Phonemic Awareness and English Language Learners

First component is phonemic awareness of English language learners. Phonemic awareness is one of the best predictors of how well learners will learn to read during the first two years. Sometimes it is nearly impossible, however, for speakers of a second language to "hear" and say sounds in the language they are learning. Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear and manipulate the different sounds in our language. It is crucial to have phonemic awareness as it is the foundation for spelling and word recognition skills.

Challenges for learners

Sound recognition and production: Students may not be able to "hear" or produce a new sound in a second language. Students who cannot hear and work with the phonemes of spoken words will have a difficult time learning how to relate these phonemes to letters when they see them in written words.

Strategies for learners

Model production of the sound: Teachers have to spend a few minutes at the beginning of class or in small groups demonstrating and reinforcing the correct production of the sound.

Help beginning readers learn to identify sounds in short words: Teachers have to make students practice identifying the sounds in the beginning, middle, and end of these words. You may wish to use words that begin with a consonant, have a short vowel, and end in a consonant (CVC words) such as mat, top, and bus. Moreover, one very effective method is having students match pictures of words that have the same beginning, middle, or ending sound. However, teachers have to be careful to use only words that students know in English

Phonics and English Language Learners

Phonics instruction aims to help new readers understand that there are systematic and predictable relationships between written letters and spoken sounds.

Students will benefit from learning and practicing sounds and symbols, including blended combinations. Phonics is the relationship between a sound and its corresponding written letter. This component is important because reading development is dependent on the understanding that letters and letter patterns represent the sounds of spoken language.

Challenges for learners

Limited literacy skills in native language: Many educators believe that students only need to learn to read once. Once the concept of matching a symbol with a sound has been learned, it can be applied to new languages. Students who have learned to read in their native language have a distinct advantage because they were able to learn this concept with familiar sounds and words.

Students who have not learned to read in their native language, however, may struggle to put together the sound/symbol correspondence concept, new words, and new sounds all at once.

Unfamiliar vocabulary words: It is difficult for students to distinguish phonetic components in new vocabulary words. Pre teaching vocabulary is an important part of good phonics instruction with students so that students aren't trying to figure out new vocabulary items out of context.