Reading, Phonetics and Dyslexia
Kevin McGrew on Intelligence Testing has posted a link to an interesting paper: Development of Phonological
Awareness. Its quite a technical paper but contains some interesting information on the different aspects of phonological awareness and how these develop at different times depending on the language spoken.
“Distinctions among phonological awareness skills based on unit of word structure include whether syllables are the focus of the task or whether smaller intrasyllabic units, like onsets, rimes, or phonemes, are the focus. The onset is the initial consonant or consonant cluster present in many, but not all, English syllables; the rime is the remaining vowel and consonants. (For example, in the word spin, sp is the onset; in is the rime; and /s/, /p/, /I/, and /n/ are the phonemes.) Debate over which phonological skills belong to the construct of interest has directly influenced literacy curriculum and instruction, with some curricula emphasizing phoneme awareness and reading by sound–letter correspondences and other curricula emphasizing onset–rime awareness and reading by rime analogies (e.g., reading a new word, like string, by analogizing from familiar words that have the same rime unit, like sing and wing).
… Phonological awareness typically develops quickly once literacy instruction begins. This is especially true for children learning to read an alphabetic language that has transparent orthography—consistent spelling-to-sound relations and consistent sound-to-spelling relations. For example, German children in their first year of schooling develop phoneme awareness more quickly than do English children in their first year of schooling, in accord with the more transparent orthography of German. Furthermore, phonological awareness deficits of dyslexic children disappear if these individuals read a transparent orthography like Dutch (DeJong & VanDerLeij, 2003), but phonological awareness deficits of dyslexic children persist into adulthood if these individuals read an inconsistent orthography like English“.
Find Out More:
Books:
- Reversals: A Personal Account of Victory over Dyslexia
- Yoga Games for Children: Fun and Fitness with Postures, Movements and Breath (SmartFun Activity Books)
- Hi/Lo Fiction
- Reading David: A Mother and Son’s Journey Through the Labyrinth of Dyslexia
- I Am Utterly Unique: Celebrating the Strengths of Children with Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism

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