An Investigation of the Balanced Literacy Approach for Enhancing Phonemic Awareness of Thai First-grade Students

Abstract

This study examined the effectiveness of the balanced literacy approach in enhancing performance on phonemic awareness of Thai first-grade students. The intervention program based on the balanced literacy approach was carried out 10 weeks to support students in improving their phonemic awareness skills. Thirty students aged 6 and 7 year-old were participated in this study. Four fricative consonants were taught as the target sounds. Mixed methods were employed to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. Posttest results showed that students significantly performed better on measures of phonemic awareness. Two-week follow-up data indicated that students could retain and recall information about phonemic awareness. Additional observations of student engagement in learning phonemic awareness were also generated.