ELR-News

May 2019

Newsletter of ELR Software Pty Ltd

ABN 67 090 738 702
Web: https://www.elr.com.au
Email: news@elr.com.au
Follow: @ELRsoftware

ELR Software produces a range of computer programs designed by speech pathologists for speech, language & literacy intervention. Our programs may be used interactively within therapy sessions, to increase efficiency in service delivery, and to improve access to the Internet for people with special needs. We are also available as consultants to clinicians and research projects in the fields of literacy and accessibility issues associated with the Internet.

The aim of this newsletter is to inform you of developments and changes to our major products eLr (Extra Language Resources), Build-a-Sentence and Word Meanings. We welcome the opportunity for feedback and questions, and will be pleased to consider including reader contributions and announcements.

This Newsletter (and previous editions) as well as a "print-ready" PDF version of the current edition is available online at www.elr.com.au/news. An email version is also sent monthly to members of our mailing list (See Subscribing/Unsubscribing).

In this issue -

  1. New eLr Materials
  2. Other Independent Developers
  3. Free Downloads
  4. ELR 2019 Calendar

  1. New eLr Materials

    Ninety new tasks have been added to "Reading and Spelling", in the "Consonant Sounds / Other consonant sounds" subsection. These task target spelling options for the /m/ sound ("m" eg mat, ham; "mm" eg common; and "mb" eg comb), and the /n/ sound ("n" eg net, pan; "nn" eg tunnel; and "kn" eg knot).

    Both the /m/ and /n/ sounds are "long, voiced, and nasal" consonant sounds. These sounds are produced with different positions of the tongue and lips (the articulators): to produce the /m/ sound, the top and bottom lips are together, and for the /n/ sound, the tip of the tongue is placed against the teeth ridge just behind the top teeth. They are described as "voiced" because we use voice to produce the sound (our vocal cords are vibrating), and they are "nasal" because all of the sound flows out of our nose. Try pinching your nose as you produce /m/ and /n/ - you will find you are unable to say the sounds because you have stopped the flow of air and voice from flowing out of your nose. There are only three nasal sounds in English - the /m/ and /n/ sounds, and the /ng/ sound which will be addressed in the next edition.

    The addition of these activities continues one of our current goals, which is to provide activities that may be useful when teaching letter-sound relationships of the consonant sounds of English. There are now activities in the "Consonant Sounds" section targeting the following sounds:

    1. /p/ sound, spelled with "p, pp"
    2. /b/ sound, spelled with "b, bb"
    3. /t/ sound, spelled with "t, tt"
    4. /d/ sound, spelled with "d, dd"
    5. /k/ sound, spelled with "k, c, dk, ch, q"
    6. /ch/ sound, spelled with "ch, tch"
    7. /dge/ sound, spelled with "j, g, ge, dge"
    8. /f/ sound, spelled with "f, ff, ph, gh"
    9. /s/ sound, spelled with "s, ss, se, c, ce"
    10. /z/ sound, spelled with "z, zz, ze, s, se"
    11. /sh/ sound, spelled with "sh, ch", and the range of words with suffix endings
    12. /th/ sound, spelled with "th"
    13. /m/ sound, spelled with "m, mm, mb"
    14. /n/ sound, spelled with "n, nn, kn"

    A range of tasks are used, which together, provide a variety of ways to reinforce both reading and spelling of target words. WordSound Buttons encourages the student to segment the word into sounds or syllables, WordSearch provides an opportunity to practice decoding and eventually automatic recognition of words, SmileyMan reinforces spelling, MemoryWords and ConnectWords are fun ways of encouraging formation of clear mental images of words to develop automatic recognition - sight words), and LookThenCover may be used to encourage the student to write the words and consolidate knowledge of spelling patterns.

    As with all eLr tasks, the role of the instructor is to ensure that accurate decoding and reading has occurred, and to encourage vocabulary expansion (eg by talking about the meaning, and using the word in a range of sentences). For additional information about the development of these tasks, please refer to our February 2018 ELR-News which outlines the rationale and evidence base for the speech-to-print approach to teaching early reading and spelling skills was discussed.

  2. Other Independent Developers

    As an occasional feature of this Newsletter, we include simple, unpaid announcements of products developed by other small, independent developers, who, like ourselves, are practising clinicians who have put their ideas and experience into resource materials for general distribution. Links and brief information about these sites may be found at www.elr.com.au/links/developers.htm. To date we have listed -

    If you would like your materials listed on this page (at no charge), please contact us.

  3. Free Downloads

    ELR has a number of free or evaluation files available for downloading directly from our website. Please see www.elr.com.au/downloads.htm for specific details. For other supporting materials and documents available for free download, please see www.elr.com.au/support.htm.


  4. ELR 2019 Calendar

    ELR Software offers regular, free eLr tutorials over the web. We can provide this sort of support to individuals, or to groups who would like to have an overview of eLr. We are also offering free Coviu sessions to allow clinicians to get a feel for teletherapy, and in particular the advantages of using eLr for Coviu. Please contact us for details.



Subscribing/Unsubscribing to this Newsletter

You are receiving ELR-News because you are an eLr subscriber, or have expressed an interest in either eLr, Build-a-Sentence or Word Meanings. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send an e-mail with details to news@elr.com.au

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