In their English classes children learn to understand why letters and words in English sound the way they do, make connections between the spoken language (sounds) and its written form (spelling) and apply their phonemic knowledge in reading and writing. Initially, children learn the phonetic alphabet (based on letter sounds) and representing words (A for apple, C for cat, Y for yoghurt, J for jelly etc.). Once they master all sounds the 26 letters of the English alphabet make and practise the soft sh, ch and th sounds they naturally start to blend them together and decode simple words (ie. cat, chin, fish, block etc.). Then they progress onto the long vowel sounds (A as in name, rain or play, E as in see, sea or here, I as in like, tie, my or night, O as in home, soap, toe or grow, U as in cute, new, true or moon) and other vowel phonemes, clusters or more advanced structures. Teaching students how to spell and read goes hand in hand with teaching them both grammatical and punctuation concepts.

In the Phonics for Parents course delegates have the opportunity to become familiar with the above concepts as well as the process of sequencing them to build up the English language systematically and thoroughly. Therefore, parents are introduced and work with a wide variety of concrete resources that can later be used at home to reinforce their child’s learning in a fully multi-sensory, interactive mode. Furthermore, they will build up a resource pack of games, songs, rhymes and children’s literature suitable for practising phonics at home. The small group of delegates (5-10 attendees) offers room for a variety of practical, hands-on activities. Our 'graduates' will have the opportunity to meet regularly shortly after the main course to exchange their experiences and obtain feedback within the Phonics.cz parent community.

The course has been created to incorporate all of the mentioned aspects in home practice and enable parents to maximise their roles in the guidance of their children.