The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Learn English, the British way

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 18, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Learn English, the British way

Meera Srinivasan

Phonetic-based learning software to cover fundamentals

CHENNAI: Would you like your child to speak flawless, Queen’s English? Then Mikids, a phonetic-based language-learning programme would, perhaps, interest you.

Developed by Gerry Knowles of the Linguistics Department of Lancaster University, it seeks to facilitate children in the age group of four to six learn the English language the way it is spoken in Britain.

The multimedia software, designed in three levels, will cover four fundamental areas of language learning -— listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Burnet Tan of Miquest Worldwide, who was in the city for a training programme, explained how each level would train children to pronounce vowels, consonants, pronunciation of three letter words and more complex words, at a later stage.

“Since each country adapts English to their style of speaking the mother tongue, many of us are not aware of the appropriate intonations,” Mr. Tan said.

The programme focuses not just on diction but also on modulation. Children are made to consciously notice the pauses between two words in a sentence.

SIP Academy India, in association with Miquest, offers this programme in India for schools and individual students. About 35 schools are currently using the software. Trainers like Mr. Tan will visit the respective school or centre at which the programme is to be offered and train teachers to use the software. SIP Academy director Dinesh Victor said: “While the programme may be completed over three years in schools, we cover the modules in about one-and-a-half years at our centres.” For details, visit www.sipacademyindia.com or call 4202 3330 or 4202 3331.

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