Blackwell Reference Online

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is an ambiguous phrase in second language pedagogy. On one hand, it can refer to the teaching of initial reading skills in a second language to those who cannot read in either L1 or L2. On the other hand, it can refer to teaching aimed at enhancing the reading skills in L2 of those who can already read in that language. Both areas will be reviewed in this article, although it should be acknowledged that most effort in terms of research and material production has been directed to the latter. It is generally agreed that people are more likely to learn to read in a language that they already know, preferably their first language. None the less a large number of children, especially in Third World countries, are taught a foreign language and taught to read in that language at the same time. In countries where English is used as a medium of instruction, initial reading methods usually involve one or more of the following: phonic, syllabic, whole word/whole sentence or ‘language experience’. The phonic approach is based on the ‘conventional sound values’ of letters – the letter t being given the value ‘tuh’ /ta/ for example and the word den being sounded out as /duh/, /eh/, /nuh/ and then synthesized or blended to /den/. This approach enables learners to ‘build up’ words that they know from spoken English but have not previously met in printed form, and then to try to identify them. ... log in or subscribe to read full text