TY - JOUR
T1 - Teaching irregular words
T2 - what we know, what we don't know, and where we can go from here
AU - Colenbrander, Danielle
AU - Wang, Hua Chen
AU - Arrow, Tara
AU - Castles, Anne
PY - 2020/12
Y1 - 2020/12
N2 - Instruction in regular letter-sound relationships is a key element of teaching children to read. However, in the English language, many words have irregular spellings (e.g. said, are, yacht). What is the best way to help children learn to read these words? To date, a number of different viewpoints have been put forward, but these viewpoints are seldom directly compared, and there is very little empirical evidence to adjudicate between them. Therefore, in this review, we outline the theoretical arguments for and against different methods of instruction, and synthesise the empirical research that does exist. We make recommendations for practice, and outline key areas where further evidence is required.
AB - Instruction in regular letter-sound relationships is a key element of teaching children to read. However, in the English language, many words have irregular spellings (e.g. said, are, yacht). What is the best way to help children learn to read these words? To date, a number of different viewpoints have been put forward, but these viewpoints are seldom directly compared, and there is very little empirical evidence to adjudicate between them. Therefore, in this review, we outline the theoretical arguments for and against different methods of instruction, and synthesise the empirical research that does exist. We make recommendations for practice, and outline key areas where further evidence is required.
KW - irregular words
KW - reading instruction
KW - reading
KW - primary school
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85086858355&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1017/edp.2020.11
DO - 10.1017/edp.2020.11
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85086858355
VL - 37
SP - 97
EP - 104
JO - Educational and Developmental Psychologist
JF - Educational and Developmental Psychologist
SN - 2059-0776
IS - 2
ER -