Puzzles for fun and learning

Puzzles for fun Do you play puzzles for fun? I certainly do. Sometimes I solve them successfully, sometimes I do not. In either case, it is a good exercise for the brain. It is also a good discussion topic with family. It would indeed be a great idea to have…

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The many sounds of ‘oe’

Did you know that the letter combination ‘oe’ makes many sounds? What could these be? Could we simply combine the sound of ‘o’ and the sound of ‘e’? Earlier in this series of articles on our blog, we have learned sounds of a, sounds of s, sounds of ‘v &…

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The mysterious letter q

I have often wondered about the mysterious letter q. It does not have a unique sound of its own and it is the second least frequently used letter in the English language. It is still part of the English alphabet and holds its own charm. I have a distinct feeling…

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Compound Words – Learning through play

Making new words Have you ever wondered about building vocabulary by making new words? It is indeed an interesting method. In an earlier article, we spoke about building vocabulary through word families. In the early stages of learning, word families provide an excellent method to build a vocabulary quickly. As…

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Building Vocabulary through Word Families

Vocabulary through imitation For a child who is beginning to learn to speak, building vocabulary is primarily through imitation. She learns words by observing her surroundings and mimicking the words spoken around her. As the child grows and more conscious learning sets in, vocabulary building becomes a deliberate activity. When…

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The different sounds of ‘ea’

What different sounds come to your mind when you see the letter combination ‘ea’? Do you think there is only one sound or many? Can we simply add the sound of ‘e’ and ‘a’? Let us explore. We have explored earlier about learning English spellings through Phonics. Also, we have…

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2 English spelling rules that you did not know existed

Spelling is confusing Learning English spelling is not straightforward. It is confusing to learn and remember all the spelling rules. After spending many years with the English language as a student and professional, I use the language intuitively. If you ask me to explain a spelling rule, I will have…

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Hard and Soft Sounds

Spelling Rules Have you ever thought that English spelling rules are confusing? I surely have! The correlation between letters and sounds is not straightforward. A single letter can make many sounds. A single sound can be made by many letters or combinations of letters. This makes learning spellings a bit…

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ABC letters with smiley face

Learning English Spellings through Phonics

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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letters of the alphabet

3 reasons why you should learn English through Phonics

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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