Phonological Awareness
Phonological awareness is crucial for learning to read any alphabetic writing system. Research shows that difficulties with phonemic awareness and other phonological skills predict poor reading and sound/spelling development.
Phonological awareness is the foundation for learning to read. It is the ability to recognize and process sounds in spoken language. Some children acquire this naturally, while others may need more assistance.
The phonological processor typically works unconsciously as we listen and speak. It is designed to extract the meaning of what is said, not to pay attention to the speech sounds in the words.
It is designed to perform its work automatically for effective communication. However, reading and spelling require a level of metalinguistic speech that is not naturally or easily obtained.
Already in the first year of school, learners are expected to learn to read fluently and with comprehension. As learners progress to higher grades, the demands on their reading ability increase.
But reading is much more than just word recognition. It is a holistic process that involves the child as a whole.
Research shows that if possible reading problems are identified only after the age of nine (Grade 3), it can lead to up to 75% of these learners experiencing learning problems throughout their school careers.
The Read Through Colour multisensory System.
Consists of:
1: Visual perception
2: Auditory perception
3: Kinesthetic perception
Visual perception
Visual perception during reading is the reader's ability to accurately perceive the characteristics of letters, words, or written rules. This ability can be considered one of the most important perceptual skills involved in the reading process. About 80% of all learning occurs through visual perception because vision refers to the ability of humans to interpret information obtained through the eyes. Visual perception is the brain's ability to interpret visual impulses so that meaningful interpretation can occur.
Visual discrimination is fundamental to reading and a definitive requirement for word decoding. Discrimination means recognizing differences and distinguishing. During the reading process, visual discrimination occurs when differences and similarities must be seen, in other words, the letters being read are all against a certain background, meaning that the letters and the background differ in colour. Discrimination is thus made concerning colour as well as foreground-background. Furthermore, discrimination is made with respect to shape.
The alphabet consists of 26 different letters that vary in shape and size, and which also differ from each other when certain accent marks are used, for example, ê, ë. Capital letters are another form of a letter that must be distinguished. Sometimes discrimination must also be made in a sentence with respect to bold words or words that are italicized. Words also consist of letters arranged in a certain order to form a word. This means that the reader will also have to discriminate with regard to the position of the letters to give meaning to the word and passage. Finally, discrimination must be made with respect to dimensionality, which means that sketches and pictures are also included in the reading process.
Once discrimination has taken place with respect to each letter based on colour, foreground and background, shape, size, and position, the letters must be seen as a unit to decode or understand the word. The reader must therefore perceive the parts as a whole, which means that the reader then globalizes/synthesizes, furthermore, the reader must also have the ability to break down the whole into smaller parts - thus the ability to analyze.
Visual memory is the ability to remember what the eyes have seen and is indispensable for spelling because, during the spelling process, it is important that letters be placed in the correct order to give meaning to the word. We call this visual memory 'photographic memory'.
During the learning of reading and spelling skills, hearing plays a very important role, precisely because sounds and the order in which they occur must be accurately represented. Therefore, auditory perception can be referred to as the interpretation of information that is audible through hearing. Listening skills are skills that must be learned and practised because learners are increasingly struggling with auditory memory.
Auditory Perception
Auditory discrimination refers to the ability to distinguish and memorize similarities and differences between sounds, phonemes, and individual speech sounds in order to retain the sounds in memory and understand their meaning. It is important that the learner can discriminate between sounds of the different phonemes and thus also perceive the differences and similarities between sounds and or words. A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound. These units combine with other sounds to form a word.
Auditory sequencing refers to the ability to memorize sounds in the correct order as heard. Language cannot be meaningfully and comprehensibly spoken, read, or written if there is no order in the sequence. Therefore, attention must be paid to the necessity of long- and short-term memory for the memorization or learning of sounds and words. Here, auditory memory refers to the ability to recognize and recall phonemes and phoneme sequences in spoken words, thus remembering what the ear has heard. Auditory memory is considered much more complex in nature than, for example, auditory discrimination.
Auditory analysis and synthesis refer to the ability to break down a word heard into syllables or sounds (analyze) and then to globalize again. This implies that the learner must be able to hear and analyze or divide the separate sounds found in a word, and also combine the sounds and put them together in a certain order to form a meaningful word.
Kinesthetic Perception
Kinesthetic perception refers to perception through body movement. It is important to remember that young children learn by using their bodies. Therefore, touch and movement must be an integral part of learning and must also be used during the reading process to ensure retention.
When the relationship between memory and the learner's learning ability is discussed, a distinction is made between auditory, visual, and motor memory. A distinction is also made between the main processes of visual memory.
Multisensory strategies, which link visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile stimuli, help dyslexic learners compensate for visual and auditory processing problems. Kinesthetic and tactile exercises are carefully arranged in sequence, and each activity is repeated until the response is automatic.
The main goal of the Read Through Colour multisensory system is to introduce the reading activity to learners as an extremely enjoyable experience accompanied by a relaxed, even cheerful atmosphere, where learners are motivated to read and believe in themselves ("I am a winner!"; "I can read!", "I love reading!"; "I am smart!"). Successful and meaningful learning can only take place in a relaxed atmosphere where a positive attitude towards reading is fostered.
Building a learner's self-esteem is often the first step in resolving learning problems.
The Read Through Colour multisensory system consists of books, flashcards, comprehension cards, worksheets, compound word puzzle cards, wall charts, and board games.
The system is currently available in Afrikaans and English.
