Phonological Awareness and Phonics Instruction: Inclusive practice that benefits all kinds of learners.

Abstract

In this article, the importance of knowledge of Phonological Awareness for teaching children in India is highlighted. There is an impressive array of studies showing that a measure of Phonological Awareness in preschool children is a good predictor of their reading achievement in the early elementary grades. Phonological Awareness provides children with skills to become independent readers as well as good spellers. Phonemic Awareness (PA) is the ability to focus on and manipulate phonemes in spoken words. Phonics instruction is systematic when all of the major letter-sound correspondences are taught and are covered in a clearly defined sequence. Poor Phonological Awareness leads to difficulties with decoding, which is seen as a critical factor in successful literacy development. Structured Literacy, which prepares students to decode words in an explicit and systematic manner, not only helps students with dyslexia, but there is substantial evidence that it is more effective for all readers. As phonological processing deficits are a hallmark of dyslexia, children with dyslexia require direct Phonological Awareness and explicit and systematic phonics instruction to learn to read and spell efficiently. Research shows English as Second Language learners benefit from direct instruction in Phonological Awareness and systematic phonics instruction along with alphabetic knowledge. Studies have also stressed the beneficial role of phonological training on the reading abilities of children who come from low-income families.