Times Educational Supplement (TES):
'Phonics, decoding and whole-word recognition are a waste of time unless you then develop children as real readers'
8 May 2016
Teaching reading in itself is pointless. All the phonics, decoding skills and whole-word recognition in the world are a waste of time unless you then develop children as real readers. ... The trouble with learning the mechanics - of almost anything - is that if you don't immediately and continuously apply what you've learned, you lose the skills. That is probably why The Centre for Economic Performance recently reported that by the age of 11, having been exposed to phonics at an earlier age makes no difference to a child's reading. It also explains the alarming recent observation from the University of Sheffield that many undergraduates are unable to read whole books. We are failing to develop readers.
This article was published by the Times Educational Supplement (TES) on May 8, 2016
Link to article here
Related publications
"Teaching to Teach" Literacy, Stephen Machin, Sandra McNally and Martina Viarengo, Centre for Economic Performance Discussion Paper No.1425, April 2016
Related links
Stephen Machin webpage
Sandra McNally webpage
Education and Skills Programme webpage