Bannatyne Reading, Writing, Spelling and Language Program
Third Edition
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OBJECT CONSTANCY
Each object has its own meaning no matter what type of stimuli is received, i.e., a chair is a chair and it is still a chair even when upside down. Exceptions to object constancy are those specific graphemes/optemes which can be mirror imaged or rotated or turned upside-down in reading, writing and spelling, e.g., b, d, p, q, u and n. Object constancy no longer holds with these graphemes/optemes because the mirror imaged graphemes/ optemes (b, d), or rotated pairs (b, q), or upside-down pairs (b, p) have different "meanings" (i.e., different phonemes associated with them). (See: directional constancy)
OCULOMOTOR
Literally this means "movement of the eyes," caused by using the eye muscles. Many muscles move many parts of the eyes when reading and these muscle-movements must be coordinated by the brain with actual vision -- which occurs in another part of the brain. Both the eyeball and the lens are controlled by muscles. Oculomotor actions can be recorded from the muscles on a electromyographic machine. All the eye movements involved in reading can be trained and the Bannatyne Program facilitates oculomotor training. (See: hand/eye coordination, saccadic movements, left-to-right tracking, line-by-line tracking, vision, fixation)
OPTEMES
Optemes are the printed letter-shapes or symbols we see with our eyes when we read them on the printed page, or the handwritten letter-shapes or symbols we see as in a letter from a friend. An opteme is the visual equivalent of articulemes (spoken), phonemes (heard) and graphemes (handwritten, printed or typed). In the Bannatyne Program the size of the optemes is initially large to facilitate visual recognition (identification) and the easy tracing and handwriting of the graphemes. This initial large size print is systematically reduced in size throughout the Bannatyne Program. However in the Bannatyne Program the term "opteme" is not used with students because the word "grapheme" serves for both visual and motor/kinesthetic perception and reduces any confusion of terminology on their part. (See: phonemes, graphemes, articulemes)
ORTHOGRAPHY
The matching or correspondence of phoneme to grapheme (auditory sign to printed symbol association) in phonetic languages. The matching may be nearly exact in some words (e.g., the word "handedness") or very irregular (e.g., "one cough" = /wun koff/).
Phonemes/articulemes: /e/-/n/-/l/ -/i/- /t/-/e/-/n/-/m/-/e/-/n/-/t/
(Vertical linkage with)
Graphemes/optemes: e - n - l - igh - t - e - n - m - e - n - t
The orthography of the English language is quite irregular, especially the spellings of the vowels. Sound (articuleme/phoneme) to symbol (grapheme/opteme) matching is thoroughly taught in the Bannatyne Program, and the orthography is vastly simplified and completely regularized using a few very slightly modified consonant symbols, a silent letter (grapheme) symbol, as well as sets of color-coded vowels. (See: color-coding vowels, vowels, silent letter, phonemes, graphemes, articulemes)
OVERLEARNING
This term is used to indicate that some unit piece (such as a word, a grapheme, or suffix) of the English language has been thoroughly learned to the point where its recognition or recall is automatic, correct and rapid. As educated adults our handwritten signatures are a good example of overlearning to the point where retention is permanent. Other examples are our phone numbers and addresses. But you could not get to that point of rapid correct recall until you had thoroughly learned (in childhood) how to identify and write each of the letters (graphemes -- including digits), the sounds (phonemes) of which they are composed, and their sequential order. The final step in any overlearning occurs when the whole sequential process is chunked. Note, that traditionally, the vast majority of teachers consider an item (e.g., a spelling word) is "known" and has been "learned" if the student can reproduce that item once or twice in a "test" situation within a day or two of learning it, after which the item is rarely used again. Of course, for many students the permanent learning of that word has not taken place, even though some verbally gifted students may benefit. For permanent retention of words students need to have them presented repetitively in a variety of situations over time so they are overlearned. Learning the structure of language and how it works is also a great boost to overlearning. If you know how a car works you will become a much better driver! The Bannatyne Program teaches the overlearning of all the 5500 words in it. (See: chunks, chunking, fluency)
PHONEME
Any one phoneme is a class or family of closely related heard speech sounds (called phones) regarded as a single sound (the phoneme in question) and represented in phonetic transcription by the same symbol, as the sounds of /r/ in bring, red and round. The discernible phonetic differences between such closely related sounds are due to the modifying influence of the adjacent sounds. A spoken phoneme is called an articuleme. A phoneme is indicated in a printed text-book situation by slash-marks at both ends of the "sound" or word. Thus /igh/ is the vowel phoneme within the heard word /light/. All English phonemes, articulemes and optemes are thoroughly taught in the Bannatyne Program. 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. (See: optemes, articulemes, graphemes, phonemes)
PHONETIC
Any language is described as phonetic when the sounds (articulemes/phonemes) and visual symbols (graphemes/optemes) are "vertically" linked within words in an auditory/vocal to visual/motor code. English is a phonetic language even though many regular reading programs ignore this fact. The Bannatyne Program teaches English as a phonetic language at every step of learning, but the Bannatyne Program is far, far more than a simple "phonics" program. 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. (See: orthography, links, language, sequencing)
PLOSIVE
This term refers to those phonemes (articulemes) which are produced by the complete stoppage and sudden release of the breath (air flow). Examples are /b/, /p/, and /t/, as in /bob/, /pop/ and /tot/. The stoppage and release of the outflow of air may originate from the lips, the teeth or the tongue, or any combination of these in the very front of the mouth. Obviously the term plosive is linked with the word "explosive." 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. There is also a detailed definition of plosive.
PRORATE, PRORATED
This is a statistical term designating the process by which test scores (or, more usually the differences between a pre-test score and a post test score) are proportionately increased from a part of a school year (say, 5 months) to a full school year (9 or 10 months depending on the school district). Here is a step-by-step example for reading scores.
The advantage of prorating achievement gain test scores up to a school year is that it enables us to directly compare the results of different reading programs against each other, or to compare the results of a particular curriculum program (such as the Bannatyne Program) against the national standardized average as measured by standardized tests such as the Wide Range Achievement Tests. I need hardly add that, by the universal definition of that standard, students advance, on average, one grade level of achievement in one school year throughout their school careers. This applies to all school curriculum subjects for which there are standardized tests.
PSYCHOLINGUISTICS
(See: linguistics, BANNATYNE PSYCHOLINGUISTICS)
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.
Bannatyne Reading, Writing, Spelling and Language Program -- Copyright © 2003 Alexander Bannatyne, PhD
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