I had mentioned the term “phonological awareness” to a friend the other day, and she told me she has no idea what it is. I thought it would be a good idea to make it my first blog post, as it is the core issue of people with dyslexia.
Phonological awareness refers to the phonological structure of words, such as sensitivity to rhyme and awareness of syllables. It is about hearing the sounds of the language, whether it’s the individual sounds in words, chunks of sounds in words, or words in sentences.
Phonological awareness refers to the phonological structure of words, such as sensitivity to rhyme and awareness of syllables. It is about hearing the sounds of the language, whether it’s the individual sounds in words, chunks of sounds in words, or words in sentences.
Most people who have dyslexia have difficulty with phonological awareness; they have trouble hearing, producing, and manipulating sounds in words. For example, a person with dyslexia may have a problem hearing and understanding that the word ‘that’ is made up of three sounds: /th/, /a/, and /t/. They may also struggle with orally changing the /th/ in the word to /m/, to make the word ‘mat’.
This becomes a problem because the individual sounds in words correlate with letters in our alphabet (the alphabetic principle), and if sounds in words are a struggle, then figuring out which letters correspond with which sounds is going to be an even bigger struggle. It severely impacts a child’s ability to read.
The positive is that phonological awareness can actually be taught. There are many activities that can be done to improve upon hearing the sounds in our language. Basic activities for young children, such as producing rhyming words and teaching them nursery rhymes, are valuable. For children who are learning to read, activities such as having them tell the sounds in a word, are helpful.
Phonological awareness training is most effective when paired with training in letter/sound relationships. In other words, activities for hearing sounds in words, along with the letters that make those sounds, is more effective than when just done on its own. To read more information about phonological awareness, click here.
This becomes a problem because the individual sounds in words correlate with letters in our alphabet (the alphabetic principle), and if sounds in words are a struggle, then figuring out which letters correspond with which sounds is going to be an even bigger struggle. It severely impacts a child’s ability to read.
The positive is that phonological awareness can actually be taught. There are many activities that can be done to improve upon hearing the sounds in our language. Basic activities for young children, such as producing rhyming words and teaching them nursery rhymes, are valuable. For children who are learning to read, activities such as having them tell the sounds in a word, are helpful.
Phonological awareness training is most effective when paired with training in letter/sound relationships. In other words, activities for hearing sounds in words, along with the letters that make those sounds, is more effective than when just done on its own. To read more information about phonological awareness, click here.
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