Child Language Acquisition (reading)

Question 1

What are the three different approaches to teaching children to read?

Answer 1

1. Phonics approach
2. The ‘look and say’ approach
3. The psycholinguistics approach

Question 2

Explain the phonics approach to teaching children to read

Answer 2

• Involves looking at letters and letter combinations in terms of sounds (reading ‘by ear’), sounding out particular words

Question 3

What is a criticism of the phonics approach to teaching children to read?

Answer 3

• This approach just focuses on sounds and letters, rather than the actual meanings of words

Question 4

Explain the ‘look and say’ approach to teaching children to read

Answer 4

• Also known as the ‘whole word’ approach, it involves recognising words by sight alone rather than breaking them down into separate sounds

Question 5

What is a criticism of the ‘look and say’ approach to teaching children to read?

Answer 5

• It requires children to memorise a large number of words and doesn’t give them the skills to be able to sound out unfamiliar words

Question 6

Explain the psycholinguistic approach to teaching children to read

Answer 6

• Sees reading as a natural development that comes from being in an environment where books are ready and available
• The reader is given full responsibility for working out what a word means, rather than just being told what it means
• If children come across a word they can’t understand, they are encouraged to work out its meaning through context and pictures

Question 7

What is a criticism of the psycholinguistics approach to teaching children to read?

Answer 7

• It leaves a lot to chance

Question 8

Which method have schools/teachers adopted?

Answer 8

• Schools/teachers use a combination of the approaches rather than just a single one, mainly because all kids learn differently.

Question 9

What do some teachers say is the most crucial part of improving and developing a child’s reading ability?

Answer 9

• Practising reading outside of school

Question 10

What are the 4 stages that a child’s reading develops in?

Answer 10

1. Pre school (up to age 5)
2. Between 5 and 6 years old
3. Between 6 and 7 years old
4. Between 7 and 8 years old

Question 11

State 3 things that happen in the pre school (up to age 5) stage

Answer 11

Any 3:

1. Kids take part in activities that prepare them for reading e.g. playing with bricks, jigsaws and matching pictures
2. They can turn pages in books themselves
3. They can verbally create their own stories
4. They begin to identify some individual letters, such as the first letter of their name
5. They begin to match some sounds to letters

Question 12

State 3 things that happen in the ‘between five and six years old’ stage

Answer 12

Any 3:

1. The number of letter sound matches they know increases
2. They learn that in English, you read from the left to the right across a page
3. They begin to recognise frequently used words