HOW VERY YOUNG LEARNERS LEARN TO CRACK THE CODE OF READING Mehrdad Moloudi Islamic Azad University, Karaj Branch (Iran)

Phonics Based Instruction since 1950s Look and Say since 1830s

Look Say It teaches children to read words as whole units, rather than breaking the word down into individual letters or groups of letters. Children are repeatedly told the word name while being shown the printed word, perhaps accompanied by a picture or within a meaningful context.

The ability to identify print, decode into sounds and assemble them into words is called Phonics. In other words, Phonics is the study of letter sounds and not their names. ph o n i c s

Phonics & Look-and-Say Debate By the 1930s and 1940s there was a very strong focus on teaching children to read by Look-and-Say. In the 1950s, however, it was fiercely criticized in favor of Phonics Based Instruction. In the early 1980, the Brits shifted back from Phonics to Look-and-Say. At a great loss, they resumed Phonics Instruction in the early 1990s. However, the debate still continues today.

Concurrent Steps Towards Literacy Reading & Writing non-phonic words Decoding the letter sounds Blending sounds into syllables and words Encoding sounds of the letters Writing the letters, words, sentences Reading & Writing fairly accurate and fluent

Common Mistakes in Phonics Based Instructions

Common Mistakes Mistake #1: Young learners’ Unpreparedness Mistake #2: Teaching the Letter Names Mistake #1: Young learners’ Unpreparedness First and foremost, Young learners who embark on phonics courses should be ready for phonics instruction both phonemically and physically [2]. Before sitting on the course teachers should be ensured that their learners had ample exposure to English language through chants and stories. In fact, this is the first prerequisite to sit for the phonics program. Through listening carefully to chants and stories, they hear the sounds in words and they gradually identify them and can relate them to letters they see in print. This ability is known as phonological awareness. In addition, Young learners should be developed well in terms of their psychomotor skills. This can be tested by teachers through careful monitoring of learners holding stationery and trying to draw shapes or trace dotted lines.   1.2 Mistake #2: Teaching the Letter Names One thing that should be noted to parents and teachers is that phonics is the teaching of sounds and not the letter names. Therefore, learners should not be encouraged at all to produce the letter names. If they do so, they may not be able to blend the sounds easily. Introduction of the letter names through alphabet songs can be only done when learners have mastered the 26 conventional sounds of the letters.

Common Mistakes Mistake #3: Teaching Lessons That Violate Earlier Lessons Mistake #4: Teaching the Alphabet Per Se 1.3 Mistake #3: Teaching the Alphabet Per Se Like many languages, English words are made up of sounds. In the standard British English, there are 44 sounds and in the standard American English there are 36 sounds [5]. However, in all English varieties there are only 26 letters. As a result there is no one-to-one grapheme phoneme correspondence and learning to read and write involves learning the alphabet as well many more digraphs, trigraphs, spelling patterns as well as alternative letter sounds. As a case in this point, the sound /ai/ can be heard in words such as sky, hi, tie, bike and night while each has a different spelling pattern to produce the single sound /ai/. This means that learning through phonics is not and cannot be limited to the alphabet or the sounds; in addition to the comprehensive set of sounds in English, the most typical spelling patterns and digraphs should be taught based on their frequency order so that they learn without being confused.   1.4 Mistake #4: Teaching Lessons That Violate Earlier Lesson In phonics-based instruction, each lesson should introduce only one sound associating it with only a single graphic representation. In doing so, phonics books and materials should never expose learners with any irregularly pronounced or spelt word. If in their first lesson, they learn that the letter A sounds /a/, they should not be taught words such as car or cake in their third lesson as examples for the letter C [6]. If they are taught so, they cannot successfully generalize what they have learned in their previous lessons into reading new words and gradually they feel frustrated.

Common Mistakes Mistake #5: Teaching Upper and Lower Case Letters Separately Mistake #6: Teaching without Recycling 1.5 Mistake #5: Teaching Upper and Lower Case Letters Separately In some phonics based books and materials, lower case letters are taught primarily and upper case letters are introduced only at later stages. However, young learners need to decode upper case letters as well in their real life reading. If the upper case letters are taught after lower case letters, young learners may experience difficulties in decoding words with upper case letters. Moreover, teachers have to almost repeat the phonics course, this time to teach the upper case letters. A proportionate and concurrent attention should be given to both upper case and lower case letters from the initial stages. In real life reading and writing, use of lower case letters outnumbers upper case letters and this proportion should be seen in phonics books and materials.   1.6 Mistake #6: Teaching without Recycling Recycling is the key to reinforce learning for Young learners [7] and in phonics classes this should be done through a variety of interesting and entertaining activities such as flash card games, coloring, matching, etc. If new lessons are taught without reviewing and recycling earlier lessons, learners may seem to forget earlier lessons. Through recycling teachers are able to evaluate learning as well. To judge a learner’s progress, a teacher should see how fast a learner can decode a letter, a syllable, or a word. The faster they can decode, the easier they can blend. Creating learner-made books is a very good idea for recycling. With the help of teachers, Young learners should cut out letters and common spelling patterns that are either available in teacher’s resources or can be produced by the teacher with him/her students watching. Since many parents expect their child to manifest their lessons at home, the Letter Books can serve this purpose excellently [4]. Letter Books can be taken home after each session so that parents can help their child to decode quickly each letter sound. Needless to say, parents should receive clear instructions from teacher to do this properly. In classes with more than eight learners, it is impossible to progress without involving parents or older siblings in the family. Learners can also be encouraged to do the hunt-the-letter game by searching any print material in English which can be found at home. They can show the results to their parents or they can bring it to the class. This helps learners to understand the relation between the letter sounds and words in books and print media.

Common Mistakes Mistake #7: Decoding without Encoding Mistake #8: Ignoring Slow and Problem Learners Mistake #7: Decoding without Encoding In reverse to decoding process, Young learners should be able to spell words when they hear them. This is called encoding. Words used in phonics curriculum should be easy to spell by learners if pronounced correctly. Spelling activities can improve learners’ phonological awareness which in turn improves their reading fluency. Here are some hints for spelling and encoding activities:   Teachers can show them a prompt that they have learned in their book. Then learners should name the prompt/object and write it on paper. Learners can be given constituent letters in letter cards format to unscramble the letters and spell the word. Alternatively, they can spell the words with magnet letters. Teachers can dictate upper case and lower case letters as soon as they learn three letters. While writing, say the sound of the letters and not their names. Monitor their pencil hold and letter formation style. Get them listen to the audio CD and write the words they hear. Each word should be heard as many times as the learners need. Only use regular words for spelling. Choose the CVC pattern for dictation and spelling games. Keep spelling fun rather than a conventional threatening activity. 1.8 Mistake #8 Ignoring Slow and Problem Learners In most classes there are few learners who cannot cope of with the pace of the class. The problem of the slow learners is rooted in their poor memory or retention skill, lack of class attendance, misplacement in the level, lack of concentration, and/or lack of support from parents end. This does not mean at all that slow learners are unintelligent or less intelligent. They are as intelligent as others but they need further assistance to compensate their weakness. Whatever the reason, the problem should be solved by “teachers”. Teachers should carefully discuss the issue with their parents and remind them that their child needs further assistance [4]. In many cases, parents, if properly trained, can provide this assistance to compensate for their speed. Otherwise, check your institution’s guidelines to see if extra classes are allowed and at what cost.

General Tips for Phonics Teachers Model correct pronunciation. Ensure understanding the letter-sound relationship. Monitor each learner’s progress using a portfolio. Reinforce using multi sensory recycling. Encourage learners. Use clear and simple instructions. Create a print-rich environment. Do not overload. Involve parents. Involve Young learners physically.

Drawbacks of Common Phonics Books Written for English NS Non controlled vocabulary Emphasis on cursive writing Very challenging stories in terms of meaning Contradictions and confusions Incomplete list of grapheme-phoneme Limited activities Current books such as Jolly Phonics, Phonics for Kids, Mr. Bugs Phonics, etc. suffer from certain drawbacks that I’d like to highlight at the end of my presentation. Jolly Phonics is written for native speakers of English. Iranian parents are not able to provide the support needed for the improvement of their child through Jolly Phonics. I was watching one of the promotional videos and then I saw that YL are taught words that are neither suitable nor helpful for children in EFL or EAL contexts. Moreover, it invests a lot on joined up writing which is not very popular in non European countries. The reading of Jolly Phonics are practically difficult for Iranian learners who are still very young readers. My students could not relate into the stories and found them difficult in terms of lexis. Books such as Mr. Bugs Phonics or Phonics for Kids, besides their contradictions and confusions for young learners are by no means comparable to Magic Phonics in terms of the range of sounds, digraphs, trigraphs, and letter combinations. All these books are very dependent on the teacher and demand teachers to prepare and copy worksheets for them. However, in Magic Phonics the exercises are enough to meet all needs and tastes. I hope you all find the book useful and feedback me about the results you get in your classes. Thank you.

Authored by Dr. Mehrdad Moloudi