Learning a language from an early age is advantageous because young minds are more impressionable. While it is possible to learn a language later in life, but it becomes difficult to gain full command over it. Most people feel more confident using their native language, as their communication skills are based on it. With fluent reading and writing skills, one can easily make a lasting impact anywhere. That’s why schools emphasize developing reading and writing skills in children as early as kindergarten. The English language, however, is a complex one. Teaching kids about vowels like A, E, I, O, U, along with Y, isn’t enough; it’s just the starting point.
You also need to teach them about diphthongs, showing how two vowels together affect pronunciation. In Greek, the word “diphthong” means two sounds. In the English language, diphthongs are complex vowel sounds in which one vowel glides into another within a syllable. Examples include ‘oi’ in coin and ‘ai’ in rain. Isn’t it a challenging task to guide children through these nuances? You can explain complex concepts like these by following the Orton Gillingham reading program. They can be ready for these lessons after learning about letter-sound relationships, vowels, CVC words, and others. Many platforms give access to workbooks on diphthongs, designed after the Orton-Gillingham approach. You can incorporate these into your teaching process to achieve successful outcomes.
The Significance of Teaching Diphthongs to Children
Many teachers overlook this aspect of literacy instruction. Please don’t make this mistake, even though diphthongs may seem like a small part of phonics. Students need this skill to improve their reading, writing, and spelling abilities. When they identify words by their unique sounds, children gain greater control over their language. You can notice improvement in their listening and speaking skills. They may also begin to recognize how different vowel combinations produce unique sounds.
As their decoding skills improve, they also become more proficient in reading comprehension. After all, children learn to decode new words with similar sounds. For example, if you teach them how to pronounce ‘boil,’ they will be able to read words like foil, toil, and spoil independently once they understand this concept.
Things to consider when teaching diphthongs
Young learners may become familiar with diphthongs, but they might not apply this knowledge during reading or writing due to gaps in instruction. To address this, you should use high-quality learning materials, such as short stories and other engaging media. Encourage learners to practice by participating in targeted activities. For example, ask them to create a list of words containing diphthongs from their reading materials. At the same time, you can give them a list of words and ask them to highlight words containing those sounds.