Influences of teaching methods on the learning and development of reading

Abstract

Learning reading involves skills such as phonological awareness, alphabetic knowledge and naming speed. Different teaching methods have a different effect on their acquisition differently. This study analyses 1) the differential effect of analytic and synthetic phonological methods of acquiring reading skills, 2) whether the differences found, according to the method, followed the same pattern in the first four years of initial reading and 3) the effectiveness of the methods of teaching reading on reading performance in each one of the four years of initial reading studies. Therefore, cross-sectional study was conducted. Sample consisted of 614 children of kindergarten (aged 4 and 5), and first and second grade students (aged 6 and 7) from schools located in Valencia and Castellon. Instruments applied was RAN (Rapid Automatized Naming Test) and BIL (Initial Reading Program) (aged 4 and 5), and ACL (Reading Comprehension Test), DST-J (Dyslexia Screening Test) and a subtest of PROLEC-R (Battery for the Evaluation of Reading Processes revised) (aged 6 and 7). The
analysis consisted of some t-tests to compare the effect of the two study methods at different developmental stages on the analyzed variables and two-factor (year and method) MANOVAs were used for each educational level. Results show the weight of the major reading skills involved vary throughout the process, so phonological awareness, naming speed or alphabetic knowledge have greater relevance during the early school years, while naming speed stands apart as the only variable at ages 6 and 7, when reading requirements change. The synthetic phonological method enhances the most important skills in learning to read in kindergarten, while in Primary Education, the global method provides more successful results in reading performance. The differential influence method has on reading performance also depends on the educational stage.