Phonemic Segmentation for Early Literacy

Overseen By Robyn Becker

Age: < 18

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: Montclair State University

Disqualifiers: Hearing impairment, Language impairment, others

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: 1

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial aims to determine if different types of phonemic segmentation training can boost early literacy skills. Participants will be divided into groups: one will learn using letters and sounds with specific mouth movements, another with general mouth awareness, and a third with just letters and sounds. The goal is to identify which method most effectively helps children recognize and break down the sounds in words. Ideal candidates for this trial know at least 15 letter names, have passed a hearing check, and struggle with segmenting simple words into individual sounds. As an unphased trial, this study offers a unique opportunity to contribute to educational research and potentially improve literacy training methods.

Will I have to stop taking my current medications?

The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications.

What prior data suggests that this phonemic segmentation method is safe for early literacy training?

Research has shown that breaking words into individual sounds, known as phonemic segmentation, is crucial for early reading skills. Studies confirm that programs focusing on this skill are safe and helpful for children with speech or language difficulties. These programs teach children to recognize and work with sounds in words, which is important for learning to read.

This trial explores different ways to teach phonemic segmentation without medications or physical treatments, eliminating major safety concerns. The study employs teaching methods, such as helping children learn letter sounds and how to say them, which are generally safe and have no known risks. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why are researchers excited about this trial?

Researchers are excited about this trial because it explores different methods of teaching phonemic segmentation, which is a crucial skill for early literacy. Unlike traditional reading instruction that might focus solely on letter recognition or phonics, these methods integrate letter sounds with physical mouth movements and general mouth awareness. This multi-sensory approach could potentially enhance how children learn to segment words into phonemes, making the learning process more engaging and effective. By comparing these different methods, the trial aims to identify the most effective way to boost early reading skills, potentially offering a more comprehensive solution to early literacy challenges.

What evidence suggests that this trial's treatments could be effective for early literacy?

Research shows that breaking words into their individual sounds, known as phonemic segmentation, improves early reading skills. Studies have found that children who learn to recognize and work with these sounds read better. This trial will explore different methods of phonemic segmentation training. One group will receive training that includes printed letters, sounds, and articulatory gestures. Another group will focus on letters, sounds, and general mouth awareness. A third group will receive training using only printed letters and sounds. Previous studies discovered that using computer programs to teach these skills had positive effects for different groups of students. Another source points out that by the end of kindergarten, children should be able to blend and separate sounds in words. These findings suggest that phonemic segmentation is important for helping young children learn to read. ^{1 6 7 8 9}

Who Is on the Research Team?

Robyn Becker

Principal Investigator

Montclair State University

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

This trial is for 4-year-old children who know at least 15 letter names, have normal hearing, pass a language screening test, and can only segment up to three simple words into sounds. They should not be able to read more than one word or nonword that will be used in the posttest.

Inclusion Criteria

I can name 15 letters.

I passed the Fluharty-2 language test.

I cannot read more than one word or nonword.

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Intervention

Participants receive phonemic awareness training with different strategies: articulatory gestures, general mouth awareness, or no mouth/articulation pictures

4 weeks

Weekly sessions

Assessment

Participants are assessed on phonemic segmentation, word reading, and nonword reading immediately after the intervention

1 week

1 visit (in-person)

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for retention of literacy skills after the intervention

4 weeks

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• Phonemic Segmentation

Trial Overview The study is testing if teaching kids how to make mouth movements (articulatory gestures) while learning letters and sounds improves early reading skills better than just general mouth training or only learning letters and sounds without any special mouth exercises.

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: LPM: Letters-phonemes-general mouth awareness Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

This group will receive training for phonemic segmentation that includes using printed letters, sounds (phonemes) while simultaneously learning about the mouth in general.

Group II: LPA: Letters-phonemes-articulatory gestures Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

This group will receive training for phonemic segmentation that includes using printed letters, sounds (phonemes) while simultaneously learning the articulation placements of the letters/sounds.

Group III: LP: Letters-phonemes Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

This group will receive training for phonemic segmentation that includes using printed letters and sounds (phonemes) only.

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

Montclair State University

Lead Sponsor

Trials

14

Recruited

1,200+

Published Research Related to This Trial

In a study involving 42 kindergartners from low-income backgrounds, spelling skills were identified as the strongest predictor of how well children responded to phonemic awareness training, suggesting a bidirectional relationship between these skills.

The amount of exposure to phonemic awareness training significantly influenced individual improvements in both phonemic awareness and spelling, highlighting the importance of targeted instruction in early literacy development.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Emergent literacy skills and training time uniquely predict variability in responses to phonemic awareness training in disadvantaged kindergartners. Hecht, SA., Close, L.[2022]

Phonemic discrimination training significantly improved phonemic segmentation skills in children with reading disabilities, as demonstrated by a study involving 32 second and third graders.

The control group, which did not receive the training, showed no improvement, suggesting that the training specifically helped children recognize and understand phonemic properties they previously struggled with.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Training phonemic segmentation ability with a phonemic discrimination intervention in second- and third-grade children with reading disabilities. Hurford, DP.[2017]

Training in letter-sound correspondences and phonemic decoding significantly improved the decoding skills of three first-grade children at risk for reading failure, indicating that targeted phonemic training can be effective for early readers.

While the experimental subjects showed substantial gains in phonological decoding skills, their overall formal reading and spelling scores did not improve as much compared to matched control subjects, suggesting that while decoding skills can be learned, translating these skills into broader reading and spelling abilities may require additional support.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Generalization of early metalinguistic skills in a phonological decoding study with first-graders at risk for reading failure. Rivers, KO., Lombardino, LJ.[2019]

Learning to read significantly enhances phonemic segmentation skills in children during their first year of schooling, indicating that reading acquisition is crucial for developing these skills.

Improving phonemic awareness in kindergarten can help at-risk children acquire reading skills, suggesting that early phonological training may prevent future reading difficulties.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

On the interaction between phonological awareness and reading acquisition: It's a two-way Street. Bentin, S., Leshem, H.[2021]

Both first-grade children and college students demonstrated the ability to focus on phonetic details, such as distinguishing between monophthongs and diphthongs, indicating a foundational understanding of phonemic awareness that is crucial for literacy development.

The study revealed that print-related knowledge influences phoneme counting, as participants counted fewer sounds in syllables that were names of letters compared to non-letter names, suggesting that spelling knowledge can affect phonemic processing.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Can children and adults focus on sound as opposed to spelling in a phoneme counting task? Treiman, R., Cassar, M.[2019]

A study involving 42 pre-literate children with speech disorders showed that teaching phoneme awareness skills is possible, with significant improvements observed in the phonological awareness group compared to the language stimulation group for three out of four measures.

Phoneme Isolation was the most successfully learned skill, indicating its relevance in speech therapy, while more complex tasks like phoneme addition, deletion, and word segmentation showed limited improvement, suggesting that many children may not be cognitively ready for these advanced tasks at ages 4 to 4.5.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Teaching phoneme awareness to pre-literate children with speech disorder: a randomized controlled trial. Hesketh, A., Dima, E., Nelson, V.[2022]

Both blending and spelling training were effective in improving decoding skills for two first-grade boys with learning disabilities, as they met the learning criteria for both interventions.

The boys showed significant improvement in their phonemic skills, suggesting that the intensive instructional setting and systematic error analysis contributed to their success, even without specific training in phonemic segmentation.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The effects of blending and spelling training on the decoding skills of young poor readers. DiVeta, SK., Speece, DL.[2017]

Phoneme segmentation training in kindergarten significantly improves reading readiness, as evidenced by a study involving 90 nonreaders who received seven weeks of targeted instruction.

The phoneme segmentation group outperformed control groups in both phoneme segmentation and reading measures, highlighting the importance of this training in early literacy development.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Phoneme segmentation training: Effect on reading readiness. Ball, EW., Blachman, BA.[2021]

Citations

1. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2805171/

Effectiveness of Early Phonological Awareness ... This article reviews research examining the efficacy of early phonological interventions for young students identified with Speech or Language impairments.

2. kyreadingresearch.org kyreadingresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Phonological-and-Phonemic-Awareness-Interventions.pdf

The Effects of Phonological and Phonemic Awareness ... Computer- based instruction for early literacy skills also produced effective results across all student groups. Phonological and Phonemic ...

3. readingrockets.org readingrockets.org/topics/phonological-and-phonemic-awareness/articles/phonological-awareness-instructional-and

Phonological Awareness: Instructional and Assessment ... Research suggests that by the end of kindergarten children should be able to demonstrate phonemic blending and segmentation and to make progress in using sounds ...

4. literacy.virginia.edu literacy.virginia.edu/sites/g/files/jsddwu1006/files/2023-03/Clemens%20et%20al.%202021%20Advanced%20PA%20Critique.pdf

Critique of Advanced Phonemic Awareness Training Results and Conclusion: Although promoted as evidence-based, proficiency on so-called advanced phonemic skills is not more strongly related to reading or more ...

5. journals.charlotte.edu journals.charlotte.edu/dialog/article/view/499/616

RESEARCH ARTICLE Teaching phonemic awareness involves isolating, blending, and segmenting sounds in spoken words. It is important that early childhood educators teach children ...

6. readingrockets.org readingrockets.org/topics/developmental-milestones/articles/development-phonological-skills

The Development of Phonological Skills Basic listening skills and “word awareness” are critical precursors to phonological awareness. Learn the milestones for acquiring phonological skills.

7. highspeedtraining.co.uk highspeedtraining.co.uk/hub/phonemic-awareness-teaching-strategies/

Phonemic Awareness | Importance & Teaching Strategies Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear and manipulate phonemes (letter sounds). Children need to become aware of how the sounds in words work.

8. improvingliteracy.org improvingliteracy.org/resource/phonemic-awareness-what-is-it-and-why-is-it-important

Phonemic Awareness: What Is It and Why Is It Important? Phonemic awareness is the ability to identify and manipulate individual sounds in spoken words. It is essential for learning to read in an alphabetic writing ...

9. nwcommons.nwciowa.edu nwcommons.nwciowa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1602&context=education_masters

Building a Foundation of Phonemic Awareness in Preschool ... A review of IGDIs assessment data shows the need to improve early literacy phonemic awareness skills. Literacy scores for the Sioux City ...