Dog deeds
Our wonderful kelpie-cross, Finnigan, has been coming with me to see students for quite some time. He made it into the papers recently!
Finnigan lends his paw
Mornington Peninsula Leader
1 Jul 2014
HE COULDN’T cut the mustard as a traditional working dog, but Finnigan is more than making up for it. The two-year-old kelpie cross is helping his owner, linguistic specialist Lyn Stone, teach dyslexic children. “He is a great ice breaker,” Ms Stone..
Grammar mavens do more harm than good
From time to time we’re asked for quotes on issues surrounding literacy and language. Spelling, punctuation and grammar are certainly emotive subjects. This recent article is interesting not just for its content, but for the furious online debate that ensued. Click on the picture below and scroll down for the 300+ comments after the article:
We have a different view
We have a slightly different view in that we work with people who genuinely struggle with spelling, punctuation and grammar and sometimes our hearts break for them because we do live in a world where much judgement is placed on linguistic output.
Such snobbery and ridicule is common because the majority of people become adequate at these things through very basic teaching and are able to move on and apply these skills without much bother. There is a section of the population that misses out on this basic teaching. This can happen through having inadequate schooling or underlying sensory-cognitive deficits. English lessons move on and they’re left stranded and consigned to mockery.
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Language for Life
There was quite a bit of media interest following the release of Language for Life. Most prominently the Herald Sun featured and article on grammar teaching and how Language for Life could help. Click here for the full article.
- Channel 10’s Studio 10 were quick to take up the issue, though it disappointingly featured pedantic wittering by self-proclaimed grammar mavens. That’s mainstream TV for you! Click here to watch the segment.
- We were also quoted in an excellent article from Pearson’s Good Magazine, in the Project Literacy section about how texting can actually improve writing skills. Click here to read that article.
- Australian Family Magazine also quoted Lyn on the power of very early language development. To read that article, click here.
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