[etni] Fw: English is too hard to read for children
- From: "Ask_Etni" <ask@xxxxxxxx>
- To: "ETNI" <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2008 21:29:28 +0200
----- Original Message -----
From: "Margie Cohen" <margiecj@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: English is too hard to read for children
Hi all-
This article is from the UK.
As there are SO many immigrants learning English there, much
of the article's content also applies to us when we teach English
as a second or third language to some of our students......
English is too hard to read for children
The Observer - June 8, 2008
Baffling spelling system is blamed as literacy falls short of level in other
European nations
The English spelling system is 'absolutely, unspeakably awful'. That is the
conclusion of new research that has found that children face 800 words by
the age of 11 that hinder their reading because of the way they are spelt.
Monkey, asparagus, spinach, caterpillar, dwarf, banana, handkerchief,
pliers, soldiers, stomach, petal and telescope have all been included on the
long list of words that baffle children because they contain letter
combinations that are more commonly pronounced in a different way.
The words have all been identified as problematic for reading, as opposed to
writing, because of their 'phonic unreliability', according to the study The
Most Costly English Spellings.
(To read the whole article, go to -
http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,2284503,00.html )
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