In a child’s growth and development, one important aspect is their ability to pronounce words without actually understanding what they really mean. Comprehension comes in the later years of a child’s life. Pronunciation, no matter how distinct and unclear it may be, is essential to practice their speech as well as their listening skills.
Children simply listen to the words others around them say and mimic the sounds they hear, so they can eventually say such words on their own. Speaking begins with mimicry of a word and for a student to master mimicking they need to understand syllables.
Syllables are the essential portions of a word that is composed of a vowel and a consonant or a single letter which make a meaningful sound. If you are able to say each syllable that makes up a certain word you can piece them together to create the full sound.
To efficiently teach learners about syllables, a series of constant practice on pronunciation through well-prepared and exciting activities is required. When teaching syllables we have to be patient and creative in this task as this is a very crucial stage in a child’s development. Without them learning about syllables, there is no way they can learn words as a whole.
Playing around and having fun with students using words with one, two, and three syllables may help in making learners be familiar first with what syllable really means. Asking them to recite the words can also be done before chopping the word into syllables. Clarify to them that syllables are the “chunks” that divide the word into meaningful sounds.
Use flashcards with fun and interesting words that you’ll read aloud to them so they can hear its sounds then ask them to repeat. By doing this slowly but surely, kids will enjoy their time while also becoming familiar with simple words. If students seem to already get the idea or are simply smart enough to do it on their own, challenging them to divide the words into chunks of syllables is also a great idea.
Moreover, younger learners are fond of making movements. Thus, letting them do some moving activities related to words that are simple and can be easily chunked may be effective in teaching them about syllables.
Just like in a normal classroom setting, children understand a concept easier when they are associated with ordinary tasks. Examples of this may be about cooking (or coo – king with two syllables), playing (or pla – ying), and also sleeping (or slee – ping) that those children are so used to doing and hearing every day.
Such activities and tasks help learners to grasp knowledge taught to them faster and smoother just like when they are playing their favorite game with their friends that make the activity super enjoyable and extra exciting.