Instructional Clarity: The Missing Key in Reading

 

There is an on-going LinkedIn discussion where Emma Hartnell-Baker insists that orthographic mapping only occurs via phonics.

I replied: I beg to disagree as I know that to be incorrect. I have addressed this in full in my blog post. Here are questions I asked which no one has answered.

Here is my first question that Diana Black Kennedy has responded to.

How did the deaf and mute learn to read words back in the 1840’s when pictures/ images were accompanied with words? For example, a picture of a dog with the word ‘dog’ below it. Let us remember these are deaf and mute people which means they cannot hear any sound of words let alone phonemes. The deaf and mute first learned to read this way.

When Experts Disengage: A Response to Dr. Boulton and the Silence Around Shut-Down Kids

 

In Part 1, we revisited the insights of Dr. David Boulton, Dr. G. Reid Lyon, and Dr. Siegfried Engelmann—experts who, as early as 2003, understood that confusion, not disability, was the root cause of most reading difficulties. They knew that ambiguity in English orthography, when not properly addressed, leads children to disengage. They knew that instructional casualties far outnumber true cases of dyslexia. And yet, despite this clarity, the problem persists.

 

In Part 2, we turn to the uncomfortable truth: when independent voices try to engage with these experts, they are often ignored, dismissed, or blocked. I know this firsthand.

We had a procedure for sounding it out that would reach virtually 100 percent of the kids (Siegfried Engelmann)

                                                      

More than 20 years ago the researchers of the Children of the Code were aware that unvoiced sounds should be unvoiced.

The following is an extract from an interview of Siegfried Engelmann conducted by David Boulton.

Siegfried Engelmann:

The mistakes the kids made guided us to see that we had something missing. For instance, at first, we had them sound out words traditionally. We never permitted "ch-aa-tah” for chat. Unvoiced sounds were unvoiced -- "ch-a-t."

So now we had precise corrections related to what they had learned earlier. We had a procedure for sounding it out that would reach virtually 100 percent of the kids. So, we could teach even really low performers now to take the first step on the ladder. Then they can follow the entire sequence and they can learn at a rate far faster than would have been anticipated.

See what Dr. Richard Selznick and Dr. David Kilpatrick said on this matter. LINK

Who is responsible for suppressing research findings? (Part 1)

 

Siegfried Engelmann: Instructional Design 101: Learn from the Learners!

Siegfried "Zig" Engelmann was a Professor of Education at the University of Oregon, the Director of the National Institute for Direct Instruction, and President of Engelmann-Becker Corporation, which develops instructional materials and provides educational services for students with various needs.

What is the percentage of neurodivergent - Dr. Martin Bloomfield (Part 3)

 

Dr. Richard Selznick in our email discussions in 2010 said:

“I agree with you that many of these kids are instructional casualties and if they had been taught differently, many would not have shut down.”

Please keep in mind that what I say and how I respond are based on my experiences and understanding of the research.  I am not a scientist or researcher, but I respond from my decades of clinical experience.

 

Evasive answers

 

I asked the same question I asked for many years on Twitter and other social media. I always get evasive answers. Read my question carefully and see if the answer below is appropriate.

This is the question I asked on LinkedIn.

But the question remains. Why don't kids who learn to read in Malay and Hanyu Pinyin effortlessly, have phonemic awareness when learning to read in English?

Emma Hartnell-Baker replied as follows:

Hypothesis - Why Singapore consistently does better in PISA (Part 3)

                                                          

                       "There are none so blind as those who will not see".

Here is some corroborative evidence for you to ponder.

Ms. Nancy Hennessy who was the President of International Dyslexia Association from 2013 to 2015 said:

“……even if we settle on a middle number, let us say 10%; that still leaves a lot of children who are not dyslexic, whose brains are not wired any different way, who have reading difficulty.”

Union Reception - Neuroscience news - Part 3

 

This is my final email to Prof. Taeko. All 3 of my emails did not receive a reply from her. Some professors in the past, prior to 2017, told me that they stand on what they had published but in the case of Prof Taeko there has been no reply at all. 

Dear Professor,

Let me think aloud on a few more points on phonological awareness being the cause of DD.

In the reports you sent it was reported:

 

Makita first claimed through his nationwide survey that, in Japan, less than 0.1 % of children had a reading disability.

Significantly, in Japan, there are very few reported cases of children with reading impairments only.

 

Paradigm Inertia part 3

 

The interview on Paradigm Inertia was done 11 years ago by David Boulton and Dr. William Glen as part of the Children of the Code project.

The following are excerpts from the Children of the Code videos. You may read more here. 

David Boulton:

But the key in both cases is to find out where they're at foundationally and then give them manageable steps into the confusion that they can work through. When a child’s mind starts to develop an avoidance of confusion then that avoidance can spill out to the confusion that is involved in learning about other things.

David Boulton and all the others involved in the COTC knew about the confusion that caused kids to avoid learning. Yet David Boulton recommended the 2 videos that are the cause of confusion. 

Sounds represented by letters – A revisit

 

Many of the educators on Twitter imagine things instead of trying to understand things as they are.

I have written many blogs stating that one of the main reasons why kids disengage/shut down from learning to read is confusion as a result of teachers teaching the wrong sounds of letters. This is supported in both of Dr. David Kilpatrick’s books. Refer to page 107 of Equipped for Reading Success - How to teach the letter sounds. Also refer to page 171 of Essentials of Assessing, Preventing, and Overcoming Reading Difficulties - Keys to blending: T does not say /Tuh/.

This was also discovered more than 15 years ago by Children of the Code in which Timothy Shanahan was also interviewed.

The following is an extract from one of the interviews in Children of the Code:

And the mistakes that the kids made guided us to see that we had something missing. For instance, at first, we had them sound out words traditionally. We never permitted "ch-aa-tah” for chat. Unvoiced sounds were unvoiced -- "ch-a-t." Well, they showed us through their responses that, that stop sound beginning was really hard for them. So now we had precise corrections that related to what they had learned earlier. We had a procedure for sounding it out that would reach virtually 100 percent of the kids. So we could teach even really low performers now to take the first step on the ladder. Then they can follow the entire sequence and they can learn at a rate far faster than would have been anticipated. (Siegfried Engelmann)

Research suppressed

This is a continuation of my post yesterday on my comments on Dr. Sam Bommarito’s post which said:

I think a more useful use of our time would be to explore ideas from all sides and to find practical research-based ideas that all teachers can use regardless of whose “side” it comes from.

Research if not suppressed is not publicised. The powers that be ensure that the research material is not disseminated to schools and to the public/ parents.

'Explore ideas from all sides' - Dr. Sam Bommarito

 

Below is an extract from Dr. Sam Bommarito’s blog followed by my comments.

I think a more useful use of our time would be to explore ideas from all sides and to find practical research-based ideas that all teachers can use regardless of whose “side” it comes from.

Yes, if we take ideas from all sides and use them we can achieve George Bush's ‘No child left behind’ policy of 2001. 

But, what I disagree with is Dr.Sam’s suggestion to find practical research-based ideas. 

Faulty instruction is the cause of kids being unable to read

 

Here is a comment from Educhatter which I would like you to ponder.

Siegfried Engelmann of blessed memory offered $100,000 to anyone who could send him a child whom he couldn’t teach to read. Engelmann’s money was never collected.

Faulty reading instruction has made tens of millions of innocent children suffer terribly. And it continues to do so.

Why does society not protect these vulnerable children from the misery inflicted by most public schools?

Dr. Sam Bommarito's tweet on common sense and my response (Part 1)

 

The following is a tweet by Dr. Sam.

What works for one child doesn’t always work for another child.

In the history of reading MANY have claimed to have found the answer – in the end their answers worked for some not all the kids.

“Let’s use common sense to find common ground.” Let’s recognize that what works with one child doesn’t always work with another.

Luqman Michel @luqmanmichel May 4

Dr. You are asking for something that does not exist in most people - common sense.

If common sense is common, then why have we been debating for decades without reaching a consensus?

I have said this before and say it again that Dr. Sam is one of a handful of educators that I have high a regard for.

Here is my explanation of why I said that common sense does not exist in most people.

The important first step

 

I read the following tweets this morning which prompted me to write this post.

Regie Routman @regieroutman Mar 3

Explicit, systematic teaching of letters & sounds—decoding-- is necessary but insufficient for becoming a reader, one who chooses to read (mostly) books & who comprehends, self-monitors & finds joy in becoming a discerning reader. We have known this for decades.

suzy yates @bubbletroublex7 Replying to @regieroutman

I have been reading your books since I discovered Transitions in the 90s. My district is now following the science of reading. I don’t see kids reading books.
Heartbreaking. Decoding only is, imo, not going to develop lifelong readers. Have you written any articles about this?

A retweet of the above with the following by: Regie Routman @regieroutman on 22.5.2022 (Malaysian time)

SoR is needlessly a fraught topic. Teaching kids to read is not either-or. Becoming a reader requires decoding AND fluency AND attention to comprehension AND lots of reading of self-chosen books.

Tweet by Angie Neal and my comments

 

                                                                         Angie Neal

Angie Neal @angie_neal Feb 20th 2022.

The only limitation is KNOWING  95% of all children are cognitively capable of learning to read, but they aren’t because of unproven, unreliable, non-evidence based methods. If we knew we could cure 95% of all cancers, would you be ok with only 32% being cured?

I responded as follows: Replying to @angie_neal @DoctorSam7 @ReadWellAlaska @AGoninan @reading_league

I believe you got this wrong. Engelmann had said that only a fraction of 1 % of his hundreds of 'dyslexic' students was unteachable. Do listen to my interview at

https://youtube.com/watch?v=KJl-IFrGiQk for the real reasons why kids are unable to read.

My Twitter discussion with Sara J Peden, Debbie Hepplewhite and Sue Lloyd - Part 3

The following is my tweet to Debbie Hepplewhite.

Luqman Michel @debbiehepp

I have no problem with what you and @suelloydtcrw are doing.

My contention is that consonants should not be taught with extraneous sounds. Teach correctly and the reading wars will end.

Read my post at lhttps://dyslexiafriend.com/2020/04/to-teach-or-not-to-teach-correct.html

6 Ambiguity and confusion

This is a continuation of the last post.

David Boulton: 

But the key in both cases is to find out where they're at foundationally and then give them manageable steps into the confusion that they can work through.

Scientific support for my findings

Yesterday one Jammy Jacobson whose profile says she is a Certified Academic Language Therapist at The READ Center commented on one of my comments in a group on FaceBook I belong called ‘Science of Reading: The Community’.

This was her comment: 

Your posts seem to be the opposite of the science of reading. You tend to attack scientific research and claim your own anecdotes are superior to the work of actual scientists.

Dr.Joe Torgesen vs Luqman Michel

 “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ideas. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” – Mark Twain

One such great giant is Dr. Joe Torgesen. He took his valuable time to respond to my many emails. We did not see eye to eye and I now understand why.

(This is a mighty long email but I have decided not to break it down into 2 or 3 parts. However, there is more to write on this and I will write after my short leave I am taking from today)