Our Concept
When it comes to English learning, ESL (English as Second Language) young children would require additional, specially designed tools to make up for the natural English environment available only to EFL children:
I. Extensive English listening input before the age of 8;
II. Essential skills to learn to read in English;
III. Systematic "learn to read" materials;
IV. Reading exercise in every stage of learning.
I. Extensive listening input before the age of 8
Since ESL young children do not live in an environment that provides them with sufficient English listening, having enough listening input before officially learning English can help them develop their abilities to hear, identify, and manipulate phonemes. These skills are so-called "phonemic awareness". Phonemic awareness is one of the basic skills for young children to begin their English learning. With sufficient listening input as the foundation, and led by right methods and learning materials, children will soon be on their way to read their first books.
II. Essential skills to learn to read in English
Phonics and sight words are the two essential skills for ESL children to acquire, in order to learn to read in English; the former enforces their spelling and listening abilities, the latter teaches them function words that constitute the majority of all texts. Therefore, the KRC program focuses on these two skills.
1. Phonics
After our program of phonics, ESL children will be able to spell and read 1260 two-syllable words, and would have the ability to read new words on their own as well.
2. Sight Words (Function words)
Through our program of sight words, children will learn 220 sight words that take up about 75% of the contents in all reading materials.
III. Systematic "learn to read" materials
Whether it is learning phonics or learning sight words, unlike EFL children who could pick up the rules naturally, ESL children need to learn in a systematic way, with countless repetitions and reviews of what has been learned. Thus, the KRC program offers book series that equip children step by step with reading skills in a comprehensive and effective way.
Furthermore, in each stage of the KRC program, the process of learning these skills is also accompanied with sufficient listening input materials, allowing them to develop listening skills with reading skills at the same time.
IV. Reading exercise in every stage of learning
The KRC program offers numerous reading exercises in each unit of every book, allowing children to immediately practice the reading skills they have just learned. In different levels of our phonics and sight word book series, fun and interesting reading materials corresponding to the difficulties are provided, so children of every age are able to directly apply the skills they have acquired through actual reading, and thus become independent readers.