Phonemic Awareness: An Introduction
Jean Tucker has many years of experience in implementing and teaching others to use the Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing (LiPS) program. The program was formerly known as the Auditory Discrimination in Depth program. The acronym ADD—meaning 'additional'—was used by the authors because the program is meant to supplement reading programs, not supplant them. The basic tenets of the program are the teaching of:
- how sounds are formed by the mouth;
- how sounds can be perceived as distinct entities because the contrasts are experienced consciously;
- how sounds can be perceived as distinct entities within syllables.
The developmental steps of the LiPS program stimulate awareness of the motor features of speech sounds as a means of verifying their identity and order within words. Consequently a student can be specifically and consciously aware of a mismatch between what is seen and what is said in reading, and between what is said and what is written in spelling. In addition to developing explicit awareness of the articulatory features of speech sounds, the program provides: sounds/letter correspondence training; phonemic awareness training in the form of a problem-solving activity which develops the ability to judge the identity, number, and order of speech sounds; and training in applying phonological judgment to reading and spelling single-syllable and multi-syllable words in isolation and in connected text.
Frequently, students referred to us have not yet learned to differentiate among various vowel sounds either in producing spoken or written language or in processing what they hear. Work in the LiPS program provides the fastest and most effective method for developing the ability to discriminate and efficiently use the vowel system of English, owing to the configuration of the vowel system within the program and the ways in which the vowels are 'practiced.' The LiPS program teaches vowel sounds using a classification of the 15 sounds as well as the three r-controlled sounds. Through learning to identify and produce sounds accurately, it is possible to change and strengthen the ability to differentiate among the vowel sounds. Students are then better able to take advantage of sound/spelling correspondence training and decoding strategies for single-syllable and polysyllabic words, and consequently, reading and spelling become significantly easier for them.
Several recent studies supported by the National Institutes of Health have provided evidence for the efficacy of using LiPS to remediate the reading difficulties of older children and to develop phonemic awareness skills in young children who are at risk for reading failure.
Phonemic Awareness: Frequently Asked Questions
As speech and language pathologists and teachers, we are frequently asked the questions below. The answers
that are provided here are meant to provide the rudiments necessary for understanding the concept and its relationship to spoken and written language. They are meant as a starting point for the formulation of
questions you may have. The concept requires detailed study to appreciate its complexity and importance.
How is phonemic awareness different from phonics?
Phonics is a method of teaching reading that trains recognition of the sounds associated with individual letters, e.g., a says /a/ as in apple. Phonemic awareness is not a method of teaching; rather, it is a skill which is necessary for mapping letters on to sounds.
What is phonemic awareness?
Phonemic awareness is the understanding that words, both written and spoken, can be broken down into
smaller segments of sounds (phonemes), and that letters constituting printed words represent the phonemes
heard in those words if the words are spoken. Whether a word is spoken or read silently, phonemic
awareness is necessary.
Phonemes are the sound segments of words that are distinctive, that contrast or distinguish words, e.g.,
the initial sounds in big and pig, the medial sounds in bed and bad, the final sounds in bad and bat.
Phonemes are abstract units which have no meaning in and of themselves; they are merely units of sound.
Moreover, they are co-articulated, that is, they are not produced or heard separately in the speech stream,
which further complicates understanding and confounds awareness.
This illustration, created by Nancy Lewkowicz*, shows that 'reading" proceeds from letters to meaning, and
that 'spelling' proceeds from meaning or pronunciation to letters. By assigning a visual representation to the sounds, Lewkowicz shows what happens to the phonemes in a word, that is, that they have no clear
boundaries; rather, they overlap. It could also be noted that with sounds such as /l/ or /n/ before a final /t/
or /d/, there would be even more overlap because of the way these sounds are made in relation to the way
adjacent sounds are made. Consequently, children who know the word split but read it as spilt, or mean to
spell went, and spell wet, may be showing that they are hostage to their inability to perceive the sounds in
sufficient detail to determine order or presence rather than being careless or inattentive.
Why is phonemic awareness important in learning to read and why would someone have difficulty developing it?
In learning to read it is necessary to understand how printed letters represent the phonemes in spoken language.
We have brain systems that enable us to speak and understand language. For most, speech is
learned without appreciable effort. In learning to read, however, we must use that system in conjunction
with other brain systems. Developing phonemic awareness is the beginning step in that process.
Functional neuroimaging provides evidence that areas of the brain theorized to support the development of
reading ability, in fact, do. In addition, functional neuroimaging indicates that early, direct, intensive
instruction can change the activation of a child's brain so that its activation is like that of a child who did
not have difficulty in learning to read.
Is knowledge about the importance of phonemic awareness new?
Specific research began in 1971 under the auspices of the National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development, National Institutes of Health. At an interdisciplinary research conference, entitled "The
Relationship between Speech and Learning to Read", experts examined the contrast between the ease with
which most children learn to speak and the difficulty many experience when they learn to read. They
formulated questions and established directions in which research ought to proceed. That research has
answered many questions about how phonemic awareness is related to the acquisition of literacy, not only
in the United States, but in several countries in which alphabetic languages are spoken.
Can phonemic awareness be taught?
The answer is a resounding yes. Many training studies completed since the 1980's have demonstrated that
specific training in phonemic awareness can significantly improve the reading achievement of children
speaking English and other languages as well. In developmental and remedial studies, children who
received direct, explicit instruction in phonemic awareness developed reading skills superior to those of
age-matched controls.
Recent advances in imaging have made it possible to conduct non-invasive, functional brain imaging (the
child is completing a reading task as the brain is 'scanned'). Areas of under-activation in brain functioning
have been identified. Based on several studies in which children are scanned before and after direct, explicit,
and intensive instruction, it is possible to develop activation in previously un- or under-activated areas
specific to reading.
Does reading comprehension depend on phonemic awareness skills?
Phonemic awareness skill is necessary but not sufficient for obtaining meaning from text. For some
children who have developed comprehension skills and vocabulary skills without phonemic awareness skill,
improving phonemic awareness enables them to move very quickly to grade- and/or age-appropriate
reading comprehension levels. For other children, phonemic awareness training is an essential piece of a
remedial program which includes learning reading comprehension strategies, developing vocabulary, and
strengthening thinking skills.
* Nancy K. Lewkowicz, "Phonemic Awareness Training: What to Teach and How to Teach It," Journal of Education Psychology, 72
(1980): 690. |
