Introduction
The teaching of ‘phonics’ emphasises on learning the relationship between letter patterns and the sounds they represent. This direct instruction teaches children how to achieve the recording to sound and how the visual symbol system of the English language represents the sounds of different words (Goouch and Lambirth, 2007).
According to the Department for Education (2013a), English is a pre-eminent language and at the heart of England’s education and society. The document then explains that it is vital for children to receive a high-quality education in English, as this will teach the children to communicate their ideas and emotions to others, and allow others to communicate with them. The reason behind this is that the ability to read allows pupils to develop culturally, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually; whilst also enabling the children to acquire knowledge, and to reinforce and scaffold upon what they already know. It is essential for children to be educated with all the skills of the English language, so that they can participate fully as a member of the society; children who do not learn these skills fluently and confidently are effectively disenfranchised and alienated from society (Glazzard and Stokoe, 2013).
It is then clear that a high level of attainment and achievement should be acquired to ensure that pupils have the necessary abilities to perform well within society. However, according to the Ofsted report, Moving English Forward: Action to Raise Standards in English (2012), one in five pupils are performing below the expected standards in English at the end of Key Stage 2. Therefore, it is essential to review the procedures to ensure that these pupils are supported and t...
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Johnston, R. and Watson, J. (2005). The Effects of Synthetic Phonics Teaching on Reading and Spelling Attainment: a seven year longitudinal study. Edinburgh: The Scottish Executive.
Medwell, J., Moore, G., Wray, D. and Griffiths, V. (2011). Primary English - Knowledge and Understanding. 5th ed. Glasgow: Learning Matters Ltd.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel. Bethesda, MD: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Ofsted (2012) Moving English Forward: Action to Raise Standards in English. Ofsted.
Rose, J. (2006) An Independent Review of the Teaching of Early Reading. Nottingham: DfES.
Torgerson, C.J., Brooks, G. and Hall, J. (2006). A Systematic Review of the Research Literature on the use of Phonics in the Teaching of Reading and Spelling. Nottingham: DfES.
To possess the ability to read and write, is to be educated, is it not? It is a plausible argument that can be made, but we must ask ourselves what limitations and obligations drive this argument. One can counter that there are none and that literacy is simply not black and white, but a spectrum of many shades and colors. Dennis Barron argues that English, a language prevalently used by people in approximately 61 countries around the world, should be banned instead of formalized in the US. He states that it is not what it used to be and that it places too many stigmas on languages that are not itself or a part of its eminent division. The essay that follows is a continuation of the argument that Barron has made; that English as a whole should be banned instead of formalized. We all possess the ability to be literate, English is not and will never be an instigator or inhibitor of that.
Reading is an integral aspect of succession in life and is required to complete the simplest of tasks. Therefore the teaching of reading, which in England is done mainly through a programme of systematic synthetic phonics, is of great importance in all primary schools. The word phonics, “describes the letters or symbols used to encode a language’s spoken components” (Venezky, 1999. Cited in Mesmer and Griffith, 2006) and the “importance of systematic phonics instruction in relation to the teaching of reading has been increasingly recognised by English-speaking countries” (Wyse and Goswami, 2008). This is most likely due to as Venezky (1999) states, because English as a language is made up of an alphabetic code.
Calderón, M., Slavin, R., & Sánchez, M. (2011). Effective Instruction for English . Future Of Children, 21(1), 103-127.
With reference to the secondary curriculum in England, emphasis is placed upon the aims, values and purposes of education. With the implementation of the curriculum, pupils should be given the foundations to develop and apply the knowledge, skills and understanding that will help them become successful learners, confident individuals and responsible citizens; regardless of social background, culture, race, gender, differences in ability and disabilities (QCDA, 2010). In doing so, children will become more aware of, and engaged with, their local, national and international communities; and effectively widen their po...
This article provides the rationale for introducing a phonics screening check in Australian schools, detailed explanations of its development, implementation, and result in English schools, and also recommendations for a phonic screening in Australia. Furthermore, the author has attempted to research and document a method that is believed can improve Australian children literacy level and their reading ability not only nationally but also internationally. By implementing the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check and demonstrate how systematic phonics is being taught across the country and in individual schools, it is believed that it can improve teaching methods. The article makes an exceptional initiation to implement new education policy scheme in Australia. Despite there was a lot of research in this teaching method, seeing the result and evaluation in the implantation in Australia will add new knowledge on this
The International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS)(OECD,2000) assessed literacy by using a questionnaire with a sample of 38,358 in 21 countries. It showed the percentage of the population at the lowest literacy level United States (20.7), United Kingdom (22.6).The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) provided evidence that 10 year old English school children are rated 3rd out of 35 countries. At national level 20% of children do not achieve the level of reading expected of them at 11 years old. Anxiety is the most common effect that children experience; it causes children to fear reading and writing. Latest research show that 15 to 20% of the population has reading disability ,out of which 85% has dyslexia.,
...ding Panel. Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction(NIH Publication No. 00-4769). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
The FLaRE (Florida Literacy and Reading Excellence) Center has published a professional paper entitled “Phonemic Awareness” of which I will be presenting a critical review. Phonemic awareness is one of the five essential components of reading identified by the National reading Panel (Learning Point Associates, 2004). Phonemic awareness can be defined as a person’s understanding that each word we speak is comprised of individual sounds called phonemes and that these sounds can be blended to form different words (Learning Point Associates, 2004). The article was intended to give a synopsis of phonemic awareness and the vital role it plays in a literacy program. I found the article to be very clear and concise presenting valuable tactics that can be applied in the classroom.
Fluency in reading and writing involves many steps that can be taught at home or in the classroom. An activity that involves cut-up sentences into phrases is a productive activity for children who are having difficulty with reading fluency. When reading continuous print, children seem to forget what they know. It is quite common that they forget, in the moment, about the letters, sounds and words they already learned. When we test in isolation, most students seem to know letter-sound relationships, phonograms, or high-frequency words; however a reader is required to use both
According to Byman and Kansanen (2008, p605) ‘… teaching in itself does not imply learning’. The underachievement of young people in education has been a priority in British politics for over two decades (Ross, 2009). The estimates of academic underachievement at Key Stage 4 (KS4) are reportedly between one fifth and one third of the KS4 population in England (Steedman and Stoney, 2004). An Ofsted (2013) report identifies that pupils’ aged from 11 to 16 (early KS4) is below the national average. Underachievement in KS4 has become a recurring phenomenon (Wogboroma, 2014), with several academics and government bodies, identifying a range of significant implications, not only for the individual but also for wider society (Beinart, et al. 2002; McIntosh and Houghton, 2005; Hosie, 2007; Ofsted, 2013; DfE, 2014). This unseen cluster of learners that are academically underachieving is representative of an objectionable waste of potential, in addition incurring subsequent costs, from an individual viewpoint to a national scale (Ofsted, 2013). Consequently, recognizing and instigating timely interventions to tackle underachievement in KS4 and subsequently achieve social justice for this learner group should be a fundamental goal for schools. Motivation is recognised as an effective tool to overcome underachievement (Mega, et al. 2014) Furthermore, the intrinsic loci of motivation has developed to become an important phenomenon for educators, as it produces high-quality and effective learning in addition to creativity and achievement that can be progressively nurtured by teacher practices (Ryan & Stiller, 1991). Theories of motivation, self and society are critically evaluated to determine effective strategies...
Wyse, D. and Goswami, U. (2008) Synthetic phonics and the teaching of reading, British Educational Research Journal, 34 (6), pp.691-710
Phonological awareness and phonics are closely connected in teaching young children, firstly we need to understand what phonics is. Phonics is a method of the teaching smallest unit of sound in the English language, not only repressed by one letter but also between patterns and sound-letter relationship. Phonics is the sound that
According to Bursuck & Damer (2011) phonemes are “the smallest individual sounds in words spoken.” Phonemic awareness is the “ability to hear the phonemes and manipulate the sounds” (p. 41). Phonemic awareness is essential because without the ability students are not able to manipulate the sounds. According to the National Institute for Literacy (2007), “students with poor phonics skills prevent themselves from reading grade-level text and are unable to build their vocabulary” (p.5) Agreeing with the importance of phonemic awareness, Shapiro and Solity attempted to use whole class instruction to improve students’ phonological awareness. The intervention showed that whole class instruction assisted not only the students with poor phonemic awareness, but also on-level developing readers.
Reading and writing is a key part of everyone’s life. There has been some encouraging levels of reading development in primary school assessments. According to the National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy report (2015), 95.5% of students achieve at or above the national minimum standard of reading. It is important to know effective ways to teach reading so children can become active problem solvers to enable them to read for meaning or for fun. Over the years, there has been a big amount of research into the most effective ways to teach reading skills to students. There are some systematically taught key skills and strategies that help achieve these levels of reading. Some of these skills include phonological awareness, phonemic awareness,
The aim of this essay is to explore language acquisition and compare and contrast different theories of language acquisition and language development. Language in its most basic form is used to communicate our needs and wants. It encompasses a range of modes of delivery including signing, spoken and written words, posture, eye contact, facial expressions and gestures. So how do we learn ‘language’? Are we born with the skills for communication, or is it something that we have to learn or have taught to us? Four theories are looked at in this essay to determine how children acquire and then develop language. These theories include behaviourist, nativist, cognitivist and sociocultural. This essay will highlight some similarities and differences in each theory and what impact these have on a child’s acquisition and development of language. Lastly we will look at the implications of these theories when working with children. Can a classroom teacher deliver a quality literacy program based on just one of these theories or does it need to incorporate components of all four? Sims, (2012) pp. 21 states ‘’High-quality learning experiences in the early years of life enhance children’s cognitive and language skills’’. This places a great responsibility on educators and teachers alike to provide an environment which is rich in learning opportunities that will encourage both the acquisition and development of language.