授業に取り入れるシンセティック・フォニックス（3/3）
シンセティック・フォニックスは、単語を音素に分解して再びつなぐことで、子どもたちの読み書き能力を効率的に育てる教育法として注目されています。本記事では、Alexis先生が授業での活用方法を紹介します。基本概念や効果、教室で実践できる具体例をわかりやすく示し、日本の英語教育現場でも役立つポイントをまとめています。
本記事は全3回の連載の最終回です。最後までお楽しみください。
Applying Synthetic Phonics in the Classroom (3/3)
Segmenting and Blending
There are various games and activities that can be used to supplement the segmenting-blending process, but all are variants of breaking a word down into its graphemes and/or reading graphemes together as a single word. For segmenting, first presenting words using flashcards, blocks or even PowerPoint slides, then visually breaking them down into their graphemes and having students read them one at a time is one basic method. Progressively, depending on students’ ability and the target graphemes’ level of difficulty, students can be left to figure out how to segment the words themselves (beginning with CVC words, then moving on to words containing digraphs and trigraphs). The same visualization technique is used to demonstrate the reversal: that is, graphemes are put together (blended), and the students attempt to blend them.
More advanced activities may include reordering jumbled grapheme cards to form words either the teacher says aloud or to match pictures, or teams being given worksheets with pictures representing words, then circling the appropriate pictures as words are shown on a board or PowerPoint slides. Whatever you choose to use, it is important to retain a playful element, especially with younger students. One playful version I have come across for very young students involves segmenting and blending food words, after which students “feed” a toy animal with word cards or matching pictures. With slightly older students, this can be changed to “shopping” for relevant picture cards either during or after the blending process.
A Final Note: Synthetic Phonics in the Japanese Classroom
There are differences between a classroom where the teacher and all (or most) students already speak English as their first language, and a classroom in which English is being taught as a foreign language in a country with relatively few opportunities for authentic use and exposure (Japanese children in Japan, for example). Some may argue that it is impractical to apply phonics in the Japanese classroom. However, although the inclusion of phonics may not be handled in the same manner as it would be in, say, England or Australia, there certainly are ways that aspects may be extremely beneficial in the classroom. Moreover, there have been studies undertaken in Japan that suggest phonics benefits Japanese students of English (Iriyama et al, 2020; Sasaki, 2024).
When incorporating phonics in the classroom, it is important not to confuse phonics with phonetics: phonics is tied to the translation of written to verbal language and to learning to read and write, whereas phonetics focuses on speech sounds and learning to speak (and listen). Even so, phonics can play a role not only in teaching Japanese students to read and write, but also to improve speaking. Some key benefits include the following.
- Drawing attention to and increase awareness of common graphemes (e.g. <igh>) that can be confusing, and in turn their related phonemes. It is possible for a learner to know how a word is written, but be mistaken as to how such graphemes within it are pronounced
- Drawing attention to and focusing on phonemes that are usually difficult for Japanese learners of English.
- Learning to differentiate between similar phonemes (e.g. /l/ and /r/). This leads to better verbal reproduction (speaking) and recognition (listening).
- Moving away from “Japanized” pronunciation of English words (not to be confused with a Japanese accent), especially those that have found their way into the Japanese language. E.g. the common mispronunciation of “salad” as “sarada”.
The katakana pronunciation notes typically found in English textbooks, though intended to aid leaners’ pronunciation, can actually reinforce mispronunciation in the long term. Katakana often does not accurately represent how words and/or specific phonemes are pronounced, so there is less awareness (and practice) of sounds that are usually difficult for Japanese learners of English. Learners may not even be aware of the degree to which katakana-style pronunciation is inaccurate. This form of pronunciation is instead normalized.
By moving away from katakana support and instead supplementing model texts and target vocabulary, for example, with phonics support, learners are encouraged to more effectively mimic authentic speech. In order to be effective, synthetic phonics should be a regular feature of lessons.
References:
・Iriyama M., Kato S., Shigeo KATO, Yamashita K., Watanabe S. (2020). Investigating the Effect of Introducing Jolly Phonics on 5th and 6th Graders. JES Journal. Vol.20, No.01, pp. 272-287. Available at: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jesjournal/20/01/20_272/_pdf/-char/ja (Accessed: 11 July 2025).
・Sasaki, R. (2024). The Effectiveness of Synthetic Phonics Instruction for Developing the Phonemic Awareness of Japanese Elementary School Students. Journal of Elementary Education and Curriculum. Vol.12, pp. 41–49. Available at: https://doi.org/10.60451/seec.12.0_41 (Accessed 11 July, 2025).
Useful Resources:
1. A helpful phonics website with links to useful articles and resources.
https://busybusylearning.com/phonics-and-reading-homepage/
2. The U.K. government’s comprehensive list of validated synthetic phonics programmes
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/choosing-a-phonics-teaching-programme/contact-details-for-the-validated-systematic-synthetic-phonics-ssp-programmes
3. Another helpful phonics website, with a video of British English pronunciation examples.
https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/what-is-letters-and-sounds/
4. Alphablocks: a British television series that can be watched on the BBC (and on Youtube). Although most videos are restricted to viewers within the U.K., there are still a lot of useful resources available on their website
https://www.learningblocks.tv/alphablocks/home
5. This website has plenty of resources that you can use for free (however, some do require you to subscribe).
https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/