Gv. Malicky et Ca. Norman, Phonological awareness and reading: An alternative interpretation of the literature from a clinical perspective, ALBER J EDU, 45(1), 1999, pp. 18-34
Many researchers have concluded that there is a strong causal relationship
between phonological awareness and reading, and that deficiency in phonolog
ical awareness is a major factor in reading problems. This article provides
an alternative interpretation based on a critical analysis of the research
literature and three clinical case studies. On the basis of our results, w
e hypothesize that rather than phonemic awareness per se, what seems to be
essential to learning to read is that children develop an understanding of
the connections between oral and written language. At the macrolevel this i
nvolves an understanding that written words represent words in oral languag
e. At the microlevel it involves understanding that letters in: written war
ds stand far phonemes in spoken words.