The Effect of Synthetic Phonics on ESL Pupils’ Phonological Awareness

Yvonne Asong Anthony, Nur Ehsan Mohd Said

The development of basic literacy skills is so essential that it begins even before a child enters formal schooling. In Malaysia, the English Language Literacy skill is very crucial that the Ministry of Education implemented the new curriculum, Standardised Curriculum for Primary Schools, which mainly focuses on developing reading through phonics. In recent years, phonological awareness has been given great attention. This study aims to examine the impact of synthetic phonics on English as Second Language (ESL) learners’ phonological awareness. This research describes an action research project that employed Jolly Phonics strategy implemented as a classroom intervention. The research involving 20 ESL learners aged 7 years old who attended a primary school in a rural area in Julau, Sarawak. The research instrument adapted was Kaminski (2002) Dynamic Indicators of Early Literacy (DIBELS™) through a pre-test-and post-test design. The data obtained were analysed by using a descriptive method such as frequency calculations and percentages were calculated in the form of scores. The findings revealed the pupils increased their oral reading ability after being taught through phonics. The studies implied this systematic strategy could be useful in developing phonological awareness among learners to become successful readers. 

https://doi.org/10.31871/IJNTR.5.7.22