Syllabic method: characteristics of this reading and writing technique.

A technique for learning to read and write either at school or at home.

The syllabic method of reading and writing is one of the most popular methodologies for teaching reading and writing.

This method was developed by German pedagogues Friedrich Gedike and Samiel Heinicke, and consists of teaching reading by combining vowels and consonants to form syllables. Progressively, greater difficulty is incorporated, reaching as the last levels the formation of meaningful words and phrases. Let's see what its characteristics are and how it is used.

Characteristics of the syllabic method

The syllabic method is a synthetic method, that is, it starts from small units and gradually approaches more complex units. It uses syllables as the basic individual units.We do not pronounce the sounds of individual letters in isolation when we speak.

When we speak, we do not pronounce the sounds of each letter in isolation. We do it by pronouncing syllabically, that is, by emitting combinations of two or more sounds. That is why this method starts from the syllable as the unit of learning literacy, since it is the smallest pronounceable unit.

While the other systems of teaching reading focus in isolation either on the spelling (how the letter is written) or only on the phoneme (its pronunciation), the syllabic method allows combining these two aspects, teaching how to pronounce syllables and gradually teaching how to use them to form words and phrases..

How is it used to learn to read and write?

The syllabic method teaches students to read by following a process of increasing complexity. First, children are familiarized with letters and their sounds.. Once they have learned how each of the letters sounds, we proceed to teach combinations of sounds.

We start with the vowels, and we can incorporate images and words to facilitate their learning. Once they have reached this point, they are taught syllables composed of combinations of a consonant followed by a vowel (e.g., ma, me, mi, mi, mo and mu). Once they have learned these combinations, the difficulty is increased by teaching more difficult to pronounce syllables with two consonants (e.g., bra, bre, bri, bro and bru). Once students have mastered these two types of syllables, syllables with an inverse structure, i.e., a vowel followed by a consonant (e.g., ar, er, ir, or and ur) are taught.

Finally, the most difficult syllables are taught, those in which there are diphthongs (e.g., gua, güe...), triptongs (miau), four letters (e.g., pres) and mixed syllables.

The teaching of the syllabic method can be done using books with various types of syllables, which are called syllabaries..

Advantages of this educational method

The syllabic method has a number of advantages that have made it one of the most popular methods for teaching reading and writing:

It omits the spelling of each letter separately 2.

It gives importance to the pronunciation of syllables.

2. Syllables are sound units

This allows the acquisition of reading and writing in an agile and fast way since they can be memorized more easily.

3. It can be taught in a logical and organized way.

This is done by presenting exercises with increasingly complex syllables and following a pre-established hierarchy and following a pre-established hierarchy.

4. It is very useful in certain languages

The syllabic method is very effective in teaching how to write and read languages such as Spanish or Finnish, since they are very phonetic (transparent languages) and are written as they sound.since they are very phonetic (transparent languages) and are written as they sound.

5. Promotes autonomy in boys and girls

Being a simple method of learning also allows it to be taught in an easy way, encouraging the students themselves to help others to learn to read and write.

6. It is not very expensive

It does not require too many resources to implementIt is a relatively inexpensive method to apply in the classroom.

Disadvantages

Although it has proven to be very effective in teaching reading and writing, the syllabic method has a number of disadvantages, which may make other methods more appropriate depending on the situation:

1. it can generate impatience

By starting with the pronunciation of the simplest vowels and syllables, and gradually adding complexity, it may be the case that students do not find it necessary to go through so many steps to learn to read and write.

2. It is based on meaningless units

The syllable, as a unit, is generally meaningless by itself.

3. It can become monotonous

Some children do not like the syllabic method, since it implies having to learn in a mechanical it implies having to learn syllables in a mechanical and repetitive way, which can become a monotonous process.which can become a boring process.

4. It can confuse with the objective to reach

As it is a mechanical learning process, the child may focus only on how to read and write the syllables correctly, and may not understand the text as a whole, presenting difficulties in its comprehension.

5. The possibility of syllabification

Syllabication may occur, which is the phenomenon in which children read each of the syllables that make up words separately instead of reading the word as a whole.

6. In some languages it costs more

It is not the most appropriate method for learning languages that are read differently from the way they are written, such as English or French (which are not).such as English or French (opaque languages).

Other methods

Although the syllabic method has proven useful for transparent languages such as Spanish, there are other methods that have been used throughout the history of teaching in order to perfect reading and writing skills.

1. Literal method

The student begins to learn the vowels and then moves on to the consonants, one by one.. He learns to call each letter by its name ("pe", "ene", "cu"...). This is a problem, since it leaves aside how the letters sound in the word and the rules that govern their phonology.

2. Phonic method

The sound of each letter is taught. Usually each sound is accompanied by an image that is recognizable to the child, allowing easier assimilation (e.g., the sound /s/ with the image of a snake).

This method can be carried out gradually and makes it easier for the child to get used to any new sound. However, since some letters are pronounced the same, confusion may occur (e.g., "ce" with "zeta" and "ka").

3. Global method

In contrast to the syllabic method, in this method starts with the word or phrase and progressively moves towards its elements: syllables, letters and sounds.. In other words, it goes in the opposite direction.

First, children learn the words as a whole, usually accompanied by images that represent them, and little by little they are made aware of the phonemes and spellings that compose them.

Author: Nahum Montagud

Bibliographical references:

• Marchesi, A., Coll, C. and Palacios, J. (2004). Psychological development and education: 3. Developmental disorders and special educational needs. Madrid: Alianza Editorial.
• Calderón G., G.; Carrillo P., M., and Rodríguez M., M. (2006). Phonological awareness and syllabic writing level: a study with preschool children. Límite, 1(13), 81-100.