Bell, Aula Agnes Lovisa2024-08-132024-08-1319821982https://hdl.handle.net/1828/17209The background of the theory of phonemes is reviewed, examining the phoneme as an important concept for its relationship to learning to read and write. Reading theory and reading instruction method controversies are discussed. Current research findings related to the phoneme theory and those directly related to the use of phoneme segmentation in beginning reading instruction are reviewed. Some reading approaches based on the phoneme concept are described. Special attention is given to relevant studies in the Soviet Union, where phoneme theory has been more influential. In particular, Elkonin's theory of phonematic hearing and its relation to the beginning reading process is stated and his teaching methodology of phoneme segmentation training is described in detail. Research related to his theory is reviewed. In this thesis, phoneme segmentation is considered as a sub skill of the skill of reading. The Phoneme Segmentation Test was constructed to be a measure of children's oral phoneme segmenting ability. The test's development and the results of the tryouts of the test are reported. Validity data for the final version is included. For the experiment on teaching phoneme segmentation in kindergarten, all members of one class were taught by the experimenter. Each child was given six lessons in segmenting over a period of two weeks. These lessons were taught individually or in groups in the corner of the kindergarten room while the class was in session. The earlier developed Phoneme Segmentation Test was the testing instrument for this experiment. The teaching procedures that were developed are considered for possible use by teachers in regular classroom situations. The problems met in this field experiment and the possible future design are discussed. The relation of phoneme segmentation ability to beginning reading and the use of the Phoneme Segmentation Test in assessing this skill is considered. The results of this experiment indicate that phoneme segmentation training is effective in improving this skill in kindergarten children and that the effect is relatively long term.144 pagesAvailable to the World Wide WebThesis