Reviews the typical approach (synthetic phonics) to teaching reading in Finland. Suggests that teachers in English-speaking countries can learn from problems Finnish teachers face and vice versa. Finds that, despite a highly regular writing system, Finnish teachers find that a heavy phonics emphasis does not solve their reading instruction…

A 13-month study investigated phonological abilities and reading acquisition in six 7-year-old Finnish nonreaders. Results found gradual progress at the group level; however, analysis of the individual profiles indicated large interindividual variations in the rate of improvement and in the relationship between different phonological manipulation…

Examined the strategies employed by 30 Israeli preschool children when identifying noncommercial print appearing in their kindergartens. Found that 5-year olds, but not 4-year olds, attended to print rather than to contextual cues. Results point to a causal role for alphabetic and phonological skills in the development of preschool word…

The canonical form for Japanese words is (Consonant)Vowel(Consonant) Vowel[approximately]. However, a regular process of high vowel devoicing between voiceless consonants and word-finally after voiceless consonants results in consonant clusters and word-final consonants, apparent violations of that phonotactic pattern. We investigated Japanese…

Claims that even though teaching phonics is an effective method of reading instruction, the skills taught by phonics have little to do with the process of reading acquisition. Offers two methods of resolving the paradoxes generated by this situation. (NH)

Two studies of children learning to read (one before the introduction of phonics instruction, the other while phonics instruction was being given) found that error-target similarity increased with reading attainment. This suggests that while reading aloud, considerable knowledge of spelling develops independently of explicit use of phonics. (CMG)

Illiterate adults could neither delete nor add a phone at the beginning of a non-word; but these tasks were performed by people who learned to read rudimentarily as adults. Awareness of speech as a sequence of phones is thus not attained spontaneously but is probably provided by learning to read. (Author/CP)

Discusses the author's varied experiences in teaching reading, including teaching seventh grade pupils in the West Bank of Jordan, taking graduate courses in reading, and being an elementary school principal and a university professor. Suggests the need for a rational balance between whole language and phonics. (RS)

Tutoring sessions within a LATCH-ON (Literacy and Technology-Hands On) program were provided to a 19-year-old woman with Down syndrome. Instruction focused primarily on phonics instruction, as well as other decoding strategies. She developed the ability to associate consonant and vowel sounds with letter presentations and to recognize whole word…

Describes recent, major contributions to both sides of the debate between phonics instruction and the "meaning-based" approaches. Argues that it is too early to evaluate the debate, but that a tentative evaluation of the evidence favors meaning-based approaches. (RS)

Experiments investigated the learning effects of two strategies (whole-word and segmented feedback) in beginning readers. Results from both experiments indicate whole-word sound feedback is more helpful than segmented feedback. (SM)

Private schooling in the third world is on the increase and in particular in one of the low-income areas of India, where a data analysis on Hyderabad has been carried out. The University of Newcastle has conducted an initiative research in Hyderabad on the impact on pupils' progress in Reading and Spelling tests. This initiative was called…

Conducted in three phases, a study examined the teaching of reading in the early stages of primary school. The study was done by a research team from the University of St. Andrews School of Psychology, Scotland. Phase one explored methods of teaching reading and spelling in a sample of 12 schools within one Education Authority. Phase two examined…

Presenting an overview of phonics work in community literacy programs in metro Toronto, Ontario, Canada, this book enables new tutors and facilitators to learn how to think about and do the kinds of phonics work that is used by experienced tutors and facilitators in the community programs. The first chapter of the book discusses the history of…

To examine changes in phonetic coding two age groups of 40 preschoolers were shown rhyming and nonrhyming letter sets. Recall was measured by oral free recall (testing item memory) and serial reconstruction (testing order memory). A large phonetic similarity effect was present in both groups with no developmental changes in the effect magnitude.…