Beginning Word Recognition: Benefits of Training by Segmentation and Whole Word Methods

In 2 studies, we compared the effectiveness of 4 different methods for acquiring initial reading vocabulary. Training emphasized similarity of word beginnings (onset plus vowel), similarity of word endings (rimes), phoneme segmentation and blending, or simple repetition of whole words. These 4 training regimes were compared with a control group given only regular classroom instruction. Beginning nonreaders acquired the trained words fastest in …