How Psychological Science Informs the Teaching of Reading

TLDR

Research on how children learn to read English covers writing systems, language competency at school entry, and early reading development. The monograph reviews theories of reading acquisition, dyslexia characteristics, cognitive neuroscience findings, connectionist models, and compares phonics and whole‑language instructional methods through laboratory and classroom studies. The key findings are that mastering the alphabetic principle is essential for proficient reading, and that instructional methods that teach this principle directly—particularly phonics—are more effective than those that do not, though whole‑language activities can enhance engagement.

Abstract

This monograph discusses research, theory, and practice relevant to how children learn to read English. After an initial overview of writing systems, the discussion summarizes research from developmental psychology on children's language competency when they enter school and on the nature of early reading development. Subsequent sections review theories of learning to read, the characteristics of children who do not learn to read (i.e., who have developmental dyslexia), research from cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience on skilled reading, and connectionist models of learning to read. The implications of the research findings for learning to read and teaching reading are discussed. Next, the primary methods used to teach reading (phonics and whole language) are summarized. The final section reviews laboratory and classroom studies on teaching reading. From these different sources of evidence, two inescapable conclusions emerge: (a) Mastering the alphabetic principle (that written symbols are associated with phonemes) is essential to becoming proficient in the skill of reading, and (b) methods that teach this principle directly are more effective than those that do not (especially for children who are at risk in some way for having difficulty learning to read). Using whole-language activities to supplement phonics instruction does help make reading fun and meaningful for children, but ultimately, phonics instruction is critically important because it helps beginning readers understand the alphabetic principle and learn new words. Thus, elementary-school teachers who make the alphabetic principle explicit are most effective in helping their students become skilled, independent readers.