What is phonics?

According to the National Right to Read Foundation, phonics is not a method of teaching reading. Rather, it’s a body of knowledge consisting of 26 letters used to symbolize 44 English speech sounds which can be spelled out in upwards of 70 commonly used ways. It is an essential element of effective reading instruction.

How do I teach it?

Dolores Hiskes states that:

There are essentially two ways to teach phonics: implicitly and explicitly. Scientific research has clearly demonstrated that explicit phonics is the most effective for all students. The New York school uses implicit phonics instruction, and the elementary school in Chicago uses explicit phonics instruction. What is the difference?

We will consider "implicit" phonics first, as it is the most widely used form of phonics taught in schools today. Implicit phonics is moving from the whole to the smallest parts; "blending-and-building" is not usually taught. Approximately 300 words a year are taught as whole words. The student must make her "best guess" as to what the word is by its shape, beginning and ending letters, any context clues from the rest of the sentence or any accompanying pictures.

Are guessing and context clues the best way to determine the identity of a word? Consider the following words: "lobotomy" and "laparoscopy." They both have the same shape, the same beginning and ending letters, and the same general meaning in context (a surgical procedure), but few of us would wish for a surgeon who might possibly confuse one with the other. Do mistakes like this really happen? Betty Price, Director of Professional Reading Services in Roanoke, Virginia, reports that she was hired to tutor a fully licensed pharmacist who was unable to discern the difference between "chlorpromamide" (which lowers blood sugar) and "chlorpromazine" (which is an antipsychotic).

Now let us consider "explicit" phonics, which is moving from the smallest parts to the whole. Students first learn letters and their sounds, and then build and recombine them into syllables and words. With explicit phonics, "lobotomy" and "laparoscopy" would be read by syllables: lo-bo-to-my and la-pa-ros-co-py. When read by syllables, there is no chance of ever confusing one with the other.

Explicit instruction in phonics involves systematic and sequential teaching of the letter-sound relationships in written English that allow readers to decode words.

Why is it important?

Recent research suggests that explicit phonics instruction is needed to help correct natural defects that occur when using the communicative approach to teach a foreign language.

It also helps promote self-efficacy and confidence by supporting literacy in the target language so that English language learners can take charge of their own learning rather than rely on such things as rote memorization. Failing to demonstrate both text and sound in association disadvantages learners who rely on visual 'hooks' to support their learning.

**Click here for more information on what research tells us about teaching reading to English Language Learners.