About The Sound Way

Frequently Asked Question

Will The Sound Way work for my children or me?

Yes! The experts from the U.S.A.., the U.K. and Australia all now agree that Direct Instruction phonetic teaching is the quickest and surest method of providing clear and accurate reading and writing instruction to students of all ages. The Sound Way programs are the only online interactive face-to-face video teaching programs that teach advanced phonics skills while simultaneously combining the essential rules and knowledge of English spelling to its students.

Whether your child is a beginning six-year-old reader, a struggling 15-year-old teenager with major spelling and reading problems, or a mature 65-year-old who just wants to be able to read and write English better; this program is for you. It will teach and equip anyone with the necessary phonetic skills and knowledge to enable them to independently unlock almost any word in the English language.

Is The Sound Way effective with adults?

Yes, the senior program works extremely well with adult learners and has proven itself to work equally effectively with all people of every age - regardless of nationality, or past learning experience.

Does The Sound Way work with those who have English as a Second Language (ESL Students)?

Emphatically yes! The Sound Way programs have experienced major success in India, China, Malaysia, USA and the Middle East. The programs have fast-tracked clear speaking and enunciation of English words, while at the same time hugely improved and advanced the learners' fundamental skills of English Reading, writing and spelling. (See "Success Stories - International Testimonials" click here).

Some have gone as far as to label and nominate The Sound Way program as, "The essential breakthrough program required for any ESL learner to fast-track and fully grasp the fundamentals skills of English reading, writing, spelling, and clear pronunciation of English words."

What results can I expect?

Average improvement of 2 to 3 school years in reading and writing ability in a 10-12 week period - regardless of whether they used the Junior or the Senior program. Older and more mature students have recorded improvements of over six years in their reading ability and four years in their spelling ability in the same timeframe.

Who are best suited for The Sound Way programs?

All primary school children -regardless of current chronological age or reading and writing ability level.

Remedial primary school children - including those diagnosed with ADD, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia and other learning disabilities.
Remedial secondary school students. Many high schools put their entire cohort of Year 7 and 8 students through The Sound Way program.
TAFE and VET students needing improved literacy skills to cope with their studies.
Adults in the workplace requiring improved literacy skills to enable them to have more job mobility; undertake further training; or move up into supervisory or managerial positions.
All International (ESL) students wanting to improve their accuracy at clearly pronouncing and enunciating English words; while at the same time greatly improving their English reading and writing ability.

Is The Sound Way effective with those who have ADD, ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, etc?

Yes, powerfully so!!! The straightforward, clear and positive presentation of the video lessons contained within the program provide a much desired positive change and improvement in participants' self-esteem, self-worth and self-confidence; all of which greatly helps and aids them overcome their disabilities.

What is the cost of The Sound Way program?

HOME PROGRAM

Complete Junior or Senior Sound Way Program: $275 AUD

SCHOOL AND COLLEGE PROGRAMS

School Site License: $3,400
Student Fee: $25/student

WORKPLACE PROGRAMS

Workplace Site License: $5,600
Participant Fee: $125/participant

How does The Sound Way line up with the latest worldwide literacy research?

All three of the three major international governmental investigations and enquiries into the teaching practices of English literacy; the 2000 U.S. National Reading Panel Report; the 2005 Australian National Literacy Review; and the 2005 U.K. Independent Review of the Teaching of Early Reading by Sir Jim Rose; were unanimous, clear and concise in their findings and recommendations. Their recommendations are already embedded into all of The Sound Way literacy programs and have been since 1994. The 4 major findings of the investigations were:

Must be Phonic-based - The Sound Way teaches all 45 sounds of the English language (phonemes) and the 75 ways of representing the sounds on paper (phonograms).
Must be Multisensory - Uses all four of the possible learning avenues into the brain. Students HEAR-the sounds; SAY- the sounds; WRITE- the sounds; READ- the sounds.
Must be Sequentially Developed - The Sound Way starts students with the very simple and progressively moves them up into the more complex - commencing with words like "go" and "at"; then progressively moving them up to a senior high school level teaching words such as "proficiency" and "conscientious".
Must be Cumulative - The sequential development and impartation of the essential body of knowledge necessary for student success is all contained within The Sound Way video lessons and student workbooks. Upon completion of a Sound Way program students are left equipped with a complete understanding and working knowledge of the structure of English words. This knowledge can now be applied to the reading or learning of any new words they may encounter in the future.

How easy is The Sound Way to implement?

Home Programs

It's actually very easy! The Sound Way Home Program online lessons have an Introductory Video which contains all of the necessary instructions to make it very simple for a Home Learner (young or old) or a Home Schooling parent to successfully implement and successfully complete a Sound Way program.

Parents do not need to pre-learn any material, nor any part of the program before their children can commence. The Introductory Video clearly explains matters such as frequency of lessons and how parents can be supportive and encouraging as they oversee their children's progress. Older students, 11 years and over, will generally not need the same level of support. If, however, they are young teenagers, they will need some level of support and supervision.

School, College and Workplace Programs:

The 12-hour online Teacher/Facilitator Training videos, along with the accompanying Teacher/Facilitator Manuals makes implementation of the program extremely easy for both facilitators and students. All that is required to achieve outstanding results is a committed and motivated teacher/facilitator who will diligently facilitate and oversight their students during the presentation of the video lessons.

All of the necessary Lesson Preparation, Programming and Timetabling has been provided for the teacher/facilitators and can be found within their Teacher/Facilitator Manuals.

Who developed The Sound Way?

The Sound Way to Spelling, Writing and Reading program was developed and produced by West Australian Craig Henderson. Craig, a highly qualified teacher and trainer, began his career back in the early 1970's. Since 1988 his focus and attention have been solely devoted to researching, developing and refining the optimal approach to the teaching of the fundamental literacy skills of English spelling, writing and reading.

His first video version of The Sound Way program was produced in 1994. Within two years of being released The Sound Way was receiving national acclaim with one school who had acquired the program receiving the major Federal government's top National Literacy Award for the entire state of Queensland; its dramatic effect upon the students' literacy abilities within the school being repeatedly featured on national television.

In 1996 his courses were awarded both National and State Accreditation status by the Skills Standard and Accreditation Board of Western Australia; now the Training Accreditation Council of Western Australia.

Married since 1973, Craig and his wife Maria have three adult children and nine grandchildren.

How long does The Sound Way program take to complete?

SENIOR PROGRAM

In Homes: 12 Weeks - requiring less than 4 hours per week and the completion of three video-lessons; each one takes approximately one and a quarter hours (including Workshop Book activity).

In Schools: 10 weeks (One Term) - requiring 1.25 hours per day; completing 5 lessons per week including the 10 Minute Daily Sentence Construction Exercise and Workshop Book activity.

RTOs and VET Centres: 10 Week Timetable requiring one 1.5 hour lesson to be completed per day, Mon. - Fri; alternatively, 5 Week Timetable - requiring two lessons to be completed per day, Mon. - Fri.

*All of the above can be adapted to suit the local environment and circumstances.*

JUNIOR PROGRAM

In Homes: 17 weeks requiring approx 3 hours per week and completing three lessons per week.

In Schools: 11 weeks requiring approx. 1.15 hours per day, completing 5 lessons per week including Sentence Construction Exercise and Workshop Book activity.

What do The Sound Way programs comprise of?

HOME PROGRAMS

Senior - Home

Introductory Video.
Online access to the complete set of 35 x 40-min. Senior Lessons on video.
Online access to the marking of Workshop Lessons numbers 6 to 34 on video.
PDF of the student Senior Manual.
PDF of the student Workshop Book 1.
Online access to the full set of Phonic Practice Drills on video.

Junior - Home

Introductory Video for junior program.
Online access to the complete set of 53x 35-min. Junior Lessons on video.
Five-minute Storytime segment at the completion of each lesson.
PDF of the student Junior Manual.
PDF of the student Junior Workshop Book.
Online access to the full set of Phonic Practice Drills on video.

SCHOOL AND COLLEGE PROGRAMS

Senior - School

PDF of Teacher/Facilitator Manuals.
Two-day Teacher/Facilitator Training Course on video (8 sessions - approx. 1.25 hours each).
Introductory Video for students.
Online access to the complete set of 50 x 40-min. Senior Lessons on video.
PDF of the set of 75 Phonic Practice Cards.
PDF of the set of 3 Phonic Practice Wall-charts.
PDF of the student Senior Manual.
PDF of the student Senior Workshop Book 1.
PDF of the student Senior Workshop Book 2.
Online access to the full set of Phonic Practice Drills on video.

Junior - School

PDF of Teacher/Facilitator Manuals.
Two-day Teacher/Facilitator Training Course on video (8 sessions - approx. 1.25 hours each).
Introductory Video for students.
Online access to the complete set of 53 x 35-min. Junior Lessons on video;
PDF of the set of 75 Phonic Practice Cards.
PDF of the set of 3 Phonic Practice Wall-charts.
PDF of the student Junior Manual.
PDF of the student Junior Workshop Book 1.
PDF of the student Junior Workshop Book 2.
Online access to the full set of Phonic Practice Drills on video.

WORKPLACE PROGRAMS

Senior - Workplace

PDF of Teacher/Facilitator Manuals.
Two-day Teacher/Facilitator Training Course on video (8 sessions - approx. 1.25 hours each).
Introductory Video for students.
Online access to the complete set of 50 x 40-min. Senior Lessons on video.
PDF of the set of 75 Phonic Practice Cards.
PDF of the set of 3 Phonic Practice Wall-charts.
PDF of the student Senior Manual.
PDF of the student Senior Workshop Book 1.
PDF of the student Senior Workshop Book 2.
Online access to the full set of Phonic Practice Drills on video.