The effectiveness of a school-based phonics instructional material
Abstract
The updated version of the national English curriculum for compulsory education was released in 2022. In this updated version, phonics was also required. Although studies about phonics were uprising again after the release of the new curriculum, most of the previous studies did not specify phonics instruction approach or obtain a larger sample size. Besides, previous studies called for a school-based phonics instructional material to enhance English as a foreign language (EFL) beginners’ word recognition ability at word level. To bridge the gap, the researchers compiled a phonics instructional material based on synthetic phonics approach in light of the new national English curriculum and bottom-up reading model. To evaluate the effectiveness of such a phonics material, a number of 366 EFL students from three strata across two schools participated in this quasi-experiment via stratified random sampling technique. They experienced a pre-test, 16 weeks of training via the phonics material, a post-test as well as a delayed retention test, which was held three months later. The results of both independent t-test and paired samples t-test have indicated that the newly compiled phonics material can improve EFL students’ word recognition ability up to 50% and that the knowledge was well-retained after a period of time as practices went on. The results have further implied that to better implement phonics instruction and to radically improve EFL students’ reading ability, the solution might be to assign time in the extra-curriculum service to teach phonics via explicit and systematic synthetic phonics instruction tailored according to the school-based phonics material.
References
Aldhanhani, Z. R, & Abu-Ayyash, E. A. S. (2020). Theories and research on oral reading fluency: What is needed? Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 10(4), 379-388. http://dx.doi.org/10.17507/tpld.1004.05
Bear, R. D., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., & Johnston, F. (2020). Words their way, 6th ed. Pearson Education.
Blevins, W. (2017). Phonics from A to Z: A practical guide, 3rd ed. Scholastic.
Brady, S., Gillis, M., Smith, T., et al. (2009). First grade teachers’ knowledge of phonological awareness and code concepts: Examining gains from an intensive form of professional development and corresponding teacher attitudes. Read Writ, 22(4), 425-455. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-009-9166-x
Chen, M. J., Goh, H. S., Soo, R. S., et al. (2022). Identification of content knowledge required for Chinese pre-service EFL teachers to teach phonics. World Journal of English Language, 8(12), 219-229. https://doi.org/10.5430/wjel.v12n8p219
Carroll, M. J., Crane, B. C., Duff, J. F., et al. (2011). Developing language and literacy: Effective intervention in the early years. John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.
Clemens, N. H., Lai, M. H. C., Burke, M., & Wu, J. Y. (2017). Interrelations of growth in letter naming and sound fluency in kindergarten and implications for subsequent reading fluency. School Psychology Review, 46(3), 272–287. https://doi.org/10.17105/SPR-2017-0032.V46-3
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, D. J. (2018). Research design, 5th ed. Sage Publications.
Gao. Y. L. (2019). The application of phonics in teaching vocabularies in higher grades of primary schools [Master’s thesis]. Yan’an University.
Gough, P. B. (1972). One second of reading. In: J. F. Kavanagh & I.G. Mattingly (Eds.). Language by ear and by eye: The relationship between speech and reading. M.I.T Press. pp. 331-358.
He, S. Q. (2018). An empirical study of the impact of phonics on the reading and writing of English vocabulary in primary schools [Master’s thesis]. Shanghai Foreign Language University. China Academic Journal Electronic Publishing House.
Hu, Y. G. (2015). The application of phonics in improving pupils’ spelling ability [Master’s thesis]. Northwest Normal University.
Huangpu, H. T. (2017). Phonics in China for ten years. Chinese Youth, 2(4), 81-82.
International Literacy Association. (2018). Explaining phonics instruction: An educator’s guide. Available online: https://literacyworldwide.org/docs/default-source/where-we-stand/ila-explaining-phonics-instruction-an-educators-guide.pdf (accessed on 23 July 2023).
International Literacy Association. (2019). Meeting the challenges of early literacy phonics instruction. Available online: https://www.literacyworldwide.org/docs/default-source/where-we-stand/ila-meeting-challenges-early-literacy-phonics-instruction.pdf (accessed on 23 July 2023).
Li. C. Y. (2021). Vocabulary teaching based on phonics in primary schools [Master’s thesis]. Southwest University.
Long, Y. H. (2019). On the current situation and countermeasures of applying phonics to English teaching of rural middle schools-Take Jiujiang Middle School of Shuangliu District in Chengdu for example [Master’s thesis]. Sichuan Normal University.
Ministry of Education. (2011). English curriculum for compulsory education. Beijing Normal University Publishing Group.
Ministry of Education. (2022). English curriculum for compulsory education. Beijing Normal University Publishing Group.
Papp, S. (2020). Phonics and literacy instruction for young learners in EFL. Part of the Cambridge papers in ELT series. Cambridge University Press.
Parker, S. (2019). A brief history of reading instruction. Available online: https://www.parkerphonics.com/post/a-brief-history-of-reading-instruction (accessed on 13 March 2023).
Redondo, M. (1997). Reading Models in Foreign Language Teaching. Revista Alicantina de Estudios Inglese,10, 139-161. https://doi.org/10.14198/raei.1997.10.11
Tang, L. (2022). To improve elementary students’ reading abilities via phonics. Asia-pacific Education, 2022(18), 189-192.
Tsai, R. R., & Huang, S. C. (2023). EFL reading strategies used by high school students with different English proficiency. Forum for Linguistic Studies, 5(3), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.59400/fls.v5i3.1855
Wang, Y., (2013). The application of phonics in teaching English in primary school [Master’s thesis]. Northwest University.
Zeng. Y. (2016). The application of phonics in teaching vocabularies in primary schools [Master’s thesis]. Guangzhou University.
Zhong. X. (2017). The application of phonics in teaching vocabularies in primary schools [Master’s thesis]. Guizhou Normal University.
Zhou. X. F. (2020). The application of phonics in teaching vocabularies in primary schools [Master’s thesis]. Shandong Normal University.
Copyright (c) 2024 Minjie Chen, Guojie Yin, Wei Lun Wong, Mohamad Syafiq Ya Shak, Mairas Abdul Rahman, Mei Chew Lee
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The author(s) warrant that permission to publish the article has not been previously assigned elsewhere.
Author(s) shall retain the copyright of their work and grant the Journal/Publisher right for the first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under:
OA - Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0). This license allows for the copying, distribution and transmission of the work, provided the correct attribution of the original creator is stated. Adaptation and remixing are also permitted.
This broad license intends to facilitate free access to, as well as the unrestricted reuse of, original works of all types.
_%E5%89%AF%E6%9C%AC1.png){kind=logo}
