How children are taught to read - including biography

Over the years, the ways in which children have been taught how to read has varied. At the moment, the main method which is used is called phonics, this method has been approved by the Government and for now will not be changed in the foreseeable future.
Phonetics is a system which allows the children to understand the sounds which make up words. The words are broken down into the sounds which you hear within them and then blended together in order to create the word. For example "d", "o", "g", all blended together would teach the child how to pronounce the word DOG.

As well as methods which are taught in primary schools and nurseries etc, there are also alternatives which you as a parent can do at home for your child. It is seen that one of the main things in order to teach a child to read is starting early, maybe reading them books before bed etc. The more books that you read to the child the more they will acquire an interest in it and will be more enthusiastic to the process.
If the child is at the age when they can partly read the book, then it is good to start asking them interactive questions which will also make them interact with the story and understanding more of what they are reading.
Another thing which teaches a child to read is making books easily accessible to them, if books are kept near the ground where children can get hold of them, they may use them in their everyday activities.



http://www.parentdish.co.uk/kids/how-your-child-will-learn-to-read-at-school-and-what-you-can-do-to-help-reading-at-home/
http://www.wikihow.com/Teach-Your-Child-to-Read

Phonological developement of children's pronounciation

Infants often make sounds and noises which are not part of the language that they are hearing. Whilst growing up, within the first 6 months of their life a lot of their mis-pronunciation is due to psychological factors, such as the positioning of their jaw and tongues.
-Vowels are achieved before consonants
- By the age of 2 and a half, the average child has mastered all the vowels and around two thirds of the consonants.
-Consonants are first used correctly and the beginning of words, but consonants at the end of words are more difficult, for example "p" and "b" sounds in "push" and "bush" will be easier to pronounce than "rip" and "rib".

Deletion
Children will very often delete certain sounds/letters from words in order to simplify it for them. For example, banana becomes "nana" and final consonants are sometimes also deleted, so hat becomes "ha" and cat becomes "ca".
Sometimes quite often, a child can have a phonological delay, this occurs when -
The child finds the patterns/sounds from the English language really confusing, therefore finds it difficult to pick up and repeat.
The child has poor perception and doesn't have very good awareness of how their speech sounds and why other people fail to understand what they are saying.
A phonological delay can be identified through these things -
If your child is missing out initial sounds in their words, so referring to their bed as "ed" etc.
If they are deleting the ends of their words.
-Also, if your child cannot pronounce numerous vowel sounds.

https://www.york.ac.uk/media/languageandlinguistics/documents/staff/publications/Velleman&Vihman%20ch%202.pdf
http://revisionworld.com/a2-level-level-revision/english-language/child-language-acquisition/phonological-development
http://www.playingwithwords365.com/2011/09/phonological-processes-and-phonological-delay/

Analysis

“Women Should Not Be Allowed To Vote!”

 

(In distinct) It’s your friend James the Preacher here (1) [adjusts glasses] Uh (1)

(^) Why women should (2) (v) not be allowed to vote (3) number one (3) just because it would get them angry (.) these feminists need to be outraged by men (1) these women are out of control out of their place now there’s some Godly holy women I’m not talking about them (2) I’m talking about the rest the 99% (.) the other (.) that uh (2) [tsk] rebellious (.) uh (.) just uh (1) loud mouthed (.) outspoken (2) uh (.) they think they’re in control they think they’re equal with a man (2) God’s place (.) is for a woman (1) Uh (1) to be in submission [gestures hands to the left] [laughs] (in distinct) but point number one is (.) Uh (1) (^) it’s worth telling women they shouldn’t vote just to see them go [pulls shocked face] (holds for 3 seconds) n’yknow If they do that long enough (2) I told a female a couple of times they were stunned (.) y’know there mouth was open [gestures open mouth] [laughs] (.) if you do that (1) another forty five seconds (.) you’ll break the world record for a woman being quiet [laughs] (.) call the new York times hallelujah (1) (v) so it’s worth it just to see the look on their face (.) and number two they need to be told no (3) most women aren’t told no so it’s a good thing (.) secondly though the bibles place for a woman is to be in submission I know there was queens and all that but that’s (1) that’s the exception folks in fact in the new testament church (.) it says a woman is to be silent in the assembly I know that just puts a jab in you feminists (1) so it’s worth saying it twice so woman are to be silent in the assembly.

 

“I’M SICK” – Dom Dayable

[coughing] So (.) I’m (.) ill (.) and on account of me being ill (.) I have got (1) a hot water bottle [raises hot water bottle] (2) a cup of tea [raises cup of tea and places it back onto his desk] (4) and I’ve been sent home (1) because all I was doing in school was coughing (2) and sleeping (3) and sneezing (2) so because of (.) this (.) being home earlier I decided (1) to (1) make a video [coughing] [slurps tea] Ah also (2) I’m wearing (.) um (2)[raises leg] m-my alien (3) pyjamas (4) and there’s (.) um (1) [drinks tea] so I’ve just kinda been getting (1) bored so I don’t know what you guys do when you get ill but what (.) I’ve always kind of (.) I’ve always kind of had a tradition where I just like

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAYmw4g0azc&index=1&list=PL7C25160A763A9F5D

When looking at the different texts, I looked at 2 YouTube videos. One was of a man stating his opinion of how he doesn't think that Women should be allowed the right to vote and the other of "Dom Dayable" talking to his audience about how he is sick.

There are two main similarities between these videos are the obvious that they are both transcripts and both YouTube videos where they are talking directly to their audience. They are both either speaking of topics which interest them or think would interest their audience. They are also both vlogs and are aiming to appeal at a certain audience. For example, "Why Woman Should Not Be Allowed To Vote" was probably made in order to persuade his audience into believing the same views as "James the Preacher" and also religious followers who would relate to his talking of the Bible, "The Bibles place for woman is to be in submission." However, it also may have been created to spark a debate between feminists and also get other views on whether they agree with what he is saying. 

However, a difference between these two vlogs are the purpose in which they have been created. "I'M SICK" has a humorous element to it and was probably made to entertain its audience which will most likely be teenagers who follow his videos and find them entertaining.

You notice the main contrast between the vlogs when you notice the popularity of each. Dom Herman Days, "I'm Sick" is a lot more popular than the "Why Woman Should Not be Allowed To Vote" due to the fact that "Dom" is not stating an opinion, he is just trying to entertain the audience. However, in the other video, a certain message is being put across, his own opinion which can either be agreed with or disagreed with. Looking at the comments/like rates of the video, it is more unpopular than popular.

Power in Twitter

On our groups, we chose and analysed a text which was of someone's twitter news feed. We looked at this text and discussed the different power which is used throughout the extract which we looked at. We looked at the different power which was used by the different people which were featuring in the extract and the power which the account holder has whilst using Twitter.
We found that when using Twitter there is both influential and instrumental power which is used. For example, if you are a celebrity then you have an instrumental power due to their title, so they often get followed by people that want to know what they're up to. However, many people on Twitter have influential power as they often get followed due to their tweets being funny/interesting which draws attention.
Another power which people on Twitter have are the functions which are used daily, such as the option to "unfollow," "follow," and "block" people which you do not want to have visible on your time line anymore.

Targets

The target which I am setting myself is, to make sure that I memorize and revise different power techniques so I am able to use the language within my essay when in an exam. I will do this because it will allow me to get higher marks because I will be using the correct terminology.
Also, my target is to make sure that I plan before I start writing an essay because then I will have a good idea of what I am going to write, how to time manage my writing and so I can write a well structured essay and be prepared for A2.

Extract Texts

http://www.archives.gov/press/exhibits/dream-speech.pdf  - Martin Luther King Speech Written
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smEqnnklfYs  -  Martin Luther King Speech Audio

http://www.seventeen.com/entertainment/interviews/zac-efron-17q#slide-1 - Celebrity Interview with Zac Efron

MUM  - Outnumbered Script
I mean Jake’s pretty low-maintenance for a 15 year old.
And he’s got nice friends and…
BEN
Jake’s really popular. Big kids keep coming up to me and
saying… ‘so you’re jailbait’s brother. His band’s really cool’
and stuff like that. Can I have a biscuit?
MUM is staring at him.
MUM
…..Jailbait?
BEN
Yeah… that’s his nickname
MUM
Jailbait?
BEN
Yeah. You’ve asked me that twice. Can I have a biscuit?
MUM
No. Why’s that his nickname?
BEN
I dunno…..why am I called ‘Casualty?’… or ‘Ouch’ or ‘The
Destructotron’. Actually, I’m not called ‘Destructotron’ but
I’d like to be, can I have a biscuit?
DAD
No. Get ready for school
BEN (as he exits)
Is eating caterpillars a talent?
DAD
Only if you’re a bird

http://www.resurgence.org/magazine/article3284-the-power-of-language.html - Article about Language and Power

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/educating-essex/episode-guide - Extract clip from Educating Essex

Samsung F300 advertisement review

When looking at the advert, there are a variety of different techniques and imagery used to attracted the attention of the viewers so they will make the purchase. This advert uses Beyoncé, who is very popular in the public eye, so without even having to advertise the product the audience is immediately attracted to what is being sold. In the ad, it says, "Imagine flipping from your music, to your life and back again." This is then demonstrated on the image above with 2 photos of Beyoncé, one holding a phone towards the audience with her music playing and another photo of her flipped, "flipping back to her life". This Image helps support the information you are being supplied with and is a good representation of what the product can really do and its theme. Throughout the entire description and small print below the photograph, it really plays on the theme of "2" and is supported the whole way through. For example, the music phone "reflects both sides of your personality", "2 megapixel camera", "super-slim", "dual-faced." Using this language which talks a lot about the 2 purposes of the phone, it really highlights and emphasizes the function of the product.