Phonemic awareness: A crucial bridge to reading

Montessori Life, Spring 2003 by Woods, Carol S

NEW IDEAS

Before man's arrival on earth [language] did not exist. And what is it? Barely a breath! A few noises strung together. ... It is a mystery impossible to fathom.

-Montessori (1967a, pp. 108-110)

These few noises that are strung together so mysteriously are receiving much focus as educators examine the all-too-frequent failure of our children to read at the appropriate grade level. Increasingly, research is focusing on language experiences in early childhood, the years prior to formal schooling. The findings support Maria Montessori's emphasis on the value of early language experiences: the foundation for reading and writing is laid during the sensitive period for language. Much can be done to prepare children for literacy during these early years.

Language is multifaceted with elements that are interrelated and interdependent: it includes listening, speaking, writing, and reading. It provides the means for interpersonal relationships and logical thought. A weakness in any one area can have a negative impact on other areas (Grimes, 2001).

The earliest language experiences are oral in nature, including listening and vocalizing. Infants' behavior indicates the brain's propensity for language: they watch our mouths as we talk, and they begin to imitate the sounds of our speech pattern very early in life. Their joy in language is apparent from their happy wriggling as they absorb the speech sounds and vocalize their own sounds. These oral language skills develop and refine at an astounding rate through the early years.

Researchers have identified a relationship between strong oral language skills and later success with written language (Grimes, 2001; Birsh, 1999). Increasingly, they are studying a specific area of oral language, phonological awareness, as they seek ways to improve the literacy rate. Phonological awareness is a general ability relating to awareness of the "sound structure of oral language" (Bush, 1999, p. 63). This type of awareness highlights the sounds rather than the meaning of language (National Research Council [NRC], 1998). For example, the words plant and can't may be paired because they contain similar sounds (i.e., they rhyme), but they are unrelated in semantics and syntax.

Phonemic awareness is a part of phonological awareness: it is the understanding that words consist of individual, discrete sounds in particular sequences (Blevins, 2000). Phonemic awareness is crucial for learning the relationship between speech and the written word, and it is one part of the foundation for success with the written form of the language (NRC, 1998).

Typically developing children begin to understand the phonological basis of speech during the preschool years (NRC, 1998). A language-rich environment, with many individual and group opportunities for conversing, singing, exploring books, and writing, helps prepare children for literacy. The language materials in the early childhood Montessori environment offer much support for developing and refining the child's phonemic awareness. However, other kinds of activities address the specific skills related to phonological and phonemic awareness and offer preliminary and supplemental support. Stimulation includes both group activities and individual work choices found in the environment.

Any songs that include word play, such as Willowby Wallaby or Banana Fana, are helpful. Children quickly master the words and sound substitutions and enjoy the silly, nonsense words that result from these types of songs.

Montessori noted that "an analysis of the sounds of speech is intimately connected with the learning of the alphabet" ( 967b, p. 148). Each letter has four qualities: its name, sound, shape, and feel. The only quality that is stable is the name; the sound, shape, and feel all can change. The names of the letters provide children with one unchanging element, a constant, for each symbol (Bush, 1999).

Frequent singing of the Alphabet Song (so that each letter name is clearly articulated) helps children learn the names and sequence of the letters. Including exercises for matching and sequencing the letters provides practice in associating the auditory learning from the song to the visual images of the specific symbols. Some studies suggest that capital letters are easier than lower-case letters for children to master (Birsh, 1999). Including activities withem is beneficial, since so much environmental print is in the upper case.

Marilyn Adams (1990) noted that children's rhyming abilities are strong indicators of reading readiness. Research suggests that rhyming skills develop during the preschool years, so any activities that support the emergence of this ability will help prepare children for literacy (NRC, 1998). For a list of suggested exercises, see "The Role of Rhyme" (Woods, 1998).

The National Research Council publication Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children noted that phonemic awareness starts with recognizing when two words begin with the same sound, such as tooth and turtle.