Warlpiri Phonic Handbook
The Warlpiri Phonics Approach was developed to assist students in learning to read and write Warlpiri. The program aimed to address some of the issues in remote schools such as inconsistent student attendance, inconsistent staff attendance and classrooms that have a range of student levels and abilities. The literacy packs in the program are individualized so each student is practising work differentiated for their level. The literacy packs remain there while students are away so when they return the packs are waiting for them at their level. Students can practice the packs by themselves or with a friend making it possible for them to practice Warlpiri on days where Warlpiri Teachers are not present. The 1:1 nature of the literacy packs also means that we can ensure students are paying attention and learning.
The structured nature of the whole class or group teaching lessons means students learn the routine for phonics lessons and are able to practice both reading (decoding) and writing (encoding) together which makes for stronger literacy learning.
The program has shown positive results both in Yuendumu and in Nyirripi as shown below. Some of its successes has been T-2 students in Yuendumu having full retention of sounds over the Summer holidays and multiple students in Nyirripi ‘completing’ the program by moving through all the levels and transitioning from decoding to focusing on their fluency and reading for comprehension.
