Ewing Foundation: Teaching of phonics to deaf children

Whether or not you are using the Phonics International Programme, feel free to visit this informal 'Chat' forum!
Here you will find all sorts of interesting articles, links to research and developments - and various interesting topics! Do join in!
Post Reply
User avatar
debbie
Posts: 2596
Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2007 2:28 pm
Location: UK

Ewing Foundation: Teaching of phonics to deaf children

Post by debbie »

Thanks to the Ewing Foundation for this publication. It may be very helpful to any teachers teaching deaf children (partial to profound hearing loss):
Phonics guidance for the teaching of phonics to deaf children

Our vision is of a world without barriers for every deaf child.
http://docplayer.net/24253106-Phonics-g ... ation.html

My only comment would be not to wait to start teaching letters and associated sounds to beginners until 'after' you have provided 'phonological awareness training' and the children are adept with sound discrimination, rhythm and rhyme, alliteration and so on. Activities associated with developing these skills such as listening walks, singing nursery rhymes, generating rhymes and alliteration etc. are all part of good early years provision and should of course be taking place in any early years setting.

Even for hearing children, however, being skilled in such sound activities are not pre-requisites for starting a phonics programme or even just linking letter shapes with sounds.

A point is made in the Ewing publication that some phonics programmes do not emphasise sufficiently, or at all, activities associated with phonological awareness and that they go straight to 'step 2', that is introducing letter shapes and associated sounds. This is because they are phonics programmes and not programmes for language play and sound discrimination which are 'general' activities for the early years.
Debbie Hepplewhite
Post Reply