Introducing the Singing English Website

Introducing the Singing English Website

http://www.singingenglish.com/

Singing English is a research based oral literacy program for learners of all ages and abilities. Singing English supports recent research emphasizing the importance of orality as a prerequisite to literacy success.

Singing English Methodology

The Singing English methodology rests on the knowledge that phrasing and structure of certain songs replicate the flow and cadence of spoken English. The methodology is oral based. By learning English songs children are given an acoustic ‘mantra’ which, when accompanied by the social play of the folk song-game, establishes both an acoustic architecture of oral English and an acoustic structure for contextualizing the meaning of the words.

Repeating the songs and games over time, while at the same time re-directing the auditory focus of the players and diversifying the focus of the games, lays the oral language structure for non-English speaking children but also a basis for moving from sound to symbol both iconic and written.

Certain English folksongs have been identified in which the acoustic properties of the music reflect the patterns of spoken English. Game processes have been added through which participants learn the songs, and, once learned, engage with them as objects of thought and represent them in symbol.

Why It Works

Singing English is based on the internal structuring of the Sound to Symbol Methodology. Daily participation in this methodology improves the oral language and literacy skills of those participating. It is common knowledge that when skills are used, they improve. The repetition involved in singing the songs, playing the folk song-games, and using the repertory of study techniques now synonymous with this methodology is a whole language experience in itself.

Who We Are

Founded in 2006, Singing English Education is a dynamic education organization that provides experiential training programs. Our aim is to help educators succeed at using the Singing English methodology for literacy and language success.

Vision

Our vision is to be a business that inspires and empowers educators to explore new ways to expand the learning experiences of children around the world.

Mission

The mission of Singing English Education is to inspire teachers around the world to use music to create success based learning experiences to develop speech, literacy, and written language skills.

History

The use of the Singing English methodology arises from the work of The Living Language Institute, a non-profit organization in Vancouver, BC, Canada. It consists of volunteer professionals dedicated to understanding, researching and teaching the living language as exemplified through Singing English. Singing English uses the Sound to Symbol Methodology, developed over the past 30 years and is an important method for developing oral language skills.


The Founders of Singing English

Dr. Fleurette Sweeney
President of the Living Language Institute Foundation.
Upon her retirement, Dr. Sweeney began her doctoral studies and received her PHD in 2002. Her dissertation From Sound to Symbol: The whole sound as curriculum, the whole child as pedagogue, observation as methodology, has formed the foundation for the Singing English program.

Dr. Kathleen Forsythe
Project Manager and Knowledge Architect of the Singing English teacher support materials.
Dr. Forsythe has a long history of innovation in education in BC, Canada including founding Executive Director of the Knowledge Network and Chair of the Wondertree Foundation. She has extensive experience in the development of innovative learning resources from BC schools through work in the Greater Victoria School District and she is the developer of the Observing for Learning Methodology. For the past nine years, Dr. Forsythe has had extensive involvement in project development in China in a number of fields from energy to telecommunications and from housing to education.

Dr. Teresita-Salve R. Tubianosa
Project Evaluator of the Singing English Pilot Project.
Dr. Tubianosa completed her doctoral studies at UBC, Vancouver, BC, Canada in 2000 in the area of teacher education. She worked as a research and training officer for the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization in Penang, Malaysia and as a UNES researcher in Bangkok, Thailand. She co-authored Student Assessment in Canada: Improving the Learning Environment Through Effective Evaluation. Dr. Tubianosa is also the author of a recent report “Engaging Aboriginal Parents in the Education of their Children.”

Dr. Pille Bunnell
Visual Architect of Singing English teacher support materials.
Dr. Bunnell is an internationally respected biologist and educator with expertise in the biology of cognition and the biology of love. Her work in environmental education spans over 30 years including the development of many forms of multimedia learning resources. She is currently a Board member of the Wondertree Foundation for Natural Learning and is immediate past president of the American Society for Cybernetics.

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