USE OF LETTER SOUND AND WORD TECHNIQUE IN THE PUPILS READING

PERFORMANCE

ANGELIKA BARNEZO

Bachelor of Elementary Education

June 2021

CHAPTER I

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 INTRODUCTION

Everyone, especially in the twenty-first century, needs to read. Decoding words is the

ability to apply your knowledge of letter sound relationships, including knowledge of letter

patterns, to correctly pronounce written words. Phonics is one approach to reading instruction

that teaches students the principles of letter sound relationships, how to sound out words, and

exceptions to the principles. Furthermore, a comprehensive meta-analysis revealed that phonics

training was an effective intervention for children and adolescents with low reading skills

(Galushka,Ice,Krick & Schulte-komd 2014; Mcarthur et al,2015). The acquisition of letter

sounds is the cornerstone of the learning process.

        Meanwhile, since the pandemic physically closed school in march 2020 pupils' reading

performance is possibly affected and the idea that pupils have learned less during the pandemic

than in prior years. Based on Sintema, (2020) the level of academic performance of the student is

likely to drop for the classes held for both here and examination and internal examination due to

reduced contact hour for learners and lack of consultation with teach ers when facing difficulties

in learning and understanding.

            Reading difficulties are the most frequent learning problem among students and the main

reason for academic failure (Kuhn & Stahl,2004). Recently, the researcher found out that some

pupils living in the remote areas specifically in Purok Paraiso Sinai, Salasang are mostly

nonreaders or the researcher can say they lack the ability to understand what they read and have

reading difficulties that need to be addressed accordingly.

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 The researcher seeks to find the solution for this study for the purpose of improving one’s

reading difficulties and promote it to the next level. The purpose of this study is to know the

effectiveness of the use of letter sound and word technique to the pupil’s reading performance.

              The researcher believes that this research will contribute to the principles of the

teachers, schools’ administrators and students. There are ideas behind the scenes inside and

outside of the classroom that need to be interpreted to be cleared and oriented and problems of

the pupils.

Statement of the Problem

This study will focus on determining the use of letter sounds and word technique to the

pupils reading performance. Hence, the following problems are hoped to be addressed

accordingly:

1. What is the level of pupils oral reading performance during the pre-test?

2. What is the level of the pupils' oral reading performance during the post-test?

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 3. Is there a significant difference between the learner reading performance before and after

the use of the letter sound and word technique intervention?

4. Is there a significant effect of the use of letter sounds and word technique intervention to

pupils ‘oral reading performance?

Significance of the Study

The findings of the study may be useful to the following:

The Schools Administration. The information they will get from the study will give

them an idea about the Effectiveness of the use of word decoding and phonics to the pupils

reading performance.  Through this, they would be able to frame a resolution for those non-

readers in remote areas.

The Teachers/Learners. The findings of the study will enable teachers to know the

Effectiveness of the use of word decoding and phonics to the pupils reading performance.

Learners as direct recipients of the study will benefit the most.

The Parents. They will be able to know that the learning instruction in the new normal

using a new teaching modality will greatly impact their children’s’ Reading performance. Upon

knowing this, their involvement and support is of great need.

The Future Researchers. The study findings will be used as background for similar studies in

the future.

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 Scope and Delimitation of the Study

The study will focus on determining the level of pupils oral reading performances during

pre-test, the level of the pupils oral reading performance during the post-test and if there is

significant difference between the learners reading performance before and after the use of the

intervention.

Moreover, it will also ascertain focus on examining the significant effect of the use of

letter-sound and word technique to pupils reading performances. The study will be participated

by the selected pupils in Purok Paraiso, Sinai Salasang for the school year 2021-2022.

Operational Definition of Terms

For better understanding of the study, the following terms are operationally defined:

Decoding- is the ability to apply your knowledge of letter-sound relationships, including

knowledge of letter patterns, to correctly pronounce written words

Intervention- the interventions will be use in the study is pupils oral reading performance during

pre-test and posttest.

Pre-test- a test to evaluate the preparedness of students for further studies.

Phonics- Phonics is a method for teaching people how to read and write an alphabetic language.

It is done by demonstrating the relationship between the sounds of the spoken language, and the

letters or groups of letters or syllables of the written language.

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Post-Test- a test given to students after completion of an instructional program or segment and

often used in conjunction with a pretest to measure their achievement and the effectiveness of the

program.

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter presents the relevant literature and studies that the researcher considered in

strengthening the importance of the present study. It also presents the synthesis of the art to fully

understand the researcher for better comprehension of the study.

Reading is the act of processing text in order to derive meaning. Phonics is a "way of

teaching the code-based portion of reading and spelling that stresses symbol-sound relationships;

especially important in beginning reading instruction" (Massachusetts 2017 English Language

Arts and Literacy Framework).Decoding is "the ability to translate a word from print to speech,

usually by employing knowledge of sound-symbol correspondences; also the act of deciphering a

new word by sounding it out" (Foorman et al., 2016 ,).

Phonics instruction includes “the letters or symbols used to encode a language’s spoken

components” as well as how it “refers to teaching learners the relationships between letters and

sounds and how to use this system to recognize words” (Mesmer & Griffith, 2005, p. 366).

Another author which is Seidenberg,( 2017) stated that all readers of an alphabetic language such

as English use phonics knowledge and decoding skills to read words.Readers know the

relationships between letters or groups of letters and their sounds (called sound-symbol

correspondences or phoneme-grapheme correspondences) and rules for how words are spelled.

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Readers can decode words, which involves using phonics knowledge and phonemic skills to turn

a printed word into sounds. Becoming a proficient reader requires these skills.

Kindergarten and first grade teachers teach phonics to their students. By first grade,

students should understand that words are made up of sounds. In addition, first grade students

should have a working knowledge of phonics, that is, understand the relationship between speech

and print and learn the sounds letters make in words. Students’ need phonics in order to be

successful readers. Kindergarten students are expected to “hear and manipulate the sounds in

spoken words and the understanding that spoken words and syllables are made up of a sequence

of speech sounds” this is known as phonemic awareness (California Department of Education,

2007, p. 35).

Phonics instruction teaches children how to decode letters into their respective sounds, a

skill that is essential for them to read unfamiliar words by themselves. Kuhn & Stahl (2004)

stated that reading difficulties are the most frequent learning problem among students and the

main reason for academic failure. However, many older students who are poor readers have

difficulty using phonics to accurately and automatically decode words (Toste et al., 2017Wexler,

Vaughn, Edmonds, & Reutebuch, 2008). But in contrast, Ehri et al. found that using a systematic

phonics approach is more effective than a non-systematic approach, such as teaching phonics in

isolation, in teaching students to read. In addition, phonics programs that are integrated into

reading instruction are beneficial to young readers and helps prevent reading difficulties. The

researchers also found that students’ reading performance is better when phonics instruction

began earlier than first grade. Students who had systematic phonics instruction were more

effective in decoding novel words than those who did not have systematic phonics instruction.

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Ehri et al. conclude that systematic phonics instruction helped children to learn to read more

effectively than having no phonics instruction or non-systematic phonics instruction.

McNair (2007) includes a basic definition of phonics which is that it is instruction in

letter-sound relationships. It is concluded by Villaume and Brabham (2003) and Mesmer and

Griffith (2005) that it takes a teacher to be involved and active in the students learning in order to

use the phonics instruction or any other instructional tool effectively that has been brought into

the classroom. The teacher needs to be actively instructing the strategy or method so they can

make changes as necessary to drive student success.

On the other hand, Carlson et al. (2013) and Johnston et al. (2012) explored a different angle

on the effects of instruction to reading. Carlson et al. (2013) noted that age is an influential factor

to reading development, whereas Johnston et al. (2012) discovered that gender plays an

important role in reading development. One of the findings in Johnston et al. 's (2012) study

exemplified that boys had better word reading skills compared to girls. The exploration by both

studies are valuable to the body of knowledge. As discussed earlier, most of the studies focused

on the effects on phonics instructions on reading development only. The findings such as in both

studies are rich information to further understand the nature of reading development.

The purpose of phonics instruction is not to find one method or strategy that would work

equally well for all students, the purpose of phonics is to be flexible and find what each child

needs to be able to get to the point of reading. De Graaff et. al. (2009), Mesmer and Griffith

(2005), and Wyse and Goswami (2008) discuss approaches to phonics instruction, which are

systematic phonics instruction and nonsystematic phonics instruction. The purpose of these

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studies is to pinpoint the most beneficial way to essentially help students learn how to read and

write.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK OF THE STUDY

Constructivism claims that learning is a process of learners' actively constructing

internal mental representation. Learning is not passing knowledge from teachers to students but

students' constructing their knowledge. Learners are not passive information receivers but those

who actively construct information meaning. The construction cannot be replaced by others.

Constructivist theory states that children should be active participants in their own

learning. Jean Piaget believed that children learn best when able to interact in their environment

with peers and adults. A constructivist approach in the classroom would include time to play,

explore, experiment, and use language. This approach is an extremely valid one to take when

teaching phonemic awareness and phonics. For children to understand phonemic awareness, the

alphabetic principle and gain phonics knowledge, they need exposure to language and text and

time to explore and experiment with their use of language. Constructivist theory and best

practices for teaching phonemic awareness agree that children should use “curiosity,

inquisitiveness and spontaneity to help themselves learn '' (Morrow, 2009).

Based on constructivism, which provides theoretical support for today's educational

research and teaching practice, knowledge is not an objective existence independent of the

cognitive subject (human beings), but is an active construction in understanding the outside

world.

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 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF THE STUDY

This study presents a framework comprising the independent and dependent variables.

The independent variable is the effectiveness of the use of letter-sound and word technique.

Research suggests that readers must be able to use both phonemic awareness and phonics to

decode unknown words and read fluently (National Institute of Child Health and Human

Development, NICHD, 2000). Word decoding is the ability to recognize letter patterns, letter-

sound correspondences, and word patterns to identify words in print (Bear, Invernizzi,

Templeton, & Johnston, 2012). Phonics is the mapping of letters to sound and analyzing the

structure of how a word is spelled (Tolman, 2005).

The dependent variable is theoral reading performance of pupils. The study

conceptualized the performance of pupils in reading in which according to Carlson et al. (2013)

and Johnston et al. (2012) explored a different angle on the effects of instruction to reading.

Carlson et al. (2013) noted that age is an influential factor to reading development, whereas

Johnston et al. (2012) discovered that gender plays an important role in reading development.

Independent Variable Dependent Variable

Use of Letter Sound and Word

Technique Pupil’s Oral Reading Performances

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Fig. 1 Schematic presentation of the independent, dependent variables of the study

Null Hypothesis

The hypotheses of the study which will be tested at 5% level of significance:

1. There is no significant difference between the pupils oral reading performance before

and after the use of the intervention.

2. There is no significant effect of the use of letter sound and word technique to pupils

reading performance.

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the research design, locale of the study, respondents of the study,

sampling procedure, research instrument, data gathering procedure and statistical tools that will

be used in this study.

Research Design

The design of this research is Experimental Research Design. According to Sugiyono

(2006), experimental research is a research which has the purpose to find the cause-effect

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relationship among variables in a controlled condition. The essential feature of experimental

research is that investigators deliberately control and manipulate the conditions which determine

the events, in which they are interested, introduce an intervention and measure the difference that

it makes. An experiment involves making a change in the value of one variable – called 43 the

independent variable and observing the effect of that change on another variable – called the

dependent variable (Louis, 2007).

The experimental method will determine the effectiveness of the use of letter-sound and

word technique in pupils oral reading performance. This method attempted to mitigate the

problems of lack of motivation resulting from drill and slow speed and lack of comprehension.

Locale of the Study

This study will be conducted at Purok Paraiso, Sinai Salasang, Arakan North Cotabato.

Respondents of the Study

The respondents in this study will be the identified primary pupils in Purok Paraiso, Sinai

Salasang Arakan Cotabato. They are pupil in Salasang elementary school who are submitted by

their parents for tutorial classes at purok Paraiso, Sinai, Salasang, Arakan Cotabato.

Sampling Technique

Purposive sampling technique will be used in this study because the researcher will select

the respondents of the study from a population. Data gathering is crucial in research, as the data

is meant to contribute to a better understanding of a theoretical framework. The purposive

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sampling technique, also called judgment sampling, is the deliberate choice of a participant due

to the qualities the participant possesses. It is a nonrandom technique that does not need

underlying theories or a set number of participants. Simply put, the researcher decides what

needs to be known and sets out to find people who can and are willing to provide the information

by virtue of knowledge or experience (Bernard, 2012).

Research Instrument

The researcher will use a Phil-IRI Reading Materials. The Phil-IRI Graded Passages is

an informal individualized assessment tool used to record the student’s performance in oral

reading, silent reading and/or listening comprehension. The Phil-IRI Listening Comprehension is

administered when the student is identified as a nonreader. The purpose is to find out how well a

student understands the selection which will be read by the test administrator. Then the test

administrator reads the multiple-choice questions and the student answers them orally.

The Phil-IRI Silent Reading Test may be administered after the Oral Reading Test is

conducted to further check the student’s comprehension skill.

Data Gathering Procedure

Before the conduct of data-gathering, the researcher will observe established protocols.

The researcher will first prepare a letter-request for the conduct of the study to be noted by her

adviser and the Dean of the Graduate School of Cotabato Foundation College of Science and

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Technology.

Once approved, the researcher will furnish copies of the approved letter to the concerned

public schools district supervisors and school heads so that they will be duly informed about the

research to be conducted in their areas of responsibility.

It is necessary that the researcher will have actual teaching about the certain study that

they will be conducting by using the Phil-IRI Reading Materials.

Additionally, the reading materials will be personally delivered by the researcher to the

residences of the respondents. In all the activities to be undertaken, health and safety protocols

will be observed.

Finally, the researcher will personally gather the given pre and post examination and

tabulate the results.

Statistical Tools

The data gathered will be measured and interpreted through the result of pre-test and

post-test that has been given to pupils to measure reading performance. Mean will be used to

determine the pupil’s performance in the pre-test and post-test. T-Test will be used to determine

the significant difference between the pre-test and post-test performance.

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