Introduction
Letter and sound recognition is a common problem that is experienced by pre-school –kindergarten students aged between three and five years. It is a matter that has become subject to strategic interventions amongst key stakeholders such as education providers and parents. As a result, interventions have proven efficiency by helping to overcome the rampant problem among young readers and learners in kindergarten studies. There is a strong relationship that has gradually developed between strategic interventions and pre-school –kindergarten students’ letter and sound recognition. The evolving relationship has shown positive approaches have helped many students to overcome the condition and develop fluent letter and sound recognition in reading and writing. In addressing the relationship between interventions and students’ letter and sound recognition, this literature review aims to answer the following research questions:
- Will the addition of a letter review of students’ names help students gain letter and sound identification?
- Will the addition of a daily letter review of alphabet names and sounds, in a small group, help students gain letter and sound recognition?
Many authors have speculated existing relationships between strategic interventions and pre-school –kindergarten students’ letter and sound recognition. These relationships include students’ ability to hear, isolate, and manipulate sound in words, automatic and fluent use of alphabetic principles, and phonemic awareness.
Body of Review and Source Discussion
Student’s Ability to Hear, Isolate, and Manipulate Sound in Words
Articles used in this study agree that different interventions among pre-school students’ letter and sound recognition have developed a positive relationship as observed by teachers and parents. The relationship, however, differs to degrees according to different works of literature by varied authors. Different interventions bring different levels of appraisal depending on the expected outcome from students. Implementation of strategic interventions amongst pre-school kindergarten students’ letter and sound recognition has birthed positive outcomes. Evaluation of different interventions has established a positive outlook in students’ hearing, isolation, and manipulation recognition of letters and sounds. There is an increased level of students’ ability to hear, isolate, and manipulate sound in words (Hill, 2016). Teachers and parents have appraised the implementation of interventions for various observed improvements in their children’s improved letter and sound recognition.
Students who have undergone letter and sound reading and writing interventions have improved their abilities to differentiate between letters and sounds manipulated in different words. According to Christodoulou et al., (2017), schools registered the greatest number of students who had the capability of understanding differentiating between letters and sounds in words during summer pre-school kindergarten intervention programs. However, Christodoulou et al., (2017) differ from Hill (2016) that hearing, isolation, and manipulation in letter and sound recognition is not instant at the first administration of intervention among students. It is undeniable that interventions during students’ early promote hearing and automatic letter isolation and recognition. Hill (2016) and Christodoulou et al., (2017) show parenthesis in the effectiveness of implementing intervention strategies to increase isolation and recognition among pre-school kindergarten students. They, however, disagree on the duration of the proposed intervention for change to occur in students. Despite the variation in the outcome of the purported intervention, both authors are linked to the argument that intervention strategies have a strong relationship in promoting students’ capabilities in hearing, isolating, and manipulating sounds in words.
Automatic and Fluent use of Alphabetic Principles
Different students are put usually put under different interventions for specific purposes. Besides, the outcome expected is differently varied between each student’s weakness in letter and sound recognition. Some students have problems in maintaining a fluent flow in sound recognition while reading, writing, and pronouncing. This problem is, fortunately, noticeable by teachers and parents and appropriate intervention strategies are deployed to establish a helping relationship with students. There is a higher expectation in the outcome of students’ recognition of letters and sounds after interventions. Teachers’ and parents’ feedback has helped to deduce positive appraisal of various deployed interventions among students. Intervention strategies have led created a fluent and automatic mastering of alphabetic principles among early pre-school kindergarten students in letter and sound recognition (Verhoeven et al., 2020). These principles allow students to gain focus and understand texts in different reading as the primary goal of reading.
Students face a challenging moment in recognizing different letters and sounds in their pronunciation, reading, and writing activities during their school life. Besides, fluency in constructing and manipulating words in texts becomes a hick-up in their learning chores. Employment of intervention strategies has liberated the situation by promoting learning alphabetic principles that have facilitated automatic and fluent manipulation of letters and sounds. Spaull and Hoadley (2018) state that the relationship between interventions and students’ letter and sound recognition is the improved fluency in adherence to alphabetical principles. In contrast (Verhoeven et al., 2020), Spaull and Hoadley (2018) state that different students have mastery of alphabetic principles but fluency is the major problem in recognizing letters and sounds. For this reason, different students have their areas of weakness in the same area of perfection that lead to difficulties in the recognition of letters and sounds. Verhoeven et al., (2020) supports the argument that intervention strategies promote fluency and automatic recognition and of letters and sounds in pre-school kindergarten students. Besides, Spaull and Hoadley (2018) agree with the positive relationship between intervention strategies and students’ automatic and fluent recognition of letters and sounds.
Generally, intervention strategies indeed have a strong relationship between students’ improved recognition of letters and sounds. Spaull and Hoadley (2018) and Verhoeven et al., (2020) agrees that the employment of intervention strategies increases students’ recognition of sounds and letters in their early pre-school kindergarten studies. On the other hand, however, they disagree when it comes to different levels of needs by different students for perfection in the recognition of sounds. Although there are variations in the resultant degree of relationship, Spaull and Hoadley’s (2018) and Verhoeven et al., (2020) arguments are linked to the fact that intervention strategies strongly correlate in automatic and fluent use of alphabetic principles in pre-school students.
Intervention Strategies Promote Phonemic Awareness in Pre-School Students, Parents, and Teachers
There is a profound relationship between intervention strategies and students’ recognition of letters and sounds in early pre-school education. Intervention strategies have significantly promoted phonemic awareness in teachers, students, and parents (Catts et al., 2016). Lack of awareness of phonemic problems creates higher potentials for student failure in learning to read and manipulate words. Teachers in early pre-schools are speculative in promoting readiness in reading, listening comprehension, and general intelligence of students. Parents also get interested in their early children’s intelligent development of speech. In this case, Catts et al., (2016) state that phonemic awareness is more significant to students in their early stages of learning. According to Burns et al., (2017), pre-school kindergarten students who have undergone appropriate intervention strategies gain high phonemic awareness. They barely make flawed phonemic mistakes in their reading and writing course.
On the other hand, Burns et al., (2017) differ with Catts et al., (2016) that phonemic awareness in students is further propagated by constant practice. Repeated practices increase the efficacy in interventions that lead to awareness prompts to phonemic principles. Parents and teachers who handle students with challenges in recognition of letters and sounds agree that intervention strategies greatly help children to get phonemic awareness in differentiating different letters and sounds in words and texts. Catts et al., (2016) and Burns et al., (2017) arguments support the existence of increased phonemic awareness in students who get subjected to appropriate interventions in the urge of a letter and sound recognition.
Solve Reading Problems Experienced by Pre-Schooners and Teachers
Intervention strategies are essential in the development of preschoolers’ letter and sound recognition. Pre-school students who have undergone intervention strategies have continuously shown a positive correlation as teachers and parents have observed the performance of their children performance and their progress. Intervention strategies have helped to solve reading problems in students and easy work for teachers’ classroom reading (Lee, Hall, & Sancibrian, 2017). Many students develop reading problems during their kindergarten studies. As a result, it becomes difficult for teachers to carry out their classroom teaching activities that involve student participation such as reading and writing.
In this regard, the established relationship between intervention strategies and students’ capability of recognizing letters and sounds has served to solve reading problems experienced in teachers’ and students’ environments. According to Suggate, (2016), intervention strategies help students to solve reading problems and teachers to enjoy a smooth teaching class environment. This relationship, however, is not guaranteed to solve all challenges that students face while reading. Thus, Suggate, (2016) differs from (Lee, Hall, & Sancibrian, 2017) in the degree of the problem solved by different interventions. It is clear that the primary goal of letter and sound recognition of automatic and fluent reading in pre-school children (Verhoeven et al., 2020; Spaull & Hoadley, 2018). Lee, Hall, and Sancibrian, (2017) and Suggate, (2016) differ in the degree of varied problems solved by different interventions to students’ letter and sound recognition. Both authors are interlinked to the argument that the more pre-school students with challenges in letter and sound recognition are exposed to interventions, they barely showcase reading problems. As a result, teachers tend to have a smooth classroom environment with students’ capability to read and write automatically and fluently.
Increased Literacy and Fast Readership Relationship among Students
Intervention strategies have a positive outcome on the relationship with students who have difficulties in recognizing letters and sounds in words, texts, and writings. Letter and sound recognition intervention strategies promote nurturing of a literate and fast reader in pre-school children (Catts et al., 2016; Hill, 2016). Children between ages three and five are quick followers of instructions. They easily capture various skills taught or availed by different interventions. In this case, they quickly eliminate errors in reading and reading that arise from letter and sound recognition. As a result, they become literate and fast readers as they progress in their upper levels of studies.
Students’ increased literacy and fast readership are also promoted through the creation of awareness in letter and sound literacy (Verhoeven et al., 2020). This relationship is also in agreement with Catts et al., (2016)’s argument that students gain alphabetic knowledge that aid in recognition of letter and sound in words. However, Suggate, (2016) differs with Verhoeven et al., (2020) and Catts et al., (2016) different interventions effectively increases students’ literacy in either reading or writing. Catts et al., (2016) further state that the problem letter and sound recognition disappears when individuals attain age thirteen and fifteen. Significant rates of literate and fast reader students in pre-schools are attributed to a healthy relationship employed by different intervention strategies. Authors in this subtitle have differed on the degrees of relationship outcomes in interventions. However, they are both coined to the fact that employment of intervention strategies leads to increased literacy and a fast readership relationship among students.
The Addition of Letter Review of Students Name Help Students Gain Letter and Sound Identification
The addition of a letter review of students’ names is an effective way that establish a beneficial relationship between students’ letters and sound recognition. The addition of daily letter review is an intervention that aims to improve and help students gain letter and sound recognition. Thus, the addition of letter review of students’ names plays a significant role in creating students’ gain in letter and sound identification in varied ways and approaches (Burns et al., 2017). Reviewing letter names helps create easiness in the working of alphabetic codes. By reviewing letters in a student’s name, a student learns many possible sounds that a single letter contains and many sounds that emanate from various letters (Hill, 2016). For this reason, students will be able to reference independent letters with the sound it makes.
Letter review is an approach that teaches improved letter sounding than teaching sounds differently. The combination creates a beneficial value in learning sounds and letters at a glance. Pre-school students who have been trained through reviewing letters tend to understand concepts in sounds and letters unlike those who learn sound alone at a go (Spaull & Hoadley, 2018). Hill, (2016) and Spaull & Hoadley, (2018) are in agreement that students who review letters in their names have the highest probability of gaining greater identification of sounds and letters. Therefore, teachers and parents can use such a critical intervention to enable children and students to overcome difficulties realized during letter and sound recognition.
The Addition of a Daily Letter Review of Alphabet Names and Sound, in a Small Group, Help Students Gain Letter and Sound Recognition
The addition of daily letter review of alphabetic names and sounds, in a small group, plays a significant role in pre-school students’ intervention. It facilitates students’ gain in letter and sound recognition (Christodoulou et al., 2017). Thus, information fed to students should expand daily to increase the rate of learning in classwork activities. Learning letters and sounds is a scheme that is helpful to students in improving and eliminating difficulties experienced in recognition of sounds and letters in written and spoken words (Lee, Hall, & Sancibrian, 2017). This intervention is in agreement with Christodoulou et al., (2017)’s argument that the addition of a daily letter review of alphabet names and sounds is a strategic intervention that serves as a simple remedy to improve affected students. According to Hill, (2016), Small groups render listening effectively for the teacher due to reduced interference of noises that arises from other classrooms. Teachers are also able to reach out to every child and reach children (Catts et al., 2016). Learning in small groups can relate to the study question of reviewing students’ letter names of other children to gain more understanding of letters and sounds in alphabetic codes.
Students increase their basal understanding formulation of new words and the effective recognition of sounds (Hill, 201. However, Burns et al., (2017) state that human beings become perfect in what they continuously do in most perspectives. Despite variations in the level of outcome in students, (Christodoulou et al., 2017); Hill, 2016; & (Lee, Hall, & Sancibrian, 2017) agree that daily review of more alphabetic letters and sounds is important in cementing content and knowledge of letter and sound recognition.
Conclusion
The problem of the letter and sound recognition has become a matter of debate contexts as it concerns pre-school students. Students who experience difficulties in recognizing letters and sounds in words and reading face challenges in writing and isolation of alphabetical sounds. Intervention strategies have been deployed by various stakeholders in education in collaboration with parents and teachers to aid students overcome this problem at a pre-school level. These intervention strategies have continued to bear a positive relationship with students’ letter and sound recognition. For instance, there is increased student’s ability to hear, isolate, and manipulate sound in words, automatic and fluent use of alphabetic principles, phonemic awareness, a solution to reading problems, and literature on fast readership.
The literature review has answered questions on the addition of daily letter review in students’ names and daily letter review of alphabetic names. The addition of daily letter review of alphabetic names and sounds, in a small group, facilitates students’ gain in letter and sound recognition. The addition of letter review of students’ names plays a significant role in creating students’ gain in letter and sound identification in varied ways and approaches. It helps to create easiness in the working of alphabetical codes. There is a positive relationship that is noticeable between intervention strategies and pre-school students’ letter and sound recognition. Generally, this relation has proven effective in overcoming challenges faced by students in recognition of letters and sounds in words, reading, and writing.
Recommendation
The question on pre-school students’ letter and sound recognition concerning its purposeful interventions are expansive in its approach. There is much of an unsolved knowledge gap in literature from existing researches. There is a need for more scientific research to explain the relationship between brain and psychological contribution towards the letter and sound recognition challenges in kindergarten students (ages 3-5). There is also the need to investigate the impacts of students’ environment that may contribute towards different degrees of the letter and sound recognition in pre-school children.
Oftentimes, some individuals still experience difficulties in their old age despite undergoing early age interventions. Thus, more research is required in the field of audiology studies to establish an effective relationship between the prevalence of hardship during early childhood and old stages in letter and sound recognition. Future researches should incorporate exclusive studies that will focus on structural causes that arise from brain tissues such as the cortex in the context of letter and sound recognition. Also, this paper has based its findings and conclusions on theoretical publications. Future research should, therefore, consider the employment of other methods of obtaining data such as experiments and surveys.
References
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Catts, H. W., Nielsen, D. C., Bridges, M. S., & Liu, Y. S. (2016). Early identification of reading comprehension difficulties. Journal of learning disabilities, 49(5), 451-465. Web.
Christodoulou, J. A., Cyr, A., Murtagh, J., Chang, P., Lin, J., Guarino, A. J., & Gabrieli, J. D. (2017). Impact of intensive summer reading intervention for children with reading disabilities and difficulties in early elementary school. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 50(2), 115-127. Web.
Hill, D. R. (2016). Phonics based reading interventions for students with intellectual disability: A systematic literature review. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 4(5), 205-214. Web.
Lee, S. A. S., Hall, B., & Sancibrian, S. (2017). Feasibility of a supplemental phonological awareness intervention via telepractice for children with hearing loss: A preliminary study. International journal of telerehabilitation, 9(1), 23. Doi: 10.5195/ijt.2017.6216
Spaull, N., & Hoadley, U. (2018). Getting reading right: Building firm foundations. ChildGauge, 201777. Web.
Suggate, S. P. (2016). A meta-analysis of the long-term effects of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and reading comprehension interventions. Journal of learning disabilities, 49(1), 77-96. Web.
Verhoeven, L., Voeten, M., van Setten, E., & Segers, E. (2020). Computer-supported early literacy intervention effects in preschool and kindergarten: A meta-analysis. Educational Research Review, 30, 100325. Web.