Abstract
Recent evidence suggests that the ability to segment words into phonemes is significantly related to reading success, and that training in phoneme segmentation appears to have a positive influence on beginning reading. In this study, we evaluated the effect on reading readiness of phoneme segmentation training in kindergarten. Ninety nonreaders with PPVT-R standard scores of 78 or higher were randomly selected from six kindergarten classrooms and assigned to one of three treatment conditions: a) phoneme segmentation group; b) language activities group (control group I); and c) no intervention (control group II). The phoneme segmentation group received seven weeks of instruction in segmentation and in letter names and sounds. Also for seven weeks, the language activities group received the identical instruction in letter names and sounds and additional language activities. Prior to the intervention, the three groups did not differ in age, sex, race, PPVT-R phoneme segmentation, letter name and letter sound knowledge, or reading ability. After the intervention, the phoneme segmentation group outperformed both control groups on phoneme segmentation and reading measures. This study provides additional strong support for including phoneme segmentation training in the kindergarten curriculum. Clinical suggestions for teachers are included.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Blachman, B. 1983. Are we assessing the linguistic factors critical in early reading?Annals of Dyslexia 33:91–109.
Blachman, B. 1984a. Language analysis skills and early reading acquisition.In G. P. Wallach and K. G. Butler (eds.).Language Learning Disabilities in School-Aged Children. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins Company.
Blachman, B. 1984b. Relationship of rapid naming ability and language analysis skill to kindergarten and first-grade achievement.Journal of Educational Psychology 76:610–622.
Blachman, B. In press. Phonological awareness and word recognition: Assessment and intervention.In A. G. Kamhi and H. W. Catts (eds.).Reading Disorders: A developmental language perspective. San Diego: College-Hill Press.
Blachman, B. A. and James, S. L. 1985. Metalinguistic abilities and reading achievement in first-grade children.In J. Niles and R. Lalik (eds.).Issues in Literacy: A research perspective. Rochester: National Reading Conference.
Bradley, L. and Bryant, P. E. 1978. Difficulties in auditory organisation as a possible cause of reading backwardness.Nature 271:746–747.
Bradley, L. and Bryant, P. 1983. Categorizing sounds and learning to read: A causal connection.Nature 30:419–421.
Bradley, L. and Bryant, P. 1985.Rhyme and Reason in Reading and Spelling. International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities Monograph Series, Number 1. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.
Bruce, L. U. 1964. The analysis of word sounds by young children.British Journal of Educational Psychology 34:158–170.
Calfee, R. C., Lindamood, P., and Lindamood, C. 1973. Acoustic-phonetic skill and reading-kindergarten through twelfth grade.Journal of Educational Psychology 64:293–298.
Camp, L., Winbury, N., and Zinna, D. 1981. Strategies for initial reading instruction.Bulletin of the Orton Society 31:175–188.
Cazden, C. 1972.Child Language and Education. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.
Chall, J. 1983.Stages of Reading Development. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Elkonin, D. 1963. The psychology of mastering the elements of reading.In B. Simon and J. Simon (eds.).Educational Psychology in the U.S.S.R. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Elkonin, D. 1973. U.S.S.R.In J. Downing (ed.).Comparative Reading. New York: MacMillan.
Fox, B. and Routh, D. 1975. Analyzing spoken language into words, syllables and phonemes: A developmental study.Journal of Psycholinguistic Research 4:331–342.
Fox, B. and Routh, D. 1980. Phonemic analysis and severe reading disability in children.Journal of Psycholinguistic Research 9(2):115–119.
Fox, B. and Routh, D. 1984. Phonemic analysis and synthesis as word attack skills: Revisited.Journal of Educational Psychology 76(6):1059–1061.
Gleitman, L. and Rozin, P. 1977. The structure and acquisition of reading I: Relations between orthographies and the structure of language.In A. S. Reber and D. L. Scarborough (eds.).Toward a Psychology of Reading: The proceedings of the CUNY conference. Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Gough, P. and Tunmer, W. 1986. Decoding, reading, and reading disability.Remedial and Special Education 7(1):6–10.
Helfgott, J. 1976. Phoneme segmentation and blending skills of kindergarten children: Implications for beginning reading acquisition.Contemporary Educational Psychology 1:157–169.
Hohn, W. and Ehri, L. 1983. Do alphabet letters help prereaders acquire phonemic segmentation skill?Journal of Educational Psychology 75:752–762.
Juel, C. 1986. Support for the theory of phonemic awareness as predictor in literacy acquisition.In J. Niles and R. Lalik (eds.).Solving Problems in Literacy: Learners, teachers, and researchers. Rochester: National Reading Conference.
Juel, C., Griffith, P., and Gough, P. 1986. Acquisition of literacy: A longitudinal study of children in first and second grade.Journal of Educational Psychology 78(4):243–255.
Lewkowicz, N. 1980. Phonemic awareness training: What to teach and how to teach it.Journal of Educational Psychology 65:19–24.
Liberman, A. M. 1970. The grammars of speech and language.Cognitive Psychology 1:301–323.
Liberman, A., Cooper, F. S., Shankweiler, D., and Studdert-Kennedy, M. 1967. Perception of the speech code.Psychological Review 74:731–461.
Liberman, I. Y. 1971. Basic research in speech and lateralization of language: Some implications for reading disability.Bulletin of the Orton Society 21:71–87.
Liberman, I. Y. 1973. Segmentation of the spoken word and reading acquisition.Bulletin of the Orton Society 23:65–77.
Liberman, I. Y. and Shankweiler, D. 1985. Phonology and the problems of learning to read and write.Remedial and Special Education 6(6):8–17.
Liberman, I. Y., Shankweiler, D., Blachman, B., Camp, L., and Werfelman, M. 1980. Steps toward literacy: A linguistic approach.In P. Levinson and C. Sloan (eds.).Auditory Processing and Language: Clinical and Research Perspectives. New York: Grune and Stratton.
Liberman, I. Y., Shankweiler, D., Fischer, F. W., and Carter, B. 1974. Explicit syllable and phoneme segmentation in the young child.Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 18:201–212.
Liberman, I. Y., Shankweiler, D., Liberman, A. M., Fowler, C., and Fischer, F. W. 1977. Phonetic segmentation and recoding in the beginning reader.In A. S. Reber and D. L. Scarborough (eds.).Toward a Psychology of Reading. Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Lundberg, I., Olofsson, A., and Wall, S. 1980. Reading and spelling skill in the first school years predicted from phonemic awareness skills in kindergarten.Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 21:159–173.
Mann, V. A. and Liberman, I. Y. 1984. Phonological awareness and verbal short-term memory: Can they presage early reading problems?Journal of Learning Disabilities 17:592–599.
Mattingly, I. G. 1972. Reading, the linguistic process and linguistic awareness.In J. F. Kavanagh and I. G. Mattingly (eds.).Language By Ear and By Eye. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Morais, J., Cluytens, M., and Alegria, J. 1984. Segmentation abilities of dyslexics and normal readers.Perceptual and Motor Skills 58:221–222.
Olofsson, A. and Lundberg, I. 1983. Can phonemic awareness be trained in kindergarten?Scandinanvian Journal of Psychology 24:35–44.
Rosner, J. 1975.Helping Children Overcome Learning Disabilities. New York: Walker and Company.
Rosner, J. and Simon, D. 1971. The Auditory Analysis Test: An initial report.Journal of Learning Disabilities 4:384–392.
Rozin, P. and Gleitman, L. 1977. The structure and acquisition of reading II: The reading process and the acquisition of the alphabetic principle.In A. Reber and D. Scarborough (eds.).Toward a Psychology of Reading. Hillsdale, New Jersey: Erlbaum Associates.
Share, D. J., Jorm, A. F., Maclean, R., and Mathews, R. 1984. sources of individual differences in reading achievement.Journal of Educational Psychology 76(6):466–477.
Stanovich, K. E., Cunningham, A. E., and Cramer, B. B. 1984. Assessing phonological awareness in kindergarten children: Issues of task comparability.Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 38:175–190.
Treiman, R. A. 1976. Children’s ability to segment speech into syllables and phonemes as related to their reading ability. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Psychology, Yale University.
Wagner, R. and Torgesen, J. 1987. The nature of phonological processing and its causal role in the acquisition of reading skills.Psychological Bulletin 101(2):192–212.
Wallach, M. and Wallach, L. 1976.Teaching All Children to Read. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Williams, J. 1980. Teaching decoding with an emphasis on phoneme analysis and phoneme blending.Journal of Educational Psychology 72:1–15.
Williams, J. 1984. The role of phonemic analysis in reading.In J. K. Torgesen and B.Y.L. Wong (eds.).Learning Disabilities: Some new perspectives. New York: Academic Press.
Zhurova, L. E. 1963. The development of analysis of words into their sounds by preschool children.Soviet Psychology and Psychiatry 72:17–27.
Zifcak, M. 1981. Phonological awareness and reading acquisition.Contemporary Educational Psychology 6:117–126.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This project was supported in part by USDE grant # G008630421 and a Syracuse University Senate Research Grant.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ball, E.W., Blachman, B.A. Phoneme segmentation training: Effect on reading readiness. Annals of Dyslexia 38, 208–225 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02648257
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02648257