Fluency techniques can be based either on texts provided by the teacher or on material prepared by the learners. Using texts
provided by the teacher allows the teacher focus on particular vocabulary.
b. Richness activities that aim to increase the number of associations attached to a word can be of two types: those that establish
syntagmatic relationships and those that establish paradigmatic relationships .
1 Syntagmatic relationships are those that associate a word with
other words that can typically precede or follow it. For example, the word fuel can be preceded by words like cost as in the cost of
fuel. Activities can be used to develop these relationships include the following:
a Collocation activities. A typical collocation activity gets
learners to match collocates with given items. b Semantic mapping. Semantic mapping involve drawing a
diagram of relationships between words according to their use in a particular text.
c Dictation and related activities. The nature of the dictation activity is that it focuses learners’ attention on the collocational
relationships within dictated phrases. 2 Paradigmatic relationships are those associate a word with others
of related meaning.
28
B. Letterland
1. Definition of Letterland
In terms of teaching and learning process, letterland is highly sophisticated teaching techniques that combine stories with the pictograms of
28
James Coady and Thomas Huckin, Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997, p. 248
letters. It is a fun way, child-friendly, multi-sensory multi-modal system for teaching or introducing children to literacy skills read, write, and spell.
29
Letterland uses pictograms alphabet-shaped picture-characters. They are a careful fusion of letters and animated characters that is designed to carry
information. These simple powerful images contain the basic phonic information that children need for accessing print. Each character has been
created and designed which letters make in words.
30
The letterland pictograms activate every learning channel, linking all the things that children love-social interaction, movement, art, craft, rhyme
directly to letter knowledge. When child’s interest in some object or animal is high, that is the best
time to name it, thus associating the object with the spoken word and later with the printed symbols for it. To increase his understanding and use of verbs
provide interesting activities.
31
In traditional phonic teaching, confusing variations, which make no sense to a child, have to be learned with little to help the child remember
them. With letterland, rules are replaced with brief stories which entertain while they teach. Some of these stories may seem far-fetched to an adult, but
29
Playgroup Training Division, Tumble Tots Playgroup Handout Letterland and Fun Math unpublished: Tomble Tots Playgroup, 2005, p. 1
30
Ibid, p. 1
31
Ruth Strang, An Introduction to Child Study, New York: The Macmillan Company, 1957, p. 223
to a child these stories make boring rules vastly easier to remember. Each story catches a child’s imagination.
Three and four year olds enjoy stories rich in sense impressions and action stories about the sights they see, the substances the touch, the activities
in which they engage, the sound they hear are fascinating to them.
32
By hearing nursery rhymes and stories again and again the child is encouraged to remember them. Pictures in story books suggest the events that
they illustrate and thus give practice in recall, after one or two repetitions of story children as young as two and a half years will supply the words when
the storyteller pauses on certain points.
33
By using interactive storytelling to explain new sound and spelling patterns, children quickly grasp the alliterative principle. With the single letter
shape, children can picture code any letter combinations, which helping them to remember this new behavior.
On learning process children need an important condition for successful language learning is the absence of stress. By focusing on meaning
interpreted through movement, rather than on language forms studied in the
32
Ibid., p. 224
33
Ibid, p. 227-228
abstract, the learner is said to be liberated from self-conscious and stressful situations and is able to devote full energy to learning.
34
Three- to five year old children commonly are noisy, responsive, adept at mimicry, unashamedly emotional, and without pretense. They love
exaggeration and enjoy experimenting with new sounds and motions.
35
Associating letters with interesting characters and incorporating this into activities and games that makes fun to the children. It is important for
promoting young children’s learning. The letterlanders Annie Apple, Bouncy Ben, Clever Cat, etc are
alliterative which immediately taps into the building of phonemic awareness skills. Children are enchanted by the characters and animals in the secret place
called letterland. And educators know that if children are interested, they learn without even words.
36
Learning to read, write and spell, children need to know the sounds that letters represent in words. By starting to say each letterland character’s
name, children discover the sounds that letters make in words surprisingly quickly. By bonding intriguing images into the otherwise uninteresting black
letter shape and replacing dry rules with little stories, the system makes
34
Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers, Approaches and Methods In Language Teaching: A description and analysis, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992, eight printed,
p. 91
35
William C. Morse and G. Max Wingo, Psychology and Teaching. 2
nd
edition, USA: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1962, p. 79
36
Playgroup Training Division, op. cit., p. 3
learning to read, write, and spell in English both easier to remember and a lot of fun.
37
In this case Penny Ur stated on her guided book, that in teaching vocabulary “the learner has to know what the word sounds like its
pronunciation and what it looks like its spelling. These fairly obvious characteristics, and one or the other will be perceived by the learner when
encountering the item for the first time.
38
So, second language teaching and learning process should reflect the naturalistic processes of first language learning. Asher sees three processes as
central. a Children develop listening competence before they develop the ability to speak. b Children’s ability in listening comprehension is acquired
because children are required to respond physically to spoken language in the form of parental commands. c Once a foundation is listening comprehension
has been established, speech evolves naturally and effortlessly out of it.
39
Thus, in presenting the new items of vocabulary language must be presented in spoken form before they are introduced in written form. In the
37
Playgroup Training Division, Letterland Common Quest, unpublished: Tumble Tots Playgroup, 2005, p. 6
38
Penny Ur., op. cit., p. 60
39
Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers, op. cit., p. 90
initial phrase of language instruction, the audio-lingual skills must be dominant over reading and writing.
40
To clarify the lesson in using letterland technique, the form of new words can be demonstrated with examples. The meaning of new words is not
conveyed through translation. It is made clear visually with object, pictures, action, and mime.
41
Using letterland technique to the children, which can help them achieve to following goals to enrich vocabulary for foundation stage to read
can be carried out. Here the following goals for foundation stage to read: a. Listening to using spoken and written language.
b. Exploring and experimenting with language. c. Sustaining attentive listening, responding to what they have heard.
d. Extending vocabulary, exploring the meaning and sounds of new words. e. Hearing and saying initial sounds in words.
f. Linking sounds to letters, naming, and sounding letters of the alphabet. g. Knowing that print carries meaning and it is read from left to right.
By using letterland technique means the use of concrete objects and pictures, which together with storytelling can be used to demonstrate the
40
Theo. Van, Els., et al., Translated by R.R. Van Oir Souw, Applied Linguistic and The Learning and Teaching of Foreign Languages, London: Edward Arnold, 1984, p. 256
41
Op. cit, p. 38
meanings of new vocabulary items and to recognize the sound of letter that are used to the learners to read, write and spell.
2. Function of Letterland Pictogram
