Reports that the rule governing the words in the title category are so unreliable as to be useless. (Author/FL)

A study investigated the usefulness of six different but related phonics rules used to pronounce words. The phonics rules examined are: (1) When two vowels are adjacent, the long sound of the first vowel is pronounced and the second is not; (2) When two vowels are separated by one or more consonants and one of the vowels is a final e, the long…

Reading failure can be eliminated by the year 2000 if reading teachers believe it can be done, can develop the new procedures needed to make their dreams come true, and are willing to make fundamental changes in how they teach reading. Phonic utility research clearly indicates that phonics instruction is neither dependable nor useful. The current…

A study examined the usefulness of two rules of syllabification: (1) if the first vowel or vowel digraph in a word is followed by two consonants that are not parts of a consonant digraph, the first syllable ends with the first of the two consonants, such as, nor-mal; and (2) if the first vowel or vowel digraph in a word is followed by a single…