Bannatyne Reading Program -- GLOSSARY M THROUGH N

Bannatyne Reading, Writing, Spelling and Language Program

Third Edition

GLOSSARY -- M through N

MEAN

(See: Statistics)

MEANINGS

Many teachers think the meanings of words are associated with the printed word but this is NOT true, especially in phonetic languages. The auditory-vocal language is the primary language and all meanings (as ideas and images) are associated with the auditory-vocal words, not the coded visual symbols for those words. This is why it is much more efficient to teach word and sentence meanings in conversation and through lively discussion than through printed words, and this is the policy throughout the Bannatyne Program. (See: comprehension for examples)

MEMORY

To work reliably and efficiently all reading, writing, spelling and linguistic content and skills must be overlearned and permanently embedded in long-term memory in order to function automatically. Most traditional reading programs place words (and possibly letters and sounds) haphazardly in short-term memory in the hope that students will retain them for future reference. This is the case, especially in spelling, where the words are taught only once or perhaps twice. However short-term memory is designed to be useful only for the short time it is functioning and then the material is forgotten, and so most complex spelling is forgotten, especially by those fifty percent of students who are less verbally competent. In the Bannatyne Program a wide variety of activities are utilized to ensure that words and their components are overlearned to the point of automatic functioning in long-term memory. There are also two other kinds of memory which depend on the presence of a stimulus or not, called recall memory and recognition memory. For descriptions of these, see the entries under those headings. (See: recall, recognition, association, spelling, chunking, fluency, orthography, overlearning, learning, color-coding. Also see: BANNATYNE PSYCHOLINGUISTICS on memory)

MENTALLY HANDICAPPED--MH (Mentally Handicapped) or MR (Mentally Retarded)

Students in this category of disorder are usually defined by intelligence testing. Any student with an IQ below approximately 75 is categorized as mentally handicapped (MH) or mentally retarded (MR) -- this word is still the official US definition. But the line between MH/MR and Slow Learners (who have IQs between 75 and 85) is very blurred because intelligence happens to be of many kinds, even in school settings. Just for starters there is verbal intelligence, spatial intelligence and mathematical intelligence. However, in our schools, subjects involving the English language are given maximal priority and so reading, spelling and writing have become the paramount criteria for educability. I have known many gifted spatial people who could have been great (spatial) professional engineers or architects if only they could have passed their school's language requirement hurdle. One child, who was in an institution for the mentally retarded (after being given a Stanford-Binet IQ Test which is highly verbal) was sent to me for a second opinion, and after an extensive psychological and educational evaluation I found he had a visual-spatial IQ of 112 on the WISC-R but a verbal IQ of 65, even though he could converse quite well in simple sentences. Once he learned to read he was easily able to cope happily with the regular school community. (See: intelligence, cognition, and STUDENT CHARACTERISTICS)

MINIMAL NEUROLOGICAL DYSFUNCTION (MND)

Minimal neurological dysfunction (MND) students, by definition, have near average to above average intelligence but also have learning and/or behavior disorders which are caused by subtle abnormal functioning of the central nervous system including the brain. The original causes of MND may be genetic, bio-chemical, perinatal, prenatal (pregnancy), physical trauma/insults, illnesses, poisoning, dietary, poor or non-existent early stimulation, and perhaps many more as yet unknown. Note that the brains of MND students may not have specific local lesions although some definitely do. Most often I have found that MND students suffer from a diffuse neurological deficit in which the brain and central nervous system "have had the cream taken off" and this syndrome is seen, for example in some MND children of mothers who drank alcohol a lot through the pregnancy. While it is very important to eliminate these original causes, as educators, what do we do with MND students who may exhibit one or more of the following (usually mild) symptoms: inattention, impulsivity, hyperactivity, lethargic, perceptual deficits, poor memory, cognitive illogicality, and mild motor disorders? We have taught many such MND students to read, write, spell and become proficient in English by using the Bannatyne Program to tutor them individually or in small groups. It may be that if they were introduced to the Bannatyne Program in Kindergarten in a regular class and then taken right through the Bannatyne Program with their peers they would subsequently be successful in school. (See: neurologically handicapped and STUDENT CHARACTERISTICS)

MIRROR-IMAGING

(See: directional constancy, object constancy, left-to-right, dyslexia)

NASAL

This term refers to those phonemes (articulemes) which are produced by the lowering of the soft palate, and/or raising the tongue slightly, so that much of the air is exhaled and resonated through the nasal cavity and nose rather than through the mouth. Examples are /m/, /n/, and /ng/, as in /meaning/ and /singing/. (

NEUROLOGICALLY HANDICAPPED (NH)

This is any abnormal condition of the brain that causes a student to have difficulties learning in a regular school class without assistance from specialized devices or equipment. The original causes of neurological handicaps or disabilities are very numerous and the range of symptoms and behaviors is very complex and extensive. One such student I worked with, had had his whole right hemisphere damaged by X-rays! However, minimal neurological dysfunction or disorders (MND-see above) are much more common and they are often misdiagnosed (usually as ADD, or ADHD), or they may even go unnoticed because these students may be labeled "lazy" or "naughty." (See: minimal neurological dysfunction, and STUDENT CHARACTERISTICS)

NEUROPSYCHOLOGY OF LANGUAGE

You do not have to be a neurologist, psychologist, physiologist or physician to understand the simple workings and interactions of the language areas of the brain and how they interact with the rest of the nervous system and the sensory motor systems. Any good high school level encyclopedia will describe these in straightforward terminology and illustrations that any teacher of reading can understand. The key points to be made here are that the auditory-vocal (hearing and voice) language is the fundamental language of all human beings and that it existed for many millennia before it was ever symbolized visually. Many sub-populations around the world still cannot read and write because there is no formal instruction to teach these skills. Almost all babies, even many handicapped ones, acquire their auditory-vocal language automatically if they are around people who are talking regularly, and, contrary to popular opinion, it does not have to be taught--even though formal "teaching" by family members may polish it. On the other hand, no child learns to read symbols without some kind of formal instruction which informs the child what those symbols stand for (sounds) even though that child may have to deduce implicitly the sound-to symbol system (of a phonetic language) for himself/herself by trial and error learning--if those associations are not made explicit in the lessons. If you still believe that the acquisition of the sound-to-symbol associations involved in reading, writing and spelling the printed word are perfectly natural, please explain to me why everyone cannot read and write the music they love from the symbols printed on sheet music. Shorthand is another sound-to-symbol language system that must be formally learned. Please read the disability entry above. (See: orthography, and BANNATYNE PSYCHOLINGUISTICS and FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS)

NEUTRAL VOWEL

The neutral vowel is the spoken vowel in many words that almost always occurs in an unstressed syllable of that word. The neutral vowel usually sounds like a very short /i/ or /u/. Some words have two neutral vowels. In the following examples, the neutral unstressed spoken vowel is underlined: absurd, afraid, agenda, bargain, children, condition, linen, majority, mountain, often, saucepan, suppose, tortoise, vegetable. In the International Phonetic Alphabet the neutral vowel is also known as a schwa and it is represented by an upside-down (rotated) e. Please note, however, that in the Bannatyne Program all neutral vowels are to be "raised" to their full vowel articulation because this makes for much better spelling, writing and even reading. The teacher does not have to monitor this shift to full articulation because these vowels are taught automatically in their correct color-coded vowel section. When you purchase the Bannatyne Program, the Grapheme Book (on pages 20-28) contains actual AUDIO examples of articulemes/ phonemes, blending and splitting that you can listen to on your computer. It also explains neutral vowels in detail.

The Bannatyne Reading Program uses over eighty-eight techniques and is based on the results of studies and research findings. The Bannatyne Reading Program is unlike any other reading programs currently available. This means you will find many features which are only in the Bannatyne Reading Program. In some Commonwealth countries the program may be referred to as: Bannatyne Programme, or Bannatyne Reading Programme.