Assessing the Impact of Synthetic Phonics Teaching on Promoting Omani EFL Third Graders’ Accuracy and Fluency of Reading Connected Texts

Noora Al-Sukaiti

Abstract


The cumulative influence of English-speaking countries and syllabus designers on choosing phonics as the literacy teaching method has resulted in phonics becoming attractive tools for literacy instruction in non-native contexts worldwide. Responding to recent educational trends in 2014, the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Oman decided to introduce synthetic phonics instruction, specifically Jolly Phonics (JP), to build a strong foundation in literacy skills for cycle one students (i.e., from grades one to four) nationwide. The purpose of this study was to assess its contribution to Omani third graders’ accuracy and fluency of reading connected texts through comparing students’ performance in these skills with the programme’s intended objectives, as set by the Ministry of Education (MOE). The study sample consisted of 117 third graders and employed a quantitative descriptive research design, in which data was collected using DIBLES Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) Test. The findings revealed that the Omani third graders on average have not achieved the JP’s objectives and performed poorly against the grade level expectations for accuracy and fluency of reading connected texts. The study concluded with a set of recommendations in order to develop the delivery of synthetic phonics teaching as a literacy-enhancing approach within the Omani context.


Keywords


Jolly Phonics, literacy, oral reading accuracy, oral reading fluency, synthetic phonics

Full Text:

PDF

References


Adams, M. J. (1990). Beginning to read: Thinking and learning about print. MIT Press.

Al-Badi, W. (2016). Interactive shared reading in EFL: Omani teachers’ knowledge, beliefs and practices. [Unpublished MA Thesis, Sultan Qaboos University). Sultan Qaboos University.

Aliaga, M., & Gunderson, B. (2002). Interactive statistics. Virginia, America: Pearson Education. ?

Anderson, R. C., Wilson, P. T., & Fielding, L. G. (1988). Growth in reading and how children spend their time outside of school. Reading Research Quarterly, 23(3) 285-303.?

August, D. E., & Shanahan, T. E. (2006). Developing literacy in second-language learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers. ?

Burgess, S. R. (2006). The development of phonological sensitivity. Handbook of early literacy research, 2, 90-100.?

Carnine, D., Silbert, J., Kameenui, E. J., & Tarver, S. G. (2004). Direct instruction reading. Merrill Prentice Hall, New Jersey.?

Chall, J. S. (1996). Stages of reading development. Harcourt Brace.

Cipielewski, J., & Stanovich, K. E. (1992). Predicting growth in reading ability from children’s exposure to print. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 54(1), 74-89.?

Duke, N. K. (2000). 3.6 minutes per day: The scarcity of informational texts in first grade. Reading Research Quarterly, 35(2), 202-224.?

Dynamic Measurement Group. (2019). DIBELS next benchmark goals and composite scores. Retrieved March 20, 2020, from https://dibels.uoregon.edu/docs/DIBELSNextFormerBenchmarkGoals.pdf

Ehri, L. C. (2002). Phases of acquisition in learning to read words and implications for teaching. BJEP Monograph Series II, Number 1-Learning and Teaching Reading, 7(28), 7-28.

Ehri, L. C. (2005). Learning to read words: Theory, findings, and issues. Scientific Studies of reading, 9(2), 167-188.?

Fuchs, L. S., Fuchs, D., Hosp, M. K., and Jenkins, J. R. (2001). Oral reading ?uency as an indicator of reading competence: a theoretical, empirical, and historical analysis. Scientific Studies of Reading. 5, 239–256. https://doi/10.1207/S1532799XSSR0503_3

Georgiou, G. K., Parrila, R., & Papadopoulos, T. C. (2008). Predictors of word decoding and reading fluency across languages varying in orthographic consistency. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100(3), 566.?

Good, R. H., & Kaminski, R. A. (2002 ). DIBELS oral reading fluency passages for first through third grades (Technical Report No. 10). Eugene, OR: University of Oregon.

Harris, T. L., & Hodges, R. E. (1995). The literacy dictionary: The vocabulary of reading and writing. Order Department, International Reading Association.

Henry, M. K. (1993). The role of decoding in reading research and instruction.? Reading and Writing, 5 (2), 105-112.

Hudson, R. F., Lane, H. B., & Pullen, P. C. (2005). Reading fluency assessment and instruction: What, why, and how? The Reading Teacher, 58(8), 702-714.?

Kaminski, R. A., Smith, S., & Laimon, D. (2002). Dynamic indicators of basic early literacy skills: Dibels. R. H. Good (Ed.). Dynamic Measurement Group.? (pp. 10-38). Institute for the Development of Educational Achievement.

Kuhn, M. R., & Stahl, S. A. (2003). Fluency: A review of developmental and remedial practices. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95, 3–21.

LaBerge, D., & Samuels, S. J. (1974). Toward a theory of automatic information processing in reading. Cognitive Psychology, 6(2), 293-323.?

Leppänen, U., Aunola, K., Niemi, P., & Nurmi, J. E. (2008). Letter knowledge predicts Grade 4 reading fluency and reading comprehension. Learning and Instruction, 18(6), 548-564.?

Lloyd, S. (2000). The phonics handbook: A handbook for teaching reading, writing and spelling. Jolly Learning, Ltd.

Lonigan, C. J., Farver, J. M., Phillips, B. M., & Clancy-Menchetti, J. (2011). Promoting the development of preschool children’s emergent literacy skills: A randomized evaluation of a literacy-focused curriculum and two professional development models. Reading and Writing, 24(3), 305-337.?

Lowhorn, G. L. (2007, May 28). Qualitative and quantitative research: How to choose the best design (Paper presentation). Academic Business World International Conference. Nashville, Tennessee.? https://ssrn.com/abstract=2235986

McCombes, S. (2020). Descriptive research. Retrieved April 12, 2020, from https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/descriptive-research

McIntosh, K., Horner, R. H., Chard, D. J., Boland, J. B., & Good, R. H. I. (2006). The use of reading and behavior screening measures to predict nonresponse to school-wide positive behavior support: A longitudinal analysis. School Psychology Review, 35(2), 275-291.?

Mullis, I. V. S., Martin, M. O., Kennedy, A. M., & Foy, P. (2007). PIRLS 2006 International Report: IEA’s progress in international literacy study in primary schools in 40 countries. TIMMS and PIRLS International Study Center, Lynch School of Education, Boston College.?

Nassaji, H. (2015). Qualitative and descriptive research: Data type versus data analysis.? Language Teaching Research, 19(2), 129-132. http://doi.org/10.1177/1362168815572747

National Reading Panel (US). (2000). Teaching children to read: Reports of the subgroups. National Reading Panel.?

National Research Council. (1998). Preventing reading difficulties in young children. National Academies Press.?

Nichols, W. D., Rupley, W. H., & Rasinski, T. (2008). Fluency in learning to read for meaning: Going beyond repeated readings. Literacy Research and Instruction, 48(1), 1-13.?

Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2010). Generalization in quantitative and qualitative research: myths and strategies. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 47(11), 1451–1458. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2010.06.004

Rasinski, T., Homan, S., & Biggs, M. (2009). Teaching reading fluency to struggling readers: Method, materials, and evidence. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 25(2-3), 192-204.?

Rasinski, T., Samuels, S. J., Hiebert, E., Petscher, Y., & Feller, K. (2011). The relationship between a silent reading fluency instructional protocol on students’ reading comprehension and achievement in an urban school setting. Reading Psychology, 32(1), 75-97.?

Richards, J. C. (2001). Accuracy and fluency revisited. In E. Hinkel & S. Fotos (eds.) New perspectives on grammar teaching in second language classrooms (pp. 45-62). Routledge.?

Roehrig, A. D., Petscher, Y., Nettles, S. M., Hudson, R. F., & Torgesen, J. K. (2008). Accuracy of the DIBELS oral reading fluency measure for predicting third grade reading comprehension outcomes. Journal of School Psychology, 46(3), 343-366.

Snow, C. E., Griffin, P. E., & Burns, M. (2005). Knowledge to support the teaching of reading: Preparing teachers for a changing world. Jossey-Bass.?

Stanovich, K. E. (2009). Matthew effects in reading: Some consequences of individual differences in the acquisition of literacy. Journal of Education, 189(1-2), 23-55.?

Wang, J. H. Y., & Guthrie, J. T. (2004). Modeling the effects of intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, amount of reading, and past reading achievement on text comprehension between US and Chinese students. Reading Research Quarterly, 39(2), 162-186.?


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2024 Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research