Misty Adoniou · phonics · Phonics screening check · The Conversation

The continuation of the war against phonics by other means

Once again I feel obliged to respond to an article posted by Misty Adoniou in The Conversation and, as I have pointed out previously here and here, Misty is as foggy as her name when it comes to talking about phonics. In order to arrest the decline in reading ability, Australia is currently considering adopting the England’s Phonics Screening Check. Misty’s… Continue reading The continuation of the war against phonics by other means

Misty Adoniou · Peter Daniels · phonics · The Conversation · William Vright · Writing systems

Why Misty makes me see magenta

How can I tell that we’re back in autumn, which seems to be not so much a season of mellow fruitfulness as a season of a dearth of academic ‘astutefulness’? Well, because Misty Adoniou, a senior lecturer at the University of Canberra, has been at it again! What is the ‘it’ that she’s been ‘at’?… Continue reading Why Misty makes me see magenta

Daniels and Bright · Diane McGuinness · Nathaniel Swain · The Conversation

Reform the spelling system? Not likely! Train the teachers!

In spite of having written on this issue a number of times before (here, here and here), after reading Nathaniel Swain’s piece in The Conversation ‘Trying to change English’s complex spelling is a waste of time’, I feel moved to say more on the subject. Essentially, Swain is quite right! The trouble is that, although he… Continue reading Reform the spelling system? Not likely! Train the teachers!