Teaching English Phonics to Adults

I have been a literacy tutor for adults, first as a volunteer, and then I was in private practice, for a total of over twelve years. I have learned more about what various adult students actually want, and what helped them the most.

First, there are many different levels of literacy. Some students may know quite a bit of sight words, others may know some sounding out skills, and some may be total beginners.

Some students may have specific goals in mind. One of my clients planned to hike from one state to another, and only wanted to learn enough about plants to know which ones were safe to eat.

Whatever their skill level, or goal, I found hands on activities to be very helpful. The clients/students need something to help reinforce what they are learning and their goals.

As with any type of learner, whether child or adult, people can have different learning styles. Some may be more visual learners, others more auditory, etc. If you are tutoring your adult student one on one, you can tailor the lessons more to their individual learning style. However, I have found that it is a good idea to offer a variety of activities that can enhance a different type of focus. The different types of focus can help to reinforce and build learning across the board.

Word Search and Crossword Puzzles can be Custom Made for Specific Letter Patterns

Searching for words in a mixed up group of letters can help with both individual letter recognition, and also recognition of words that are out of context. I used to shop around trying to find word search books that were more appropriate for adults. I did find some that were more suitable at a Teacher Resource store.

However, once I found out that I could make my own tailored puzzles to a specific letter pattern, and or specific words, it was so much more helpful and convenient. I could tailor the word searches to each specific student's needs and wants.

However, if you would prefer to purchase a word puzzle book, I recommend getting a large print one. Check inside to view sample words before purchasing. This word search puzzle book link will take you to Amazon.

My adult students liked doing the word search puzzles and also fill in the blanks. I had my students do these in between the one on one lessons as well, as homework. I made up sentences on my computer and printed them out for my students.

Learning for adults can also involve fun and games.

Every lesson doesn't have to be at a desk or table.

I had a client who wanted more responsibility in his work. I provided him with a clip board for his paper, so that he could write down basic notes while touring the training facility. That really enhanced his interest.

Both phonics and sight words are important.

Phonics is using the known sounds that the individual letters represent in sounding/figuring out what the word is.

Sight words are simply taught as recognition words. For instance, for most students, their name is usually taught as a sight word, before any instruction of phonics is given. The word STOP on the stop sign is a great word to teach as a sight word without the student having to know what sounds the letters represent. I had a an adult literacy student who didn't drive, but did ride a bike. Recognizing various signs and going over right of way laws were very helpful to him.

Sight words can be a good place to start. It helps to build a sense of mastery, quickly. Flash cards are a great way to teach and reinforce word recognition. - Learning phonics helps the students decipher new words.

Make your own flashcards.

Older students are probably interested in different activities, than the younger student, i.e. driving, movies for the older crowd, novels, etc.

Using themes that your student is interested in, will aid in their learning. You and/or you and your student can make custom flash cards. Either one can draw or cut out pictures from magazines to add on index cards.

You can also purchase custom flash cards at my CustomFlashCards store on Zazzle: www.zazzle.com/store/CustomFlashCards. You can also submit design requests there. There are quantity discounts, even with ordering a variety of different designs.

Do you have any other ideas? You can share them in a comment below.

Cheryl Paton

Letter Tile Ideas for Teaching Phonics

No matter the age of your student, it's fun to intermix playing games with other literacy activities.

Bananagrams is a spelling game featuring a banana shaped zippered pouch and Scrabble type alphabet letter tiles. It is easy and convenient to carry along.

The basic game is to place letter tiles face down and participants pick a number of tiles and they take turns adding to the crossword puzzle that they are making. The instructions will give more details and various options for ways to play the game.

With the letter tiles, you can also come up with your own variations. For instance, you could have your student practice making words that start with a certain blend, or make rhyming words that have the same spelling on the end of the word.

I am sure that you can come up with other ideas as well.

Some ideas are:

1. Scramble the letters of a particular word, say the word, then have the student rearrange the letters to spell the word correctly.

2. Lay a variety of letter tiles to choose from, then start the word with a letter blend, say the word, then have the student complete the spelling of the word.

3. Lay the letter tiles out to represent various blends, i.e. bl, cl, fl, etc. Say a word and have the student select the correct spelling for the beginning blend.

4. Lay the letter tiles out to represent various blends, i.e. br, cr, dr, etc. Place letter tiles in place to spell the remainder of a word. Have the student select the correct blend and have them place the correct tiles in front of the letters that make a word.

A small set is plenty enough tiles for a couple of people to play a variety of spelling games.

5. Make a crossword puzzle. Lay various letter tiles out, and spell a word with the tiles. Have the student think of a word that includes a letter that you have already used, and they can add their tiles to the crossword puzzle. Alternating turns, keep using letters that are already in the puzzle to be part of the new word.

As you can see, there are a variety of ways to use letter tiles to help reinforce learning.

If you don't already have letter tiles from an old Scrabble game, then I recommend Bananagrams; it comes with a storage bag to easily carry your letters and it's small enough to fit in a purse or backpack.


If you have other spelling ideas to use letter tiles, please share them with us below.

Cheryl Paton

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