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I Can Read System

OUR STORY

The I Can Read System was developed by educational psychologists, Annabel Seargeant and Tony Earnshaw over twenty years ago. The I Can Read System grew out of a need to make it easy for children to learn to read when English is such an arbitrary and complex language, which flouts all the rules and has vocabulary borrowed from many different languages.


The English language has around 44 sounds (phonemes) and only 26 letters to represent those sounds. Hence it can be difficult for students to learn that letters and combinations of letters can represent more than one sound. For instance, the letter ‘a’ in words such as cat, gate, any, was, bath, area, talk, shows that the humble ‘a’ letter has many variations of pronunciation, creating confusion for any beginning reader, who has been taught that ‘a’ represents the first sound in apple!


Overcoming this problem was a challenge, and the I Can Read System met that challenge, and solved it in a clear and elegant way. This took some years of research, combined with a few moments of sheer inspiration! We took the system to Singapore and while Tony was working for the Ministry of Education as an educational psychologist, Annabel started up Total Literacy (Singapore) Pte Ltd, and began to trial the programme in the primary schools with permission of the Ministry of Education. As the system became known and began to solve so many reading problems, schools demanded it and Annabel began training primary school teachers how to teach it in their classes of up to 40 students.


Then there was a call for a dedicated learning centre, and other investors came on board, and by the time Annabel and Tony came back home to Australia, there were twenty I Can Read Centres in Singapore, and more centres in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and China. Today, there are over 100 centres through the region, including around ten in Australia. Over 300,000 students have learnt to read with I Can Read, and the system has never had a failure.


No other system designed to teach reading has accumulated as much significant statistical back-up for its effectiveness from countries such as the US and Turkey, as well as Asia and Australia.

In 2005, Annabel and Tony co-authored Dealing with Dyslexia and Other Reading Difficulties, which examines why so many children have difficulty learning to read. With its parent-centered perspective, it identifies both the intrinsic and extrinsic elements associated with development dyslexia in easy-to-understand language. It explains how many children fail to read as a consequence of poor instructional practices and offers parents guidelines for detecting if their child is at risk of becoming a weak reader.

OUR TEAM

ANNABEL SEARGEANT : CO-FOUNDER and DIRECTOR


Annabel Seargeant is a registered educational and cognitive psychologist with a BA major in English literature, psychology and post-graduate qualifications in counselling. She has operated her own specialist reading clinic, working with children with a wide range of abilities, some with dyslexia, intellectual delay and other reading disabilities. Annabel has also worked with children who are able to read and want to extend their mastery of all aspects of the English language. She has a background in teaching literature, creative writing, public speaking and drama. She is also a trainer who has trained reading specialists and teachers how to teach reading.

TONY EARNSHAW : CO-FOUNDER and DIRECTOR


Antony Earnshaw is an educational and cognitive psychologist. He taught English in Australian schools for over twenty years, was a senior marker in English and Drama for the NSW HSC and School Certificate and was a school counsellor for several years. He was also a Senior Educational Psychologist for the Ministry of Education in Singapore from 2000 to 2003. Tony has majors in teaching and literature, and his PhD is on how children learn to read.

JOIN OUR TEAM

Teaching English literacy is a rewarding and fulfilling career offered in over 7 countries at I Can Read Centres. Many job opportunities for teachers and business opportunities in education are available with the I Can Read System.


In Australia, business opportunities in education are available for teachers and investors. Qualified teachers who would like to work for themselves and grow their own business while choosing their own hours find this an ideal and rewarding opportunity. If you are a teacher who loves to teach literacy or an investor who wants to start your own education business, email headoffice@icanreadsystem.com or call 02 9747 6653 for business opportunities in education.


Successful teacher candidates will be trained in the I Can Read System. Investors will employ qualified teachers who will be trained in the System. Only accredited ICR teachers are permitted to teach in licensed I Can Read Centres, and accreditation must be renewed annually through updated training. Teachers whose accreditation has expired, or who do not teach at a licensed I Can Read Centre are not permitted to teach the system.

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I CAN READ

Shop 1, 16 Fisher Rd,Dee Why, 2099, Sydney