الملخص الإنجليزي
Despite the large body of research that supports the use of synthetic phonics for the teaching of reading in English for beginners, "English for Me" syllabus désigned for grade one students in Oman still delivers reading instruction through whole word reading. This quasi-experimental study investigated the effectiveness of integrating synthetic phonics instruction on developing early reading skills (namely phonics identification, phonemic awareness and word reading skills). The study also compared students' performance in early reading skills with the minimum required level set by the Ministry of Education in Oman. Two intact classes comprising fifty grade- one Omani students from Yanabi- Al-Hikma School in Batineh South Governorate participated in the study. One class, the experimental class, was taught using a commercially available synthetic program called Jolly-Phonics while the control class was taught using the traditional method of whole word reading. The Jolly Phonics program delivers instruction through the direct application of systematic, multisensory, synthetic phonics. Both groups were pretested on measures of phonics identification, phonemic awareness and word reading prior to the 9-week intervention using either the experimental or control method. Then students were post-tested on all measures immediately after intervention. Data analyses using t-test results support that direct instruction using synthetic phonics techniques significantly increased phonics identification, phonemic awareness and word reading skills of readers. Recommendations are made to introduce synthetic phonics for grade one students in government schools in Oman.
