Want to get better English grades in less time, with less effort, and less stress, and save money?
Then read on…

Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish is a new, scientific way to learn English, giving you better results in less time, with less effort, less repetition and less stress, by incorporating principles of Cognitive Human Architecture and Cognitive Load Theory

“A series of brilliant innovations that will revolutionize language teaching”

UNSW Prof Emeritus
John Sweller, Founder of
Cognitive Load Theory

Click here to read an article on this subject co authored by Prof. Sweller

It's hard to read well if you don't have good information.

  • Romans wrote in CAPITALS with no word spaces, which is hard to read.

HISEYESOPENWIDEASIFINSHOCKHESSAD

HISEYESOPENWIDE ASIFINSHOCKHESSAD

French monks added

1. Word spaces

2. Upper and lower case letters

3. Punctuation

As you can see, the information added by French monks makes reading so MUCH easier:

His eyes open wide as if in shock. He’s sad.

English spelling does not contain enough information for you to accurately figure out the correct sound of many English words

“signed can make
76,800” different sounds!

See the video to understand how this is possible

Phonics 1.0 provides more information, but not enough

  • Phonics 1.0 is the system used in schools in many countries to teach student how to decode English spelling
  • Phonetic words are sounded out phoneme by phoneme,
  • Decoding rules can be applied to some words, and
  • Exceptions are learned by rote
  • Phonics 1.0 works better than rote learning, but students learning to read English learn much more slowly than students learning to read a phonetic language. Finnish students learn to read in about 6 months but English speaking students take 2.5-3 years to reach to same level.
  • If an English student sees a NEW word, the student does NOT KNOW
  • If it is phonetic and can be sounded out character by character
  • If a pronunciation rule applies, and which rule (there are at least 8 rules, some complex)
  • If it is an exception and must be learned (inefficiently) by rote – over 50% of English 
words appear to be exceptions
  • Trying to read, and using Phonics 1.0 to decode the sound of new words, requires a lot of working memory that cannot be used to understand the meaning of the text being read
  • Phonics 1.0 doesnot provide all the information needed to sound out a word letter by letter, and Phonics 1.0 does not work very well: about 40% the population of many English speaking countries read at or below grade 5 level

Phonics 2.0

  • We call Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish Phonics 2.0 – a generational improvement over Phonics 1.0.
  • Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish provides you with all the information to quickly decode any English word, and teaches you English in a way that we humans have evolved to learn. That's why it works so well.

Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish is Phonics 2.0

When yoů sêe a nëw wòrd, yoů don’t √āl…wâyş knõw whãt sijundş tңè √le…tters mâke in tңat wòrd, whẂre tңè √sΓll…a…Εle breâks are, and which √sΓll…a…Εle iş stressed. Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish em√beds āll tңê in…for√mâ…ťiòn yoů nêed tȷ √qüick…lý, in√tů…it…ive…lý and √acc…ů…rate…lý sijund ijut √än…ý √Ēng…lish wòrd, which is tңè √rê…ál ob√jec…tive of √Рho…nics 1.0. Aş yoů āl√read…ý knõw tңè √ů…šñ…ál sijundş o« √Ēng…lish √le…tters, thẂre iş next tȷ √nò…thing tȷ learn with Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish, √Män…ý √pêo…ဇle can √fig…ure ijut Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish just bΥ √sêe…ing text in Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish.

Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish Rules Can Be Learned In a Few Minutes

√bűş…ý

frñit

√bū…rý

qüick

ůşe

pùt

√än…ý

tңem

√dou…Εle

√â…Εle

yoů

  • Letters with no superscripts make their usual sound
  • Greyed out characters are silent
  • Letters with superscripts make the superscript sound
  • Capitalized vowel superscripts say their name: ý makes the sound /ee/ as in “see”, “you” becomes yoů
  • Stressed syllable breaks are shown as √ and unstressed syllable breaks are shown as …
  • ō and ù make the sound “oo” in “foot” and “u” in “put”, and tң is voiced
  • The superscript “u” over a consonant (√dou…Εle, √â…Εle) adds the “u” sound to the syllable (√dou…bul, √â…bul)
  • There! You just learned Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish

Reading and Fluency

Reading is a process where you:

  • See written words
  • Silently “hear” these words in your mind
  • Understand what these words mean

Humans have not evolved to read

So there is no brain region specifically for reading

Reading needs new, high speed links between these different parts of the brain

These high speed networks physically change the brain – it gets heavier 

Silent reading repurposes the speech part of the brain to “hear” silent words you say in your mind

This is why you understand more when you read at the speed that you speak and listen, which is called FLUENT reading

Its hard to remember random information

  • Here are some random
    letters:
    n r o g d a
  • They are hard to remember because they don’t make sense….
  • Humans have evolved a filter that makes it hard to remember random or irrelevant information which can clog up our memory and slow down our decisions
  • Randomly spelled words need a lot of repetition to remember the spelling and sound of a word
  • What about these same letters but in a different order:
    d r a g o n
  • The letters in “dragon” are easy to  remember because they make sense and humans have evolved to remember what makes sense

Fluency: Better understand what you read

  • Silent reading repurposes the auditory speech part of the brain
  • So people understand more when they read at the speed people talk which is about 100 words per minute (called fluent reading)
  • To read fluently, you don’t have time to decode the sound of a word
  • You need to look at a word and instantly recognize its shape and know its sound and meaning, like hearing STOP in your head when you see a STOP sign
  • Seeing and word and knowing its sound is called a sightword
  • The best strategy to quickly develop reading fluency and comprehension is to quickly acquire sightwords

Quickly Acquiring Sightwords With Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish

  • Phonetic languages are much easier to learn to read because the words are pronounced as spelled – the shape of the word and the sound make sense
  • The shape and sound of a Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish word makes sense because Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish makes every English word phonetic – you can sound out any word character by character with no rules or exceptions
  • So you can quickly remember Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish words and syllables as sightwords by sounding out the word, maybe only 2 to 5 times

A better way to sound out words and syllables

  •  /c/, /ca/, /cat/

Learning sightwords can be even faster using syllables

  • If you know the syllables making up a word, you can quickly sound out the word syllable by syllable and remember its shape by sight, because the sound and the shape make sense
  • There are more letters in a word than syllables, so it is faster to sound out syllables than it is to sound out all the letters in a word
  • A large number of words are made up or contain common syllables
  • If you encounter a new word, you may already know all the syllables and can sound it out quickly or
  • You may need to sound out just one or two new syllables to sound out the new word
  • Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish teaches the most common syllables first

Humans have evolved to recognize the shape of hiding predators, especially snakes

The colour of the snake is the same as the background, so it is the shape of the camouflaged snake that we can recognize. And we can recognize camouflaged snakes in all sorts of different positions. This is a pretty amazing skill we humans have evolved. 

Read Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish, Read Standard English

So once you can recognize the shape of a word by sounding out the letters in the word, you can use our evolved predator recognition skill to read that word no matter how the word is written. It can be printed normally, can be in a curly type, can be printed badly, or the letters can be handwritten, and we can still recognize it by its shape.

In fact, being able to recognize disguised words is how we can prȷve to some websites that we are humans, not com√půt…ers.

Automated Text Conversion

  • Upload a document in standard English
  • Receive back a PDF in Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish

Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish Library

  • A comprehensive graded reading practice library with interactive comprehension questions is under development.
  • An online system where text is read to the student word by word, with the text highlighted as it is pronounced is also under development.

Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish Improves Spoken English

  • Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish mark up gives students all the information they need to decode the sound of a written English word, so they know what to listen for
  • Have you heard a foreign name, were not able to clearly discriminate the name, and then see the name written, and miraculously you can discriminate the sounds of the name?
  • So students seeing a word written in Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish can actually hear it more clearly.
  • Individualized lessons will be created to explicitly teach students the sounds of the letters they don’t know
  • 60 foreign languages are being analyzed to see what phonemes are an exact match in English and in the foreign language, which phonemes are close, and which English phonemes are not in the foreign language
  • Missing phonemes are taught in a new, efficient way
  • The aim is that students can discriminate English sounds without thinking
  • Students will be provided with information and exercises to pronounce English words
  • Providing precise information about the sound of a word boosts confidence and is likely to boost participation
  • Mouth movements instructions to make the sound of English phonemes will be provided
  • Students will be given access to online pronunciation practice tools to quickly and repeatedly compare their pronunciation to a recorded native speaker, so they can self correct

The names and usual sounds of English Letters

The names of English letters are needed to sound out abbreviations and spell words and so must be learned by students. The names and usual sounds of English letters are set out in a table here. Click on a cell to hear the sound. The names of English letters are spelled in Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish

The 42 sounds of English

Students needs to learn the 42 sounds of English (also call the English phonemes) to decode the sound of written English words by sounding out the first letter, then the second, until all the letters have been sounded out. All 42 sounds are set out in a table here, together with the Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish representation of each sound. Click on a cell to hear the sound.

The Names of The Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish Characters

Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish has given each Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish letter a unique name: the English letter name says the English phoneme or sound. The sound for each Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish character is set out here. Click on a cell to hear the sound. These names may be useful for people, such as teachers or students, who want to be able to refer unambiguously to a Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish character, e.g. when spelling out a word in Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish. But many people may not need to refer to individual characters, so learn it only if it is useful to learn.

A faster way to learn English Sounds

Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish has developed new teaching methods to help non native English speakers quickly master the foundations of good conversational English:

  • to effortlessly discriminate without thinking when listening to English words, syllables or phonemes, and
  • to accurately pronounce these sounds when speaking so that native English speakers can easily understand you, although you may have an accent

To make this as easy as possible, Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish has analysed over 50 of the most widely spoken languages to find:

  • The sounds in your native language that are in English – for these sounds Fonetic English will
  • List those letters in your language have the same sounds as letters in English (assumes your language used the Roman alphabet), and you don’t need to learn to hear, say or spell these sounds
  • List out and spell in your native language those sounds that are the same as English – you don’t need to learn to hear or say these sounds, but you do need to learn how these sounds are spelled in English
  • Sounds in your language that are close to English sounds. You may need to learn to hear, say and spell these sounds, but this may not be so difficult as the sounds are close, and it is easier to improve a close sound than to learn a completely new sound
  • Some English sounds are missing from your language. So Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish will
  • Try to find common borrowed word, technical terms, place names, brand names etc that use the sound, so you don’t have to learn the sounds in you know these words,
  • Teach you syllables that contain the missing sound plus sounds you do know, so you can contrast this syllable against syllables where you know all the sounds, and/or
  • Teach you how to pronounce the sound so you will hear the sound when you make the correct mouth movements.
  • To develop mastery, you will need to develop new neural pathways hear and pronounce English words, syllables and sounds.
  • This requires what the psychologist Anders Ericsson calls Deliberate Practice, practicing with the intension of getting better.
  • Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish has developed new tools to help you improve quickly, e.g. by helping you minimize the time between hearing a sound and clicking on the correct representation of the sound on a computer.

Learning the mouth movements to accurately pronounce English

  • Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish provides the following mouth movement information provided for each phoneme:
  • Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish characters that make the phoneme sound
  • Example word
  • IPA spelling of the phoneme
  • Written instructions on how to make the sound
  • Videos of the mouth movements from the front and side
  • Videos of:
  • Voiced and unvoiced phoneme pairs, showing how the different phoneme are made with the same mouth positions but with voiced and unvoiced sounds
  • Compound phonemes showing the individual sounds, the sounds with a very short pause between the sounds, and said as an English phoneme
  • Tools to practice making the sound
  • Here is an example
  • Stretch your lips into a smile. The tongue is high and close to the roof of the mouth, but it’s more forward, near the front teeth. Making this sound will make you look as if you are smiling.
  • Voiced and unvoiced phonemes.
  • The vowel Ê is a vowel that is in every language as is always voiced. The consonant S is also in every major language and is always unvoiced.
  • Touch your voice box with your fingers and say Ê and you will feel the vibration in your fingers. This is what is meant by VOICED.
  • Touch your voice box with your fingers and say S and you will feel NO vibration in your fingers. Your voice box is still. This is what is meant by UNVOICED.
  • Here is an image showing the location of the voice box.
  • Tips for learning to pronounce English phonemes:
  • Look in the phoneme comparison chart for your native language: there will be a number of phonemes that you will already know how to pronounce because they are used in your native language
  • If you are learning these sounds for the first time, try learning them in the order they are presented, because some of the simpler sounds are used in more complex sounds, and it is easier to learn the simpler sounds first.
  • Categories of English phonemes
  • Short single sound vowels:
  • A, e, i, o, u, ō, ù.
  • Continuous single sound vowels:
  • ê, oo, ur.
  • Compound vowels:
  • â, í, à, ů, ar, or, ow, oy.
  • These phonemes are made up of two different sounds that are said one after another so quickly they sound like one sound. A video captures the individual sounds, the two sound with a short pause between the sounds and the phoneme as it is pronounced in English.
  • Continuous single sound consonants:
  • l, r.
  • Continuous single sound nasal consonants:
  • m, n, ng.
  • Compound consonants:
  • ch, j, w, x, y.
  • These phonemes are made up of two different sounds that are said one after another so quickly they sound like one sound. A video captures the individual sounds, the two sound with a short pause between the sounds and the phoneme as it is pronounced in English.
  • Unvoiced/Voiced continuous consonant pairs:
  • f/v, s/z, sh/zh, th/tң (voiced).
  • The mouth movements for these consonant pairs are the same with one consonant voiced and the other consonant unvoiced.
  • Unvoiced/Voiced short consonant pairs:
  • p/b, t/d, k/g.
  • The mouth movements for these consonant pairs are the same with one consonant voiced and the other consonant unvoiced.
  • Soft consonants:
  • f, h, p, unvoiced th.
  • The actual mouth movements are pretty simple. Some people have problems with these sounds because they are very soft. To hear them clearly, you need them followed by a vowel. So Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish has recorded the soft sounds followed by the following vowels: a, â, ar, e, ê, i, í, o, oo, or, õ, ō, u, ů, ù, ur so you can practice pronouncing these sounds.

Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish Dictionary

  • Extensive list of English words marked up in Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish
  • Comprehensive list of definitions for each word are written simply for each different meaning of the word (e.g. “tablet” has 3 different meanings and 3 different definitions)
  • For each definition, 2 examples of the word used in a sentence are included
  • Examples can be translated into the native language of the student
  • Images are displayed that provide useful additional information
  • A photo of a tablet is easier to understand than a written definition of a tablet
  • “Tablet” has 6 images displayed – two for each definition
  • Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish allows students to hear any English word pronounced in multiple accents in 4 different ways:
    1.     normal speed,
    2. slow speed (continuous),
    3. short breaks between syllables,
    4. longer breaks between syllables
  • Slower speeds with pauses give foreign language students time to accurately discriminate the syllables in a word
  • The phonemes in each syllable have been recorded and can be played progressively as /c/, then /ca/and then /cat/, which is the traditional sounding out method: /c/ then /a/ then /t/ is /cat/​
  • Comprehensive list of definitions for each word are written simply for each different meaning of the word (e.g. “tablet” has 3 different meanings and 3 different definitions)
  • Extensive list of English words marked up in Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish
  • For each definition, 2 examples of the word used in a sentence are included
  • Examples can be translated into the native language of the student
  • Images are displayed that provide useful additional information
  • A photo of a tablet is easier to understand than a written definition of a tablet
  • “Tablet” has 6 images displayed – two for each definition
  • Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish allows students to hear any English word pronounced in multiple accents in 4 different ways:
    1.     normal speed,
    2. slow speed (continuous),
    3. short breaks between syllables,
    4. longer breaks between syllables
  • Slower speeds with pauses give foreign language students time to accurately discriminate the syllables in a word
  • The phonemes in each syllable have been recorded and can be played progressively as /c/, then /ca/and then /cat/, which is the traditional sounding out method: /c/ then /a/ then /t/ is /cat/​

Pricing

  • Your first month is free,  The subscription cost is then AUD$12 paid monthly or $110 paid yearly.

Scholarship

  • If you cannot afford the subscription, and you really want to learn English, you can apply for a limited number of scholarships.
  • Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish really wants to help students who really want to learn English. So applicants are prioritized by
  • How much you want to learn English? The more time you spend learning, the more you want to learn, and the more you want to learn, the higher priority you will be given. You will be expected to study at least 30 minutes a day. So the more you study, the lower the cost.
  • How are you progressing using Fonetic English? The better you do, the lower the cost. So concentrate and try hard.
  • Will you help us with our research?
  • We want to run experiments to see what works best for students and we need participants. Will you be a participant?
  • We want people to test new learning tools and give us their honest feedback so we can improve the tools. Will you give us feedback?
  • We want students to read a lot, so we want to provide you with interesting reading materials. We want you to tell us how interesting the reading materials are, and what subjects you want to read. Will you provide this feedback?
  • If you want to do that, then please tell us.
  • If you want to apply for a scholarship, try Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish for 3 weeks and then you can apply.  If you have applied, you will not be charged anything  until 3 days after you have a reply.

Choose a plan that's right for you

SCHOLARSHIP

  • If you want to apply for a scholarship, try Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish for 3 weeks and then you can apply.  If you have applied, you will not be charged anything  until 3 days after you have a reply.
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