Originally developed as a speech-language rehabilitation technique, the Borel-Maisonny method is widely used for children experiencing reading difficulties, such as children with dyslexia or dysorthographia, as well as for children with dysphasia. Its phonetic approach, in which each phoneme is represented by a symbolic gesture, makes it easier to enter the world of written language. Here’s how it works.

A rehabilitation technique that pairs a sound with a gesture

Created in the 1960s by speech-language therapist Suzanne Borel-Maisonny, this method is built around 3 elements: the phoneme (what is heard), the grapheme (what is seen), and articulation (what is said).

Each of the 34 identified gestures corresponds to a phoneme, regardless of its spelling. Note that these gestures have nothing to do with sign language. They either represent a written shape, an articulatory shape, or the idea of flow.

Originally, this rehabilitation technique targeted children with difficulties in written and spoken language, whatever the cause. In this context, the gestures were only meant to be performed by the speech-language therapist, to help children decode the words and sentences on the board.

A progressive, syllable-based method for learning to read

While the Borel-Maisonny method is still used as a rehabilitation technique, it’s also used as a method for learning to read. Developed by Clotilde Silvestre de Sacy, a close collaborator of Suzanne’s, it takes a syllable-based approach that has won over many teachers since 1960.

With this method, the child first learns the gestures and their association with the corresponding phoneme. Next, they discover the graphemes and combine 2-3 gestures to form a syllable, while introducing writing alongside it.

At the start, words may be drawn out (“mmmmmmmotorrrbike”) until the moment it clicks, when the child understands and makes sense of the word they’ve read (“motorbike”). From simple sounds to complex ones, from syllable to sentence, learning to read happens step by step.

The strengths of the Borel-Maisonny approach

Particularly effective for children with dyslexia and dysorthographia, the Borel-Maisonny method is also valuable for children with dysphasia, thanks to its multi-sensory approach.

It also provides better memorisation of the link between grapheme and phoneme, and helps children better distinguish between similar-sounding phonemes (v/f and b/d).

Fun and playful, it combines perfectly with other tools, such as the Alphas method. It improves pronunciation, preventing “b” from becoming “buh” or “r” from becoming “er”, and it helps build attention.

Easy to learn, the Borel-Maisonny method focuses on the phoneme rather than on the multitude of possible spellings, which can be discouraging for a struggling child.

With its visual framework, it can be introduced as early as nursery school in the form of games: “94% of professionals believe its good results are largely down to its visual and kinaesthetic dimensions.”[1]

[1] Source: https://dante.univ-tlse2.fr/s/fr/item/10705 (p.36)