Reading is Fundamental
Thu 07 October 2010
I read my first word today! It's a small thing, but I'm excited.
I'm polishing off the alphabet section in chapter 1. I keep reminding myself that there was a time when English letters didn't make sense either, or Greek, or Japanese. If only I could find Khmer Sesame Street.
The next best thing is mnemonics. I got frustrated with rote repetition and gave up for a while. Then I stumbled on a post about using imagery and association to learn Thai. It's going much faster now.
I'm using the Worcester T&G Happy Times strategy. Every Sunday they print a squiggle in the comics section, and kids submit a drawing using that squiggle.
Some letters are still a mystery. Ñ may remain "there's that weird Ñ letter again". It's challenging to make the vowels unique, especially when the same sounds are tied to multiple letters. I might learn those in groups with the vowel chart.
I'll solicit suggestions for the tough letters here. It'll be my own Happy Times contest.
So, chapter 1 introduced 15 letters. An exercise showed three letter combinations to sound out. Halfway through I read "m... u... ay". After a beat, the penny dropped. "M-u-ay. Mu-ay. Muay! That's 'one'!" Did I get the same thrill from English when I was four? What a rush! Soon I'll be ready for kindergarten.