EFL Teaching Methods, Phonics and Literacy Techniques

Posted on Feb 12, 2026 in Primary Education

EFL Methods, Phonics and Literacy Techniques

Method Terms and Definitions

  • 1- WHEN DESIGN CONTRO: It is usually the first time.
  • 2-ACT EFL PUZZLE SCRABLE: The verbal-linguistic intelligence.
  • 2- EFL PICTURE DIDACTION O SIMON SAY: The kinesthetic intelligence.
  • 3-SITUATIONAL METHOD: The presentation, organization, and selection of vocabulary in context.
  • 4-S. KRASHEN’S: Acquisition–learning, Monitor, Natural Order, Input, and Affective Filter.
  • 5- NATURAL ORDER OF LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: Listen, speak, read, write.
  • 5- DIGRAPH: A group of two successive graphemes.
  • 6-SUGGESTOPEDIA: Based on the power of suggestion.
  • 6- TYPICAL SUGGESTOPEDIA CLASS: Students seated comfortably; relaxed presentation and music are often used.
  • 7-LEARN READ WRITE: An opaque orthography.
  • 8- AUDIOLINGUAL METHOD: Emphasis on the development of the receptive skills and teaching grammar through repetition and pattern practice.
  • 9-ALPHABET: Spanish has 27 letters (representing about 24 phonemes); English has 26 letters and about 44 phonemes.
  • 10- COYLE’S CLIL: Content, Communication, Cognition, and Culture.
  • 10- DECODING: The ability to apply your knowledge to translate written text into spoken language or meaning.
  • 11- DIRECT METHOD: A rejection of translation and the use of the mother tongue; the target language is used exclusively in class.
  • 13- TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE METHOD: Coordinates speech and action through physical activity; facilitates language acquisition for kinesthetic learners.
  • 14- THE FOLLOWING ACTIVITY INDICATES FLUENCY: Students retell a story they have just listened to.
  • 15- INPUT HYPOTHESES: Language acquisition takes place when relevant information is provided to the learner.
  • 16- PHONEMIC AWARENESS: The ability to hear and manipulate sounds in words.
  • 16- S. KRASHEN THEORY “INPUT HYPOTHESIS”: The idea that exposure to comprehensible input slightly above the learner’s current level facilitates acquisition.
  • 17- CLIL: A dual-focused approach in which content is taught through an additional language, promoting both subject knowledge and language development.
  • 17- LITERACY: The ability to read and write at a level sufficient for communication and participation in society.
  • 18- THE FOLLOWING ACTIVITIES: Students listen and repeat the words they hear from a song.
  • 18- WHAT ARE THE PRIMARY GOALS OF CLIL: To prioritize language learning alongside content knowledge.
  • 19- ELICITING: A range of techniques that enable the teacher to get learners to provide information; the act of prompting or drawing out specific responses or information from students.
  • 20- CLL METHOD: The CLL method suggests that students determine what is to be learned; the teacher acts as a facilitator and provides support.

Digraphs, Blends, and Vowel Digraphs

– DIGRAPH AND BLENDS Y VOWEL DIGRAPH.

  • Consonant blends: Two or more consonants are blended together, and each consonant sound may be heard in the blend. Examples: bl (block), gr (grapes), tr (tree).
  • Consonant digraphs: Two consonant letters stand together to represent a single sound. Common examples: sh, ch, th.
  • Consonant-vowel digraphs (vowel digraphs): Two vowels together represent a single vowel sound. Examples: ai (rain), ay (day), ee (free).

Literacy and Phonics Skills

– LITERACY: Reading and writing at a level sufficient for communication; this implies understanding and communicating ideas in a literate society. Reading is one of the most important skills for children to achieve academic success.

BLENDING: Before children can understand the meaning of words, they must be able to work out what the words say. The phonic skill for this is to look at the letters, say the sound, and then hear the word. This is called blending. Example: sound out d – o – g and make dog. It is a technique every child needs to learn, and it improves with practice.

SEGMENTING: The main skill is to start with the spoken word, listen, identify, and then write the sounds in that word. Children are taught to listen for sounds from day one. Example: say the word spin, then identify one sound at a time: s – p – i – n.

MANIPULATING: Involves changing sounds within words. Example: say the word win; now change the initial sound w to p and say the new word pin.

5 Instructional Stages of the Jolly Phonics Programme

– 5 INSTRUCTIONAL STAGES OF THE JOLLY PHONICS PROGRAMME

  • Letter sounds: All words are made up of sounds. There are more than 40 sounds in the English language that children need to learn to read and write fluently.
  • Letter formation: To learn to write neatly and fluently, young children need to be taught how to hold a pencil and form letters correctly.
  • Blending – Segmenting
  • Tricky words: In this programme there are around 72 tricky words that children are taught. Tricky words do not follow regular decoding rules and must often be learned by sight.

Sample One-Hour EFL Class Plan

– PLAN EFL HOUR CLASS

  1. 1. Morning Meeting (20 minutes): Sets the tone for respectful learning, establishes trust, and motivates children by satisfying the need to belong and have fun.

    Components: Greetings and Time for Sharing (daily routines, star student of the week).

    Daily Routines Rationale: Provide opportunities for meaningful, stress-free language development; allow children to contextualize language through familiar experiences; lots of input and repetition aids long-term memory. Skills explored include alphabet, phonetic skills, spelling, and calendar skills.

  2. 2. Literacy Development (15 minutes): Focuses on phonological awareness and decoding.
  3. 3. Topic Development (20 minutes): Students work on tasks related to the central theme of the teaching unit.
  4. 4. Plenary (5 minutes): The wrapping up of the whole lesson. Possible activities include using thinking routines or listing learned items in a 60-second summary challenge.