Research and Trends in the Studies of Phonological Knowledge and Reading Development: A Review on Selected Journals

Abstract

Developing phonological knowledge of students is believed to be beneficial to
reading development. This paper reviews selected eight articles on the issue of
phonological knowledge and reading development in both native and English as
Second Language (ESL) context. In finding the trends and patterns across all eight
articles, the content and context of each study was critically analyzed. The
discussion is divided into five sub sections; research settings, data collection
methods, samples selection, focus or issue of the current studies, as well as the
similarities and differences of the findings. It is found that phonological
knowledge (as developed in phonics instruction) is undeniably effective to develop
reading skills, even for readers with limited exposure to English. Students who
were exposed to phonics instruction were able to read fluently compared to their
counterparts. Some of these studies even highlighted that these students acquired
reading skills faster compared to the control groups. The findings of the selected
studies have also established contributing factors on reading success. Of interest,
gender, age and type of phonics instruction are among influential factors to
reading development. Despite the impressive findings, this paper also discusses
the other components and structure of the selected studies, such as the research
design, settings, sample selection as well as focus or issue highlighted in each
selected study. It is hoped that this paper will enlighten readers on the trends and
patterns of the current literature in the area of phonological knowledge and
reading development across language settings