Language Domain: Phonology

Language Development in School-Age Children

Introduction

• Children utilize five domains of language: phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics.

• Language is expressed through four modalities: speaking, listening, reading, and writing.

Phonological Awareness

• Phonological Awareness: An umbrella term that includes various skills crucial for literacy, especially phonemic awareness.

Key Components of Phonological Awareness

1. Phonemic Awareness

   • Ability to manipulate sounds without print.

   • Includes segmenting and blending sounds.

     • Segmenting Task: Identifying the number of sounds in a word (e.g., "moose" as /mmm/ /ooo/ /ssss/).

     • Blending Task: Combining sounds to form a word (e.g., Zzzzz + oooo = "zoo").

2. Rhyme and Onset-Rime Skills

   • Ability to identify oral rhymes (e.g., rhyming "bat" with "cat").

   • Onset-Rime Identification: Recognizing onset (first sound) and rime (vowel and final consonants) in words.

     • Example: Identifying words starting with the same sound (e.g., "dog" and "door").

3. Syllable Recognition

   • Determining number of syllables in words or sentences, often by clapping.

Importance of Phonemic Awareness

• Essential for reading success; kids need to hear differences in syllables, words, and sounds.

• Students with weak phonological and phonemic skills face challenges in reading development (e.g., sounding out words).

Support for Struggling Readers

• Children with difficulties in phonological skills require additional support from interprofessional literacy teams.

Conclusion

• Both phonological and phonemic awareness are vital, with phonemic awareness being the strongest predictor of reading success.