Phonics Preparation in Teacher Education Programs

Phonics is the basis upon which the English-speaking world learns to read. Students learn phonics in early elementary school to learn to read; therefore, teachers need to have a working knowledge of phonics with which to instruct their students. However, a report by the United States Department of Education found that few preservice teachers were competent in phonics. Liberty University, which teaches phonics as part of its teacher education program, has conducted a study on the level of knowledge demonstrated by the preservice teachers upon completion of the phonics course. The Liberty University students’ scores compared favorably with the national average as reported by the United States Department of Education

A comparative study of two methods of synthetic phonics instruction for learning how to read: Jolly Phonics and THRASS

The National Strategy for Primary Schools in England (2006) advocates synthetic phonics as a means for teaching children to read. No studies exist to date comparing the effectiveness of different commercially available synthetic phonics methods. This case study compared two schools at which Jolly Phonics (JP) was taught with one school at which THRASS (Teaching Handwriting, Reading and Spelling Skills) was taught at Reception level (4 to 5 years) over a one-year period. Reading ability for words and non-words as well as short-term memory ability for words and phonemes improved in all schools. However, reading ability improved more in one JP school compared to the THRASS school, with no differences between the other JP school and the THRASS school. This paper considers how particular variables may mask instruction method effects, and advocates taking such factors into account for a more comprehensive future evaluation of synthetic phonics methods

Year 1 phonics screening check : framework for the pilot in 2011

"For the development of the year 1 phonics screening check" -- front cover

Early reading instruction : what science really tells us about how to teach reading

Early reading instruction: what science really tells us about how to teach reading took me back to the 1980s and the 'reading wars' in England. McGuinness polarizes the phonics debate and argues that reading should be taught using a phonics 'first, fast and only' approach. With chapter headings such as 'Why English speaking children can't read' and appendices headed 'How nations cheat on international literacy studies', McGuinness dispenses with the measured and nuanced language of academic, professional or scientific writing, slipping easily and frequently into the style of a headline writer for the popular press

The effectiveness of an instructional guide on Chinese pre-service EFL teachers’ knowledge in teaching phonics

In China, phonics instruction has been given substantial emphasis ever since the implementation of the 2011 National English Curriculum for Compulsory Education. However, many Chinese students’ learning outcome remains unsatisfactory due to EFL teachers’ insufficient knowledge to teach phonics and the absence of a phonics instructional guide. To address this gap, this study aims to investigate the effects of a newly developed phonics instructional guide on Chinese pre-service EFL teachers’ knowledge base to teach phonics. Adopting an experimental research design, the study was conducted at a teachers’ college in Sichuan Province, China. There were 172 pre-service EFL teachers assigned into two equivalent groups, namely the experimental group (N=86) and control group (N=86), who took a test respectively before and after the intervention. The measures of the test included seven dimensions aiming to elicit knowledge of general phonics, phonetic system, phonemic awareness, phonics decoding rules, phonics instructions, reinforcement methods, and sight word instructions. The experimental group participants undertook a 15-hour phonics training course using the newly developed Phonics Instructional Guide (PHOInG). The control group participants were taught using a conventional method involving the use of an English textbook prescribed by the college. Results revealed that the Chinese pre-service EFL teachers in the experimental group improved significantly in their overall knowledge base of English phonics and phonics instruction, except for phonemic awareness and knowledge of the phonetic system. These findings point to the importance of using a needs-based and theoretically informed instructional guide when providing phonics and phonics instruction training to Chinese EFL pre-service teachers

The Effect of Computer-Assisted Phonics Games on Thai Kindergarten Students’ Listening Proficiency and English Phonics Achievement

This study was aimed at comparing the Kindergarten 2 students’ listening proficiency and English Phonics achievement before and after using computer-assisted phonics games in English Phonics class at an international school in Bangkok during the academic year 2020-2021. This research followed a one group pre-test post-test pre-experimental research design. One conveniently chosen class of 13 Kindergarten 2 students participated in this 8-week study. An instructional intervention was implemented in English Phonics class two sessions per week and 40 minutes per session. Statistical data analysis indicated that the difference between participants’ listening proficiency before and after using computer-assisted phonics games in English Phonics class was significant, favoring the latter condition. Moreover, the participants’ listening proficiency improved from good before using computer-assisted phonics games, to excellent after using such games. It was also found that there was a significant difference in participants’ English Phonics achievement before and after using computer-assisted phonics games in English Phonics class, favoring the latter condition. Results from the data analysis also showed that Kindergarten 2 students’ English Phonics achievement improved from a recommendation for English Phonics class support before using computer-assisted phonics games, to an excellent achievement after using such games. Based on the research findings, recommendations for students, teachers, administrators, curriculum developers and future researchers are provided

An Analysis of Phonics Teaching in Mainland China

This article tries to analyze the present status of phonics teaching in Mainland China by using documentary research method through sorting out all the essays about phonics teaching in CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure) according to their research contents and research methods. The data collected shows that Phonics, Pinyin and IPA are mainly discussed topics, especially different roles of them in English teaching. Unfortunately, misconceptions about phonics do appear in some of those essays collected, while localization of phonics is emerging. This paper seems to shed light on a general overview of English phonics teaching in Mainland China for English teachers and researchers and cope up with the difficult points and conflicts to provide improvement for phonics teaching

Influence of Phonics Instruction on Reading Fluency and Accuracy

This action research study investigated the impact that an explicit phonics curriculum had on second grade readers. Blast Phonics was implemented in first grade during the 2018-2019 school year. Thus, data from 2018-2019 second graders provided baseline data from students who did not receive Blast Phonics. Data from 2019-2020 second graders provided data from students who did receive Blast Phonics. The FAST CBM Reading assessment provides data on fluency (WPM) and accuracy (%). The Press Decoding Inventory provided data on accuracy of targeted phonics skills. Comparing data from the two groups pointed to the impact that the phonics instruction had on readers’ fluency and accuracy. Although the data did not indicate statistical significance, it did provide data that indicated that the phonics curriculum may be positively impacting readers as they read words with isolated phonics skills