DfE &University of ReadingCPD in MFL

Primary MFLSession 3: Reading

Phonics, Sound/spelling links and Decoding

Thursday 15th January

4.30-6.30 pm

The Piggott School

Reading: developing foundations• Sound/spelling links: learning that letter/s correspond to sounds.

• Decoding/Recoding: moving between print and sound & vice versa.

• Word recognition: the ability to recognise printed words.

word recognition x language comprehension = reading comprehension

• Sub-lexical: visual recognition of constituent part of words

(phoneme, onset/rime) which are then sounded & blended.

• Whole word: visual recognition of the whole word form.

• Phonological Awareness: the understanding/ability that spoken words can be “dissected” into syllables/phonemes and onset/rime.

The importance of reading “basics”

Why teach GPCs?

• Unless taught, learners tend to default to first language sound/spelling links (Woore, 2007).

• Using GPCs to sound out and blend is one means of word recognition.

• New sounds need to be linked to existing letters e.g. nasal “o” = ON.

• New letter/s need to be linked to new or existing sounds e.g. è = like pronouncing a short ai in “air”.

• Existing sounds and letters need adaptation e.g. LL in French is not sounded “l” but “y”.

Suggestions for teaching GPCs• Lots of practice learning the links.• Supplement this with practice identifying and reading aloud the

links in words.• Read stories as a class to practise specific sound/spelling links.• Create stories with sound files attached so learners can try to

read specific words and then check how successful they are – maybe these could be on the school VLE.• Games, Songs, Gestures, Pictures.

WHY? To learn (memorise) and practise applying GPCs in meaning-related contexts.

ONcochon

Like Jolly Phonics, the children linked a word/picture/gesture to remind them of the sound/spelling links.Phonics was practised every week as part of a 45 minute lesson.Every lesson involved oracy and literacy.One week – the literacy component focused on phonics and had a mini writing/reading session.Next week – the literacy component focused on writing/reading and did a 5 minute phonics session (often a warm up).

ON

LLU, û

Graphemes on the IWB for phonics swattingChildren hear a sound and tap the appropriate graphemeCould extend this to words which model one (or more?) sounds to identify and tap which GPC they heardI used to have options – three slides: assez difficile, difficile, très difficile.Children can choose what “level” they want to try or the really brave can have the class choose for them!

Extracts of rhyming text in a Storybird

Design a storybird.Press print screen to capture a shot of each pagePaste into a powerpointNo hassle with slow internet, firewalls, etc!This can be used as an ongoing resource

The importance of reading “basics”

Why teach whole words?

• Not all languages have “shallow” orthographies where sound/letter relationships are consistent. English and French are considered “deep” orthographies, Spanish is “shallow”.

• Some words cannot be decoded sub-lexically e.g. here.• Feedforward inconsistency – same spelling makes several sounds – cough, though,

thought, through, enough. How do our children learn this??• Feedback inconsistency – same sound reflected in different spellings - (/oʊ/ = go,

throw, though, foe, boat. And how do they learn this?? Is it rules or use? Or Both?• Research evidence that learners of “deep” writing systems learn sound/spelling

links in chunks (e.g. multi-letters, onset-rime) e.g. eau, manteau, couteau.• Research evidence that learners develop preferred word recognition strategies

depending on the writing system they first learned to read.

Suggestions for teaching whole words• Consider teaching word recognition of whole words too

– GPCs will only go so far…..(we know this from English!!)• Consider learning vocabulary in its spoken and written

form. If the words are spelled as they sound this can supplement your GPC teaching. If they aren’t, they might need to be taught this way.• Use stories and poems for spotting rhymes and how

they are written.• Get the children to have vocabulary books where they

write down the new words they learn, and then practise writing them regularly.

This child has learned the written & spoken word together.They are trying to write words from memory.Sometimes they can remember the whole word.Sometimes they use L1 sound/spelling links.They have been learning MFL phonics for about two weeks.

I changed the teaching.Trying to write words from memory was challenging and time consuming.They are still seeing and saying the words simultaneously.Now they are given two options: one word spelled correctly, the other was wrong.All the children could generally recognise and reproduce the right word.

These words weren’t part of the core vocabulary the children learned.I used the stories for entertainment, enjoyment and to “expose” them to a range of additional vocabulary.The slide below was particularly memorable!This is still learning to recognise words!

Reading: Developing Foundations

PDC Principles:• Principle 3: SpeakingHigh quality, less spontaneous oral interaction could be supported by the written form when learned together.

• Principle 5: ReadingDeveloping sound/spelling links in the new language will allow access to familiar and, most importantly, unfamiliar words in text and a greater range of more challenging texts.

• Principle 6: FeedbackBuild self-confident learners by developing links between strategies and effectiveness. Learning sound/spelling links enhances learner autonomy; language input can be extended beyond that which the teacher provides.

• Principle 8: Core PrincipleDevelop language skills and knowledge which underpins skills development i.e. effective, intelligible written communication and engagement with written texts.

Research Findings:Potential Issues for Teaching Decoding

• The ability to dissect the spoken word (e.g. into syllables) can transfer between languages even in younger, beginner learners (Genesee et al, 2008).

• It takes a long time to learn MFL GPCs (Cable et al., 2010, Porter, 2014; Woore, 2011).

• Despite MFL phonics instruction, how often the learners see and practice a particular word is important (Porter, 2014).

Research Findings: Some decoding principles• Learners will need to be taught sound/spelling links.

• Even beginner L2 learners bring some L1 literacy skills to L2 reading (e.g. phonological awareness).

• Multimodal (e.g. pictures, gestures) learning of sounds and spellings creates richer, deeper memory traces. This increases the likelihood that the learning will last longer and will be more easily recalled.

• Phonics instruction could “instil” the code but learners will need regular practice at using learned sound/spelling links in meaning-focused activities.

• There could be several ways to teach word recognition. What kind of literacy practice happens in a KS1 classroom?

Further Ideas for Teaching Word Reading:

Bearing in mind that research suggests that second/FL reading is a “repeated process” (Koda, 2008:74).• - what do you already know about teaching phonics/word

reading in English? What do KS1 children do whilst they’re learning phonics?• - do you have word reading practices which you could adapt?• -what skills/strategies do you think your learners might bring

to FL reading?• -what are the differences (if any) between Ks1 children

learning phonics and Ks2 children learning FL phonics?

References

• Cable, C. et al., 2010. Primary Modern Languages: A Longitudinal Study of Language Learning at Key Stage 2. Nottingham: Department for Children, Schools & Families.

• Genesee, F., Geva, E., Dressler, C. & Kamil, M.L. (2008). ‘Cross-linguistic relationships in second language learners’ in August, D.A. & Shanahan, T. (eds.) 2008. Developing Reading and Writing in Second Language Learners. NY & Abingdon: Routledge: 63-93.

• Graham, S., Courtney, L., Marinis, T. and Tonkyn, A. (2014). Primary Modern Languages: The Impact of Teaching Approaches. http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/primary-modern-languages-impact-teaching-approaches.

• Koda, K. (2008). ‘The effects of lower-level processing skills on FL reading performance: Implications for instruction’. Modern Language Journal, 76: 502-512.

• Porter, A.M. (2014). ‘An early start to French literacy: Teaching the spoken and written word simultaneously in English primary schools.’ Unpublished PhD Thesis, Southampton: University of Southampton.

• Walter, C. (2008). ‘Phonology in second language reading: not an optional extra.’ TESOL Quarterly, 42: 455-474.

• Woore, R. (2007). “Weisse Maus in meinem Haus”: using poems and learner strategies to help learners decode the sounds of the L2.’ Language Learning Journal, 35: 175-188.

• Woore, R. (2011). ‘Investigating and developing beginner learners’ decoding proficiency in second language French: an evaluation of two programmes of instruction.’ Unpublished PhD Thesis, Oxford: University of Oxford.