Phonological Awareness and Reading Skill

Abstract

This pre-experimental study aimed to evaluate the effect of phonological awareness on English as a foreign language (EFL) reading skills among 20 students (10 boys and 10 girls) in third grade at CAPCI Alternative School in Latacunga, Cotopaxi province. During this investigation, eight interventions were carried out, implementing phonological awareness instructional strategiesfocused on CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words. It includes phoneme awareness activities such as first-, middle-, and final-sound identification, followed by rhyme recognition, and continues with complex sound manipulation, such as blending, segmentation, and substitution. Additionally, the use of phonics was necessary to establish the connection between sound and letter. On the other hand, the tool used to assess phonological and reading levels in the pre-test and post-test was an adaptation of Quick Phonological Awareness Screening (QPAS). The test has a maximum score of 64 and was administered individually, taking 10 to 15 minutes per student. Then, the collected data were analyzed using the Shapiro-Wilk normality test, based on the number of participants, to determine whether a parametric or nonparametric test was appropriate. Consequently, the paired-samples t-test was applied. The results showed a development of phonological awareness and a positive effect on decoding, fluency, accuracy, and comprehension. Taken together, these advances reflect an overall improvement in the students' reading skills.