Vibrant presentation leaving one motivated to implement. Thank you for answers that we’ve been searching for. 

Fantastic. I can’t wait to start THRASS with my students. I wish that all our teachers had been here for this. Thank you, you have inspired me. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the course and was excited about all that I learnt.  Am very excited about using this method in my classroom. Thought that it was well organised and entertainingly presented. Am definitely going to download and watch demo lessons and learn even more. Now just need to get my colleagues on board! Am glad I came. 

Excellent! Was a major eye-opener! Passionate and entertaining presenter. Course was extremely thorough. Thank you, very very much appreciated. 

This course was brilliant, as it made so much sense to teach children something correctly to begin with. The presentation was entertaining and highly relevant to the problems which we experience in our schools. I was struck as to how culturally diverse it is and adaptable to South Africa. I now understand the missing link that has existed between the “desire to read” in pre-primary and actual reading. THRASS has made it clear, we need to change. I cannot wait to begin. Thank you so much, I only wish we had more time. 

Excellent presentation. Mr Davies is a great teacher. I appreciate the practical, helpful hands on demonstrations and lessons. At last I understand phonics how to teach it. It made sense! Thank you for including Grade R! 

Excellent whole language approach – will eliminate much confusion with children. Fantastic presentation – keeps you enthralled throughout. Worthwhile 2 days.

Excellent course! What a wonderful approach to literacy, that makes so much sense. I look forward to implementing this in my classroom. Dynamic presenter! 

It was great to receive confirmation that a lot of what I have been doing in terms of reading, spelling and phonics in my class for many years is correct. I am also so pleased to have found solutions to the areas I found problematic. The resources are excellent – good quality and child friendly. I really hope our school can adopt the THRASS programme, but we will all need training. Excellent presentation – dynamic, interesting and heaped with valuable, practical information! 

An excellent course which has addressed many of my queries of English language teaching of spelling. I never liked teaching phonics – I used to teach word building and phonemic awareness – THRASS brings this altogether. I enjoyed your sense of humour and the vibrant pace of the 2 days. 

The course was wonderful!! The presenter was enthusiastic, he created a great atmosphere. I have learned a lot, the course gave me a clear picture of graphs and phonemes of which for me I benefited as English is the third language. He is courageous, stimulates to listen for more information. I wish you can extend the course for a week and be in a form of a classroom or maybe children involved. It was wonderful. 

Certainly very thought provoking. Energetic presenter but it feels as if I am going to struggle (in the beginning, for sure). Would have liked a follow up training once I’ve tried it out a bit. My other concern is that I am going to use it in private practise and the child is going to be taught something else. I do feel it is what the whole world should be doing. Why? Because once you get it, it is easy peasy lemon squeezy. 

Course with abundance of strategies to extend the learner as well as teacher vocabulary. Much enjoyed performance, presentation and wit. I pray for achievement. 

Informative course. I feel empowered. It has given me new ways of teaching phonics. 

A very exciting, inspiring course. A brilliant programme which really makes sense! Enjoyed the energy, humour and involvement. Am sure my class would really enjoy it. 

“Phenomenal” is a word I use to describe THRASS. A most enjoyable and rewarding 2 days! Finally a system that MAKES SENSE – I have had “problems” with teaching phonics because I did not know how I got to know about sounds and words!! Thank you for bringing it to sunny SA. Can’t wait to get started. Can you do a workshop for Governing Bodies?! 

Very interesting. A new challenge. I really hope that all schools will benefit from ABSA contribution. Will attend follow-ups. Very interactive. In the mean time will try and incorporate within school. 

Very enthusiastic and energetic presentation. I’m inspired to go and try this out – for additional language gr 4-9 learners. As intermediate/senior phase specialist, I’ve been looking for an approach/method to teaching spelling/reading that will suit the learners’ age. Interested in further cooperation and partnerships with schools and training of student teachers. 

This approach makes sense. The challenge is to spread the word but I gladly accept. Presentation was very entertaining. 

Very interesting and entertaining. Put a good couple of things into perspective. Will use in my class. Lots of things made a lot more sense. Thanks for Granny’s Garden. Keep up the good work. 

A well presented very informative workshop. Presenter knows his stuff and is able to keep the group involved. Like the idea of mapping as it put English into perspective. Will apply in my class as well as with my own children. 

I found the course most interesting and exciting. It has made many things clear to me with regard to explaining spelling. Mr Davies is a wonderfully energetic and enthusiastic presenter. 

Inspiring, motivating, entertaining, exciting. 

Enjoyed the course and find it will stimulate and motivate our learners to improve their reading, writing and spelling.  I need to work with the programme and prepare myself adequately in order to teach my learners. Thanks for taking so much of your energy to demonstrate your fantastic programme. Your whole approach was very child orientated which makes learning fun. 

A lovely structured phonetic programme that will enable learners to make meaningful progress in phonics as well as in language as a whole.  A wonderful way to enrich and enhance our learners’ literacy levels. Many thanks Alan and Mike for a vibrant dynamic presentation. Well done!! 

Thank you for a most informative, exciting way to involve all learners, making learning fun and hands on. I will most definitely like to use this in my classroom and I look forward to trying to emulate Alan Davies!! (if possible). He is an excellent presenter, keeping ones attention glued on subject matter. 10/10 This is putting phonics on the “Map”. 

This was the most exciting course on learning that I attended. It makes sense and all fits in a big picture. I will implement this at our school. Thanks for a great experience. 

Very informative and well presented – very entertaining. Loved the way suggestions were given in terms of how to present programme in classroom. Enjoyed power presentations and look forward to watching DVD. The course was very intense and at some points a bit overwhelming. Unfortunately, I missed parts of what was being said due to strong accent – maybe you should try to speak a bit slower to ensure message is fully understood by audience. 

Very well presented. Presenter was dynamic and energetic, but explained the concepts and strategies clearly. I was inspired to start applying this strategy to my learners. Will go back to staff and give positive feedback. Thank you for wonderful resources and handouts! 

Outstanding. Interactive, entertaining, informative. It is most wonderful to have a competent presenter who knows what he is talking about. 

Excellent! Most interesting! Fantastic presentation! Wonderful quality – all the handouts. 

Really exciting and loads of fun! Was excited to return on Saturday. Made it very clear how to implement at various levels. Concrete and visual (multisensory) approach to teach spelling and reading. Presenter extremely dynamic and entertaining. Well done on the outstanding research and work! Children will really benefit with the truth. 

Wow. Was a lot to think about!! Thank you for the dynamic presentation. It just all makes sense. Thank you. I can wait to get started. I am very excited. 

Wow. You have given us so much to think about. It all makes PERFECT sense! Thank you for the fantastic presentation. It is very clear as to how passionate you are about THRASS and the children you hope to reach. I am looking forward to implementing THRASS. 

Well presented, logical and systematic presentation. A resource needed as so many children in mainstream are functionally illiterate. For special education – the programme has to be introduced very slowly. 

Incredibly enlightening. Also highly entertaining. Makes me realise why there are so many non-readers and bad spellers (a pet hate of mine) in the world. How did the rest of us learn to read and spell and enjoy it without being taught like this. 

An intense course with a lot of information in a nut shell. Very good presentation. It would be good if the lecturer could change his style of teaching e.g. get the teachers more involved in different ways.

Excellent presentation – interesting contact. Very informative – Learned a great deal. Enjoyed it very much. 

Lively, humorous presentation. Practical! A definite answer to the present literacy problem in our schools. 

The concept is very interesting and it does “Make sense”. The presenter knew the content well, was informative and interesting and obviously has a passion for this style of teaching. My recommendations are for more interaction between audience and presenter, and activities. Thank you for an eye-opening workshop. 

It really has been an awesome time – the presentation was well organised, practical and thorough. It has been a paradigm shift with regards to teaching phonics. I did find it quite intensive ie lots of reading to be done to become more familiar with the material. I am very excited about implementing it in my class. Thank you for bringing one of the right answers to South Africa. 

An amazing system to teach phonics. A real eye opener and a wonderful solution to my English problem. Alan is a wonderful presenter who grabs your attention and holds it. Thank you for your time, it is truly appreciated. 

Excellent! It was refreshing to hear a specialist on the topic. I appreciated your humour, passion, stories, presentation and resources. I will need time to digest the material, but I’m convinced that it will help me in my context. 

Easily the most exciting course I have ever attended. Learnt so much! Enjoyed the humour. No boring moments. 

The course was very interesting, informative and exciting. The presentation was captivating, not boring at all. This programme can definitely benefit our children and involve them in one lesson from start to finish. 

I enjoyed this course very much, because it was very very very informative and also full of fun. As a special needs teacher I realised that our children’s ability was not disabled, but was clever, because in THRASS there are 44 sounds and that is what they used, we as teachers did not understand, now I understand it. Thanks Alan for your dedication and passion for literacy. God bless your business. 

An interesting new way of assisting learners to spell and to improve spelling. Good resources and easy access to resources. Clear instructions. 

Very vibrant and enthusiastic way of Teaching Handwriting, Reading And Spelling Skills. Hope you  have lots of success in sharing it with the rest of the world. 

Very interesting content. Thank you for all the research! Great ideas for teaching own children as well as class. Perhaps course could be condensed into one day? Allow more breaks. Schooling activities to keep brain fresh. 

At first struggle with English accent of presenter. It was interesting, more for mainstream. Special needs need more adjusted. Presentation clear and to the point, just need a little more time to consume all information, I think 2 days is too short. 

Very interesting content. Thank you for all the research! Great ideas for teaching own children as well as class. Perhaps course could be condensed into one day? Allow more breaks. Schooling activities to keep brain fresh. 

This is really nothing new. It is well set out but you can not claim this as your own idea!! It is also most unprofessional to trash other systems to boost your own. The cards are also inappropriate to give to a child with serious spatial problems such as in our school. For the mainstream child the system will work as well as other systems. You have a good system, pity you spoil it with such arrogance regarding other systems. 

Enlightening.  The THRASS programme opens up a door to a refreshing new true methodology of teaching learners with challenges. It does require a mindset change but the rewards at the end of the day……helping children to read and write, is definitely worthwhile. 

Good presentation. Should be more interactive. Charts used had to be bigger for our group. A huge amount to digest in such a short time. Lots of pitfalls but much can be used. 

The presenter was enthusiastic and lively. It made a lot of sense and made me rethink how phonics and reading are currently being taught. There was lots of info to absorb. A good presentation on the whole. Thank you for sharing with us. 

Excellent methods of teaching literacy. Sound combinations are very logic. It was too much information within a short span of time. I could not internalize all the information. 

I surely changed my way of looking at teaching phonics. It is a wonderful programme. I would have liked to have spent more time in training. The presentation was good. 

A new way of teaching phonics. Some excellent ideas on new teaching strategies. Well done! 

This course has broadened my cognitive knowledge regarding teaching English to my Grade 2 learners. I am deeply grateful for Alan Davies who has an enthusiastic presentation. It was fun and surely worthwhile investing my own money into this workshop. I am grateful for him, the staff of Sunlands to have us here. Our poor school community will definitely benefit from my feedback and encouragement. I would recommend this THRASS programme for us here. God bless your work. 

I have enjoyed the course very much. I am glad that I could attend it. I will gladly implement this with my little ones. Thank you very much for introducing the course and for making it so lively.

I thoroughly enjoyed this course. It was presented in an interesting and understandable way. The course material is relevant. I now have a clearer understanding of how children learn to read, spell and write and the best way to teach them. I leave this course with an enthusiasm to implement THRASS in the class. 

An extremely interesting and captivating course. Very well presented by an excellent presenter (Alan Davies). The course content provides solutions to many of the literacy problems being experienced in the higher grades of the primary education system. This system is to play an essential role in addressing the literacy problems that South Africa is facing. The methodology will also be of great value for parents, who will be able to reinforce the learning at home. Very enjoyable 2 days. 

I am impressed and cannot wait to get started with THRASS in my class. My children are going to gain so much from this and I will reach for more learners in my class than ever before. Every child, regardless of their individual learning styles or abilities will gain from this. The course was wonderfully presented and held my attention right through. I have been waiting for a teaching method like this ALL my life – I would be a SUPER SPELLER.  

Inspiring. This course has now motivated me to go back to my “England Literacy Training” and implementing it in my school. I can not wait to work with my special needs children, in particular, using THRASS in order to improve their skills across the board. Thank you for developing a program that makes sense to me and that I can see will work. Money and time WELL spent. 

Very exciting – a real ‘aha!’ moment. I have new confidence in much of what I already know, because I now have a system. I would love to have left knowing the ‘garden’ off by heart, and some of the acronyms and labels will take some learning, but it looks very accessible and adaptable.  Empowering to have materials to take away – and beautiful ones at that! I also look forward to viewing and sharing the demo lessons off DVD and internet. 

This was an amazing experience. I wish my sons started their school career on the THRASS system. Although I’m the IT Educator, I’ll definitely teach it at home to my children too. Well done Alan and keep up the good work. 

Presenter proved that active learning and learner participation through THRASS 2 day workshop. Could be implemented from pre-junior to high school phase. As teacher I have 30 years experience through mainstream and learners with learning difficulties can be accommodated in this programme. Good luck for the future. 

Truly inspirational. Well presented. This is a strategy or approach for anybody. 

Enlightening! Interesting, lively and entertaining, informative, enthusiastic presentation. Thank you very much for an eye-opener! I can’t wait to start! (2 days well spent) 

Well presented. Felt part of the programme immediately. Could relate programme to pupils in class and various other strategies learnt. Programme can be implemented with sufficient support and material. Seems like an answer to prevent remedial problems (pro-active). 

I enjoyed this course, can’t wait to implement to the class. Enjoyed the Rap, bring lots of fun to the class, fantastic. The resources that I received will be treasured with great care. Thank you so much and all the best to you at THRASS. 

I found this course very enlightening and user-friendly. Well presented by Alan Davies. 

Excellent presentation. Intensive course but definitely worthwhile!! Interactive – hands on approach. Loved the integrated approach to literacy. Wonderful resources to use in classroom with back up teacher guides. Covers assessment (a bonus). Better understanding of how the system works. 

This was a fruitful course. Mr Davies is an energetic person. This is the first course that I enjoyed. 

The course offers abundant enrichment. It was very fruitful and you kept us awake due to your energetic approach. 

Wow!! Excellent!! New METACOGNITION to all – The truth. Thank you for your hard work, enthusiasm, passion to make a change. Empowering for all. Also for autistic learners – Visual, Structure system. Interactive, all levels and abilities. The pace was a bit too fast at times, but you read the crowd well and adapt/slow down/break. Oh yes, it is great!! Good team effort + music.

It is a pity there are not more presenters as passionate and knowledgeable on their subject! A well organised, informative, inspiring and motivating workshop! 

I thoroughly enjoyed the 2-day course. Found the material very learner friendly, very hands-on approach. Encourages holistic approach to teaching reading and spelling. Facilitator – on the ball, kept one interested and focussed from start to finish. Worth every cent!! PS: Can’t wait to share this method with my colleagues.

The course was fun, interesting and informative. Alan is bringing back the basics and foundation to learning. I enjoyed myself. He makes learning fun. 

Extremely interesting and worthwhile. It makes complete sense. It has value for all age groups and learning abilities/styles. The presenter – Mr Alan Davies was outstanding and very entertaining. To be the sole speaker for 2 days is quite something. Thank you for your time, enthusiasm and input! Your passion is very inspirational. 

What I have always been looking for! Incredibly helpful. THRASS will change the way we teach. What’s exciting is that this is a fun approach. Can’t wait to try it out. Thank you for giving your life towards this. So motivating when you see someone who is passionate about what he does and loves children. You have forever inspired me to share the truth with my children. Keep changing the world! 

Wonderful course. Very inspiring and information very well presented – thorough and easy to understand. Can’t wait to get started! 2 days a bit short, hope internet will answer on going queries! Superbly hosted by Sunlands Primary School. 

Valuable and important information to assist my learners for future in the acquisition of language. Inspirational and motivational (an aspect we desperately need) Presenter, excellent! Organisation, well done. Thank you to Alan and staff of Sunlands.

It was amazing to find answers to questions I thought only I had. It was well presented and kept me focussed all the time. I cannot wait to get back to my class to begin. I also appreciated the resource material given. During the course I found myself already writing over my own spelling errors in my own notes. I am generally a poor speller, I am going to be a great speller very soon. I am going to use what I have learnt, not only in my class, but also with my own children at home.

An excellent course. This is something that I can use in my remedial class without the children feeling stupid and inadequate and confused. Well presented – entertaining and interactive.

An excellent, exciting course. Very clearly presented and very challenging after years of dissatisfaction with the old methods. I feel privileged to have participated in these past 2 days. Hopefully we will be allowed to implement THRASS in our school.

This course rocks! I am so excited about implementing what I have learnt. I am also very excited that our school has been chosen as a “Talk Together” pilot school for THRASS. I believe this way of learning and approaching literacy will revolutionize education in South Africa and throughout the world. The programme can be used in the poorest to the most sophisticated schools. There is a place for all – the task ahead is great but with this awesome course I believe we can achieve amazing results in overcoming the poor levels of illiteracy. Alan, you were great. ABSA you have taken on something wonderful.