Compelling video footage for Scottish inquiry - useful internationally

[Debbie Hepplewhite]

RRF and IFERI committee member, Anne Glennie, initiated a petition in Scotland calling for research-informed teacher-training for reading instruction - specifically to include systematic synthetic phonics.

In the video, Anne Glennie gives evidence alongside Gordon Askew (IFERI committee member) and Dr Sarah McGeown.

This is very compelling testimony for the need for systematic synthetic phonics for all children and for the need for better teacher training to inform teachers about the findings of a body of research and what the most effective schools do to dramatically reduce the incidence of children identified as 'dyslexic' in their schools.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mzciIZ ... e=youtu.be

This video footage may have relevance and be helpful in other contexts where English is taught around the world.

[Debbie Hepplewhite]

Below is a link to further information about the circumstances of Anne initiating a petition in Scotland:

http://www.iferi.org/iferi_forum/viewto ... ?f=3&t=904

[Elizabeth]

Report from the Stornoway Gazette:

http://www.stornowaygazette.co.uk/news/ ... -1-4609048

[chew8]

It's excellent that Anne got such full coverage.

Just a couple of small quibbles about the way certain things are stated by the writer of the article:

'All alphabetic languages are built of phonemes – the smallest units of sound in speech .....'

It's not just alphabetic languages but ALL languages, whatever their writing-systems, that are built of phonemes.

'With the SSP method, the learning becomes increasingly complex.'

True, but I would always want to emphasise that ssp starts at the simplest possible level, which is what makes it ideal for very young children. They are allowed to walk before being expected to run, and this means that they develop confidence right from the outset. Many take off in reading and spelling long before being taught all the complexities.

Jenny C.

[James Curran]

Jenny said: 'They are allowed to walk before being expected to run, and this means that they develop confidence right from the outset. Many take off in reading and spelling long before being taught all the complexities.'
That's the wonderful thing about systematic synthetic phonics, once young children are shown how the alphabetic code works they begin to use this knowledge to crack it for themselves.