook: The publication provides in a condensed, concentrated form the main theoretical material covering the elementary English language course...

Book summary: The book presents all the basic rules of the English language studied in elementary school. Pronunciation information provided...

Abstract to the book - study guide: It is best to develop reading skills using accessible and interesting material. Entertaining stories, fairy tales, poems...

Book summary: The book is a reference book on English grammar. This is one of the few publications in which grammatical material is presented...

Abstract to the book - textbook: The publication provides in a condensed, concentrated form the main theoretical material covering the elementary Russian language course...

The desire to be able to read English-language literature in the original is one of the reasons why many people rush to start studying English courses. An incredible amount of information is currently only available in English. If you strive for professional and personal growth, you simply do not have the right to deny yourself access to this information.

Reading in English will allow you to learn news from world sources, receive important information from your field of activity first-hand, and feel like a full member of the global information community. We won’t talk at length about broadening your horizons and other prospects that will open up for you along with the ability to read books in English - we all understand perfectly how important this skill is in the modern world. We have already talked about how to improve your reading skills in English. Today we’ll talk about how to master this skill and learn to read English literature in a short time.

How can you learn to read in English in a short time?

There are three main aspects that need to be taken into account when learning English and practicing reading skills: vocabulary, grammatical minimum and the ability to understand the text. Thanks to these aspects, we can indicate three mandatory conditions, the fulfillment of which will allow you to quickly develop the skill of reading English literature:

Increase your passive vocabulary of words and expressions

We can speak using only an active vocabulary. Having at least 500 frequently used words in the English language in our active vocabulary, we can communicate in standard situations. The passive vocabulary is several times greater than the active one, and we understand the text that we read precisely thanks to the passive vocabulary. In order to increase it, it is not necessary to cram words. It is enough to listen, hear, read, pay attention to English words and phrases every day, hear new words in context. English films, books, news, TV shows, etc. will help increase your passive vocabulary.

Improve your grammar

While you may not use complex grammatical structures in your speech, you are more likely to come across them when reading books. That is why, in order to understand what is being said in the text, you will have to improve your grammar.

Try not to translate the text, but to understand what is being said

There are many ways to fulfill these conditions and learn to read books in English.

8 ways to quickly learn to read English literature

Method number 2. Use the wordsfromtext.com service. You can use this service before you start reading. Study the list of words that appear in the book, create a list of unknown words (preferably the most frequently used in the work) and start studying them. When you feel that you are already oriented in words, pick up a book.

Method number 3. Use lingualeo.com trainers to memorize new words. You can add the words that you extract from the text using wordsfromtext.com to one of the Lingua Leo simulators and study them faster and more clearly, since these simulators allow you to automatically link pictures to words.

Method 4. Read books out loud. This helps to pay attention to each word, pronounce it clearly, and remember what it means.

Method 5. Read books electronically. Even if you are a fanatical connoisseur of printed literature, you will have to do this. E-books simplify the process of reading literature in English: if you come across an unfamiliar word, you can immediately click on it and see the translation (after downloading and installing the dictionary). There are a great many resources through which you can download electronic books in English.

Method 6. Listen to audiobooks. After reading a work you like, listen to it. This will help consolidate the words you have learned and expand your vocabulary. Classics of English literature, the most popular books have long had audio versions.

Method 7. To finally consolidate new words, use the Anki program. The program helps you repeat words using cards: the word is shown to you, you mentally or out loud pronounce the answer, then click on the “Show answer” button. The card turns over - you see whether your answer is correct. After that click:

• “Easy” – if you pressed the button without delay (in this case the card will be delayed for 4 days)
• “Good” – if remembered with a slight delay
• “Again” – if you couldn’t remember the word

Most parents want their children to start learning foreign languages ​​as early as possible. Teach them to read, understand, speak. And this is correct, although it implies a greater burden on the child. And today we will tell you how to teach a child to read English. You can start classes from the age of three, and the ideal age for learning to read in English is five years old. In order for this process to take place with maximum efficiency and painlessly for children, parents need to follow certain recommendations.

First, you need to establish a clear sequence of training. Each lesson should be divided into separate parts, the total duration of the entire lesson does not exceed one hour. The material is presented in a form understandable to children. For preschoolers just starting to learn the English language, bright pictures are suitable. Lots of practice is the key to success.

How to teach a child to read English: general principles

First, you should start with mastering the alphabet. Each letter is studied separately. The parent says it, and then the child repeats after him. Already from the second lesson, it is worth supplementing the program with repetition of the studied letters in order to consolidate the material.

English for children must take into account certain features of the language:

1. Some letters are read differently depending on their location in a word: G can be pronounced as “j” or “g”, C as “s” or “k”, S as “s” or “z”, etc.
2. At the same time, individual letters of the English alphabet have an external similarity with the Russian ones (N, X, V, R, etc.). We must not get confused, because we read these sounds differently, for example, “a” in English and Russian, although they are written exactly the same, are pronounced differently - like “a” in Russian and like “hey” in English.
3. Combinations of two letters can produce a completely different sound, for example, the, sh, etc.

The discrepancy between the pronunciation of many words and their spelling causes difficulties for children. It is quite difficult for a child who has only recently mastered the Russian alphabet to restructure psychologically.

Of particular importance is correct transcription, which is understood as a graphic display of the pronunciation of letters. It looks complicated only at first glance, but in reality everything is much simpler. Below is a table of vowel pronunciation in English:

It’s worth mentioning the combination of vowel sounds that are pronounced differently:

Each vowel letter in the English language is read either as in the alphabet or in another way. In accordance with the alphabet, the letters “a, e, i, o, u” are usually read in those words that end in the letter “u” or which contain more than one syllable. In short one-word words that end with a consonant, the indicated letters should be read differently. The baby must learn this rule. The situation is similar with the letter “y”. However, the logic here is different: in short words it is read as in the alphabet, if it is an ending, in long words it is read differently. It is necessary to regularly re-read examples of words with little ones so that they are better remembered.

Having mastered individual letters, you can move on to reading words in English. An exercise that involves grouping words by sounds works effectively. While reading them, the child remembers letter combinations, thereby forming a clear understanding in his head of how to read a specific word. For example:

• Lay, may, say, stay, play, pay, way
• Game, came, make, Kate
• Sun, gun, fun, nut, cut, but
• Sky, shy, by, my, buy

English lessons with young children should begin with reading the easiest words consisting of one word: dog, box, etc. Gradually you can move on to more difficult words. The principle “from simple to complex” is fundamental in the course of training.

We learn to read in a playful way - this option is optimal for young children. You can use the option of playing with cards or cubes. They have bright drawings on them - an image of one object: a book, a table, a cup, etc. This form of training allows you to combine in your head the writing of a specific word, its pronunciation and visualization.

Then you can move on to whole phrases. Sentences should be understandable to the child thanks to the words he learned at the preparatory stage. At the same time, attention should be paid to replenishing the baby’s vocabulary. To solve the problem, simple phrases filled with various vocabulary are perfect:

• I can see a …cow, three pens, boy
• I can...jump, run, swim

To make reading sentences easier, you can use pictures with individual words.

The next stage is reading simple texts in English. They should consist of phrases the child has already learned. Some examples of texts:

• Meg is a cat. Meg is small. Meg is black and white. Meg can run and jump.
• Meg is a cat. Meg is small. Meg black and white. Meg can run and jump.

Small rhymes are perfect for teaching children to read. As you fill your vocabulary with more complex words, you can move on to reading texts of greater richness. Playful activities will allow children to learn to read correctly and get maximum pleasure from this process. Don't forget to praise your baby for every achievement.

The priority is not reading speed, but understanding the material. You should not force your child to cram, but ask him to read in English with a translation of the words read. At this stage, audio recordings or audio tales will be useful, which will teach the child correct pronunciation. The child needs to learn the ability to translate text. If you do not understand the meaning of what you read, you need to parse the sentences into individual words and translate them. The main thing is correct pronunciation, the production of which should be given close attention from the very beginning of the learning process.

The described tips on how to teach a child to read in English will be of undoubted benefit in this difficult task. The main thing in the course of training is the boundless patience of parents. Don't rush your baby: slowly but surely you will achieve the desired result. More practice and everything will work out.

Video of one mother who lives in America and teaches her children to read on her own:

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