Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-07T22:28:13.345Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Role of Phonemic Awareness in Beginning Reading: A Review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 October 2014

Kerry Hempenstall*
Affiliation:
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
*
Department of Psychology and Intellectual Disabilities, RMIT, Plenty Rd, Bundoora VIC 3083. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Extract

In recent years there has been an abundance of research highlighting the pre-eminent status of phonemic awareness in the development of reading capability. This paper examines the concept of phonemic awareness, and reviews recent findings pointing to its causal links with reading. The importance of linking reading instruction with phonemic awareness is explored, as is the significance of early identification and intervention. Finally, obstacles to systemic implementation are considered, in conjunction with the bleak prognosis for students with a history of early reading failure.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 1997

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Adams, M.J. (1990). Beginning to read: Thinking and learning about print. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Adams, M.J. (1991). Beginning to read: A critique by literacy professionals and a response by Marylin Jager Adams. The Reading Teacher, 44, 370395.Google Scholar
Badian, N.A. (1993). Phonemic awareness, naming, visual symbol processing, and reading. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 5, 87100.Google Scholar
Badian, N.A. (1994). Preschool prediction: Orthographic and phonological skills, and reading. Annals of Dyslexia, 44, 325.Google Scholar
Ball, E.W. (1993). Phonological awareness: What's important and to whom? Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 5, 141159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ball, E.W., & Blachman, B.A. (1988). Phoneme segmentation training: Effect on reading readiness. Annals of Dyslexia, 38, 208225.Google Scholar
Ball, E.W., & Blachman, B.A. (1991). Does phoneme awareness training in kindergarten make a difference in early word recognition and developmental spelling? Reading Research Quarterly, 25, 4966.Google Scholar
Bateman, B. (1991). Teaching word recognition to slow-learning children. Reading, Writing and Learning Disabilities, 7, 116.Google Scholar
Berninger, V.W., & Abbott, R.D. (1994). Redefining learning disabilities: Moving beyond aptitude–achievement discrepancies to failure to respond to validated treatment protocols. In Lyon, G. Reid (Ed.), Frames of reference for the assessment of learning disabilities: New views on measurement issues (pp. 163184). MD: Brooks.Google Scholar
Berninger, V.W., Thalberg, S.P., DeBruyn, I., & Smith, R. (1987). Preventing reading disabilities by assessing and remediating phonemic skills. School Psychology Review, 16, 554565.Google Scholar
Bishop, D., & Butterworth, G. (1980). Verbal–performance discrepancies: Relationship to both risk and specific reading retardation. Cortex, 16, 375389.Google Scholar
Blachman, B.A. (1984). Language analysis skills and early reading acquisition. In Wallach, G.P. & Butler, K.G. (Eds.), Language learning disabilities in school age children (pp. 271287). Baltimore, USA: Williams & Wilkins.Google Scholar
Blachman, B.A. (1994). What we have learned from longitudinal studies of phonological processing and reading, and some unanswered questions: A response to Torgesen, Wagner and Rashotte. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 27, 287291.Google Scholar
Blachman, B.A., Ball, E.W., Black, R.S., & Tangel, D.M. (1994). Kindergarten teachers develop phoneme awareness in low-income, inner-city classrooms: Does it make a difference? Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 118.Google Scholar
Bowers, P.G., & Swanson, L.B. (1991). Naming speed deficits in reading disability: Multiple measures of a singular process. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 51, 195219.Google Scholar
Bowey, J.A., Cain, M.T., & Ryan, S.M. (1992). A reading-level design study of phonological skills underlying fourth-grade children's word reading difficulties. Child Development, 63, 9991011.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bowey, J.A., & Francis, J. (1991). Phonological analysis as a function of age and exposure to reading instruction. Applied Psycholinguistics, 12, 91121.Google Scholar
Bradley, L. (1990). Rhyming connections in learning to read and spell. In Pumphrey, P.D. & Elliot, C.D. (Eds.), Children's difficulties in reading, spelling and writing: Challenges and responses (pp. 83100). London: Falmer.Google Scholar
Bradley, L., & Bryant, P. (1983). Categorizing sounds and learning to read: A causal connection. Nature, 301, 419421.Google Scholar
Bruck, M. (1992). Persistence of dyslexics' phonological awareness deficits. Developmental Psychology, 28, 874886.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bruck, M., & Treiman, R. (1990). Phonological awareness and spelling in normal children and dyslexics: The case of initial consonant clusters. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 50, 156178.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bruck, M., & Treiman, R. (1992). Learning to pronounce words: The limitations of analogies. Reading Research Quarterly, 27, 374389.Google Scholar
Bryant, P. (1990). Phonological development and reading. In Pumfrey, P.D. & Elliot, C.D. (Eds.), Children's difficulties in reading, spelling and writing: Challenges and responses (pp. 6382). London: Falmer.Google Scholar
Bryant, P.E., Bradley, L., Maclean, M., & Crossland, J. (1989). Nursery rhymes, phonological skills and reading. Journal of Child Language, 16, 407428.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bryen, D.N., & Gerber, A. (1987). Metalinguistic abilities and reading: A focus on phonological awareness. Reading, Writing and Learning Disabilities, 3, 357367.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Byrne, B., & Fielding-Barnsley, R. (1989). Phonemic awareness and letter knowledge in the child's acquisition of the alphabetic principle. Journal of Educational Psychology, 81, 313321.Google Scholar
Byrne, B., & Fielding-Barnsley, R. (1990). Acquiring the alphabetic principle: A case for teaching recognition of phoneme identity. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 805812.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Byrne, B., & Fielding-Barnsley, R. (1991a). Evaluation of a program to teach phonemic awareness to young children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 83, 451455.Google Scholar
Byrne, B., & Fielding-Barnsley, R. (1991b). Sound foundations. Artamon: Leyden Ed.Google Scholar
Byrne, B., & Fielding-Barnsley, R. (1993). Evaluation of a program to teach phonemic awareness to young children: A one-year follow-up. Journal of Educational Psychology, 85, 104111.Google Scholar
Byrne, B., & Fielding-Barnsley, R. (1995). Evaluation of a program to teach phonemic awareness to young children: A 2- and 3-year follow-up and a new preschool trial. Journal of Educational Psychology, 87, 488503.Google Scholar
Caravolas, M., & Bruck, M. (1993). The effect of oral and written language input on children's phonological awareness: A cross-linguistic study. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 55, 130.Google Scholar
Castle, J.M., Riach, J., & Nicholson, T. (1994). Getting off to a better start in reading and spelling: The effects of phonemic awareness instruction within a whole language program. Journal of Educational Psychology. 86, 350359.Google Scholar
Catts, H.W. (1991). Early identification of reading disabilities. Topics in Language Disorders, 12(1), 116.Google Scholar
Catts, H.W., & Vartiainen, T. (1993). Sounds abound. East Moline, IL: LinguiSystems.Google Scholar
Ceci, S. (1991). How much does schooling influence general intelligence and its cognitive components? A reassessment of the evidence. Developmental Psychology. 27, 703722.Google Scholar
Coltheart, M. (1983). Phonological awareness: A preschool precursor of success in reading. Nature, 301, 421.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cornwall, A. (1992). The relationship of phonological awareness, rapid naming and verbal memory to severe reading and spelling disability. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 25, 532538.Google Scholar
Crowder, R., & Wagner, R. (1992). The psychology of reading: An introduction. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Cunningham, A. (1990). Explicit vs implicit instruction in phonemic awareness. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 50, 429444.Google Scholar
Davis, J.M., & Spring, C. (1990). The Digit Naming Speed Test: Its power and incremental validity in identifying children with specific reading disabilities. Psychology in the Schools, 27, 1522.Google Scholar
Ehri, L.C., & Robbins, C. (1992). Beginners need some decoding skill to read words by analogy. Reading Research Quarterly, 27, 1326.Google Scholar
Felton, R.H. (1992). Early identification of children at risk for reading disabilities. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 12, 212229.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Felton, R.H. (1993). Effects of instruction on the decoding skills of children with phonological processing problems. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 26, 583589.Google Scholar
Felton, R.H., & Brown, I.S. (1990). Phonological processes as predictors of specific reading skills in children at risk for reading failure. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 2, 3959.Google Scholar
Fletcher, J.M., Francis, D.H., Rourke, B.P., Shaywitz, S.E., & Shaywitz, B.A. (1993). Classification of learning disabilities. Relation to other childhood disorders. In G.R., Lyon, D.B., Gray, J.F., Kavanagh, & Krasnegor, N.A. (Eds.), Better understanding of learning disabilities: New views from research and their implications for education and public policies (pp. 153170). Baltimore: Brooks.Google Scholar
Foorman, B., Francis, D., Beeler, T., Winikates, D., & Fletcher, J. (1997). Early interventions for children with reading problems: Study designs and preliminary findings. Learning Disabilities: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 8, 6371.Google Scholar
Foorman, B., Francis, D., Novy, D., & Liberman, D. (1991). How letter–sound instruction mediates progress in first grade reading and spelling. Journal of Educational Psychology, 83, 456469.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodman, K.S. (1979). Reading: A psycholinguistic guessing game. In Singer, H. & Ruddell, R.B. (Eds.), Theoretical models and processes of reading (pp. 259271). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.Google Scholar
Goodman, K.S. (1986). What's whole in whole language? Richmond Hill, Ontario: Scholastic.Google Scholar
Goswami, U., & Bryant, P. (1990). Phonological skills and learning to read. UK: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Hatcher, P., Hulme, C., & Ellis, A. (1994). Ameliorating reading failure by integrating the teaching of reading and phonological skills: The phonological linkage hypothesis. Child Development, 65, 4157.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hill, P. (1995, 05 24). School effectiveness and improvement: Present realities and future possibilities [Online]. Dean's Lecture: Paper presented at Melbourne University. Available: http://www.edfac.unimelb.edu.au/Seminars/dean_lec/list.htmlGoogle Scholar
Høien, T., Lundberg, I., Stanovich, K.E., & Bjaalid, I.K. (1995). Components of phonological awareness. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 7, 171188.Google Scholar
Hulme, C., & Snowling, M. (1992). Phonological deficits in dyslexia: A “sound” reappraisal of the verbal deficit hypothesis? In Singh, N. & Beale, I. (Eds.), Learning disabilities: Nature, theory and treatment (pp. 270301). New York: Springer-Verlag.Google Scholar
Hurford, D.P., Darrow, L.J., Edwards, T.L., Howerton, C.J., Mote, C.R., Schauf, J.D., & Coffey, P. (1993). An examination of phonemic processing abilities in children during their first grade year. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 26, 167177.Google Scholar
Hurford, D.P., Schauf, J.D., Bunce, L., Blaich, T., & Moore, K. (1994). Early identification of children at risk for reading disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 27, 371382.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Iversen, S., & Tunmer, W.E. (1993). Phonological processing and the Reading Recovery program. Journal of Educational Psychology, 85, 112126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jorm, A., Share, D., McLean, R., & Matthews, R. (1984). Phonological recoding and learning to read: A longitudinal study. Applied Psycholinguistics, 5, 201207.Google Scholar
Juel, C. (1988). Learning to read and write: A longitudinal study of 54 children from first through fourth grades. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80, 437447.Google Scholar
Juel, C. (1993). The spelling–sound code in reading. In Yussen, S. & Smith, M. (Eds.), Reading across the life span (pp. 95109). New York: Springer-VerlagGoogle Scholar
Kirtley, C., Bryant, P.E., Maclean, M.J., & Bradley, L.L. (1989). Rhyme, rime and the onset of reading. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 48, 224245.Google Scholar
Lamb, S.J., & Gregory, A.H. (1993). The relationship between music and reading in beginning readers. Educational Psychology, 13, 1927.Google Scholar
Liberman, A.M., Cooper, F.S., Shankweiler, D.P., & Studdert-Kennedy, M. (1967). Perception of the speech code. Psychological Review, 74, 431461.Google Scholar
Liberman, I.Y., & Liberman, A.M. (1990). Whole language vs code emphasis: Underlying assumptions and their implications for reading instruction. Annals of Dyslexia, 40, 5175.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lindamood, P.C. (1993). Issues in researching the link between phonological awareness, learning disabilities and spelling. In Lyon, G. Reid (Ed.), Frames of reference for the assessment of learning disabilities: New views on measurement issues (pp. 351374). Maryland: Brooks.Google Scholar
Lindamood, C., & Lindamood, P.C. (1969). Auditory discrimination in depth. USA: Riverside.Google Scholar
Lundberg, I., Frost, J., & Petersen, O.P., (1988). Effects of an extensive program for stimulating phonological awareness in preschool children. Reading Research Quarterly, 23, 263284.Google Scholar
Majsterek, D.J., & Ellenwood, A.E. (1995). Phonological awareness and beginning reading: Evaluation of a school-based screening procedure. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 28, 449456.Google Scholar
Mann, V.A. (1993). Phoneme awareness and future reading ability. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 4, 259269.Google Scholar
Mann, V.A., Tobin, P., & Wilson, R. (1987). Measuring phonological awareness through the invented spelling of kindergarten children. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 33, 365391.Google Scholar
Mazzocco, M., Denckla, M., Singer, H., Scanlon, D., Vellutino, F., & Reiss, A. (1997). Neurogenic and neurodevelopmental pathways to learning disabilities. Learning Disabilities: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 8, 3142.Google Scholar
Moats, L.C. (1994). The missing foundation in teacher education: Knowledge of the structure of spoken and written language. Annals of Dyslexia, 44, 81102.Google Scholar
Morais, J. (1991). Phonological awareness: A bridge between language and literacy. In Sawyer, D. & Fox, B. (Eds.), Phonological awareness in reading: The evolution of current perspectives (pp. 3171). New York: Springer-Verlag.Google Scholar
Morais, J., Alegria, J., & Content, A. (1987). The relationship between segmental analysis and alphabetic literacy: An interactive view. Cahiers de Psychologie Cognitive, 7, 124.Google Scholar
Munro, J. (1995). Explaining developmental dyslexia: Orthographic processing difficulties. Australian Journal of Remedial Education, 27(1), 515.Google Scholar
Nicholson, T. (1991). Overcoming the Matthew effect: Solving reading problems across the curriculum. Wellington: New Zealand Council for Educational Research.Google Scholar
O'Connor, R.E., Jenkins, J.R., Leicester, N., & Slocum, T.A. (1993). Teaching phonological awareness to young children with learning disabilities. Exceptional Children, 6, 532546.Google Scholar
Olson, R.K., & Wise, B.W. (1992). Reading on the computer with orthographic and speech feedback. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 4, 108144.Google Scholar
Olson, R., Wise, B., Conners, F., Rack, J.P., & Fulker, D. (1989). Specific deficits in component reading and language skills: Genetic and environmental influences. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 22, 339348.Google Scholar
Prior, M., Sanson, A., Smart, D., & Oberklaid, F. (1995). Reading disability in an Australian community sample. Australian Journal of Psychology, 47(1), 3237.Google Scholar
Rack, J.P., Hulme, C., & Snowling, M.J. (1993). Learning to read: A theoretical synthesis. Advances in Child Development and Behaviour, 24, 99132.Google Scholar
Read, C. (1991). Access to syllable structure in language and learning. In Brady, S.A. & Shankweiler, D.P. (Eds.), Phonological processes in literacy: A tribute to Isabelle Y. Liberman (pp. 119124). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Share, D.L. (1995). Phonological recoding and self-teaching: Sine qua non of reading acquisition. Cognition, 55, 151218.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shaywitz, B., Shaywitz, S., Francis, D., Fletcher, J., Pugh, K., Gore, J., Todd Constable, J., Fulbright, R., Skudlarski, P., Liberman, A., Shankweiler, D., Katz, L., Bronen, R., Marchione, K., Holahan, J., Francis, D., Klorman, R., Aram, D., Blachman, B., Stuebing, K., & Lacadie, C. (1997). The Yale Center for the study of learning and attention: Longitudinal and neurobiological studies. Learning Disabilities: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 8, 2129.Google Scholar
Simmons, D.C. (1992). Perspectives on dyslexia: Commentary on educational concerns. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 25, 6670.Google Scholar
Smith, F. (1975). Comprehension and learning: A conceptual framework for teachers. New York: Richard C. Owen.Google Scholar
Smith, F. (1992). Learning to read: The never-ending debate. Phi Delta Kappan, 74, 432441.Google Scholar
Snowling, M.J. (1996). Annotation: Contemporary approaches to the teaching of reading. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 37, 139148.Google Scholar
Solomons, B. (1992). Phonemic awareness training: An early intervention program. NSW, Australia: Macquarie University.Google Scholar
Spector, J. (1992). Predicting progress in beginning reading: Dynamic assessment of phonemic awareness. Journal of Educational Psychology, 84, 353363.Google Scholar
Spector, J. (1995). Phonemic awareness training: Application of principles of direct instruction. Reading and Writing Quarterly, 11, 3751.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stanovich, K.E. (1986). Matthew effects in reading: Some consequences of individual differences in the acquisition of literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 21, 360406.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stanovich, K.E. (1988). The right and wrong places to look for the cognitive locus of reading disability. Annals of Dyslexia, 38, 154157.Google Scholar
Stanovich, K.E. (1992). Speculation on the causes and consequences of individual differences in early reading acquisition. In Gough, P., Ehri, L., & Treiman, R. (Eds.), Reading Acquisition (pp. 307342). Hillsdale, NJ: Laurence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Stanovich, K.E. (1993a). Does reading make you smarter? Literacy and the development of verbal intelligence. Advances in Child Development and Behaviour, 24, 133180.Google Scholar
Stanovich, K.E. (1993b). The language code: Issues in word recognition. In Yussen, S.R. & Smith, M.C. (Eds.), Reading across the life span (pp. 111135). New York: Springer-Verlag.Google Scholar
Stuart, M., (1995). Prediction and qualitative assessment of five and six-year-old children's reading: A longitudinal study. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 65, 287296.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tangel, D.M., & Blachman, B.A. (1992). Effect of phoneme awareness instruction on kindergarten children's invented spelling. Journal of Reading Behaviour, 2, 233261.Google Scholar
Torgesen, J.K. (1993). Variations on theory in learning disabilities. In Lyon, G.R., Gray, D.B., Kavanagh, J.F., & Krasnegor, N.A. (Eds.), Better understanding of learning disabilities: New views from research and their implications for education and public policies (pp. 153170). Baltimore: Brooks.Google Scholar
Torgesen, J.K., & Bryant, B. (1994a). Test of phonological awareness. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.Google Scholar
Torgesen, J.K., & Bryant, B. (1994b). Phonological awareness training for reading. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.Google Scholar
Torgesen, J.K., Morgan, S.T., & Davis, C. (1992). Effects of two types of phonological awareness training on word learning in kindergarten children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 84, 364370.Google Scholar
Torgesen, J.K., Wagner, R.J., & Rashotte, C.A. (1994). Longitudinal studies of phonological processing and reading. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 27, 276286.Google Scholar
Treiman, R. (1991). The role of intrasyllabic units in learning to read and spell. In Gough, P., Ehri, L., & Treiman, R. (Eds.), Reading acquisition (pp. 65106). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Trelease, J. (1989). The new read aloud handbook. New York: Penguin.Google Scholar
Tunmer, W.E., & Hoover, W.A. (1993). Phonological recoding skill and beginning reading. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 5, 161179.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vellutino, F.R. (1991). Introduction to three studies on reading acquisition: Convergent findings on theoretical foundations of code-oriented versus whole-language approaches to reading instruction. Journal of Educational Psychology, 83, 437443.Google Scholar
Vellutino, F.R., Scanlon, D.M., & Tanzman, M.S. (1991). Bridging the gap between cognitive and neuropsychological conceptualizations of reading disability. Learning and Individual Differences, 3, 181203.Google Scholar
Wagner, R.K., & Torgesen, J.K. (1987). The nature of phonological processing and its causal role in the acquisition of reading skills. Psychological Bulletin, 101, 192212.Google Scholar
Wagner, R.K., Torgesen, J.K., Laughon, P., Simmons, K., & Rashotte, C.A. (1993). Development of young readers' phonological processing abilities. Journal of Educational Psychology, 85, 83103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wagner, R.K., Torgesen, J.K., & Rashotte, C.A. (1994). Development of reading-related phonological processing abilities: New evidence of bidirectional causality from a latent variable longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology, 30(1), 7387.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walsh, D.J., Price, G.G., & Gillingham, M.G. (1988). The critical but transitory importance of letter naming. Reading Research Quarterly, 23, 108121.Google Scholar
Wise, B., Olson, R., & Treiman, R. (1990). Subsyllabic units as aids in beginning readers word learning: Onset–rime versus post-vowel segmentation. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 49, 119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolf, M. (1991). Naming speed and reading: The contribution of the cognitive neurosciences. Reading Research Quarterly, 26, 123141.Google Scholar
Yopp, H.K. (1988). The validity and reliability of phonemic awareness tests. Reading Research Quarterly, 23, 159177.Google Scholar
Yopp, H.K. (1992). Developing phonemic awareness in young children. The Reading Teacher, 45, 696703.Google Scholar