Phonological and Phonemic Awareness and Their Effect on Reading Acquisition

Abstract

Current research supports the relationship between phonological awareness and reading acquisition in primary school children. A hierarchy of skills is needed in early phonological awareness intervention, to develop sound reading ability. Children must develop skills in order to listen, rhyme, access word awareness, syllable awareness, and then develop phonemic awareness. Based on previous research, following a structured, sequential program which emphasizes these five areas of phonological awareness facilitates the process of learning to read. This thesis project explores the effect of a structured, sequential program, emphasizing the five areas of phonological awareness, on the process of learning to read. It analyzes a phonological awareness program, which used sound and signals collaboratively, to teach the skills necessary to become a successful reader. The literature review section of the project examines materials specifically regarding phonological approaches and phonemic attributes. The review highlights discussion on the correlation of poor reading skills and phonological awareness and the accompanying trends that note continued challenges in learning. The four week study was conducted in an urban school district, special education classroom, with five participants, ranging in age from six to nine. There were some levels of mental retardation present in the study group as well as students with IEP’s. Houghton Mifflin’s Emergent Literacy Survey was administered as a baseline measurement prior to the study. Post-test and exit interview data were also used in the study. Research data conclusively supports the concept of intervention with overall positive results noted through participants' increased letter sound identification, beginning sound skills, rhyming skills, blending onset and rhyme, phoneme blending, and phoneme segmentation skills.