Letters to the Editor: Why phonics instruction falls short if reading comprehension is the goal
A teacher works with middle school students on a phonics lesson at a school that caters to kids with dyslexia in Poway, Calif., in early 2020.
(Eduardo Contreras / San Diego Union-Tribune)
To the editor: “English is a phonetic language,” states a letter writer who taught reading — but, I must add, only to a point. Just a brief look at the previous sentence will show numerous exceptions to regular phonetic rules.
That is why beginning readers must learn sight words, spelling patterns and other things besides phonics.
Reading is about meaning, and no amount of phonics instruction can help a child decode a word to which they have never been exposed. Phonics has always been a component of balanced reading instruction, but its overemphasis and a one-size-fits-all approach will not improve comprehension.
And reading comprehension is the real goal, isn’t it?
Michele Harris Padron, Santa Barbara
