Sullivan School, Seoul

A case study

Why are these Korean children

a year ahead in English?

I started using Jolly Phonics (in particularThe Phonics Handbook) in March 2003.Although I decided to do things a littledifferently than the Handbook suggested, Icould not have been as effective without it.

My first concern was thepace at which to present theprogram. My class wascomprised of four and fiveyear old EFL (English as aforeign language) students.Sullivan School is an Englishonly school, so all of the instruction wasgiven in English. The language level in myclass was quite varied, some of thestudents were near native level while

others were quite low.It was decided that one month per soundgroup (ie. per Finger Phonics book) wouldbe the goal. The great thing about thisprogram is that it is flexible in allowing the

teacher to be innovativewhile still using theprinciples of the program.

I was fortunate to have thesame students for threehours per day. Aftercompleting a theme-

related activity for one hour, I had twohours to devote to Jolly Phonics. Anyonewho has taught phonics knows that thiswould be torture for most three, four, and

five year olds, not to mention the teacher. Idecided to break the two hours of phonicsinto two parts - one part was story, songand coloring, and one part of actualphonics.I started by introducing each letter soundthrough the use of the Finger Phonics BigBooks. I had the students sit on the floor tolisten to a story. Since most children love stories this was easy. I would make up astory based on the suggested storyline inthe book. I also incorporated students’names when telling the story to increase theirinterest. For example, Daniel would beplaying the drum, Robin would be trying totake the ragged blanket from Rags, Nellused her net while the nasty noisy airplaneflew overhead. This was a lot of fun for thechildren and helped in studentparticipation. I also asked the studentsquestions during the story. Theseresponses determined how the storyprogressed. I found this method was veryvaluable in the EFL classroom. Not onlywere students learning phonics, they werealso actively communicating. Studentstook an active speaking role rather thansimply listening to the teacher.

So after introducing the sounds with the stories, I taught a chant and action for eachone. After sitting and listening to a storythe children welcomed the opportunity toget up and do some physical activity.Students were having so much fun theydidn’t realize they were actually learning.For example, when learning the ‘h’ sound,students would hop around the classroomfor a few minutes, then stop and make ‘h’sounds. Their retention became apparentwhen doing blending exercises. When astudent was having trouble with ‘h’, all Iwould have to do is hop and they wouldrealize the sound they should be saying. I cannot say enough about themulti-sensory aspect of Jolly Phonics,specifically in the EFL environment.

After learning the actions and chants students wrote in their Jolly PhonicsWorkbook.This was also fun for the childrenand gave them time to relax before movingon to blending and reading exercises.

I focused on getting the children to readand sound out the words used in JollyPhonics rather than teaching them theirmeaning. Basic vocabulary was taughtthrough flashcards or storybooks but most ofthe vocabulary in Jolly Phonics was not

Panda Class (6-7 year olds)

Student Age Reading Age Spelling AgeChild 1 6.2 8.1 8.1Child 2 6.8 7.0 7.2Child 3 6.7 8.9 7.11Child 4 6.3 7.3 6.10Child 5 6.11 7.2 7.1Child 6 6.5 6.5 5.11Child 7 6.6 6.3 6.0Child 8 6.9 7.0 7.0

6.6 7.3 7.0Gain over actual age +7 months +4 months

Dolphin Class (5-6 year olds)

Student Age Reading Age Spelling AgeChild 1 5.7 7.4 6.9Child 2 5.9 7.4 7.2Child 3 5.4 6.5 6.4Child 4 5.7 6.8 7.6Child 5 4.3 Absent 5.0Child 6 4.7 6.2 5.6Child 7 5.11 6.4 6.2Child 8 5.2 6.2 6.2Child 9 5.7 7.8 8.4Child 10 5.8 7.2 7.8Child 11 5.8 7.2 7.0Child 12 4.2 7.2 7.2

5.3 6.10 6.9Gain over actual age +17 months +16 months

We used standardized tests at the end of the year to measure the children’s ability. The olderchildren, in Panda Group, showed good results, being several months ahead of their age inreading and spelling. However, it was the younger Dolphin class, who had started from thebeginning with Jolly Phonics, who made the most outstanding progress. They were over ayear ahead in both reading and writing, on average, and this is a test for English first languagechildren.

Reading test: Burt Reading Test (1974) RevisedSpelling test: Schonell Spelling Test

I cannot say enoughabout the impact JollyPhonics has made onthe children.

How Jolly Phonics made such an impact on our students

By John Slaney, teacher at Sullivan School, Seoul

Results at the end of the year

studied in the sense that students wererequired to learn the meaning. However,alongside the teaching of Jolly Phonics inthis first year, the children were taught basicfunctional language. Thefollowing year the childrenwent on to learn grammar,using Jolly Grammar.

After seven months theseven letter groups werecompleted. Students couldchant the letter sounds,most could blend well, and some had goodwriting and dictation skills. Since we hadfive months remaining in the school yearwe decided to review the program. Duringthe review I focused primarily on writingand spelling while also increasing thereading opportunities in class.

I also began to introduce the tricky wordsand alternative spellings at this point. I

knew the tricky words were supposed to be introduced after group three, but I wantedto make sure the students were confidentin applying the 42 letter sounds before

introducing trickywords. Tricky wordsare memorized, so I knew they would be learnedquickly, given myexperience withKorean students andtheir solid ability to

memorize new material.

During the final five months of the schoolyear we reviewed each of the 42 lettersounds in depth. We had daily dictationtests, reading exercises, and independentjournal writing. Students covered everyword box, homework writing sheet, andgrouped words from the Jolly Phonics WordBook. The concentration on writing really

helped students with poorer motor skillswhile strengthening the ability andconfidence of fast learners. Most studentshad a solid grasp of phonics after sevenmonths, however, the last five months werewhen everything came together.

I cannot say enough about the impact JollyPhonics has made on the children, althoughI had great support. Korean parents place agreat deal of emphasis on education. Froman early age, children are encouraged tostudy English and other subjects in theirfree time. The parents of our studentshelped and encouraged with blending,writing, and even letter sounds.

I was happy that the Jolly Phonics programallowed these children to have fun whiledeveloping solid reading skills at the sametime.

The great thing about thisprogram is that it is flexible inallowing the teacher to beinnovative while still usingthe principles of the program.

When I visited a public school in Ontario,Canada in May 2002, a kindergartenteacher in Stratford introduced me toJolly Phonics. She showed me an actionfrom the program and herreading and spellingassessment charts. I sawthat it was a soundsystematic approach toteaching children basicskills to become literate.When I visited anotherschool in Guelph, I wasshown a timetable that included 2 hoursof Jolly Phonics every day. This teacher’schildren had made excellent progressusing the program.

The thing that makes Jolly Phonicsdifferent from other phonics programs, isthat it is a fully multi-sensory educationalprogram using visual,oral, aural andkinesthetic methodsto teach the children.Seeing such aneffective teachingmethod that the children loved to getinvolved in made a deep impression onme. I had never heard of Jolly Phonics inKorea and I wondered if it was availablethere. Later that day, I talked to a momwho was working with her son on someJolly Phonics homework. I had never even

considered giving kindergarten childrenhomework and so I asked the mother ifthey did this everyday. She replied, “Hedoes reading and writing homework

everyday.It’s unbelievable.I just follow the teacher’sinstructions , and he’sprogressing so quickly.”It was a shock to me. Thechild was only four yearsold and yet wasbeginning to learn toread and write, and

doing homework everyday.“What shouldI do now?”, I asked myself. I bought acomplete set of Jolly Phonics teaching materials and returned to Sullivan Schoolwith great enthusiasm. I was certain thatintegrating it into the phonics program Ihad developed myself, would bring very

effective results.

After piloting JollyPhonics at my school forfive months, I adoptedthe program as the official course materialat the school. After

contacting the Jolly Learning office inthe UK and a visit by Mr Chris Jolly, wedecided to do this case study. We usedchildren aged four to six years old, whohad been learning with Jolly Phonics for ayear. We conducted a standard test and discovered a surprisingly high rate of

improvement compared to a previous average year.

If we continue to exchange ideas withother experienced Jolly Phonics teachersand aim to provide the highest standardof instruction, we will continue toachieve excellent results.

Since discovering Jolly Phonics and its benefits in May 2002, the teachers arenow experienced users and are enjoying teaching the program with all itsdifferent materials. The PhonicsHandbook is particularly useful, as itcontains many different resources for theentire program, making teaching it veryeffective.

Seeing such an effectiveteaching method that thechildren loved to getinvolved in made a deepimpression on me.

We conducted a standard test anddiscovered a surprisingly high rateof improvement compared to a previous average year.

Sullivan School543-4 Sinsa-dong, Kangnam-gu

Seoul, KoreaTel: 02-544-4445

Email: marie783@hotmail.com

By Marie Chung, Owner and Director of Sullivan School, Seoul

How we achieved highly improved results at our school

By Lee Sang-Yon, mother of a pupil at Sullivan School

Both of my two children attend Sullivan School. The eldest, my son Ken, has been there since 2001 and Sunny,my daughter, since 2004. Sunny has acquired reading skills much faster than her brother and this is due to theuse of Jolly Phonics. In addition, she has developed much better speaking skills than her brother. Teachers atSullivan School showed me how Jolly Phonics gives children a solid foundation for learning English. Once theyhave learned the fundamentals, they will be more confident and positive towards everything they learn.Looking back, I wish my son, Ken, had had the opportunity to learn English with Jolly Phonics. I would like tothank the principal of Sullivan School for providing the opportunity for my children to have a bilingualeducation.

By Lee Young-Jae, Chairman of Foreign Language Ltd and CEO of Practical Foreign Language Institute

During my time working in government organizations and later in international businesses, I have seen theimportance to Koreans of learning foreign languages, especially English. As a result, I opened a language school andpublishing house specializing in the publication and distribution of English language materials to schools. I have beenespecially impressed with the results from using Jolly Phonics, and so I am pleased to be recommending anddistributing the program to other schools. Our company has also translated The Phonics Handbook to provide abilingual edition for Korean teachers. In addition, we have arranged training for teachers, bringing in the services ofJolly Phonics Professional Trainers from Australia.

Why I am pleased to represent Jolly Phonics in Korea

Jolly Phonics and my children

The Grammar Handbooks 1 and 2After Jolly Phonics, thesebooks introduce grammar,spelling and punctuationfor the next two years.There are 36 lessons in eachbook with lots ofphotocopiable games and activities.

Finger Phonics books 1–7These 7 books teach children howto recognize and form the lettersounds. An action is given for eachsound and cut-out letters showchildren’s fingers the correct formation. Jolly Phonics Word Book

A handy reference for teaching blending, spelling and dictation.Contains lists of regular words madefrom the Jolly Phonics letter-soundgroups, as well the tricky words andwords with consonant blends.

Jolly Phonics DVD This children’s DVD covers the all theletter sounds and the five basic skillsfor reading and writing. Also contains content of Using Jolly Phonics.

Jolly Phonics Videos These children’s videos cover the all theletter sounds and the five basic skills forreading and writing.

Using Jolly Phonics videoA practical demonstration of howsynthetic phonics is used in Jolly Phonics.Other concerns such as special needsand research findings are also covered.

The Phonics Handbook(Korean Bilingual Edition)

A handbook for teaching English Reading, Writing, Spelling and Pronunciation for use in Korea. The Phonics Handbookenables English to be taught in a simple and straightforward way through an understanding of the 42 main letter sounds.Extensive photocopiable material is provided so that a thorough program is available. The children are introduced to theletter sounds of English and shown how to write them. They are shown how to ‘blend’ the sounds together to say wordsand how to identify the sounds in words so they can become good spellers. An easy-to-use Pronunciation Code isintroduced so the children can see how to pronounce the words, (including the stress). 218 pages.

Finger Phonics Big Books 1–7

These big books allow each newletter sound to be introduced tothe whole class. They contain thesame content as the FingerPhonics books. Set of 7 books,each with 16 pages.

JP Alternative Spelling& Alphabet Posters

Two posters showing the alternative spellings of thevowel sounds and the alphabet respectively.

Jolly Phonics Wall FriezeMore than just the alphabet,this classroom frieze shows the42 main letter sounds.In 7 sections.Total length 9.33m/30’ 6”

Jolly Grammar BigBooks 1 and 2These large formatbooks allow newgrammar concepts, suchas verbs, nouns and conjunctions to betaught to the wholeclass.

Jolly DictionaryDesigned to teach children howto look up words they don’tknow. Over 6,000 age-appropriatewords with definitions that havebeen carefully selected so thatchildren find them easy to readand understand.

Jolly Phonics TrickyWord Wall Flowers

Enables teachers to create abright wall display remindingstudents of the tricky wordsthey have been taught.

JP Letter Sound StripsA set of 30 strips for each child to help themremember the spelling of sounds. Letters sounds are

on one side and alternativevowel spellings on the other.

JigletsFlexible, magnetic jigsaw puzzles encourage children tospell words from their sounds.Two packs of four: Animals andVehicles.

Jolly Phonics Presenter’s Kit

A complete presentation, withpresenter’s notes, correspondingoverheads, complementaryvideo and audience handouts.

Jolly ReadersInteresting storybooksdesigned for children whoare just ready to read.Controlled vocabularyenables them to read thewords from their lettersound knowledge.

StenciletsFor young children to help withpencil control and letter formation. Made of durable,washable plastic, they clip thepaper in place. Pack of eight.

Jolly Phonics PuppetsBring Inky Mouse, Bee andSnake to life in your class-room with these 3 soft, plushpuppets. Sized for theteacher’s hand.

Jolly SongsFor use at home, 42 songs and actionsfor each letter sound in Jolly Phonics.Includes an audio CD of all thefeaturing children singing the songs.

Jolly JinglesThis illustrated big book of shortsongs, and an audio CD featuringCanadian children singing, offeran interactive way to reinforceletter sounds and developreading skills.

JP Letter Sound PosterA poster of the letter sounds inthe Jolly Phonics order, ideal forschool or home. Includes illustrations that prompt theJolly Phonics action and thesound.

Jolly Phonics CardsA pack of four boxes forwhole-class use: lettersounds, blending words,alternative vowel spellingsand tricky words.

Jolly Phonics Workbooks 1–7A fun way for children to put theirskills into practice. Strategies fortricky spellings and puzzles forphonic skills are also provided.

Read and See booksThese themed word bookscan be read by studentsonce they’ve learned theletter sounds. An illustrationof each word they read ishiding under a flap.

Jolly Phonics Starter KitEverything a teacher needs to get started with JollyPhonics in a bright carrying case for neat and easy storage. Contains: • The Phonics Handbook • Using JollyPhonics video • Jolly Phonics Videos 1 & 2 • Finger Phonicsbooks 1–7 • Jolly Phonics Workbooks 1–7 • Jolly PhonicsWall Frieze • Jiglets (Animal and Vehicle) • Stencilets.