Answer: Because "Read it, Mispronounce, Memorize, and Then Forget it" was already taken, and frankly, was too long to fit on the box.🤣
Just kidding.
But seriously....
When you think about how you learned to speak as a baby, no one broke out the dictionary, a phonics chart, any sort of app or a book. They simply spoke to you. You associated sounds with items, and your parents and siblings held items up when they wanted to know if you wanted it, or liked it.
"Ba-ba? You want your baba?" 🍼
"Juice? 🍊 Milk? 🥛 Wa-wa?" 💦
Some families didn't even use the regular words, and yet here you are, speaking! Congratulations on overcoming the baby talk years! 🤪
As I used all the different methods in my homeschooling class, the one that caused the MOST growth, smiles, and absorption was the flashcards I used. Students saw the photo picture, heard and repeated the word, and their ability to speak STUCK. They always wanted to say whether or not they LIKED it, or NEEDED it right now.
So... the name "See it and Say it" came from describing the experience of students learning so quickly, because this method mimics exactly how they learned their first language. We begin with likes and needs, and a common noun that hopefully elicits some sort of reaction or emotion in the learner. The first few photo cards in See it and Say it Lesson 1 are ice cream, skirt, bowl, and dog. The hope is that ONE of those items gives the student either a positive or negative opinion, causing them to want to communicate, not just memorize.
When we look at the "traditional" method - a list of words that are next to their translations, there is no connection with the item itself. The lesson becomes something to memorize. You and your child play a quiz game, basically - sound it out, hope it's right, lose confidence and forget what you are talking about. You can never hope to communicate, because your mind is fixated on how the letters sound, and what the translation is, rather than just a vocal sound, that creates meaning that connects to the actual item.
Each individual photo card is there, helping your brain to open synapses that have been there the entire time, and then gives NEW pathways to open more speedways for greater memory usage, ability to connect other concepts and actually, even a DENSER brain. Yes, learning a second language in this way has shown to physically increase your brain size, and metaphysically increase your brain's capacity and speed!
So - SEE IT AND SAY IT - the method is a slow grow - not only confirmed by so many similar practices from the Charlotte Mason method, but also with gigantic rewards all along the way, giving help from ADHD calming, better memory ability, self-regulation for students with autism... And for parents and grandparents - how about staving off dementia and Alzheimer's for a full DECADE?! I mean it. The studies are there. Learning a second language is MUCH more about brain health than communication with people who don't speak English!
Check out the articles I've linked. You'll be so so glad you're SEEING it and SAYING it instead of sounding it out and forgetting it.
Ok, I know this last one is about basketball - but for those of you who have been to one of my talks - it's all the same - learning HOW to learn. It's not magic - it's NeuroScience.