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FAQ's Do you have a system for teaching the Phonetic Alphabet? Yes! We have the system for teaching a Phonetic Alphabet because we have the first logical, easy to learn English Phonetic Alphabet. Chapter One in English is Stupid is dedicated to the 40 sounds of English paired with easy-to-recognise computer keyboard symbols for each sound. The ever-challenging 16 vowel sounds of English can be taught in a morning using the Color Vowel Chart in the book. How does the Color Vowel Chart work? Spelling is random in English and there isn’t enough information in letters – especially vowels to indicate to a learner what sound is being represented. (So toss the letter system out.) One of the first things everyone learns in any language are the names of the colors. Fortunately in English, there is one vowel sound represented in each color word. So ‘BLUE’ represents the sound ‘oo’ for example. Any word with the sound ‘ oo’ in it is a Blue word regardless of spelling. Therefore you, two, new, shoe, glue, through, who, juice, school, beautiful, moo … do are all Blue words. The magic in this system is when you know the color of a word – you know how it sounds (regardless of spelling) dew and to are Blue; sew, know, toe and go are Yellow; tree, ski, people and seat are Green... I am a Human Resources Manager in a mid-sized manufacturing company and most of our employees are immigrants. Is there anything that TLC can offer to improve communication and therefore profitability in our situation? Depending on their level of English, non-native speakers need a full weekend workshop before there is a marked improvement in their ability to communicate. On the other side of that coin, there is a lot native speakers can to to make themselves easier to understand. Consider exposing your managers to Global English with some useful information on how to communicate effectively if English is your first language. They will be shocked to learn about the things native speakers do that makes them impossible for immigrants to understand them. We'll impact your bottom line in no time. Do the 6 principles you describe in English is Stupid apply to learning other languages? Fantastic question. I think yes but I don’t know enough other languages to be sure. Once the rules of one language are defined, as in English is Stupid – they can be used as a yardstick for all other languages. Once a student understands a principle they automatically apply that rule to their own language. Symbols represent sounds in my language or not. My language is stress-based or it isn’t I never taught my students a phonetic alphabet before - is it really that important? A good phonetic alphabet is like a good foundation in a house. You never see it unless there is a problem. If you build your house on a sturdy foundation – it will stand for a long time. If you don’t it wont. It doesn’t take that much time and it’s fun so give your students a good foundation – teach them a ‘sound’ alphabet and see if their speaking improves. Then send your stories about your ESL class to the contest on our Resources page! What does 100% system mean in the Vowel Color Chart? English is known as the 'language of exceptions'. To find a rule or system that works 100% of the time, well, it is unheard of in English and a dream to use for anyone learning or teaching the language. Does the Vowel Color Chart work for me? I am learning English at home, without a teacher. Yes it does! All you have to do is know the names of colors in English. This 100% system is wildly helpful for students who never correctly get the sounds of crazy words like women or build. One morning with the Vowel Color System the student knows both these words are Pink and they will pronounce them correctly for the rest of their lives. If you don’t know the names of colors in English – you will need someone to help you get those right. My son has trouble reading. English is our first language. Is there anything in your book that can help him? English is Stupid does not deal with literacy directly, however, a deep understanding of the critical divide between sounds and letters can help a child understand that English is stupid and not him. The user-friendly English Phonetic Alphabet (EPA) can help a child make sense of an otherwise senseless system. walked sounds like /wakt/ and so on In China we learned IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet). Why is it necessary to learn a new phonetic alphabet. This is what I have to say about IPA – it doesn’t work. It is a great idea but it came from French and the letters don’t work for English. For example. /i:/ or /iy/ does not represent the letter ‘E’ in any logical system. The French use ‘e’ for ‘i’ and ‘i’ for ‘e’ so the whole system is unworkable. That and /ʧ/, /Ө/, /ӕ/… don’t mean anything at all to any native English speakers. One nonsense alphabet does not effectively replace another. If you already use IPA and you like it, fine. But try the EPA and see if your speaking improves. Then blog me back. I am angry. You say that grammar is not important in speaking English, now I feel like all the years I spent learning grammar were a waste of time! Whoa – learning grammar is not a waste of time, but grammar is much more important for writing English than speaking it. Your writing looks great. Do you speak as well as you write? Sorting out rules and worrying about grammar mistakes can actually interfere with a student’s confidence and ability to speak until they understand the difference between how writing and speaking work.