GB2308219A - Alphabet teaching apparatus - Google Patents

Description

DESCRIPTION TEACHING APPARATUS The present invention is concerned with education, and more specifically with the teaching of the alphabet and with apparatus for use in this process.

To engage and retain the attention of contemporary children, growing up surrounded by exciting images on television, video and on computer games, it is important for teaching methods and apparatus to be visually and intellectually stimulating. To prevent young children from becoming alienated and even afraid of the learning process, it can also be important to provide them with images which are reassuring and familiar.

It is known to use "flash cards" and posters in teaching the alphabet, each card/poster bearing a letter, a word beginning with the letter and an image associated with the word. Thus, for example, the first in a sequence of such posters commonly bears the letter "A", the word "apple" and a picture of an apple.

Such images of inanimate objects provide a child with nothing with which to identify emotionally, and with little to stimulate the.imagination.

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a set of 26 articles for use in teaching the alphabet, each bearing, or formed in, the image of a different alien character and each being marked with a different symbol from the international phonetic alphabet.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the articles are cards or posters.

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the articles are statuettes, figures or soft toys.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention, the articles are cards bearing the image of an alien character and the symbol from the international phonetic alphabet on one face, and a written child safety rule on the reverse face.

Preferably, the alien characters are recognisably humanoid but are each provided with at least one exaggerated, incongruous or conspicuous visual feature to aid recognition by the learner.

Preferably, the aliens are humanoid.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of teaching the alphabet by repeated simultaneous presentation to a learner of a symbol from the international phonetic alphabet and an associated alien character.

In a preferred version of the method in accordance with the present invention, the symbol from the international phonetic alphabet and the alien character are displayed on a printed sheet, card or poster.

The symbols from the international phonetic alphabet become, in the child's mind, the names of the various alien characters, the letter itself being associated. In this way, the child simultaneously learns the alphabet and the international phonetic alphabet in a painless way.

By making the alien characters emotionally appealing and/or comical, the child is given reassuring, supportive or simply amusing images to engage the attention and to help to prevent the child being intimidated by, or put off, the learning process.

In particular, where the articles are figures or soft toys formed as alien characters, the learner may be given tactile and visual stimulation/reassurance, while at the same time being exposed to educational stimuli.

Specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying figures 1 to 7, which show a set of 26 cards/posters in accordance with the present invention.

The cards/posters illustrated are brightly coloured to add to their visual appeal and each bear an alien character 1 and a symbol 2 from the international phonetic alphabet - Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo etc.. Each alien character is specifically designed to be attractive to a child, more specifically to a young child. As shown, according to the present embodiment each of these has a number of fundamentally human characteristics - they are bipedal and stand upright, have two limbs recognisable as arms and an arrangement of facial features broadly corresponding to the human pattern.

Nonetheless, each character has at least one outlandish, unusual or simply striking feature. The character labelled Alpha, for example, can be easily identified by its baby-like appearance, and in particular by its very large, high forehead. Bravo, is conspicuous for its asymmetric eyes and generally frog-like appearance. Charlie, despite its exotically shaped ears, has the appearance of a bear, and Delta's large nose allows that character to be easily distinguished from the others.

In this way, while the learner/child is given humanoid characters with which it can easily identify emotionally, he/she is also provided with the visual cues needed for even a young child to quickly learn to distinguish between a large number of different characters.

Of course, if the child is to learn to associate each character with a letter, it is a vital prerequisite that he/she learns to make distinctions between the characters themselves. The alien characters of the present invention are a particularly advantageous vehicle for this type of learning.

The intention is that the child (or indeed the adult with learning difficulties) should form emotional bonds with the characters and so have a positive emotional reaction to letters and, in due course, to written words and literature.

The characters can, of course, form the basis of myriad learning exercises to familiarise the child with the alphabet.

The symbols from the international phonetic alphabet (referred to as "Antons") each have their initial letter capitalised and boldly printed, so that the letter itself is strikingly presented.

According to the present embodiment of the invention, the reverse side of the cards/posters (not illustrated) bears a rule for child safety.

The alien characters may, in accordance with the present. invention, be embodied in a set of "3 dimensional" figures. These may take the form of figurines/statuettes (plastics moulding being the conventional means of production of such items) or, perhaps ideally for the younger child, soft toys.

Each such character bears its designating Anton, either on a label or as part of the decoration of the toy itself, in order that the letter and symbol in question are constantly presented to the child/learner.

Claims (10)

1. A set of articles for use in teaching the alphabet, each bearing, or formed in, the image of a different alien character and each being marked with a different symbol from the international phonetic alphabet, the set comprising 26 articles.

2. A set of articles as claimed in claim 1, wherein the articles are cards or posters.

3. A set of articles as claimed in claim 1, wherein the articles are statuettes, figures or soft toys.

4. A set of articles as claimed in claim 1, wherein the articles are cards bearing the image of an alien character and the symbol from the international phonetic alphabet on one face, and a written child safety rule on the reverse face.

5. A set of articles as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the alien characters are recognisably humanoid but are each provided with at least one exaggerated, incongruous or conspicuous visual feature to aid recognition by the learner.

6. A method of teaching the alphabet by repeated simultaneous presentation to a learner of a symbol from the international phonetic alphabet and an associated alien character.

7. A method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the symbol from the international phonetic alphabet and the alien character are displayed on a printed sheet, card or poster.

8. A method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the alien characters are figurines or soft toys.

9. A set of articles substantially as herein described with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.

10. A method of teaching substantially as herein described utilising a set of articles substantially as herein described with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.