Here is a game for 10-12 year olds. Ask children to decode the following phrases:

1. U R A Q T (You are a cutie).

2. R U O K ? (Are you Ok?).

3. eye heart U ( I love you) Sketch an eye and the heart.

4. How R U ?

There are so many combinations of words and pictures that can make English sentences. I gave this as homework once and a big prize, $1, for the kid who invented the longest coded sentence. They all did the homework. Successful class. Encourages children to play with English.

See how many letters in the English alphabet can also mean a whole word. This is true for Korean and other languages too. Examples:

a = a

b = bee (and rain in Korean)

c = see

e = Lee (do not pronounce the L in Korean) is a common family name in Korea (also means louse/lice)

i = eye and I

j = jay (bird)

o = 5 in Korean

p = pee (urine) or blood in Korean

r = are

t = tea

u = you

y = why?

1 = won (also the currency of Korea)

2 = to, too, two

4 = for, four

8 = ate

Copyright Robin Tim Day