SAFE N SOUND GETTING TO THE HEART OF READING

When Greek pupils start learning English as a foreign language many difficulties may emerge, mainly due to the different phonological structures of both languages. For example, in Greek a always sounds / a /, k is always /k/ and so on. However in English, it is very common for letters to have more than one sounds. Therefore, Greek pupils find the English language difficult to master and reading seems confusing and puzzling. Things tend to be further complicated with pupils facing Learning Difficulties. Safe n Sound editing team consists of professional educators with prolonged experience in teaching English and specialization in the alleviation of reading difficulties. Using pedagogical and scientific perspectives drawn from the cultural context of both languages (Greek and English), the team has developed Safe n Sound as a first attempt to master reading in an easy, simple and pleasant way. Safe n Sound aims at offering an alternative method for a smooth introduction of Greek pupils to some of the phonological structures of the English language. It presents a reliable methodology and it provides a safe reading environment in order to facilitate reading for all pupils. Furthermore, it helps those pupils who fail to overcome reading difficulties in a non-conventional way. The development of the material has been made after a careful cosideration of the priorities set by some of the UK most respected methods for helping children with reading difficulties. In Safe n Sound , stories, rhymes, silly sentences and visual cues (pictographs) are used throughout the book to present phonological patterns in a fun, yet memorable way. The editing team hopes that Safe n Sound will change the way Greek pupils learn to read!