The Building Blocks of Written English - The Phonemic Code

Why Knowledge of Complete Phonetic Code is Important to Proficient Reading

& How to Help Children Learn the Complete Accurate Phonemic Code

 

Why is it necessary to learn the phonemic code?

 

Students need to learn the phonemic code because this phonemic code is the basis for written English and the foundation for proficient reading.  The linguistic fact IS English is a phonetic based system.  The black squiggles represent sound.  While English contains complexities it is a phonetic based system and must be approached as such. Thanks to the advances in neuroscience, we know proficient reading requires the conversion of print to sound and development of phonologic neural processing pathways.  See the article How Reading Works for more detailed information. The development of these proficient reader pathways require the child to convert print to sound. Learning the phonemic code (sound the print represents) is an essential subskill for developing these proficient reader pathways. While the knowledge of phonemic code alone does not ‘teach’ a child to read, this knowledge provides essential building blocks for developing the foundation of proficient phonologic processing.  For an overview of how knowledge of the phonemic code fits into the overall process of proficient reading, see the article Overview and Visual Representation of Overall Process Required for Proficient Reading.

 

What is the complete phonemic code? 

 

The complete phonemic code is the specific print=sound relationships written English is based on. The English phonemic code of phonograms (distinct written letter or letters that represent specific sound(s)) is complex. Letters and sounds do not have a one-to-one correspondence. There are 26 letters and 44 sounds. Some letters represent more than one sound. Many sounds are made from a combination of letters. There is overlap where one sound can be written several ways. Then to top it off, our language includes spellings from other languages and some irregular words. Although it is complex, English is not complete random chaos. English is mostly phonetic or follows predictable patterns. If all sounds are learned and patterns practiced, most words can be phonetically decoded.

 

The student needs to acquire knowledge of the complete phonetic code. An effective reading program directly and systematically teaches all necessary phonograms. The phonograms are the alphabetic letters or groups of letters that symbolize the smallest speech sounds of English.  Knowledge of the basic alphabet is not sufficient. The student needs to know the multiple vowel sounds, consonant digraphs, vowel-combinations, r-controlled vowels, and other complexities that comprise the vast majority of printed words.  Phonograms are the distinct printed letters or combinations of letters that symbolize specific sounds within written English words. Depending on exactly how they are classified, there are between 70 to 80 phonograms. In addition to the 26 single letters of the alphabet, the student needs to learn consonant digraphs (th, sh, ch, wh, ck, ph, wr…), vowel combinations (ee, oa, oe, ai, ay, oi, oy, ea, ow, ou, ue, au….),  r-controlled vowels (ar, or, ore, er, ur, ir, ear, eer, air...) and other combinations (a+l, w+a, c+e, igh, ough…).  It is no surprise the vowel combinations and other complexities are frequently the source of reading and spelling difficulties. Many students lack necessary knowledge of the complete phonetic code. Instruction often fails to teach these complexities or teaches them in an indirect, incomplete or haphazard manner. The most effective way to ensure students acquire complete and accurate knowledge of the complex phonemic code is to directly teach all phonograms to the student.

 

How Do I Help My Child or Student Learn the Phonemic Code?

 

To read proficiently, the student must process print phonetically. Phonetic processing requires converting and linking printed letter(s) directly to correct sound. To maximize effectiveness (phonologically correct processing) and efficiency (faster with less effort) several components should be incorporated into the direct phonics instruction. It is important to realize exactly how the ‘phonics’ knowledge is taught to the child has tremendous impacts on success. Careful attention to the following elements helps children acquire necessary knowledge preventing potential difficulties and improving reading success. In order to help children learn:

 

Teach the DIRECT print=sound relationship: For efficient processing knowledge of the printed code needs to be direct. The student must be able to quickly glace at black squiggles and automatically convert this print directly to sound.  Indirect processing such as relating print to a known object or word and then extracting the sound from that word, is much less efficient than automatically knowing the direct print=sound. An example of indirect processing is when a child relates the sight of printed letters to a word/object (‘b’ = book), or link letters to a picture ‘b’ = &. In these indirect processing relationships the child has to recognize and split out the beginning sound of the object before processing the /b/ sound. Another indirect example is relating sound to other words, such as when the child sees ‘oy’ in ‘destroy’ and has to think ‘oy’ is in the word ‘boy’ and therefore the ‘oy’ must have the /oy/ sound. These indirect processing pathways take significantly more effort than directly and automatically processing print = sound. Avoid all these inefficient ‘middle man’ processing pathways. Always teach direct print=sound.  Have the child or student look directly at the printed letter or letters (accurate printed phonogram) and say the correctly pronounced sound. Learn and practice the direct print=sound until this knowledge is automatic. Be sure activities establish this direct accurate print=sound efficient processing.

 

Teach the COMPLETE code:  The importance of learning the complete code is explained in the previous section. Our language is not simple. The child must learn the complexities and gain direct knowledge of all the phonograms. The phonograms are the alphabetic letters or groups of letters that symbolize the smallest speech sounds of English.  The most effective way to ensure the child acquires necessary knowledge is to directly and systematically teach them the complete phonemic code. In addition to the 26 single letters of the alphabet, directly teach the consonant digraphs (th, sh, ch, wh, ck, ph, wr…), vowel combinations (ee, oa, oe, ai, ay, oi, oy, ea, ow, ou, ue, au….),  r-controlled vowels (ar, or, ore, er, ur, ir, ear, eer, air...) and other combinations (a+l, w+a, c+e, igh, ough…). An effective reading program directly and systematically teaches all necessary phonograms.

 

Teach the code SYSTEMATICALLY: Our language is complex. If you toss the entire complex code at a young child at once it creates confusion. Systematic presentation should be used to manage the complexities. By controlled presentation you allow the child time to learn, practice and master the code in manageable. Start a few at a time. Present the simple and common phonograms before adding the complex and infrequent.  Systematically present phonograms to the child and allow the child time to practice so the sound knowledge becomes automatic.

 

Teach the CORRECT PRONUNCIATION:  The child or student needs to learn the sound the letter (or phonogram) represents in our language. This correct sound pronunciation is not the same as the letter name. Many students can tell you the letter name but do not know the sound the letter represents. For example, for the letter ‘h’ the sound is /h/ not the letter name /aych/.  Correct pronunciation is important. For example the letter‘d’ has a quick sharp /d/ sound not a long /duh/. 

 

Teach PHONETICALLY ACCURATE PRINT:  Teach the child using phonetically accurate representations of print. In other words the phonograms (printed code) you teach the child needs to be phonetically accurate. Examples of phonetically accurate phonograms are ‘m’= /m/, ‘c’= /k/ & /s/,  ‘th’=/th/, ‘ch’=/ch/, ‘oi’=/oy/ ‘e’=/e/ and /ee/. Avoid inaccurate representations such as ‘word families’ and ‘blended consonant clusters’.  Not only can these inaccurate representations create confusion and reading difficulties in some children they add hundreds of unnecessary possible combinations for the child to learn.

 

Require direct PRACTICE UNTIL AUTOMATIC: The goal is for the student to automatically know the printed alphabetic character equals sound association (printed letter(s)=sound) of the complete phonemic code. The student effectively learns this ‘printed letter=sound’ association through direct instruction and repeated practice. Practice and drill the direct print=sound until the student has mastered automatic knowledge. When the sound is automatic, the student does not have to spend any effort consciously think about what it is. He can then concentrate on higher reading skills. It is comparable to learning how to type. In keyboarding, you learn the association of finger movement for a specific letter. At first, a beginner has to look at both the keyboard and their hands. After a little drill, he can type without looking by concentrating on what finger to move where. With additional direct practice, the typist improves in proficiency to the point where the keyboarding is automatic. When you are no longer spending mental energy on figuring out where to put your fingers, all your concentration can focus on the actual writing/typing. The same concept applies to reading. The objective is for the student to establish direct automatic print=sound code knowledge.

 

Summary: Remember, learning the phonemic code (print=sound relationship) alone will not teach your child to read. Although knowledge of the complete phonemic code is essential, it is only one part of the complex process of reading. See the article Overview and Visual Representation of Overall Process Required for Proficient Reading. The isolated practice and drill of direct print=sound knowledge is a learning step in developing correct phonologic processing of print. After the child has acquired this knowledge and is automatically applying it in correct phonologic processing he no longer needs to practice the sounds in isolation. Just as skilled typist do not need to go back and type rows of “ffff dddd ssss”. Direct phonics instruction is not the end goal but rather the highly effective tool to help children acquire direct automatic knowledge of the complete phonemic code so they develop proficient reader processing pathways!  

 

Additional information, articles and resources on teaching children to read proficiently can be found on the Free Reading Information page of the Right Track Reading website.

 

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This article was written by Miscese Gagen a mother with a passion for teaching children to read proficiently by using effective methods. She is also a successful reading tutor and author of the reading instructional programs Right Track Reading Lessons and Back on the Right Track Reading Lessons. The purpose of this article is to empower parents and teachers with information on teaching children how to read. We CAN improve reading proficiency, one student at a time!  More information is located at www.righttrackreading.com ~ Copyright 2007 Miscese R. Gagen