A Study Of Phonics Instruction To Improve Seven-graders' Word Reading And Spelling Ability

Phonics instruction refers to an approach teaching students to understand and learn the relationship between the letters(graphemes)of written language and the individual sounds(phonemes)of spoken language.It helps greatly on students' ability to read and spell words.However,phonics has not got enough attention in China.Therefore,the research aimed to investigate whether systematic,intensive and explicit phonics instruction can improve the word reading and spelling ability of seven-grade students and meanwhile develop their phonemic awareness.52 seven-grade students from Xi'an Foreign Language School participated in the experiment.It was carried out exclusively from the normal English class for eight weeks,three times a week with 10 minutes each time.After the experiment,participants had a vocabulary test and answered the questionnaire about phonemic awareness.The results indicated that phonics instruction can improve students' word reading,spelling ability and phonemic awareness as well.