What can parents do to help their children acquire better language skills?
First, it is our belief, and a subject of research, that virtually all children can acquire acceptable reading, writing and spelling skills if the method used takes their learning style into careful consideration, AND if the information taught about the structure of English words is accurate, complete and is taught in the proper order. Secondly, it is to the child’s advantage if any difficulties are discovered at an early age. Though we have not had this experience, research also says that it may take up to 10 times as long to teach a body of information to a failing 4th grader as to teach the same information to a beginning learner. Third, it is critical to understand what information is needed to be able to spell or read English words correctly if one cannot simply memorize whole words. English is a sound/symbol system, not a pictographic system, as it has generally been taught for the past 70 years. 26 letters of our alphabet, singly and in some set combinations, spell the 42 sounds
