Phonological Awareness Training 1
Running Head: PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS TRAINING
Providing Effective Phonological Awareness Training Chantal Pearson-Gooding University of the West Indies February 27, 2012
EDLS 6501: Foundations of Literacy Instruction Course Coordinator: Jossett Smikle
Phonological Awareness Training 2
Phonological awareness is closely related to achievement in reading. Most students develop the skills associated with phonological awareness as they interact with others. However, some students exhibit phonological awareness deficits that impede their progress in reading. Teachers can aid students’ development by providing them with phonological awareness training. While several have cautioned that phonological awareness training alone is not sufficient to make students successful readers, they maintain that it is an important feature of effective literacy intervention programs. (Pinell and Fountas, 2009; Brown, 2006 ). Researchers have identified modeling, explicit instruction, using manipulatives, providing students with constructive feedback, and incorporating letter-sound correspondences as features of effective phonological awareness instruction. Phonological awareness is defined as the ability to identify and manipulate units of sound in spoken language (Philips et al.,2008 ; Phillips, Clancy-Menchetti, & Lonigan, 2008). These units of sound include sentences, words, syllables, onsets, rimes and phonemes. Persons who have well developed phonological awareness are able to perform tasks at all of these levels. Tasks at the sentence level include identifying the number of words in a sentence, recognizing rhyming words and producing words that rhyme. Phonemic awareness is the ability to identify and manipulate sounds in words. Blending is the ability to connect phonemes into a word. Segmenting, the reverse process of blending, involves isolating individual phonemes in word and articulating them in sequence. Phonemic awareness also involves identifying initial, medial and final sounds in words. More complex tasks include deletion, which require the student to consider how removing a sound would alter the meaning of a word. Some of these tasks, such as identifying rhyming are developed at a young age whereas skills such as phonemic awareness
Phonological Awareness Training 3
and manipulation are considered to be more sophisticated (Barclay, 2009; Anthony and Francis, 2005). Pinell and Fountas (2009) maintain that “Children do not automatically identify sounds just because they can speak and understand language.” Phillips et. al (2008) notes that difficulties in developing phonological awareness may be linked to how children perceive spoken language. Natural speech appears to flow in a continuous stream and when children listen to others speak, they may not be able to discern pauses between words, syllables, and phonemes. Gradually, most children become aware of these sound structures and are able to “separate individual sounds from the patterns they hear in spoken words” (Pinell and Fountas, 2009). However, some continue to find it difficult to do so. Therefore, while some students are able to demonstrate phonological awareness, other students struggle a great deal with the development of these skills. These students are often identified as having phonological awareness deficits that have significant impacts on their ability to read. Numerous studies have concluded that there is a strong correlation between phonological awareness deficits and reading difficulties. (Phillips et. al, 2008; Bhat, Griffin and Sindelar, 2003). If students are not able to identify phonemes in spoken words, they will not be able to master the alphabetic principle i.e. understand that sounds are represented by letters in written words (Pinell and Fountas, 2009) .Consequently they may struggle with decoding unfamiliar words, and their comprehension of text will be negatively impacted as most of their attention will be concentrated on discerning the sounds represented in words. Pullen and Justice (2003) also note a lack of phonological awareness may hinder students’ ability to accurately identify words.
Phonological Awareness Training 4
It is clear that these difficulties can impede student’s progress and serve as an obstacle on the path to become fully literate. However, phonological awareness training can help students to develop the skills that will prepare them for further literacy instruction. This training involves guiding students through activities that help to develop their phonological awareness skills, whether through small group sessions or one-on-one tutoring. While it is often emphasized that children be exposed to phonological awareness training early in their academic career, older learners are also able to benefit from phonological awareness instruction (Brown, 2006). Researchers have identified a number of best practices underpin phonological awareness training. Before providing a student with phonological awareness training, it is important to acquire data that provides information about what knowledge and skills the student currently possesses, and identifies potential areas for improvement (Philips et al.,2008). As discussed earlier, phonological awareness is a broad skillset and while it is possible to identify errors that are typical of persons with a phonological awareness deficit, students have varying strengths and weaknesses, and may perform better on some tasks than on others. Some students may be able to identify the phonemes present in words without being able to segment the word that is presented to them (Brown, 2006). Other students may be able to blend and segment CVC words such as ‘mat’ and ‘pin’, but find it quite challenging to perform the same task with longer words such as ‘lamp’ and ‘must’. It is therefore important to identify their specific needs and tailor instruction accordingly. While there is some benefit in teaching children incidentally research has shown that children are more likely to make progress with systematic and deliberate instruction, where teachers engage students in activities, while keeping a clear goal in mind. (Phillips et al., 2008;
Phonological Awareness Training 5
Yapp 2000). In regards to phonemic awareness, it was discovered that lessons which focus on one or two phonemes at a time, were more effective than instruction which attempted to introduce students to several phonemes at one time (qtd in Pinell and Fountas, 2009). It is also beneficial to share lesson objectives with the students to establish a focus for each lesson. Students who struggle with phonological awareness deficits benefit from detailed modeling of the production of speech sounds. In order to model how to articulate speech sounds, it is beneficial for teachers to have a functional knowledge of articulatory phonetics. This is especially helpful when teaching children to differentiate between sounds that are quite similar or produced in similar ways such as /s/ and /th/ , as it will be possible to draw students attention to the articulators involved. They are both fricatives, but the teacher can model that /th/ is produced by placing the teeth between the tongue, whereas /s/ is produced by placing the tongue behind the teeth. (Phillps et al., 2008) maintain that teachers should make an effort to articulate phonemes clearly in order to support the development of students’ phonemic awareness skills. Incorrectly articulating phonemes, may confuse students and hinder their future progress. Another tenet of effective phonological awareness training is to provide meaningful feedback so that students will know exactly what they have done well (Phillips et al., 2008; Pinell and Fountas, 2009). For example, if a student correctly identifies that the word cat begins with /c/, saying “Well done, you can hear /c/ at the beginning of the word “cat” is more helpful than saying “Well done”. Such comments also help to increase student’s confidence and reinforce the skill being taught. It is also vital for teachers to use clear and precise language when explaining concepts and sharing lesson objectives with the students. During a lesson, it is necessary for teachers to
Phonological Awareness Training 6
pause and ensure that students understand the terms that they are using, as it may be counterproductive to make a point to the student based on the assumption that they have already grasped a particular concept (Philips et al., 2008). For instance, before asking a student to say what phoneme they hear at the beginning of the word cat, they teacher must first establish that the student knows what he or she means by “beginning” and “phoneme”. Philips et al., (2008) also note that teachers should be aware of the complexity of the tasks that they are expecting their students to perform. Some phonological awareness activities require students to progress through a number of mental steps in order to be successful, which can often be overwhelming. This is why scaffolding is a key component of phonological awareness instruction. Scaffolding refers to the act of structuring the learning experience in such to promote students’ progress and prepare them to perform increasingly difficult tasks. One way to scaffold is to use concrete representations of sound. Phillips et al. (2008) and Brown (2006) note that using pictures or objects can enhance students’ performance on phonological awareness tasks. For example, tasks such as phoneme deletion places significant demands on the students’ short term memory, as they must not only remember the word that they were asked to analyse, but also the individual phonemes and the order in which they appeared in the word. Using a block to represent each phoneme may serve as a mental place mark and allow students to focus their attention more efficiently Yopp and Yopp (2000) also support the use of manipulatives and recommend that teachers use coins to help students identify words in a sentence. The teacher may ask the student to listen to him or her read a sentence, give the student a handful of coins and have them place a coin on the table for each word they hear. The student may then count their coins to determine the number of words in the sentence. Another way to use objects to promote phonological awareness is to present
Phonological Awareness Training 7
students with a selection of toys, have them say the name of each toy and identify the initial phoneme. Such activities help to make what may be an abstract task easier to manage. Researchers maintain that one of the ways to ensure that students benefit from phonological awareness training is to make the sessions enjoyable. This can be done by incorporating “language play” into lessons (Pinell and Fountas, 2009). Examples of language play include reciting humorous poems and teaching students songs with rhyming words. Another enriching activity is to have students play word games with a partner while the teacher observes and offers guidance, as necessary. This provides students with an opportunity to learn cooperatively while still ensuring that key concepts are reinforced (Pinell and Fountas, 2009). For example, a pair of children may be given a set of picture cards. One child will have to look at the picture and segment the word that it represents. The other child will have the task of figuring out the object on the other student’s card by blending the phonemes provided by their partner. After a while, they may switch roles. This provides both students with practice in blending and segmenting. Teachers should also strive to help students realise how phonological awareness is connected to other meaningful literacy experiences. This may be done by choosing words for oral blending practice from books that they have read in class, or other familiar texts. Brown (2006) notes that is also beneficial to teach letter sound correspondences, i.e. the letters that represent each phoneme. This promotes the acquisition of the alphabetic principle and prepares them for future encounters with texts. Phonological awareness deficits can present a significant barrier to students’ progress in the acquisition of literacy. However, there are numerous strategies that teachers can use to help
Phonological Awareness Training 8
their students address and overcome phonological awareness deficits. This integrated approach helps to support students in their efforts to become proficient readers and writers.
Phonological Awareness Training 9
References
Anthony, J. L., & Francis, D. J. (2005). Development of phonological awareness. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14(5), 255-259. Retrieved from http://icibostonready-pd-20092010.wikispaces.umb.edu/file/view/Development+of+Phonological+Awareness.pdf/1477 70323/Development%20of%20Phonological%20Awareness.pdf Barclay, K. (2009). Click, clack, moo: Designing effective reading instruction for children in preschool and early primary grades. Childhood Education, 85(3). Retrieved from http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5037716949 Bhat, P., Griffin, C. C., & Sindelar, P. T. (2003). Phonological awareness instruction for middle school students with learning disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly, 26. Retrieved from http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5001982732 Brown, J. (2006). The Foundations of Literacy Instruction [Module 2 Unit 2: Phonological Development and Phonological Awareness]. Retrieved fromhttps://www.elearning.open.uwi.edu
Phillips, B. M., Clancy-Menchetti, J., & Lonigan, C. J. (2008). Successful phonological awareness instruction with preschool children: Lessons from the classroom. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 28(1). Retrieved from http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5026836531 Pinnell, G. S., & Fountas, I. C. (2009). When readers struggle: Teaching that works. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Pullen, P. C., & Justice, L. M. (2003). Enhancing phonological awareness, print awareness, and oral language skills in preschool children. Intervention in School and Clinic, 39(2), 8798. doi: 10.1177/10534512030390020401
Phonological Awareness Training 10
Yopp, H. K., & Yopp, R. H. (2000). Supporting phonemic awareness development in the classroom. The Reading Teacher, 54(2), 130-143. doi: 10.1598/RT.54.2.2