Teaching irregular words : What we know, what we don't know, and where we can go from here

Journal article


Colenbrander, Danielle, Wang, Hua-Chen, Arrow, Tara and Castles, Anne. (2020). Teaching irregular words : What we know, what we don't know, and where we can go from here. The Educational and Developmental Psychologist. 37(2), pp. 97-104. https://doi.org/10.1017/edp.2020.11
AuthorsColenbrander, Danielle, Wang, Hua-Chen, Arrow, Tara and Castles, Anne
Abstract

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.

Keywordsirregular words; reading instruction; reading; primary school
Year2020
JournalThe Educational and Developmental Psychologist
Journal citation37 (2), pp. 97-104
PublisherCambridge University Press
ISSN2059-0776
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1017/edp.2020.11
Scopus EID2-s2.0-85086858355
Page range97-104
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All rights reserved
File Access Level
Controlled
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online04 Jun 2020
Publication process dates
Accepted22 Apr 2020
Deposited29 Nov 2023
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