Reflection on the year gone by As we step into the New Year 2021, we take a reflective look a the year gone by. To say that 2020 was a roller-coaster ride would be the gross understatement of the year. As COVID-19 shook the world all over, we realised the…
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English spellings can be confusing to learn. Given that English has a non-ideal phonemic orthography, the pronunciation and the spelling do not have a one-to-one relation also. Why are put and cut pronounced differently, even though they have the same vowel? This is one of the few common questions that…
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When we think about applications of Science in everyday life, Chemistry in cooking emerges as a natural extension. Cooking is one of the exhaustive applications of Chemistry in our everyday lives. When I was in college, Physical Chemistry was a hard nut to crack for me, especially Thermodynamics. I struggled…
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Learn English with Phonics When a strong foundation of basic concepts is laid at a young age, complex concepts can be learned effectively. Our team’s experience at NumberNagar® tells us that this is possible when we learn English through Phonics. When I was in primary and pre-primary school, English learning…
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Science concepts I often come across students and parents who complain about the Science and Maths concepts learned in school. They think that learning such concepts is a waste of time and these concepts do not have real-life applications. These comments are usually peppered with doses of righteous indignation. A…
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What sound comes to your mind when you think of the letter ‘s’? Is it the hissing sound ‘ssssssssss’? You would be right. The hissing sound ‘ssss’ is the default sound of the letter ‘s’. However, did you know that the letter ‘s’ also makes 3 other sounds? It sure…
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Festival of Lights Deepavali is the festival of lights. It is also the time of the year when children and families gather to burst firecrackers. The year 2020 has seen subdued celebrations all over India, with minimal firecrackers. I stopped indulging in firecrackers many years ago. My fascination has taken…
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Guide to sounds Have you wondered how to ‘read’ a sound? In an earlier article, we learned how the English language deviates from ideal phonemic orthography. Nevertheless, the letter-sound correlation is a key aspect of mastering the language. A letter is a written representation – also known as grapheme. A…
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Cleaning the mind I am usually a contemplative and reflective person. Asking open-ended questions feels therapeutic to my mind. While I am specific and practical with everyday logistical situations, my imagination soars when I need to de-clutter my mind. Recently I finished reading a book – When Things Start to…
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Letters and sounds My earliest memory of learning the English alphabet for the first time is the song – a b c d, e f g… h i j k, l m n o p… l m n o p q, r s t… u v w, x y z.…
View More How many sounds does the letter ‘a’ make?