On average, English language learners (ELLs) do not demonstrate the same academic achievement as their native English-speaking peers. The number of ELLs in U.S. schools has increased over the last several decades, as has the scholarly debate on how to best support ELLs in building foundational reading skills. The purpose of this study was to determine how two groups, a treatment group of 156 ELLs who participated in systematic phonics instruction as part of their 2021-2022 reading instruction and a control group of 218 ELLs who did not receive systematic phonics instruction, differed in terms of end-of-first-grade reading scores while controlling for oral language scores. The simple view of reading was used as a theoretical lens to form the research question and guide the study's design. A quantitative, quasi-experimental, nonequivalent groups, ex post facto design was used to examine the 2022 reading scores of 374 first-grade ELLs who attended elementary school in a large suburban school district in the southeastern United States. An analysis of covariance was used to compare the mean reading scores of the treatment and control groups while controlling for the oral language scores of each group. Results from this study did not indicate a statistically significant difference in reading scores between the ELLs who did and did not receive phonics instruction, F(1, 371) = 0.192, p = 0.662. After reviewing the literature, the conclusions from this study extend the scholarly debate about when and how it is best to implement phonemic instruction in the language acquisition process. Positive social change can result from educators and researchers using this study's findings to continue dedicating effort and analysis to supporting ELLs' language acquisition and reading ability. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]