Writing “Correctly?”
12/02/13 Filed in: teaching kids
“What is the correct way to write ‘…’ ?”
“…” usually being a lowercase or uppercase letter—“i,” for example.
We often get asked such questions by very worried parents. Sometimes parents are concerned about the fonts that we use for our students’ worksheets. They may feel that a particular letter is not represented “correctly.”
Japan is a country renowned for its attention to detail and this has served it well. In everything from engineering to calligraphy to cuisine, Japan has earned this reputation. This marvelous focus on detail, however, can work against us if it approaches obsession. One can fall into the trap of “not seeing the forest for the trees,” that is, losing sight of the big picture because of focusing only on a small part of it.
Human language developed first and foremost as a means to verbally communicate. Language is phonetically founded on this, and proficiency in verbal communication is our primary target. Historically, reading and writing came later. Of course, in this day and age, reading and writing are absolutely necessary, but without a strong foundation in verbal skills, they are weak and cannot support realistic face-to-face communication on their own.
At English Now! we prioritize our child students developing verbal skills and introduce reading and writing as a means to support this. Reading and writing are vital tools, but they are not an end in themselves.
American schools devote far less attention to correct “stroke order” than Japanese schools do. As long as the child’s writing is legible, the teacher is usually satisfied. In fact, the various workbooks available for practicing the alphabet often teach different stroke orders—particularly for letters like “M” and “H.”
Which is “correct?”
They all are, and nobody seems to lose sleep over this.
Likewise with fonts. In school, everybody learns to write the single story versions of lowercase “a” and “g.” But in almost everything we read, these letters appear in their double-story versions. This may seem to be inconsistent, yet once again, Americans don’t seem to be bothered by this.
At English Now!, we don’t come down too hard on the younger boys who can’t yet get the hang of writing neatly. Most of the boys are typically way behind the girls in handwriting. This is natural and to be expected and we try to reassure their worried parents. It usually takes the boys a few more years to develop better penmanship, but they eventually get there. We gently point their sloppiness out to them, but we don’t punish them for it.
We are, however, very strict on pronunciation and phonics. Pronunciation is at the core of language, while phonics is absolutely essential to reading efficiently in the future. Everything they learn later will depend on these skills.
And when we do introduce writing, we start with lowercase because this is what the children will encounter most. There is no practical reason to start with uppercase letters.
All language is based on sound and, moreover, English uses a phonetically based alphabet. At English Now!, we are convinced that giving our children a strong foundation in the sounds of English will ensure rapid progress towards their truly being able to communicate meaningfully in English.
“…” usually being a lowercase or uppercase letter—“i,” for example.
We often get asked such questions by very worried parents. Sometimes parents are concerned about the fonts that we use for our students’ worksheets. They may feel that a particular letter is not represented “correctly.”
Japan is a country renowned for its attention to detail and this has served it well. In everything from engineering to calligraphy to cuisine, Japan has earned this reputation. This marvelous focus on detail, however, can work against us if it approaches obsession. One can fall into the trap of “not seeing the forest for the trees,” that is, losing sight of the big picture because of focusing only on a small part of it.
Human language developed first and foremost as a means to verbally communicate. Language is phonetically founded on this, and proficiency in verbal communication is our primary target. Historically, reading and writing came later. Of course, in this day and age, reading and writing are absolutely necessary, but without a strong foundation in verbal skills, they are weak and cannot support realistic face-to-face communication on their own.
At English Now! we prioritize our child students developing verbal skills and introduce reading and writing as a means to support this. Reading and writing are vital tools, but they are not an end in themselves.
American schools devote far less attention to correct “stroke order” than Japanese schools do. As long as the child’s writing is legible, the teacher is usually satisfied. In fact, the various workbooks available for practicing the alphabet often teach different stroke orders—particularly for letters like “M” and “H.”
Which is “correct?”
They all are, and nobody seems to lose sleep over this.
Likewise with fonts. In school, everybody learns to write the single story versions of lowercase “a” and “g.” But in almost everything we read, these letters appear in their double-story versions. This may seem to be inconsistent, yet once again, Americans don’t seem to be bothered by this.
At English Now!, we don’t come down too hard on the younger boys who can’t yet get the hang of writing neatly. Most of the boys are typically way behind the girls in handwriting. This is natural and to be expected and we try to reassure their worried parents. It usually takes the boys a few more years to develop better penmanship, but they eventually get there. We gently point their sloppiness out to them, but we don’t punish them for it.
We are, however, very strict on pronunciation and phonics. Pronunciation is at the core of language, while phonics is absolutely essential to reading efficiently in the future. Everything they learn later will depend on these skills.
And when we do introduce writing, we start with lowercase because this is what the children will encounter most. There is no practical reason to start with uppercase letters.
All language is based on sound and, moreover, English uses a phonetically based alphabet. At English Now!, we are convinced that giving our children a strong foundation in the sounds of English will ensure rapid progress towards their truly being able to communicate meaningfully in English.