THRASS ACCREDITED CERTIFICATE,
GTG, SOUTH AFRICA, FEB 29, 2008

It was a privilege to have this opportunity to experience this course. It was very interesting and exciting, fun filled, action-packed and full of knowledge. This course is very meaningful and will definitely help in my future career and teaching practise. Thank you for the opportunity. 

The teaching THRASS course was a great learning experience. If I would teach English in the future I will definitely use THRASS. I would like to thank ABSA for the learning opportunity. 

The THRASS program was an experience of a life time. I have enjoyed it very much. Thank you for the opportunity! This program is a useful and wonderful way of teaching a language in the class. 

Very appropriate, especially because I am Afrikaans speaking and didn’t have any idea how to teach English in my class. I think us doing the activities with the lecturer helped us realise how to do it with the kids. Now I’ll have the confidence to teach in English. 

This was an awesome course. It has given me confidence to teach learners how to read, spell and write. We are now equipped with a useable and understandable tool. The given resources will be a great help in recalling methods and tools to get the message across to the learners. 

The THRASS workshop was very enjoyable and of great interest to me. The method used to teach reading and spelling of English is sensible and should be implemented in all South-African schools. The workshop itself was interactive which made learning this method of teaching far more fun. I look forward to making use of THRASS in the classroom during my upcoming internship as well as throughout my teaching career. I really believe that it will make spelling and reading easier for all children. Thank you for this opportunity. 

Wow! I am amazed by how much easier it can be to teach children how to write, read and spell in English. The big picturechart makes it fun to learn the new words, and as all the pictures stays the same. The whole program fits in together. As an Afrikaans learner it was difficult for me to understand at first but now I understand and will be able to use it. A very lovely workshop! 

Teaching handwriting reading and spelling skills course elaborated the undisclosed subject on phonics. I now understand the reason why I had to attend the course as it forms a foundation of teaching learners in my phase. As a black African student I believe that if I was enrolled in a course such as THRASS at any earlier stage I could be in a better space now. 

The THRASS course has taught me more about reading and writing for young learners. It gave me a better understanding of how to teach learners. It will help me to be more prepared to teach reading and writing especially because I am an Afrikaans speaker. I had no idea where to start. I also learnt how to connect phonemes with graphemes and to make the spelling choices. I also learned about alternative ways to make reading, writing and spelling effective and fun for learners. 

The THRASS course has made my knowledge to teach English much better. After the course I can improve my accent in English and also improve my learner’s accents. I have also learnt how to teach English in an enjoyable manner. 

I now feel more confident in teaching English to learners. I am looking forward to go and teach. I think it is a great program. It is fun, complete and exiting way to teach children. It is helping me with pronouncing words correctly. I enjoyed it a lot and I will buy the rest of the program. 

THRASS is an excellent programme that will really assist learners having difficulty with spelling and reading. The programme would also work effectively in a school setting. It would be a good thing if all schools in South-Africa can use this method of teaching, handwriting, reading and spelling. 

I gained greater understanding of how to implement THRASS in the classroom, as on teaching practice I was exposed to it but did not really understand how to use the methodology. I think that this method could make it easier for children to learn how to read and write as they learn all the different sound a particular letter makes. 

Very good. I have learnt a lot from it. Our children are going to benefit a lot if it is correctly implemented. Teachers should be dedicated on it so that literacy (reading and spelling) should not be a problem in South Africa anymore. Children should be introduced to THRASS at an early age. If we implement it properly the lesser the problems we are going to encounter. 

I really learned a lot! This was a great course I loved all the media, pictures, music and interacting with everyone. The course also challenged me to think out of the box to memorize all the pictures and words was a lot of info for two days. I will definitely use this in the future of my teaching career.  

A good course especially for young children. I have learned a lot as it was exciting. I enjoyed the singing. I will help he children in the intermediate phase to improve their spelling. 

Enjoyed the course but I would suggest that they present the course in a week and not during the weekend because students don’t concentrate that well during weekends. It was overall a very valuable course, I learnt many interesting things. 

Enjoyed it very much! The course is just very long and the breaks are so short! I learnt very valuable methods of teaching, spelling and reading. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the THRASS workshop. I learnt a lot, how to implement THRASS in the classroom. I was impressed and interested in the letter formation and the handwriting. This new way of learning to read is fun and can be taught in a fun and relative way to the learners. I am looking forward to practicing this THRASS concept in my classroom. Thank you for a fascinating, relevant and enjoyable two day workshop. 

I learnt a lot about teaching handwriting and different ways of teaching children how to read. It was a meaningful experience and I will take the knowledge with me as a future teacher. 

This course was worth every second. I learnt a lot regarding ‘graph, digraphs, trigraphs’ and there are letters making two sounds. The resources available are amazing. I think this methodology is a great way of teaching children English. I wish I learnt this way; it would have made my life easier. This course has enriched my life ‘new knowledge and a fun way of learning’. THRASS can be implemented in our curriculum. 

Very insightful. I would like to do it in my classroom in the future, but it would depend on the school that I will be working at. I believe that the children in South-African could speak proper English and learn to understand English better as well as being able to read and write at a younger age. It would have been great if THRASS could be a part of the curriculum at the University of Pretoria, and if it would have been a must in all schools. Many teachers comment that children can not spell anymore, since outcomes based education has been implemented in South-Africa. This could solve the problem and make children and teachers love language. 

I am so excited about learning the THRASS approach; it makes so much more sense compared to how I was taught at school. At first I felt overwhelmed when I realised I had to learn 44 different grapheme combinations but as the course went on and I experienced the different ways the children would be taught, then I found it so much easier to remember them. Learning the grapheme families on a chart will really help learners to use them as a base when forming all other words. This approach is so logical and organised and has made a lot of sense out of something that used to confuse me. I am looking forward to implementing this approach in my class one day. 

I first thought the THRASS idea was great, then once I knew more about how it works and what it entails I felt confused and started to worry. By the second day all the loose parts started coming together and it started to make so much more sense. I see THRASS as a course that make the English language easier way to teach learners to spell, however I have come to see that it focuses on reading and through reading in this way spelling is enhanced. I think this programme is great and should become part of the RNCS. The tutor was also great and through her I have a much greater knowledge of this amazing program. 

Upon commencement of the course I was extremely exited. Learning about THRASS opened my eyes in relation to educating children. The manner in which the course was presented was very informative and meaningful. THRASS has taught me that there are so many improvising and fun ways to teach reading and spelling. The resources are wonderful yet a bit expensive, I would really like an entire set for myself. We received a book which is a wonderful resource. 

It’s a new way of learning but it makes sense to me. I think the second language would gain especially because they get confused with the phonemes and sounds the letters make and now they have a reference to help them. Pictures that accommodate the words also help to communicate with the child who can’t speak English. I would like to teach it in my class one day because it’s fun and they would learn skills they can use the rest of their lives. I enjoyed it. 

Very interesting and informative. The facilitator presented the course in an enthusiastic manner and was very knowledgeable on the subject. This course has made me realise the value and importance of using such a methodology in teaching, reading and writing. I really enjoyed the interactive CD. I did however find some of the content a little difficult to understand, but I do realise that with continued practice I can teach THRASS effectively. 

As a whole I feel that this course has great value to the process of teaching learners to read and learn, however the content is too much to process in a space of two days. I feel that this programme can only be implemented effectively if a teacher has a crystal-clear understanding of how it works in the classroom environment. I enjoyed the way the facilitator conveyed the information to us as she was able to clarify things that seemed confusing. With proper facilitation this methodology or programme can be a complete success for both learners and educators. 

Wonderful and very interesting. I will definitely buy some resources and use this course in the classroom. The course was presented well, and many details were discussed so that we could fully understand the content of the course. 

A great, enriching educational experience. I have gained the understanding of why Alan Davies decided to steer away from the old approach to teaching phonics with Letterland etc… THRASS helps to eliminate learner confusion when a phoneme can be represented by different spelling choices. THRASS has made teaching handwriting, reading and spelling skills a fun educational experience where learners are able to interact and use different types of media that appeals to them.  I look forward to implementing this during teaching practice and seeing the positive results. 

An eye opener; this is what schools need to raise the standards of our learners. I have to give credit to Alan Davies: the research efforts that have been put in are phenomenal!! But I do fell that two days is not enough to give enough information, so that we can apply this in schools! 

I really enjoyed the course. I found a lot of it very interesting. Laola was also very enthusiastic she was full of fun and kept our attention! Through the actual content of the course I was expecting something a little different. I still don’t fully understand. But I am doing my teaching practice at a school that uses THRASS so I am hoping to get a better understanding that way. 

Valuable and can definitely be used in South-African classrooms, but because of our country’s diverse society it will most probably take longer to teach it in a classroom than England because we have eleven languages. I learnt a lot but am still a bit uncertain about how to facilitate it in my classroom. I would love to have all the resources but will have to buy it bit by bit. 

I would definitely use this program in my classroom next year. I’ve learnt a lot over the past two days, but I still have a bit uncertainty of how to implement and facilitate it in my classroom. I would love to see examples of how teachers use it in their class and how they teach it to learners. I find this program very valuable and interesting; the resources are creative and colourful. I would really like to learn more about how to teach the THRASS program. 

Very interesting. I learnt a lot about the consonant and vowel charts and how they work and how to implement them in my classroom. I learned about graph, digraph and trigraph and what to look for to acknowledge them. I really enjoyed it and also enjoyed the songs that learn the children the different sounds and phonemes. I will definitely use the THRASS program in my classroom. By doing the activities with the learners will be fun and will help children learn and understand the words. 

THRASS was very interesting for me I enjoyed it and I know that I am definitely going to use it in my class someday! I t helped me a lot because I was never taught like this. I know now that I can improve my English as well. 

The course was very interesting for me; I liked it very much and learned a lot. My English is not very good but I can still learn how to spell and pronounce my words correctly in English. I am really going to use this one day in my class as English is our Universal language. I think you must begin on an early stage with young children to learn English correctly.

I found the course very enlightening and helpful. I would absolutely love to facilitate this to foundation phase children in future. I enjoyed the Sing-a-Long part the most.

Very helpful to me and I have really learned a lot! I will use it in the future. Thank you for the opportunity! I would like to learn more about THRASS. 

This was very interesting, I learned a lot and I am very glad I got this opportunity. This is also a fun way of learning, much better than the old way! 

My understanding of THRASS is that through the course reading and writing skills will be improved. It is a new and improved way on how to teach handwriting, reading and spelling skills. I think through using this methodology children will learn to write and read easier and more effectively. I also think it has a positive approach to it in making use of technology, computers and different forms of media to present it to the learners. 

This is a really new and interesting course! I believe the children will develop much quicker than we did. Their memory techniques will be improved from an early age as well as their reading and writing skills. I don’t think they will struggle with spelling in higher grades. By implementing this program is also teaches the individual how to learn and memorise for future use. Developing quicker is a positive thing; they will definitely be more clever and sharper! And by enjoying education you become a life long learner. 

My understanding of the THRASS course is that it helps the facilitator to teach the learners how to read, write and spell in a fun interactive way. It enables the learners to distinguish between graphs, digraphs and trigraphs and also the different sounds (phonograms) and how to actually write it. It helps the learners build a broad basis of key words not just to understand what they mean but how they sound letters and how to write it correctly. It can be used in real life situations and enables the learner to not just develop literacy skills but also cognitive thinking skills. 

THRASS to me is an exciting new method of teaching reading, writing and comprehension of words. It teaches the child in a way that is applicable in real life and unnecessary extras is no longer getting in the way of proper usage. The charts makes learning easy and fun as well as the interactive songs and raps that make it easier through repetition. I enjoyed the course and think I will benefit greatly through teaching in this way. 

I was not sure what to expect from this course but my expectations were exceeded. I think this is an amazing way to teach children English. It is much more fun than the way it is normally done. Even I who have been speaking English for years learnt something new. I will definitely try to implement this in my classroom as much as possible. I never realised that English could be learnt so much faster and better by using sound and phonics. I enjoyed this course and will recommend to all who is planning on teaching English. I just wish it was available in Afrikaans. 

I had very high expectations of the THRASS course, and it was definitely fulfilled. I think that THRASS is a very interesting and fun way to facilitate children in English. If you enjoy something you will learn it faster. I think there is wonderful material of THRASS to work with. I enjoyed the course and now realise that the old way of teaching English did not work as effective as THRASS does! I would prefer to use it in my classroom as a facilitator. 

The THRASS way of teaching enables learners to explore for themselves the language in an interactive way. Using THRASS to teach phonics reading, writing and spelling! The old way of teaching language leaves children illiterate. It’s much more fun and children can relate to it easier. It teaches learners life skills that will make them life long learners. It is much more applicable to the modern world and practical. 

I fell privileged to have attended this training because my own capacity to learn a new language teaching methodology was not underestimated. I am intrigued and enriched by language teaching and learning. THRASS is based on holistic and dynamic constructivism that supports as many learning styles as possible. The learner is highly knowledgeable of her field of specialism and demonstrates that a brilliant teacher should know as much as possible about all fields, social and cultural issues, and how people learn! 

I have learnt a lot of this course and I feel that I have grown from this course. This course opened my mind and now I am clear what is happening and I am ready to apply it. I know what to do as the teacher and I will work hard to see learners that they would be able to read, write and spell. I enjoyed it a lot and I gained experience of how to start to facilitate learners, especially when they are supposed to recognise pictures and words. 

It is so important that learners learn the holistic way of teaching, reading and writing. To be a constructivist especially here is so important! The resources are great and the interactive songs and approach is so much fun! I would love to go and practise this method in my third school quarter. I would also like to know about how this can be combined in my classroom with OBE, especially in doing it practically. I know it is based on the OBE system. It is much better that the old way of learning the ABC. 

This was a really interesting course and I am glad that it was made possible for us to attend it. I struggled a bit in the beginning, because of English being my second language. I think with more practice I will be able to teach it to the learners. 

I really enjoyed the interesting information I gained. I had music as a subject and enjoyed the way this course integrated fun and music. The presenter has a passion and it rubbed off on me. The resources and media used are very user-friendly and children would love learning in this way. 

I am a second language English student teacher. I am very glad I got the opportunity to attend this course. I now have a basic understanding of the THRASS course, but it is necessary for me to go through the guide to really understand how the program works and how to implement it. I am sure that when I know how it works it will benefit both me and the children. 

THRASS is a constructive approach to learning. It provides life-long language learning for all learners at all ages. THRASS is presented into 10 stages: picture location, letter location, letter formation, grapheme location, keyword location, phoneme location, keyword synthesis, key grapheme recall, keyword analysis, as well as THRASS 500 tests. THRASS stands for Teaching, Handwriting, Reading and Spelling skills. Therefore covers all aspects of language learning and teaching. THRASS was developed and established by Alan Davies. 

I really found this course interesting and was fascinated by how things linked up with each other. For example: knowing the chart and the order of the words, and then knowing the sounds of words. I personally feel that if I was taught this way when I was in school my spelling and pronunciation of the words would be so much better. The lecturer helped with understanding the overwhelming information that is going to be very helpful in the future to teach the learners in my class. I really enjoyed the Sing-a-Long it is very cheerful and memorable. I was really amazed that I could remember some of the words that we did in two days, due to the method that THRASS uses. I can not wait until I use this method in my classroom or school one day. 

Very informative and interesting. I liked the material used to make learning fun. The things I learned will be very useful in the future when I become a teacher. I did struggle to do some of the tasks such as finding the right phonemes; however I think with practice I will be able to do them effectively. I enjoyed the course and think that schools should have THRASS courses. 

I think that for the first time I have come across a system and methodology that makes sense. The levels give such a good indication for me as a teacher on how I can do this in my own class. It was very enjoyable, Thank you to the presenter she was great! 

Thanks for a great and meaningful workshop. I really learned a lot. What I liked most and definitely remember the most is the songs we sang and the analysis of our names into grapheme. I totally agree that it is important to first learn the phonics. I definitely will use the phonics chart, with the consonants and vowels. The book is fabulous and I can’t wait to use it!

This was a very interesting module. I learned many new facts that I never heard before. I never knew English is such a complex language with so many sounds in every word you can think of. I will use some of the methods to teach THRASS to the learners. I did find it difficult to make this big program shift but is definitely a good shift to make. 

I didn’t know what to expect and at the end of the course I was amused at all the new rich information I had learned. I realised that I have to be careful of my pronunciation as a second language (English) teacher and need to do some research. I wish we could have received some of the material with the teaching guide. 

THRASS is a wonderful approach to teach phonics. I thoroughly enjoyed the THRASS program as it is an integrative approach which includes auditory visual and kinaesthetic ways of learning. THRASS stands for Teaching, Handwriting, Reading and Spelling skills and thus equip learners with the basic foundations of a learner’s life. THRASS is exciting whole-picture keyword phonics and I have heard many positive comments about this program. 

Eye opening and informative. It is a very fun method of teaching learners word sounds, reading and spelling which makes a lot more sense than the old system of teaching reading. For the first time I understood concepts such as diphthong, graph, digraph and trigraph. It was slightly complex to understand at the start of the course but by the end the system was clear and I cannot wait to apply it in my class one day to observe it in practise. I found the songs and raps to be very enjoyable and I know this method will help learners to learn quickly while having fun and might improve our learner’s level of literacy competence. 

I have learnt a lot during this course and feel that I have gained and grew from this experience. I found it very informative and will definitely like to implement THRASS within my classroom one day. I feel confident in teaching learners reading, spelling and writing and know that by using what I’ve learnt. All learners will be catered for as this course - visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learners. I look forward to using what I’ve learnt to make learning language in a fun and innovative way. Thank you very much for this opportunity. 

Highly informative and a fantastic teaching tool I can use and implement in my own classroom. I especially loved the fact that THRASS caters for all learners and their style of learning ‘visual, auditory, kinaesthetic and mixed‘. THRASS makes it easy for me and probably my future learners to understand and grasp the concepts behind phonemes and graphemes. Making use of flash cards and music makes learning more interactive and fun as learners are not constantly working in their own workbooks. I found the Raps and Sequences especially entertaining and easy to use when it comes to remembering the 120 words. I also found it easy to understand what graphs, digraphs, trigraphs and quadgraphs are. Knowing these concepts will help me use THRASS in my own class. THRASS can be integrated into my classroom in fun and creative ways. I am sure it will be a huge success in schools. Learners will love all the creativity THRASS has! I know I do! 

My experience with the THRASS course was overwhelming and extremely exciting! I helped tutor an autistic boy last year with using a bit of THRASS and it seemed to work very well compared to the old pronunciation of the alphabet. I like the fact that letter groups of graphs are taught to familiarize children with the particular sound groups, even through different letters (graphemes) are used to pronounce the same sound (phonemes). The recognition process I think works well even amongst children with special needs. I also like the fact that cursive is not enforced. Also loved the interactive CD’s! I also liked the different methods I can use to teach THRASS. 

THRASS is an exciting new way of teaching learners how to read, write and spell in a fun and interactive way! The program uses keywords and pictures to make learning fun. That is, children learn by means of play. The raps and songs help to remember specific words and spelling. The learning also progresses and grows on (build on) previous knowledge. This way a very fun program that will help me a lot. 

I have learned the basic and most important part of education in the literacy area. I really understand the concept of ‘holistic’ learning. It’s a method that really covers everything there is to cover and it makes sense! I would love to educate the THRASS way. The way it has been taught in these two days was also really a learning school. Thank you for the passion and enthusiasm. 

I did not know what the letters THRASS meant or stood for before the course! I’ve learned that there are exciting new ways to teach learners English. To make it more exciting, fun and less traumatic for learners to learn a new language! I will definitely like to implement these strategies in my class. It was definitely worth the time spent on this course. 

Very educational. I am Afrikaans but this is an amazing way to teach in English as a first language. Something significant that I found about this course is because illiteracy is a problem in Africa this is a great starting point for any age. I would like to see this program in practice and observe how teachers are making use of it, and then I would like to compare it with the normal school system. 

Really long but I learned a lot. I personally think that the course is more for English teaching than Afrikaans. Some of the examples are more based on English than Afrikaans. The presenter went through a lot of trouble to keep us involved in the course. Thank you for the great course.

Really enjoyable. I think it will really help if I want to go to a school one day and teach in English. I really learned a lot in the course, I even think that some of what I learned could be implemented in my Afrikaans classroom one day. I am Afrikaans but after this course I want to go to an English school so that I can use THRASS. Thank you very much for all that you have done for us! 

When I first came to the course I did not know what to expect. I have learned a lot about THRASS. I learned how to use THRASS in my classroom. I’ve also seen how you can use the THRASS chart. This was a very educational experience and also gave me tools to use in my classroom. There are also lots of resources that I can use in my classroom. This was a great course. 

My understanding of THRASS is as follows; you teach the learners from the beginning that there are graphs, digraphs and tri graphs etc… THRASS has their own keyword chart that resembles all the different sounds that one, two and three letters can make. THRASS uses a different way to teach learners the alphabet, how to read etc… It is fun and more effective. THRASS has wonderful games which the learners can play on the computer and assures that learners are interactive with the learning process of reading. THRASS is great and if I am allowed I will implement it in my class. 

I have learned a lot about the different ways that you can teach handwriting, reading and spelling. The way the THRASS picture chart is used keeps the whole program together and helps the learners to feel secure. The software that is used is of great quality and also the whole workshop. 

The course was very interesting and very well organised! I learned a new way of teaching handwriting, reading and spelling skills to foundation phase learners in a way in which they will enjoy it a lot and also be very well informed. I learned that repetition is very important in the THRASS program. I would like to teach THRASS for my learners but in Afrikaans! 

I was really grateful to be given the opportunity to take part in this course. I found it extremely informative and interesting and can now fully understand how this method can be effective, especially in doing it myself which made it much clearer. The integration of reading, writing and spelling gives for a holistic approach to learning language. Thank you for this experience. 

Made me realise that there is more into spelling, reading and writing. It opened my eyes! I’ve learned to view things that I can use in my classroom someday. Very interesting and I really enjoyed it. Thank you for the teaching guide. I would like to teach THRASS in a couple of years. I realised that it is important that the learners use the right pronunciation of words and sounds. 

This was a really insightful experience. I have learned a lot and I hope to be able to use this method in my classroom for first and second language users. It even gave me some ideas that I will be able to use when I teach in my mother tongue that is Afrikaans. There are some wonderful resources which will make teaching English a pleasure. I believe I will love teaching THRASS to my learners. 

What a fun and interesting course. I enjoyed it very much. Although I would like to see a program like this designed for Afrikaans. But even if it is still available in English there are a lot of the concepts/ideas I as a teacher can use in an Afrikaans classroom. I have learned a lot and can’t wait to use THRASS in my class. I love all the resources! It’s clear and easy to use. All the interactive material is a fun way of learning for both the learner and the teacher. 

I am an Afrikaans student and the course taught me a lot about English and the right pronunciation of words. I think it is a fun way to learn and the children will like it and will learn a lot for those that want to learn. I like the music as it is really fun. I will use it in my class with my children one day! 

Very interesting with a lot of new ideas that I can use in the classroom situation. I can use this when teaching in English, but I hope that this can be used in Afrikaans as well (just an idea) I believe that it has given me a broad outlook on things. I like the media and hope that my school someday will have the opportunity to work with these materials. 

THRASS has a very good concept behind it. It makes lot of sense to teach children this way of reading, writing and spelling. I would like to implement this in my classroom next year! 

Made me realise that South-African learners are behind in their literacy skills, but also gave me hope for the future of literacy. It was a very interesting and exciting course that I have really enjoyed. There is so much more that I feel I can do now when I go to teach literacy to younger learners, especially in a creative and enjoyable atmosphere. 

The THRASS workshop was a very informative and interesting experience. I really learned a lot and feel that the content of THRASS will work and is working very well in teaching language. The lecturer was also very nice and informed on the field of THRASS. This was a very positive experience for me but I now still need a lot of practice to implement this formally as a teacher. 

Very logical and well planned. I understand it is only a two day course but I would have liked to practice more. I do hope to be teaching in a THRASS system in my future career as I can understand the benefits. Thank you it was very well informed. 

Very informative. The whole idea and methodology of THRASS is fantastic! I feel South-Africa will only benefit from the programme if implemented effectively and correctly. I learned a new and fun way to teach phonics which I’m sure all learners will love and equip them for later years in school. 

Enjoyed the innovative course! I would enjoy/use it if there could also be a mind map with all the essential key words/terms of THRASS for example graphemes etc… 

I enjoyed the course very much! It was just too long to concentrate. It would be nice if it could be presented in a week. I would like to teach using THRASS. It was a valuable course to submit. 

It is a great way of teaching literacy. I have learned a lot about how to teach phonemes and graphemes that learners should know! This type of teaching will definitely teach learners how to read, spell and write. What to look for in words! Give them spatial relations etc… And of course while learning and having fun with the raps and sequences songs and to see that they are getting things right. THRASS will without a doubt make meta-learners and so they will become life long learners. English for me is now more understandable and more interesting. 

This THRASS course is more fun than the old way of teaching how to read and write. It is also an easier way for kids to understand. I am glad that I had the opportunity to take this course. The only thing that is not nice is that it is only in English and not in Afrikaans. 

This course has opened a whole new approach to literacy! It is an amazing and new way to acquire skills in reading, spelling and writing. Spelling and pronouncing words phonetically allows any person the ability to use language appropriately. This course is broken up into so many sections that allow you to focus on each and every part of literacy in the foundation phase. It is a fun way of learning how to read and spell, plus it really works! 

This showed me a new approach to teaching handwriting, reading and spelling skills. It is a fun and easy way for children to learn phonic awareness. It is interactive which will help learners understand better and remember easier. It will help learners in the long term to be able to pronounce words properly as well as spell them correctly. It is hands on and will appeal to learners needs. 

I feel that an alternative approach to teaching children to read, spell and write is very important. I found this course very interesting. I think that it is a good way to involve learners in their own learning and that they will be encouraged to learn more. The children will enjoy the process. I think that this course should be presented to all educators to improve their own practice. 

Truly helpful and worthwhile. It is much different from how we were taught in Grade 1 many years ago. The course can help second language learners greatly as well. I now know how to teach the learners to read and write. I do feel that we as fourth year students were dreading. Thank you for making the time to teach THRASS. It truly will be effective in the classroom. 

I really did enjoy the workshop a lot. I learned how to make spelling much more fun and easy to learn. Thanks for the opportunity it was great. I will definitely use this in my class. 

This is truly a great course. I have learned a lot and I will definitely take the new knowledge with me into my classroom. I will also use the same strategy to teach children Afrikaans. 

This was really helpful as to help children learning how to read through phonics. I now know as a teacher what a graph, digraph, trigraphs etc is and how to teach it to children. But I really would have found it helpful if the course was presented in my mother tongue ‘Afrikaans’. 

Would like if the course could be presented in Afrikaans! 

This course was extremely educational. I learned a lot about English words: the pronunciation and spelling. It is a fun way of learning English phonemes and graphemes to the learners from any age. I can just imagine how they’ll enjoy it. Me as a second language user learned so much. The correct way of saying a word about graphemes and phonemes and now know what it means! I am much excited to try this method in my class one day and even recommend it to the school if not already implemented. Thank you for the valuable life long information. 

This course was insightful and very interesting. It helped me a lot to understand how to teach handwriting, reading and spelling skills to children. The contents of this course will help me a lot when I will have to go out to schools next year. I also learned a few new words myself. I think that this course will help children a lot in the schools. 

This course was really helpful to use in your class one day! It helps the learners with reading and writing skills. The learner will grow especially when they speak a second language and how to pronounce the words. This was really a growing experience for me. 

Enlightening and interesting. It explains the method and techniques clearly and outlines the outcome. The materials provided will be useful and helpful to us in the classroom and this course has given me a great tool to use. This has been a great opportunity to be able to do this course. 

Interesting and fun! I learned so much in these two days. I will definitely take this information with me into the future and use it in my classroom. I understand it and will use my book for reference. 

Very valuable because South-Africa is a growing country. I am sure it will help me to teach the children in my class the correct way to spell, read and write English. 

Very interesting and fun to learn about. I learned a few new things that I can use in my classroom in the future as well as in my practical. I understand phonics better now on a child level. I can use ideas in my own lessons. I am glad we got a book to take with us, for reference about phonics. 

Very interesting and I learned a lot. I will definitely implement what I learned in my classroom. For the first time I know what the words graph, phonemes, trigraphs, quadgraphs entails. I enjoyed the songs very much and will use music to teach handwriting, reading and spelling. 

Very valuable course to do in our final year of studies. The information regarding on how to teach a child to learn to read, write and spell is something totally new for me. It is a holistic way to teach a child. The THRASS course will really work very effectively in English schools but in schools of other language it will be difficult to incorporate all aspects. Pronunciation of English is also different from countries and that is also something to think about. All schools won’t be able to afford it. 

The THRASS course is a very holistic way of teaching learner’s handwriting, reading and spelling skills. I enjoyed the use of colourful pictures and lively music; it makes it fun for learners as well as teachers. By repeating the aspects so many times learners really take the info to heart. It’s an excellent course, just a pity the extra resources are costly and that the course is not available in my home language Afrikaans! 

We were taught how to teach children speaking and listening skills. Children can be taught these skills from the age of three. It would be wonderful if we can teach pre-schoolers in South-Africa to read. Those would really improve their scholastic achievements. 

A very interesting course I enjoyed it a lot. I feel a bit confused by some of the work explained but I am sure with repetition and the more I work with THRASS the more I will understand the new concepts and ideas. It was well prepared and well executed. 

THRASS is an exciting program that is a new way of looking at and teaching reading, writing and spelling skills. It challenges my way of thinking and it opens a million new possibilities of teaching. It is very different from the way we were taught how to teach children, but I think it is a better more fun way. I do have to practice and evaluate everything for it to become second nature. A great course, a must have. 

I am happy to have finally been taught a method of teaching young learners to read and spell. It was a bit mind-boggling for two day’s, but thanks for the resources they will be very helpful especially for later. The guide is very well set up with great explanations so I am sure I will be able to read it and fully understand. Thanks for the great workshop. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the course. I think that the THRASS program is logical and makes learning to read and write English much easier, as it caters for the discrepancies and inconsistencies of the language that other methods do not. I also like the fact that there are no rules or rhythms involved, such as; if two vowels go walking; the first one does the talking! I also like the fact that children are exposed to print and also pictures from an early age. 

We were taught the essential speaking and listening skills. I also got familiar with phonemes, key graphemes etc… THRASS taught us that one letter can make more than one sound and sometimes more than one letter can be combined to make a sound. The THRASS-IT CD was very interesting and actually looked very fun. We were also taught how to analyse words. Assessment can be done by certain tests and this sets a sense of achievement. 

I learned valuable information about teaching literacy skills. I feel that it can be used in both first and second language classrooms. I have learned how to focus more on phonemic language to ensure that learners understand what they are learning and not just writing letters down with no knowledge of what they are doing. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to learn new skills and plan to look into it in more detail. 

This was a great experience. The workshop was very interesting and I’ve learned a lot! THRASS will definitely be valuable in the classroom. 

I really enjoyed the THRASS workshop. It was really interesting and I can’t wait to implement it in my class. It is a very fun way for children to learn about phonics and to learn to read and write. I enjoyed learning all the key words and singing the songs. I would like to buy all the resources to implement THRASS in my class. It is a fun and challenging way to teach and it will be most valuable in my classroom. 

My understanding of THRASS is an integrated, constructive and fun way to teach and learn how to speak, listen, write, read and spell. It is all about hearing, seeing and sounding out the 120 key sight words. It is a wonderful example of facilitating learning where learners learn through first experiencing the word and in that way remembering those words throughout a learner’s school career and life. THRASS is the easiest and most interactive way to read, write, speak, understand and improve on memory, it is all about repetition, interaction, fun and singing. It teaches the learners the right words and sounds from the beginning. In other words there is no ‘babying’ involved. The learners with this program maximise their potential above and beyond the government standards as well as our own. 

Truly amazing and a life-long experience. It really amazed me how much fun teaching and learning could be. Children can actually now learn life-long aspects in an enjoyable manner. From what I understand about the THRASS course is that it is a British organised program. The ECD and foundation phase is such an important phase as we are the ones who teach them how to read etc… Prior knowledge is so important in the process of learning. A child from as early as two and three years old can learn THRASS. You do not need to be in school to learn the alphabet; you could learn it from before. I was amazed at how THRASS differs from other courses, even though there are 26 letters in the alphabet, which is not where we should stop teaching them. There are 44 speech sounds also known as phonemes and these are presented by graphemes. We should not make up silly stories and myths on where the alphabet comes from, tell them and teach them the absolute truth so that they can learn something life-long and meaningful. I am really excited about THRASS, and I hope every school could implement it. I will definitely implement it. Thank you so much! 

I am very excited about this course and really enjoyed the THRASS workshop. I am a lover of books and writing, I am really excited to have been introduced to a methodology that I think will really work and will empower my learners to read, write and spell and acquire a love for the English language. I like the idea of telling learners the truth, and not using silly names for letters and phonetics. I also love all the multisensory aids I can use in my classroom. I have a better chance of reaching all of my learners. I find the program to be easy to use and understand, as well as lots of fun. Educators all over the world can be grateful to Alan Davies and his good thinking. 

Very informative, equipping us with a very valuable tool to use in our classrooms. This provides us with creative new and very effective manner in which to facilitate learners to learn English and how to speak, write and spell correctly. 

I wondered how it was that I ever learned to read! I enjoyed the course and am sure that when I teach I’ll be able to do in a fun interesting and lasting way. 

Very helpful, because the children always get confused with why the same grapheme has different pronunciations. With THRASS background it will be easier for them to understand. It is a fun and interesting, very educational course that I will recommend to any teacher and learner. 

A good course to be attending and introduce in the whole world. It is a benefit to learners and educators because most of the learners have a difficulty in writing and reading. It helps in motivating the starting learners, and teachers are also encouraged to play with words. 

I think that this was a great learning experience. It’s rather easy and practical, but from stage 8 it got more difficult. Because of my Afrikaans background it’s difficult to hear the correct phonemes. It is a change of mind set but I do think with practice it could be a very good methodology to follow. At this stage it’s all very new and I am not very sure where to start, but I think I would be able to do it after I have worked through the file. The lecture was very good, and it was great. 

This was truly a very valuable course. I learned a lot in these two days and find the THRASS methodology very successful. The resources are of good quality, colourful and very useful. I just feel that two days are a bit short to grasp the whole system. But I believe by putting it into practice I will soon understand it completely. The presenter is very professional and she did a very good job of presenting the course. 

Very valuable, especially if we go to schools that make use of the THRASS process. It was interesting to see the difference between THRASS and how we were taught reading and writing skills. It makes more sense to group words together that sound the same, rather than words with the same letters. All resources used were very interesting as well as useful. The material and charts we received will help us in our future teaching careers. I think this course is vital for all primary school learners so that reading and writing skills will be improved by using phonemes and graphemes. 

I enjoyed the course. I found the presenter to be a very dynamic and energetic person, and the course was presented in a very interesting practical way using multimedia such as music and videos. I learned a lot of valuable information. It was interesting to delve into the basics of words and distinguish between phonemes and graphemes. I believe that the knowledge I have gained and the experience will benefit both me and my classroom. I do believe that using this will enable learners to read, write and spell more effectively as it breaks down words into their basic parts (phonemes and graphemes) and learn all of these parts and how to put them together to form words. 

Eye-opening and enriching. It is a logistical approach to the teaching of phonics and one that was definitely lacking in my own education. It integrates constructivism and a multi-sensory approach in a way that is interesting and both captures and maintains learner’s attention. I found that the guide book was very useful as an aid, as well as the practical exercises we completed during the course. Having first hand experience with the raps and songs as well as the computer programs brought the program to life for me. I also found the focus on learner’s learning styles (as well as my own) enlightening. 

Very practical and informational experience, even though it was only two days. The lecturer was much organised and well experienced. I found the course interesting and enjoyed the interactive activities in the course. It taught me many skills which I know I will be able to use in schools when I start my practical teaching. 

Through this experience I feel I learned different concepts and separated sections and once I’m in the classroom they will combine, and overall this course will become a lot clearer. The points that I took in will benefit me when I find myself having to teach reading and writing. This course is practical where examples are given that we as teachers will use in our classroom. 

This was really a very interesting workshop to attend. Before yesterday I’ve never heard of the THRASS program in so much detail before, and I must say I am impressed. I think that this program will especially make it easier for English second language learners to learn how to read and write and more importantly spelling and pronouncing words correctly. Thank you very much for such a great opportunity! 

Very interesting although I find it difficult to understand, it is going to take a lot of practice! These two days were very long but luckily the workshop was being illustrated by a lot of hands on activities and resources. I think this approach can work if the whole school adopts this method, especially in foundation phase. Thank you for explaining the THRASS approach to us. 

I feel very happy to have had an opportunity to attend the THRASS workshop. My own knowledge about teaching English has definitely been broadened. I think it is a very effective method of teaching English. The way the workshop was presented, I feel was very effective. It was easy to comprehend and understand. 

This was really a good experience. I really learned a lot and will use it when I do my practical. It gives me a lot of confidence to teach children how to read, write and spell. 

I have only one thing to say and that is; Unbelievable! In the four years at University I have never experienced such stimulation from a course. It was really unbelievable! I can’t wait to practice this program myself. To me sounded so easy and exciting to teach to children. Again, Wow! 

I think THRASS is an excellent way for learners to acquire language skills through creativity. The resources which are provided will be of great help in learning English. I would like to apply the principals of this program on the Afrikaans language. 

I learned a lot. This is a very good way of teaching young children handwriting, reading and spelling skills. To make 120 key spelling choices and teaching children these spelling choices correctly! I never knew about THRASS before, but I think that this is a brilliant way to teach. The CD that comes with it is very handy and shows everything step by step. The quality of this course is of very high standard and I couldn’t believe that young children can learn about difficult words like these but THRASS actually makes it possible. 

It was a very interesting course, I learned a lot. I would implement most of the themes in my class. It is very easy to use even without all resources. It is practical and I think it will help to teach proper spelling in English. It will improve my own spelling! I was fun to do! It is a good whole different approach, the chart is excellent! 

The THRASS program is extremely innovative and learners will definitely learn how to read much sooner if this program is implemented in all schools. I fell very privileged to have attended this workshop and I am confident that I will be able to teach my learners reading and writing using the THRASS program. 

10/10 I am definitely going to use this in my learning facilitation. I didn’t know where to start in class. Now everything is clear. Thank you very much for the resources. 

A wonderful learning experience. I am going to have to enable my brain to think in a new way! Makes sense to me but it takes a while because of the way I was taught. Thank you for the wonderful way it was presented, and the lady was very well informed and passionate about teaching and THRASS. 

This THRASS course was really valuable to me, as I know now how to teach this and know how to use all the media effectively. This is a really good way to teach children to read, write and spell. I can’t wait to implement THRASS in my own classroom next year. 

This was truly a great course. The one thing fourth year students were worried about was teaching reading. This course made it all make sense and I am really glad we had this opportunity. The whole concept is really great and makes a lot of sense to me, and it is a great method as I cannot wait to put it into practice. 

It was really a privilege to be able to attend this course. It was fun to be able to experience things like THRASS rap. I understand everything in the course very good and easily. I would need to practise what I’ve learned. I would definitely want to use this program in a school, because both teachers as well as learners will definitely benefit from it. 

THRASS was a wonderful course, and I’ve learned a lot about teaching handwriting, reading and spelling skills. I think if I learned about graphs, digraphs and trigraphs my school years would have been lots of fun! I liked the songs the most! I think it is great and I can take a lot with me into teaching. Thank you THRASS! 

Before I started this course I did not feel very enthusiasm, my feelings changed completely during the course as I found it very interesting and fun. I enjoyed the course very much and feel that it should be implemented in every school in South-Africa. I found the course very informative. I learnt the difference of a graph, digraph, trigraph and quadgraph. I feel that everything I have learnt during this course has been a great advantage as I now have the knowledge about THRASS and I will now be able to successfully implement this program when learning. 

Very demanding and simple, maybe because I’m from the old paradigm of teaching, handwriting, reading and spelling skills. It is hard to let go of my foundation, it seems as if I won’t have anything to stand on. That was the demanding part; the simple aspect was to see how fun and educative this course was. If I can take this to the township schools where literacy levels are very low, I would have achieved so much. 

This course helped me a lot with how to teach learners English as a second language, because I’m Afrikaans and struggle with English. I will definitely use these steps and activities in my second language class, as well as in my Afrikaans first language classroom/period. 

This course was a wonderful experience for me. I for the first time learned how to teach children how to read, write and spell in an effective way. I was very worried about the importance of this knowledge and how to teach it, but I know feel confident to teach it to the children successfully. 

A wonderful experience. From the moment it started I was captured. This is a necessary course for every teacher to be. I will take this knowledge with me to the classroom but also use it on my children some day.

Return to TOP

Back           Next