Sessions

Teaching Phonics Using the Jolly Phonics Approach

This is a report of a pilot study on teaching phonics to fifth and sixth grade students in Mie, Japan. A revised course of study will be implemented in 2020 and phonics will be a new element added to the fifth and sixth grades foreign language curriculum. Due to the time constraint, we modified the Jolly Phonics approach and taught 18 sounds in two semesters. All the students enjoyed learning phonics and acquired the sounds.

Developing a Phonics Education Framework for Junior High Schools

The phonics program started at an elementary school in Kumano, Mie in 2019 as a pilot project. When the first group of students matriculated to the secondary level in 2020, the Jolly Phonics approach, which was designed for younger learners, was modified to fit the junior high students’ language abilities and intellectual levels. Teaching phonics in English and phonics exercises are some of the modifications employed as part of the junior high school format.