Using phonics to develop the emergent English literacy skills of Spanish learners

Abstract

Phonics is well established in the English-speaking world, but to date it has beenimplemented to only a limited extent in contexts where English is a foreign language.This study aimed to evaluate the appropriateness of phonics for developing literacy skills of Spanishlearners of English. An experimental pre-test – post-test design was used to determine the method’sadded value. The sample consisted of two equivalent groups in a Spanish bilingual state primaryschool, a control and a treatment group, where a phonic method was implemented by the researcher.Data were collected through tests measuring emergent Spanish and English literacy skills. Non-parametric tests and correlations were used for data analysis.The treatment group presented a significant improvement in phonological awareness, naming andletter and pseudo-word reading in the Spanish and English post-test. These 7-year-old childrenattained a level in English literacy skills equivalent to English children aged 5.8. The findings alsosuggested a positive transference of skills between English word reading and Spanish pseudo-wordreading.The present study can serve as a possible proposal to help improve our Spanish bilingual programmesthrough the use of phonics in the early years in order to increase learners’ English reading level.

Una revisión bibliográfica sistemática de la investigación sobre Phonics en el mundo anglosajón y en España

“…Literacy instruction for non-natives occurs at a later stage and hence, the methodology needs to be adapted to older students who in comparison with native speakers are less exposed to the language, and who face some degree of motivation issues. As suggested by Rendón et al (2021), perhaps CLIL and Phonics ought to be combined with the aim to attain the most effective results, keeping in mind all constraints derived from non-native contexts and co-official languages in many of the Spanish autonomous regions.…”

“…According to WoS and SCOPUS, from the 119 remaining papers, six and twelve papers respectively were published in Spanish Journals. Further scrutiny proved that only two were studies dealing with Phonics in Spain (López Cirugeda & López Campillo, 2016;Rendón et al, 2021). These results led the researchers to triangulate the findings (Bryman, 2016) via two iterative cycles.…”

“…Empirical research Antropova et al, 2019;Blanco Rodríguez, 2002;Hernández Tomás, 2016;Osa Bonaba, 2015;Pérez Cañado, 2004;Rendón, 2019;Rendón et al, 2019Rendón et al, , 2021 Theoreticaldescriptive perspective Andúgar & Cortina, 2020;Antropova & Colt, 2015;Blanco Rodríguez, 2002;Cámara, 2018;Corral Robles & Hernández Aledo, 2021;Lázaro, 2007 Voices of teachers Rendón et al, 2019Policy Lázaro, 2007López Cirugeda & López Campillo, 2016 Phonics generalizations Cámara, 2018 Disagree with the negative view of research on Phonics Antropova & Colt, 2015;Cámara, 2018;Corral Robles & Hernández Aledo, 2021;Lázaro, 2007;Hernández Tomás, 2016;López Cirugeda & López Campillo, 2016, Pérez Cañado, 2004Rendón, 2019;Rendón et al, 2019…”

“…The results from Spanish researchers seem to follow along the lines of research in English-speaking journals. The category encompassing the largest number of papers is empirical studies (Antropova et al, 2019;Blanco Rodríguez, 2002;Hernández Tomás, 2016;Osa Bonaba, 2015;Pérez Cañado, 2004;Rendón, 2019;Rendón et al, 2019Rendón et al, , 2021, followed by studies of a more theoretical and descriptive work (Andúgar & Cortina, 2020;Antropova & Colt, 2015;Blanco Rodríguez, 2002;Cámara, 2018;Corral Robles & Hernández Aledo, 2021;Lázaro, 2007). The 14 Spanish studies show a preference for the use of phonics as a method to teach English literacy in Spanish classrooms.…”

“…The importance of correct pronunciation before teaching students to read and write is similarly expounded by a number of authors (Andúgar & Cortina, 2020;Hernández Tomás, 2016;Lázaro, 2007;Osa Bonaba, 2015). The need to adapt the existing programmes to the specifics of Spanish speakers stands out as a matter of vast concern (López Cirugeda & López Campillo, 2016;Rendón, 2019;Rendón et al, 2021), while specific training on how to teach English literacy is also deemed essential by Spanish researchers (Corral Robles & Hernández Aledo, 2021;Lázaro, 2007;Rendón et al, 2021). The transfer from L1 to L2, as Spanish literacy tends to be taught earlier, was studied by Antropova et al (2019), Hernández (2016) and Lázaro, (2007), who highlighted its importance within the conceptualization of English literacy instruction in the context of EFL learning.…”