USF St. Petersburg campus Faculty Publications
Investigation of phonemic awareness and phonic skills in Spanish-English and English speaking kindergarten students
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2009
Abstract
The ability to read on grade level is a fundamental skill required for children to achieve academic success. Students who are English language learners (ELLs) and/or those who have learning disabilities often find it extremely difficult to achieve at the reading expectation level. This study examines English phonemic awareness and phonic skills in four groups of kindergarten students with and without disabilities: (a) 20 high-reading-level English monolinguals, (b) 20 low-reading-level English monolinguals, (c) 20 high-reading-level English- Spanish bilinguals, and (d) 20 low-reading-level English-Spanish bilinguals. Findings indicated differences for monolingual versus bilingual speakers in their ability to identify voiced versus voiceless contrasts. It appears from these findings that an achievement gap in reading levels between monolingual and bilingual students exists even at the kindergarten grade level.
Language
en_US
Publisher
Pro-Ed
Recommended Citation
Communication disorders quarterly, vol. 30, issue 4. p. 208-225
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Comments
Author's manuscript version. The final, full-text article is available only through licensed access provided by the publisher. Published in Communication Disorders Quarterly, v30 n4 p208-225 2009. Members of the USF System may access the full-text of the article through the authenticated link provided.