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Teaching irregular words: What we know, what we don’t know, and where we can go from here

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 June 2020

Danielle Colenbrander Open the ORCID record for Danielle Colenbrander [Opens in a new window] ,
Hua-Chen Wang ,
Tara Arrow  and
Anne Castles
Danielle Colenbrander*
Affiliation:
Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Macquarie University Centre for Reading, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Hua-Chen Wang
Affiliation:
Department of Educational Studies, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Macquarie University Centre for Reading, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Tara Arrow
Affiliation:
Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Macquarie University Centre for Reading, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Anne Castles
Affiliation:
Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Macquarie University Centre for Reading, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
*
Author for correspondence: Danielle Colenbrander, Email: danielle.colenbrander@mq.edu.au
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Abstract

Instruction in regular letter-sound relationships is a key element of teaching children to read. However, in the English language, many words have irregular spellings (e.g. said, are, yacht). What is the best way to help children learn to read these words? To date, a number of different viewpoints have been put forward, but these viewpoints are seldom directly compared, and there is very little empirical evidence to adjudicate between them. Therefore, in this review, we outline the theoretical arguments for and against different methods of instruction, and synthesise the empirical research that does exist. We make recommendations for practice, and outline key areas where further evidence is required.

Keywords

irregular wordsreading instructionreadingprimary school
Type
Articles
Information
The Educational and Developmental Psychologist , Volume 37 , Issue 2 , December 2020 , pp. 97 - 104
Copyright
© Australian Psychological Society Ltd, 2020

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