| Abstract: | Tested the assumptions that phonemic segmentation skill is learned best in the oral mode and that teaching segmentation with alphabet letters confuses learners. Three treatment groups of 8 prereaders (mean age 67.8 mo) were formed. The letter group was taught to segment nonword blends using letter tokens. The nonletter group was taught to segment blends with tokens lacking letters. A control group received no training. Experimental groups took about the same time and number of trials to reach criterion during training, indicating that neither method was more difficult or time consuming. Errors indicated that letters helped Ss learn to distinguish phoneme-size units and to remember the correct sounds during the task. On a segmentation posttest, letter and nonletter Ss segmented unpracticed blends better than controls, indicating that both groups acquired general segmentation skill. Letter Ss were superior to nonletter Ss in segmenting practiced sounds, with both groups surpassing controls. It is suggested that letters provide learners with a mental symbol system for representing and thinking about specific phonemes. (53 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
