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Trabajo Fin de Grado A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN Autor/es ANA GARCÍA VENTURA Director/es VICTORIA GIL FACULTAD DE EDUCACIÓN 2013-2014 Repositorio de la Universidad de Zaragoza – Zaguan http://zaguan.unizar.es A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 2 ABSTRACT The way in which literacy is being taught in Spain has changed in the recent years. A Synthetic Phonics approach has very often been adapted from Britain to our Spanish schools. This study analyzes how this adaptation and implementation is being carried out in foreign language lessons and what is required in order to deliver effective literacy teaching. In doing so, a checklist and a questionnaire have been carried out in one British school as well as in three Spanish schools. All the literature read and analyzed, as well as the results obtained from the observations have enabled us to propose some improvements, which adapted to the context, will ensure high-quality and effective literacy teaching. Keywords: Literacy skills; Synthetic Phonics; Teacher training; Improvements A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................... 4 2. Theoretical Framework .................................................................................... 5 3. Methodology ................................................................................................ ..11 4. Outcomes ..................................................................................................... ..16 5. Innovative proposals for teaching Synthetic Phonics in Spain ....................... ..19 6. Conclusions ................................................................................................. ..30 References ....................................................................................................... ..32 Appendices A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 4 1. Introduction: English is by far the foreign language most taught in nearly all countries at all educational levels. At the end of compulsory education, the four communicative skills have equal standing in nearly all curricula (Key Data on Teaching Languages at School in Europe, 2012). For the last years, in an attempt to improve the teaching of English as a second language in our country, much research has been focused on the importance of literacy. Therefore, Spanish schools are trying to adapt the way English literacy is being taught in the United Kingdom to their English lessons. The importance of learning to read is widely known as it is vital for becoming a literate and an educated person (Lewis and Ellis, 2006). In addition, reading offers opportunities for enjoyment, for increasing our knowledge of the world and for enhancing our imagination and creativity. However, it is important to read not only in the mother tongue, but also in the foreign language that pupils are studying. According to Driscoll and Frost (1999), teachers should provide children with a set of general rules which will enable them to decode familiar language items and the unknown ones. The purpose of this research is to analyze the way in which Synthetic Phonics are taught in Britain and how they are being adapted to Spain, as a method of teaching literacy in an English as a second language lesson. After that, it will be possible to propose some improvements for the Spanish way of teaching phonics in order to be able to deliver effective phonics lessons. In order to achieve this aim, a checklist and a questionnaire have been carried out in Britain and in Spain, as the main methodology used for this project. They are based on different aspects which are important when teaching phonics and the conclusions reached have been very useful due to the fact that they have helped me propose those improvements A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 5 for the Spanish context. It will certainly be very enriching for my future career as an English teacher. This analysis includes a theoretical framework in which the whole project is based on, as it is necessary in order to reach the conclusions. It is mainly a brief overview of the theories, approaches and history of the teaching of Synthetic Phonics in Britain and in Spain. The research also covers the main results of the observations carried out, some conclusions and improvements for the Spanish context and useful recommendations which may help become a better professional. 2. Theoretical Framework The aim of this dissertation is to analyze the importance of Synthetic Phonics, as well as the different methods used for teaching them systematically in England and in Spain. In doing so, several observations have been carried out. Therefore, another objective set in this research is to analyze the way Synthetic Phonics is being adapted to our Spanish context, in order to propose some improvements. Many different approaches about how children learn to read and write have arisen throughout British history, from alphabet, phonic and whole word methods to whole language ones. Many researchers have been seeking the best method to teach literacy. However, in the development of these theories, phonic methods have taken on a special role. The Literacy Strategy was introduced in 1999, but it failed to increase reading standards. Therefore, different research was carried out. The Rose Review (2006) was based on one of those studies, which took place in Clackmannanshire in Scotland. It claims that children should be taught through an approach termed ‘synthetic phonics’ instead of being taught through the phonics approach promoted in the Literacy Strategy which was known as ‘analytic phonics’. A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 6 The Rose Review (2006) also argues that awareness of and competence in spoken language is key to developing effective literacy. These facts led to important debates between using Synthetic or Analytic phonics, but finally Rose’s recommendation resulted in the promotion of Systematic Synthetic Phonics teaching. Thus, British government funding has now been provided to support schools to acquire full programs, reading books, resources and training based on the official ‘Core Criteria’ for evaluating a synthetic phonics programme of work. In addition, the National Curriculum for England (2014) refers specifically to the need for teaching through a “rigorous and systematic phonics programme”. Regarding Spain, bilingualism is quite usual nowadays and its popularity is increasing. Pound (2008) states some advantages of bilingualism such as increased self-esteem, positive sense of identity, positive attitudes towards language learning, and increased problem-solving abilities and flexibility in thinking. Although teaching foreign languages has become a common practice at Spanish schools, Bilingualism was not considered an educative policy until 1996, when the Spanish Ministry of Education signed an agreement with the British Council. This meant the implementation of a bilingual curriculum based on up to 40% of the hours delivered in the foreign language and the possibility of teaching some subjects in that language. Over the last two decades, Europe has witnessed an increase in the duration of compulsory foreign language teaching. This increase has been exclusively achieved by lowering the age at which this teaching begins. Some countries are currently introducing reforms to lower the starting age for the compulsory learning of the first foreign language (Key Data on Teaching Languages at School in Europe, 2012). This is something that has also happened in Spain, where students start learning a foreign language in the second cycle of A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 7 pre-primary education, and in 10 out of 17 Autonomous Communities, as early as the age of 3. This will be analyzed later due to the fact that many of these young learners do not know how to read and write in their mother tongue at that age and this should make teachers consider what the most effective strategies are and how they could be adapted to their students’ cognitive development level. Early Years Education is considered to be the foundation stage for children’s language development. These years are crucial for young children in developing their first language and building their cultural identity. During this stage of development, children expand their experiences and their ways of communication and representation while they construct knowledge of the world which surrounds them (Clarke, 2009). Neurologists, psychologists and educators speak of sensitive periods or critical learning periods as moments when learning naturally takes place. According to the critical period hypothesis postulated by Lenneberg (1967), the ability to acquire language declines at puberty because the brain loses its plasticity (a significant fact in language learning). This hypothesis claims that unless individuals acquire a second language before puberty they will never achieve native-like proficiency in pronunciation and grammatical knowledge. However, researchers disagree over how long the critical language period is; some of them think that it ends by the age of 6 or 7 while others state that it lasts until puberty, around 11 or 12 years old. Most researchers agree on the added difficulty which students find when they learn a second language after that critical period. From that moment of development, the learner finds it difficult to access the Language Acquisition Device (LAD), an instinctive mental capacity which enables a child to acquire and produce language. The learner, at that moment of development, also finds it difficult to access the Universal Grammar, a theory which suggests that the common properties shared by all natural human A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 8 languages are manifested as innate linguistic abilities (Chomsky, 1965). In other words, this theory refers to those skills which have been acquired without having been taught. A recent study in the University of London (Thomas and Knowland, 2008) about how sensitive periods affect the acquisition of higher cognitive abilities in humans gives us some interesting theoretical support for this study, as it explains that it is essential to provide children with motivation, attention and appropriate strategies in order to learn new skills after sensitive periods have closed. According to Thomas and Johnson (2008) plasticity, which is one of the main features of the human brain, apart from being the ability to change behavior based on experience (Thomas and Knowland, 2008), plays an important role in the acquisition of phonology and morphosyntax. “L2 attainment shows a linear decline with age: The later you start, the lower your final level is likely to be” (Thomas and Johnson, 2008, p.4). Therefore, all these theories must be taken into account, as the Spanish schools observed begin to teach Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) in the early years and not in the second cycle of Primary Education, as was usual a few years ago. Foreign language teaching methods employed throughout history used to be focused on reaching a good command of the grammar structures of the language. In addition, the teacher was thought to play the main role in the learning process. However, new teaching methods, which pay attention to the context and to teaching children how to deal with different communicative situations, are becoming increasingly popular. Thus, and basing our methods on the ones used in Britain for many years, teaching Synthetic phonics is a common phenomena nowadays in Spain. Furthermore, in the 9th of May of 2007 Order, from the Education, Culture and Sports Department, (Orden del 9 de mayo de 2007, del Departamento de Educación, Cultura y Deporte) on which the Primary Aragonese Curriculum is based, there is a whole block, known as “Block 2: Reading and Writing” which intends to develop the A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 9 discursive competence in the written form, not only in relation to comprehension but also to the expression of messages in the foreign language. Therefore, literacy teaching must be contextualized so that children find their learning useful and both input they are exposed to and output they produce, appear as real communicative use of language (Long, 1985; Swain, 2000) Thus, the improvements proposed in this dissertation try to address the necessary aspects to achieve these aims. As part of the theoretical framework, it is important to mention two different literacy methods, Jolly Phonics and THRASS, which appeared during the realization of this project. It is also important to know about the origin, purposes and strategies of each one. Jolly Phonics, has become increasingly popular in Spain. The reason why it became so popular in Britain many years ago should be explained in order to know why it is being used nowadays in our country. One of the authors of Jolly Phonics is Sue Lloyd. She was a primary school teacher in Britain who developed a reading method based on mimics and gestures. Her main objectives were to eradicate illiteracy in primary school children, as well as to help pupils who fell behind with literacy and who had lower levels than their classmates. Jolly Phonics uses the synthetic phonics method of teaching the letter sounds in a way that is fun and multi-sensory (www.jollylearning.co.uk). It also enables children to become fluent readers. As it is explained in their books, it is mainly focused on five basic skills: learning the letter sounds, learning letter formation, blending, identifying sounds in words and spelling the tricky words. It has been proven by many studies that children taught systematically with phonics learn around twice as fast, in comparison to those who learn using other reading methods such A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 16 aged 4 and 5 years old. They use Jolly Phonics as the main method for teaching literacy. The other class was Year 1, aged 5 and 6, who used THRASS from that year level onwards. The other observations took place in three schools from Zaragoza, in a total of eight classrooms. It has to be noted that all of them used the Jolly Phonics method. One of those schools has been working with an integrated English curriculum and has been supported by the British Council for seven years. It is a state school situated in a low-class district, and the people involved in this school claim the importance of learning in two different languages, as it has positive effects in the development of children’s cognitive abilities. The other school, which is mainly of middle-class families, is situated in the city centre of Zaragoza. This religious and semi-private school delivers up to 20% of the school hours in English, since September of this academic year. The classrooms observed were both from the first cycle of Primary Education. The last school is also placed in the city centre of Zaragoza and it is comprised of middle-low class families. It is a state school and it is the only one, from the schools observed, which has no agreement signed for developing bilingualism. The classrooms observed here belong to the first cycle of Primary Education. 4. Outcomes Prior to the analysis of the data, the information has been collected and organized with the goal of understanding and interpreting it in an easier way. For that reason, some tables (Appendix IV) have been designed to represent the ten observations carried out. The results have been split into the ones obtained from the British classrooms and the ones obtained from the Spanish ones. A total has been added, as well as the percentage of that total, as it will be meaningful in order to analyze all the results as a whole. A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 17 As a way of including an overview of the data obtained, the main results which have led us to the conclusions and improvements are going to be exposed. As a general overview, most classrooms coincide with each other in the same aspects or sections of the checklist and the questionnaire. For instance, they all employ Phonics materials. In addition, it could be said that many classrooms use support through visual aids but not all of them make references to them during the lesson (Table II). All the teachers promote participation and create an environment where most students are engaged. However, it has to be noted that just half of them employ additional learning activities, such as small group discussions, student-led activities, cooperative learning groups, etc. (Table III) They also coincide with each other in the selection of experiences appropriate to children’s level of learning, as well as in the giving of clear instructions and the wellorganized structure of contents (Table V). Finally, there is another coincidence with regard to the words used to illustrate Phonics, which are commonplace words (Table VII). Apart from these high percentages, there are also lower percentages, which will be really useful for the conclusions and improvements. For instance, just three classrooms summarize phonics covered during the lesson (Table I), which has been proven to be very important. It has to be noted that one classroom of each Spanish school do it, so it cannot be claimed to be a common practice in the whole school. Regarding students output, in just 3 out of the 10 classrooms observed students produce spontaneous acts of communication instead of repetition (Table IV). Once again, in just 3 classrooms children know the learning outcomes (table VI) and understanding is checked along the lesson (Table VIII). Finally, another important aspect which will lead to significant conclusions is that just 4 teachers, one of each school, have received specific Synthetic Phonics training (Table IX). A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 18 As has been explained before, the main aim of this project is to analyze the way in which Synthetic Phonics is being taught in Britain and how it has been adapted to Spain. Thus, establishing a comparison between the British classrooms observed and the Spanish ones, it seems that regarding revision of contents and the summarizing of phonemes covered, Spanish schools do better than the British one (Table I). However, it is not like that if we take resources into consideration, because both British classrooms employ visual aids for supporting phonics and make references to them during the lesson, and just 5 of the Spanish classrooms do so (Table II). In addition, with regard to teacher-student interaction, none of the British classrooms address individual needs. It contrasts with the Spanish ones, in which most of them do it (Table IV). Apart from this, there is also another example of contrast between British and Spanish schools, the selection of the words used to illustrate Phonics in other areas. None of the British classrooms employ Phonics words in other contexts or areas (Table VII), this huge difference will be really useful for the outcomes of the project. To conclude the analysing of the data, as well as the analysis of the adaptation of this British method to our context, I just want to point out the frequency with which each phoneme is introduced (Table X), as there are many differences between introducing a new phoneme for children whose first language is English and those for whom English is the foreign language they are learning. Therefore, while British classrooms introduce a new phoneme daily, Spanish schools do not. The schools analyzed, introduce a new phoneme each week, or even one every two weeks. It has to be noted, that all the teachers interviewed claim that children do not move on to the next phase until they feel secure. A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 19 5. Innovative proposals for teaching Synthetic Phonics in Spain: The analysis of the results obtained by observing the different classrooms and carrying out the checklist and the questionnaire led me to propose some improvements for teaching Synthetic Phonics in Spain. This is because, it is quite popular nowadays in our country and as teachers, we have to make sure that we provide children with the best opportunities for education and learning. Therefore, as part of this project, some proposals are going to be explained, which will be related to different theories suggested and supported by many authors, as it has been considered an important issue by researchers for many years. In addition, a selection of the items with lower percentages, which are the main issues that the Spanish way of teaching Synthetic Phonics should improve, has been carried out in order to propose some improvements. It has to be noted that these teaching improvements are going to be focused on Synthetic Phonics methods, as it has been the main issue of research during the project but it is important to consider that whereas teaching Synthetic Phonics is very effective for languages such as Italian or Spanish, it is only one phonics teaching method among many that are useful for a language like English (Goouch and Lambirth, 2007). In fact, teaching to read and write in English is much more difficult than teaching that in other transparent orthography languages such as Italian, Spanish, Finnish or Swahili. There are more patterns involved, as well as exceptions to those patterns, and teachers need to be aware of this. Teachers also have to face these irregularities, which usually cause particular problems for children in the earliest stages of reading and writing. Our goal of teaching it to make this easier and to enable children to tackle the problems with as much enjoyment and as little stress as possible (Bald, 2007). A study adapted from Seymour et al. (2003) in which the grapheme-phoneme recoding skills for monosyllables in 14 European languages were analyzed, showed that children A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 20 learning to read languages like German or Spanish showed accuracy levels above 90 per cent correct, for both words and non-words. In contrast, children learning languages with less orthographic consistency, such as those who learn to read in English, showed lower levels. Therefore, we will have to consider the difficulty of English orthography when teaching literacy to young learners. Furthermore, much research on effective literacy teaching shows that a quality literacy programme is not only about teaching material, the curriculum and set procedures, but also the teacher, as it is thought to be the most critical element in building an effective literacy programme (Lewis and Ellis, 2006). It is important to consider, as well, that the improvements that are going to be explained have to take the context into account. This is because, the teaching and learning of phonics have to be set in context, as we have to consider as well what children have to learn before making the decision of how to teach it (Lewis and Ellis, 2006). The first improvement is to summarize all the phonics covered during the lesson. Lewis and Ellis (2006) suggest a way of doing it, by asking children to read words from the board that reinforce the previous phonemes taught. However, it does not mean that lessons must be focused on re-visiting and re-explaining old ideas too often, because this will make children become bored and switch off (Lewis and Ellis, 2006). Instead, an improvement I can propose, as it was an effective activity I observed in one of the Spanish classrooms, is to play games in groups using flashcards. The flashcards may have pictures with representative things for each phoneme drawn on them and other flashcards could have the phonemes written on them as well. Students have to match each phoneme with the right picture. Thus, playing these games, it is possible to review and summarize the phonics covered in an easy and engaging way. A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 21 Another improvement is related to resources, materials and making references to visual aids during the lesson. According to Bald (2007), resources are an important tool for what they do rather than for what they are. There is an important difference between the British classrooms and the Spanish ones, due to the fact that the British children observed used individual Phonics Charts along the lesson, as they had a pile of laminated charts (Appendix I) in their tables and they felt free to use them whenever they wanted. On the other hand, none of the Spanish classrooms use these resources, which as far as I am concerned, and basing this affirmation on the experience I gained in the British school, are very useful. In this way, an improvement proposed would be to use these materials to support students’ learning. Specific ideas for using these resources are asking children how they would write a word and ask them to find the phoneme in the laminated Chart, singing the THRASS songs, asking examples of words in which a phoneme is used, etc. Table III shows that just 4 of the teachers observed employ additional learning activities. This should be reconsidered because offering a wide range of activities, all of them interesting and stimulating, would lead to a perfect moment in which whatever children chose to do, they would be doing something the teacher would like them to do (Bald, 2007). Thus, engaging children with different types of activities, such as student-led activities, co-operative learning groups, activities which involve stories, etc. would be advisable and a good improvement for delivering an effective Phonics lesson. Bald (2007) also suggests that the use of talk partners to discuss questions and the use of small whiteboards for informal writing involves children and is a good way for managing the class. In addition, Lewis and Ellis, (2007) contend that whole class phonics teaching is not effective for the majority of children. They also contend that providing children with verbal interactions, instructions and written materials that are at the right level and at the right time, is easier if they are not working as a A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 22 whole group but rather in pairs or small groups. One improvement I propose is based on the literacy lesson observed in one of the British classrooms. Each child had a little whiteboard and they were asked by the teacher to write the words she said. It seemed to be a lesson designed for the class as a whole, but she often asked the children as well to discuss in pairs or in groups how a word was spelled. Thus, combining activities designed for the whole class with co-operative activities, would be a good improvement which leads to a more effective lesson. According to table IV, and as has been explained in the results, most of the student’s production was repetition instead of spontaneous acts of communication. Therefore, as Bald (2007) states, much of the teaching is built into the environment, and teachers have to create a productive triangle between the children, the activity and him or her. If this advice is followed, there will appear an effective point and purpose for social interaction, which will promote the development of spoken discourse. The improvement proposed is to engage children and make them interact as many times as possible. One way of achieving this would be by doing activities in which communication is required or asking children questions about things they like that are linked to the topic they are learning as well. As the percentages were not too good with regard to the address and awareness of individual needs (table IV), a necessary improvement is going to be explained. We all know that in any group, there are usually children who fall behind and find literacy more difficult than others. We should plan in advanced how to deal with these difficulties, in order to tackle these problems as soon as they arise. The improvement proposed calls for the creation or adaptation of the scheme of work in order to integrate children with learning difficulties into it (Bald, 2007). Furthermore, Bald (2007) claims that in order to help a child who is struggling with any aspect of reading or writing, we need to find the answers to these two A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 23 questions: what exactly the child finds difficult and how the child needs to adjust her or his thinking in order to work more effectively. In addition, the answers will be found out by observation of the child, first in class and afterwards individually. Teachers should collect evidence of the child’s difficulties in learning and write complete notes in order to give effective support. The more detailed these notes are, the better. These notes should include a number of questions such as what words the child is reading effortlessly, if he or she tends to guess the word from the first letter, if he or she hesitates or stumbles, or even reads too quickly, if he or she has any limitations in his or her speaking and listening (as teachers need to be aware of how children’s pronunciation affects their problems (Lewis and Ellis, 2006), if he or she has any behavioural difficulties, etc. (Bald, 2007). Some ways of helping weaker readers are giving them texts to read provided with multiple repetitions of the same words and helping children to spell words through numerous teacher-scaffolded interactions (Lewis and Ellis, 2006). The main improvement regarding awareness of individual needs I propose is to pay attention to each child and try to do our best since the beginning. This means, not only to solve the problem once the individual need is detected but also to try to avoid it before it appears. Thus, we could ask the Spanish language teacher if there is any child who has fallen behind in reading and writing in Spanish so that we can prevent him or her from falling behind as well in the foreign language. The percentages regarding the selection of concepts and contents appropriate to level of learning and related to children’s previous experience and knowledge (table V) are quite good. However, they have to be mentioned as well but tried to be improved to a lesser extent. This is because sometimes, links that seem obvious to teachers are not as obvious to children, who often ring-fence knowledge and think it is only applicable to particular activities or situations (Lewis and Ellis, 2006). In addition, everyone learns more effectively if the A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 24 learning activity is linked with other general experiences. The reason of this is that children need to apply new knowledge many times before it moves from working memory to longterm memory (Lewis and Ellis, 2006). Good advice for achieving this, as well as for adapting the learning to the children’s cognitive level, would be to select “stage appropriate” resources and scheme of work and to provide support to adapt them to the children’s needs, as Lewis and Ellis (2006) contend. The improvement I propose is to be aware of children’s cognitive level and to know what they are prepared to learn at this stage. We should provide children with the appropriate activities for learning based on their previous experiences and background knowledge. Whether children were aware of the learning outcomes or not, was something checked during the observations, and the results have not been too good. Therefore, one of the improvements must be that teachers explain the purpose of each lesson at the beginning, as well as what has been learnt at the end (Bald, 2007). In fact, the teachers from the 3 classrooms in which children know their learning outcomes, claimed that in order to achieve it, they give a brief explanation at the beginning of the lesson. However, in one of those classrooms, the teacher says that children know that the objectives of each Phonics lesson is to learn a new sound and vocabulary related to that sound, so she does not remind them of the learning outcomes each time, because she assumes that children know them. I would suggest that teachers explicitly make children aware of what they are learning and what they will have learnt once they have achieved the aims of the lesson. This is related to the Learning to learn Competence, which involves developing the ability to organize the learning by controlling the time and information individually and in group. Regarding assessment, observation is an important ability which teachers should develop because it is essential in the assessment process. Teachers observe children doing A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 25 activities and they draw conclusions about different aspects of children’s development. Assessment for learning should be part of effective planning of teaching and learning. According to Leung and Mohan (2004) much of what teachers and learners do in classrooms can be called assessment. That is referred to tasks and questions which promote learners to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and skills. Assessment is a way of providing information for both the teacher and the learner about the progress towards learning goals. It involves reflection, dialogue and decision-making. If teachers develop good assessment, it will show which children have found an idea difficult. In addition, if we introduced the work in advance of the lesson rather than afterwards, we would achieve an important aim: children would make sense of work instead of supporting children after they had failed (Bald, 2007). Some points to look for when assessing would be what the child gets right without hesitation, what words he or she hesitates over and if he or she can finally work it out, if the child knows now any words that have previously caused problems to him or her or if the child corrects any of his or her own mistakes. This last point is often the most positive sign of progress because it shows growing control (Bald, 2007). The following signs of progress need to be seen in terms of student’s needs and abilities: correcting own errors without prompting, reduced error rate in reading, faster and more fluent reading of texts, lower rate of spelling error in writing, reading voluntarily, for pleasure of instruction, reading environmental print more easily (print found in everyday life on roads, products, adverts, etc.) and improved results in school tests, as well as in the national or standardised ones (Bald, 2007). Good practices of assessment are going to be proposed. In the British school, I was able to participate in one of the assessments carried out. Each child was asked individually to A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 32 REFERENCES - Bald, J. (2007). Using phonics to teach reading and spelling. London: Paul Chapman Publishing. -Brooks, G., Pugh, A.K. and Schagen, I. (1996). Reading performance at nine. 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Current Directions in Psychological Science 17 (1):1-5. - Thomas M. S. C. and Knowland V. C. P. (2008). Sensitive Periods in Brain Development: Implications for Education Policy. Birkbeck College University of London: Developmental Neurocognition Laboratory, School of Psychology. - Torgesen, J. K., Wagner, R. K. and Rashotte, C. A. (1994). “Longitudinal studies of phonological processing and reading”. Journal of Learning Disabilities 27 (5): 276-86. - Tunmer, W. E. (1991). “Phonological awareness and literacy acquisition”. Learning to read: Basic research and its implications: 105-119. -https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/reforming-qualifications-and-thecurriculum-to-better-prepare-pupils-for-life-after-school/supporting-pages/statutory-phonicsscreening-check [last accessed: 05.06.2014] - http://www.jollylearning.co.uk [last accessed: 08.06.2014] -http://www.jollylearning.co.uk/2013/05/09/is.the-emphasis-ongrammarright/?submit=view [last accessed: 08.06.2014] -http://news.tes.co.uk/b/news/2014/05/01/phonics-check-has-increased-teaching-ofnonsense-words-official-evaluation.aspx [last accessed: 07.06.2014] - http://www.thrass.com.au/about-thrass [last accessed: 05.06.2014] A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 35 - http://www.thrass.com.au/about-thrass/history-of-thrass [last accessed: 05.06.2014] A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 36 APPENDIX IENGLISH PHONICS CHARTS-THRASS A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 37 APPENDIX IICHECKLISTS Checklist 1 CLASS STRUCTURE Reviews previous day’s phonics Summarizes phonics covered RESOURCES AND MATERIALS Employs Phonics materials X Employs his/her own designed materials Employs other tools (i.e. technology, computer, IWB, projector…) X Which one? IWB Understanding of phonics is supported through visual aids displayed in the classroom. X Which kind of visual aids are displayed? JP materials References are made to visual aids during the lesson X METHODS Promotes participation X Employs additional learning activities (i.e. small group discussion, student-led activities, cooperative learning groups…) Which one? TEACHER-STUDENT INTERACTION Solicits student output X - Student production is mostly repetition X - Students produce spontaneous acts of communication Most students are engaged X Demonstrates awareness of individual student learning needs Individual student needs are addressed CONTENTS Appears well-organized X Explains instructions clearly X Relates concepts to students’ experience and previous knowledge X Selects learning experiences appropriate to level of learning X A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 38 LEARNING OBJECTIVES Children are aware of the learning outcomes of the lesson If so, how? VOCABULARY AND STRUCTURES USED IN CLASS Words used to illustrate Phonics are commonplace words X Words used to illustrate Phonics are words children know X Phonics words are used in other context/areas Number of repetitions of key phonics terms during the lesson Number: N.O Example words used for each phoneme presented Words: Castanets, cat, can Teaching of Incidental words that do not fit into Phonics sequence Words: Conquers ERROR CORRECTION Frequency of error correction Each children’s intervention Kinds of errors which are corrected When they thought that a word started with the sound /k/ and they were wrong Ways in which errors are corrected Oral feedback ASSESSMENT Learning is assessed in the lesson Understanding is checked in the lesson A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 39 Checklist 2: CLASS STRUCTURE Reviews previous day’s phonics Summarizes phonics covered RESOURCES AND MATERIALS Employs Phonics materials X Employs his/her own designed materials X Employs other tools (i.e. technology, computer, IWB, projector…) X Which one? Computer, IWB Understanding of phonics is supported through visual aids displayed in the classroom. X Which kind of visual aids are displayed? English Phonics Chart, Tricky words from Jolly Phonics References are made to visual aids during the lesson X METHODS Promotes participation X Employs additional learning activities (i.e. small group discussion, student-led activities, cooperative learning groups…) X Which one? Student-led activities TEACHER-STUDENT INTERACTION Solicits student output X - Student production is mostly repetition X - Students produce spontaneous acts of communication X Most students are engaged X Demonstrates awareness of individual student learning needs X Individual student needs are addressed CONTENTS Appears well-organized X Explains instructions clearly X Relates concepts to students’ experience and previous knowledge X Selects learning experiences appropriate to level of learning X A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 40 LEARNING OBJECTIVES Children are aware of the learning outcomes of the lesson If so, how? VOCABULARY AND STRUCTURES USED IN CLASS Words used to illustrate Phonics are commonplace words X Words used to illustrate Phonics are words children know X Phonics words are used in other context/areas Number of repetitions of key phonics terms during the lesson Number: Example words used for each phoneme presented Words: Teaching of Incidental words that do not fit into Phonics sequence Words: ERROR CORRECTION Frequency of error correction Kinds of errors which are corrected Ways in which errors are corrected ASSESSMENT Learning is assessed in the lesson Understanding is checked in the lesson A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 41 Checklist 3: CLASS STRUCTURE Reviews previous day’s phonics X Summarizes phonics covered X RESOURCES AND MATERIALS Employs Phonics materials X Employs his/her own designed materials X Employs other tools (i.e. technology, computer, IWB, projector…) X Which one? www.starfall.com Understanding of phonics is supported through visual aids displayed in the classroom X Which kind of visual aids are displayed? Jolly phonics flowers Sound of the week References are made to visual aids during the lesson X METHODS Promotes participation X Employs additional learning activities (i.e. small group discussion, student-led activities, cooperative learning groups…) Which one? TEACHER-STUDENT INTERACTION Solicits student output - Student production is mostly repetition X - Students produce spontaneous acts of communication X Most students are engaged X Demonstrates awareness of individual student learning needs X Individual student needs are addressed X CONTENTS Appears well-organized X Explains instructions clearly X Relates concepts to students’ experience and previous knowledge Selects learning experiences appropriate to level of learning X LEARNING OBJECTIVES Children are aware of the learning outcomes of the lesson X If so, how? Because all the lessons have the same learning outcome, which is learning a sound and vocabulary with that sound. VOCABULARY AND STRUCTURES USED IN CLASS Words used to illustrate Phonics are commonplace words X Words used to illustrate Phonics are words children know Phonics words are used in other context/areas X Number of repetitions of key phonics terms during the lesson Number: N.O. Example words used for each phoneme presented Words: S – sun, grass, snake, small, sit, snail Teaching of Incidental Words: sound, letter A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 48 LEARNING OBJECTIVES Children are aware of the learning outcomes of the lesson If so, how? VOCABULARY AND STRUCTURES USED IN CLASS Words used to illustrate Phonics are commonplace words X Words used to illustrate Phonics are words children know X Phonics words are used in other context/areas Number of repetitions of key phonics terms during the lesson Number: N.O Example words used for each phoneme presented Words: Teaching of Incidental words that do not fit into Phonics sequence Words: ERROR CORRECTION Frequency of error correction Kinds of errors which are corrected Ways in which errors are corrected ASSESSMENT Learning is assessed in the lesson X Understanding is checked in the lesson A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 49 Checklist 7: CLASS STRUCTURE Reviews previous day’s phonics X Summarizes phonics covered RESOURCES AND MATERIALS Employs Phonics materials X Employs his/her own designed materials X Employs other tools (i.e. technology, computer, IWB, projector…) X Which one? Computer Understanding of phonics is supported through visual aids displayed in the classroom X Which kind of visual aids are displayed? Frames and pictures References are made to visual aids during the lesson METHODS Promotes participation X Employs additional learning activities (i.e. small group discussion, student-led activities, cooperative learning groups…) X Which one? Small group games TEACHER-STUDENT INTERACTION Solicits student output X - Student production is mostly repetition X - Students produce spontaneous acts of communication Most students are engaged X Demonstrates awareness of individual student learning needs Individual student needs are addressed CONTENTS Appears well-organized X Explains instructions clearly X Relates concepts to students’ experience and previous knowledge X Selects learning experiences appropriate to level of learning X A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 50 LEARNING OBJECTIVES Children are aware of the learning outcomes of the lesson X If so, how? Through a brief explanation at the beginning of the lesson VOCABULARY AND STRUCTURES USED IN CLASS Words used to illustrate Phonics are commonplace words X Words used to illustrate Phonics are words children know Phonics words are used in other context/areas Number of repetitions of key phonics terms during the lesson Number: +/- 4 Example words used for each phoneme presented Words: Sun, summer, spring, sunday Teaching of Incidental words that do not fit into Phonics sequence Words: Silvia, Sergio ERROR CORRECTION Frequency of error correction Kinds of errors which are corrected Ways in which errors are corrected ASSESSMENT Learning is assessed in the lesson X Understanding is checked in the lesson X A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 51 Checklist 8: CLASS STRUCTURE Reviews previous day’s phonics X Summarizes phonics covered RESOURCES AND MATERIALS Employs Phonics materials X Employs his/her own designed materials X Employs other tools (i.e. technology, computer, IWB, projector…) X Which one? Computer, projector, cd… Understanding of phonics is supported through visual aids displayed in the classroom X Which kind of visual aids are displayed? Worksheet, song Books, capital letter cards, letter poster References are made to visual aids during the lesson X METHODS Promotes participation X Employs additional learning activities (i.e. small group discussion, student-led activities, cooperative learning groups…) Which one? TEACHER-STUDENT INTERACTION Solicits student output X - Student production is mostly repetition X - Students produce spontaneous acts of communication Most students are engaged X Demonstrates awareness of individual student learning needs Individual student needs are addressed X CONTENTS Appears well-organized X Explains instructions clearly X Relates concepts to students’ experience and previous knowledge X Selects learning experiences appropriate to level of learning X A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 52 LEARNING OBJECTIVES Children are aware of the learning outcomes of the lesson X If so, how? Teacher explanation VOCABULARY AND STRUCTURES USED IN CLASS Words used to illustrate Phonics are commonplace words X Words used to illustrate Phonics are words children know Phonics words are used in other context/areas X Number of repetitions of key phonics terms during the lesson Number: 10-15 Example words used for each phoneme presented Words: Bag, Ball, Bat, Bus, Boat, Box Teaching of Incidental words that do not fit into Phonics sequence Words: Beatriz, Alba, Pablo ERROR CORRECTION Frequency of error correction Kinds of errors which are corrected /ch/ for /t/, /es/ for /s/ Ways in which errors are corrected With repetition ASSESSMENT Learning is assessed in the lesson Understanding is checked in the lesson A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 53 Checklist 9: CLASS STRUCTURE Reviews previous day’s phonics X Summarizes phonics covered RESOURCES AND MATERIALS Employs Phonics materials X Employs his/her own designed materials X Employs other tools (i.e. technology, computer, IWB, projector…) Which one? Understanding of phonics is supported through visual aids displayed in the classroom X Which kind of visual aids are displayed? Cards, big books, realia References are made to visual aids during the lesson X METHODS Promotes participation X Employs additional learning activities (i.e. small group discussion, student-led activities, cooperative learning groups…) Which one? TEACHER-STUDENT INTERACTION Solicits student output - Student production is mostly repetition X - Students produce spontaneous acts of communication X Most students are engaged X Demonstrates awareness of individual student learning needs X Individual student needs are addressed X CONTENTS Appears well-organized X Explains instructions clearly X A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 54 Relates concepts to students’ experience and previous knowledge X Selects learning experiences appropriate to level of learning X LEARNING OBJECTIVES Children are aware of the learning outcomes of the lesson If so, how? VOCABULARY AND STRUCTURES USED IN CLASS Words used to illustrate Phonics are commonplace words X Words used to illustrate Phonics are words children know X Phonics words are used in other context/areas X Number of repetitions of key phonics terms during the lesson Number: Example words used for each phoneme presented Words: egg, castanets, sun, jam Teaching of Incidental words that do not fit into Phonics sequence Words: ERROR CORRECTION Frequency of error correction Kinds of errors which are corrected Interference English Spanish Ways in which errors are corrected Notice that we speak English so they self correct ASSESSMENT Learning is assessed in the lesson X Understanding is checked in the lesson X A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 55 Checklist 10: CLASS STRUCTURE Reviews previous day’s phonics X Summarizes phonics covered RESOURCES AND MATERIALS Employs Phonics materials X Employs his/her own designed materials X Employs other tools (i.e. technology, computer, IWB, projector…) X Which one? Computer,projector… Understanding of phonics is supported through visual aids displayed in the classroom X Which kind of visual aids are displayed? POSTERS, PICTURES References are made to visual aids during the lesson X METHODS Promotes participation X Employs additional learning activities (i.e. small group discussion, student-led activities, cooperative learning groups…) Which one? TEACHER-STUDENT INTERACTION Solicits student output X - Student production is mostly repetition X - Students produce spontaneous acts of communication Most students are engaged X Demonstrates awareness of individual student learning needs X Individual student needs are addressed N.O CONTENTS Appears well-organized Explains instructions clearly X Relates concepts to students’ experience and previous knowledge X A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 56 Selects learning experiences appropriate to level of learning X LEARNING OBJECTIVES Children are aware of the learning outcomes of the lesson If so, how? VOCABULARY AND STRUCTURES USED IN CLASS Words used to illustrate Phonics are commonplace words X Words used to illustrate Phonics are words children know X Phonics words are used in other context/areas X Number of repetitions of key phonics terms during the lesson Number: N.O Example words used for each phoneme presented Words: Teaching of Incidental words that do not fit into Phonics sequence Words: ERROR CORRECTION Frequency of error correction Kinds of errors which are corrected Ways in which errors are corrected ASSESSMENT Learning is assessed in the lesson Understanding is checked in the lesson X A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 57 APPENDIX IIITEACHER’S INTERVIEW Interview 1: TEACHER’S ACADEMIC TRAINING: Studies: Education Degree Specific Phonic’s training: JP LGA training THRASS training Opinion about Synthetic Phonics: a good approach to phonics What method did you use prior to this one? N/A OBJECTIVES Objectives of the lesson observed: to learn the sound /k/ Proportion of time dedicated to phonics within lesson plan: 20 mins each day and work in literacy lessons Frequency with which each phoneme is introduced: Daily for phases 2 and 3 ASSESMENT How is learning in Phonics assessed? (Tools, timing…): Ongoing and weekly individual assignments A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 64 Interview 8: TEACHER’S ACADEMIC TRAINING: Studies: Degree in Special Education. B2 English level (in process to get C1) Specific Phonic’s training: None Opinion about Synthetic Phonics: I’m a bit sceptic about Phonics because I think they’re a good resource to help children decoding unknown words, but sometimes I find its teaching is not linked to meaning. However my experience is limited since this is my first year working and I teach 3 year olds, so we don’t really go into detail about them. What method did you use prior to this one? I haven’t got information about other methods at that early ages. OBJECTIVES Objectives of the lesson observed Proportion of time dedicated to phonics within lesson plan I usually dedicate one lesson per week to deep into phonics, but I make references to them during different moments of other lessons. Frequency with which each phoneme is introduced: Once a week ASSESMENT How is learning in Phonics assessed? (Tools, timing…) Mainly through direct observation since I teach the youngest students. A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 65 APPENDIX IVTABLE OF RESULTS Tables I: CLASS STRUCTURE BRITISH CLASSROOMS SPANISH CLASSROOMS TOTAL PERCENTAGE Reviews previous day's phonics 0 6 6 60% Summarizes phonics covered 0 3 3 30% Table II: RESOURCES AND MATERIALS BRITISH CLASSROOMS SPANISH CLASSROOMS TOTAL PERCENTAGE Employs Phonics materials 2 8 10 100% Employs his/her own designed materials 1 6 7 70% Employs other tools 2 4 6 60% Understanding of phonics is supported through visual aids displayed in the classroom 2 6 8 80% References are made to visual aids during the lesson 2 5 7 70% Table III: METHODS BIRITISH CLASSROOMS SPANISH CLASSROOMS TOTAL PERCENTAGE Promotes participation 2 8 10 100% Employs additional learning activities 1 3 4 40% A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 66 Table IV: TEACHER-STUDENT INTERACTION BRITISH CLASSROOMS SPANISH CLASSROOMS TOTAL PERCENTAGE Solicits student output 2 4 6 60% Student production is mostly repetition 2 6 8 80% Student produce spontaneous acts of communication 1 2 3 30% Most students are engaged 2 8 10 100% Demonstrates awareness of individual student learning needs 1 4 5 50% Individual student needs are addressed 0 6 6 60% Table V: Table VI: CONTENTS BRITISH CLASSROOMS SPANISH CLASSROOMS TOTAL PERCENTAGE Appears well-organized 2 8 10 100% Explains instructions clearly 2 8 10 100% Relates concepts to students’ experience and previous knowledge 2 7 9 90% Selects learning experiences appropriate to level of learning 2 8 10 100% LEARNING OBJECTIVES BRITISH CLASSROOMS SPANISH CLASSROOMS TOTAL PERCENTAGE Children are aware of the learning outcomes of the lesson 0 3 3 30 A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 67 Table VII: Table VIII: ASSESSMENT BRITISH CLASSROOMS SPANISH CLASSROOMS TOTAL PERCENTAGE Learning is assessed in the lesson 0 5 5 50% Understanding is checked in the lesson 0 3 3 30% Table IX: TEACHER TRAINING BRITISH TEACHERS SPANISH TEACHERS TOTAL PERCENTAGE Specific Synthetic Phonics training 1 2 3 30% Table X: VOCABULARY AND STRUCTURES USED IN CLASS BRITISH CLASSROOMS SPANISH CLASSROOMS TOTAL PERCENTAGE Words used to illustrate Phonics are commonplace words 2 8 10 100% Words used to illustrate Phonics are words children know 2 4 6 60% Phonics words are used in other context/areas 0 5 5 50% TEACHER TRAINING BRITISH TEACHERS SPANISH TEACHERS Frequency with which each phoneme is introduced 1/day 1/week or 1/fortnight A STUDY OF SYNTHETIC ANA GARCÍA VENTURA PHONICS TEACHING IN ARAGÓN 68 APPENDIX VASSESSMENT SHEET