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Category Archives: Literacy and multilingual education

Building Your Vernacular Library

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What is it?

This is a 5-day course to help people kick-start or rejuvenate their Vernacular literacy programme. It will equip people to encourage community ownership of the programme and includes how to plan and run writers’ workshops, test an orthography, write culturally relevant stories and produce materials all to encourage reading fluency.

Who should come?

SIL and BTA translation and literacy teams at any stage in their programme.

Next Session:

To be announced

Vernacular Creative Phonics

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What is Creative Phonics all about? What do we do?

This is a 2 ½ week course introducing the Phonics method which is one part of a balanced Vernacular literacy programme. It aims to train the participants to start developing teaching materials based on the phonogram frequency count of the language and to teach reading and writing in the Vernacular through observation of lessons and teaching practice.

 What is Involved? 

  • Why Creative Phonics
  • 4 basic literacy principles
  • How to order phonemes and phonograms
  • Discover phonograms, not letters
  • Frequency versus productivity
  • How to motivate the learner
  • Prepare and enhance stories for the Creative Phonics approach
  • Let the children write!
  • The first two weeks of teaching – a timetable
  • Timetables, lesson plans and preparation
  • What to teach when
    • Monday: sounds
    • Tuesday: spelling and words
    • Wednesday: whole words
    • Thursday: sentences
    • Friday: whole story
  • Materials, stories, books…
  • Practice teaching

Who should come?

Anyone interested in having a vibrant Vernacular literacy program for children or adults especially Elementary and TPPS (Tok Ples Prep School) teachers.

Prerequisites Required:

The VCP course will be conducted in Tok Pisin and English, but reading assignments and handouts will use English.

  • Applicants must be able to read, write and speak fluently in the vernacular in which they are teaching.  Tok Pisin is considered a vernacular if you are teaching in a school that uses Tok Pisin as the mutual language of understanding in a Multilanguage setting.
  • Teaching experience in TTPS, EP, E1 or E2.
  • 10 pages of natural vernacular text.  This text cannot be translated material.
  • Must know some English and be able to read and respond to written questions in English.

Prerequisites Preferred:

  • Vernacular dictionary.  If you have both a lexical dictionary and a picture dictionary please bring both.  Bring whatever dictionary you have.
  • Able to read and write and understand English, in other words a higher proficiency in English.

Next session:

23 June – 10 July, 2020

Please find application on the Applications page.

Vernacular Path to English

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What is it?

This is a 2 ½ week course designed to train national Elementary teachers how to bridge to English from their foundation in Vernacular Literacy. It takes the participants through this process of bridging by focusing on teaching listening and speaking skills in English first. Then they have guided help from the staff in comparing the sounds of their Vernacular to English. On this basis they then start planning lessons for teaching the sounds and letters of English. The course includes lesson planning, materials production and teaching practice.

Who should come?

National Elementary teachers and trainers and SIL &  BTA personnel who want to facilitate bridging from Vernacular into English in Elementary schools.

Prerequisites Required:

The VPE course will be conducted in English and requires knowledge of both English and the Vernacular in which you teach.

  • The ability to read, write and speak in English and to follow directions given in English as well as be able to read and respond to written questions in English.
  • The ability to speak, read and write, in the vernacular language in which you are teaching.
  • Have experience as a TTPS, EP, E1 or E2 teacher.

Prerequisites Preferred:

  • Currently posted to a local school where the vernacular is used in EP, E1, and E2.
  • Basic conversational ability in English.

Next session:

18 August – 4 September, 2020

Please find application form on the Applications page.