Phonological Awareness: A Literature Review

Various studies have shown the importance of phonological structure of words, often referred to as phonological awareness. According to Snow, Burns, and Griffin (1998), phonological awareness is the ability to attend explicitly to the phonological structure of spoken words, rather than just to their meanings and syntactic roles. Children who exhibit low phonological awareness are at even further risk for developing difficulties while reading (McDowell et al.). These researchers explored the correlation and variables related to phonological awareness and the impact of poverty on emergent literacy acquisition. The age and gender of children were additional factors considered in this study. Their research concluded that poverty was the ultimate predictor of reading achievement, showing percentages of various 4th graders who fell below the poverty line scoring only 34.6% on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (McDowell, Lonigan, & Goldstein, 2007). According to Song, Spier, & Tamis-Lemonda (2014), understanding the nature of the mother and child association and the effect of the environment on child development in the early years is critically important for children living in
This comparison could be measured by completing a strategic language test. The Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals- Fifth Edition (CELF-5) would be administered and compared to children of different ages (three to five) and different SES background levels (low-SES to high-SES). A simple questionnaire would be given out to their mothers, questioning their education level. After completing the CELF-5 and comparing results from the participants and their mother’s educational level, I hypothesize that children born into low-SES environments and to mothers who have minimal education levels will not exhibit age appropriate phonological awareness