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News
New Study Quantifies Role of Phonics In Reading Abilities
WNYC News
NEW YORK, NY August 01, 2007 —New York University researchers find phonics may be the most important part of becoming a good reader, but it's not the only ingredient. WNYC's Beth Fertig has more.
REPORTER: For years, educators have engaged in Reading Wars over how much weight should be given to phonics - or learning the sounds of each letter.
REPORTER: Some experts believe children should focus heavily on phonics while others favor a broader approach now used by the New York City Schools. To see how much of a role phonics plays in reading, researchers at New York University studied how 11 adults responded to mixed up letters in a piece of text.
REPORTER: As expected, phonics played the greatest role. But they also determined that about a third of reading speed comes from familiar looking words and sentence clues.
REPORTER: The study was too small to draw any conclusions about how to create a good curriculum. But the researchers say it's the first to quantify the role of phonics, and they now plan a similar study for people with learning disabilities. For WNYC I'm Beth Fertig.
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