As theories go it sounds simple enough: small steps must be taken first in order for greater accomplishments to be made.
At Literacy North Otago though, to the untrained ear it seems that theory has been turned on its head.
They believe one must sing before one can speak properly.
North Otago Literacy volunteer Jocelyn Mason, who trained for 10 years as a mezzo-soprano, reckons the best way to teach people to speak clearly is through song. She meets a group of 10-12 people - mainly migrants - at the CCS building each Thursday to chat, sing, teach and learn.
"Singing is slower than speaking because the words are divided over the music," she said.
It is that tempo which allows words, accompanied by music, to be comprehended more easily by those unfamiliar with a language.
"One of the things when learning a language is developing your hearing perception," Ms Mason said.
"We take this for granted, but actually to get them [migrants] to practise sounds they have never heard before is not easy for them.
"They think they are hearing what we are saying, but you have to retrain them so they perceive it."
Sounds which New Zealand-born English speakers perhaps take for granted are really complex constructions relying on the position of the jaw, teeth, tongue and shape of the mouth, she said.
Cultural differences also exist which make shared learning between different cultures more difficult.
"Basically, we are all people who want to get on together, but it's the cultural differences that are different all the time.
"It's getting an understanding of how you work through those.
"In Asian culture, for example, if you make a mistake in public it's a loss of face.
"Here, we teach that it is OK to make a mistake."
Vast variations in sounds present in different languages further complicated matters, she said.
Asian people, for instance, had difficulty pronouncing F, TH, L and R sounds properly, as those sounds were not part of their languages.
Literacy North Otago manager Helen Jansen stressed the project was far removed from the general perception of classroom learning, relying on the marriage between Ms Mason's teaching and singing expertise.
"It's quite an involved thing, bordering on speech therapy. A lot of poor speakers are poor speakers because they don't hear properly. A lot of Kiwi vowels get lost."
The group puts an emphasis on having fun while learning, which allows the foreign learners to relax in unfamiliar surroundings.
Having fun signifies "learning is at its highest", Ms Jansen said.
"Regardless of where they come from, it allows them to be more confident in other situations."
While Ms Mason suggested the idea to the former manager of Literacy North Otago, the late Paul Marsh, almost two years ago, learning a language through song is nothing new.
Maori history shows singing was used to develop young people's hearing and speaking, and Ms Jansen likens the type of teaching employed with the Maori term ako, where the roles of teacher and student are essentially interchangeable.
The Literacy North Otago group now includes people of Russian, Japanese, Chinese and New Zealand descent, and included Pacific Islanders.
Having two New Zealand-born, English-speaking members had helped quicken the group's progress, and Ms Mason said she was looking forward to the group's performances at rest-homes throughout the district.
