Assessment for Learning Resource Bank

Web-based Learning and Teaching Support

　

Problem 2.

Students are not able to produce some consonants, consonant blends and digraphs correctly in speaking.

When students distinguish different consonant sounds, they make reference to what they perceive as correct, which partly comes from their experience in producing the sounds. There is always an inter-relationship between listening and speaking in the context of pronunciation.

Suggested follow-up actions

Model the skills of blending which involve running the letter sounds together to make a word; getting students to read aloud words with the same phonological unit (e.g. skip, skate, slide, swing) through games, rhymes and other interesting activities.

　

Provide opportunities for students to hear and focus on an identified sound and to relate it to the letter(s) e.g. by using pictures of familiar objects or by framing the relevant letter(s) in the words in a big book.

　

Use the single-syllable words (e.g. skip, skate, slide, swing) selected from texts with which students are familiar to introduce letter-sound relationship.

　

Help students use the strategy of analogy, i.e. applying their knowledge and skills to work out how to spell an unfamiliar word by comparing it to the words they have learnt.

　

Help students make a collection of words with the focused letter-sound relationship so that they can apply their knowledge.

　

Give students more opportunities to read rhymes, funny sentences, tongue twisters, jazz chants and songs.

　

Select interesting, motivating and fun activities such as rhymes, tongue twisters, jazz chants and songs with different consonants for students to practice (e.g. chiming in, chanting) so that they can listen to and pronounce words with common sounds.

Teachers may use the following activities:

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

Information for teachers’ reference

Education Bureau, HKSARG

˙ English Language Education Section, Curriculum Development Institute

References and Resources

http://www.edb.gov.hk/index.aspx?langno=1&nodeID=2773

Educational Television Programmes

Resources

˙ Primary 3 - Listen to What I Hear

http://etv.edb.gov.hk/index-e.asp

˙ Primary 3 - Funny Bones
http://etv.edb.gov.hk/index-e.asp
　

HKedCity

˙ Phonics Activities
http://www.hkedcity.net/article/phonics2003/games/

˙ Phonics in the primary EFL classroom
http://www.hkedcity.net/article/phonics2003/teaching/5.phtml

Consonant Sound Phonics Index
www.tampareads.com/phonics/whereis/index.htm

S.C.O.R.E. Language Arts - Phonic Links
www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/Phonics_Link/phonics.html

Semantic Rhyming Dictionary
http://www.rhymezone.com/