Effectiveness of the synthetic phonics approach in early English reading and comprehension : A study in an early childhood education setting

This proposal examines the influence of how young learners acquire the English language in the Malaysian preschool setting. It starts by unveiling the different approaches generally used for reading development and narrows down to the two main approaches used in Malaysian preschools. This is followed by reviewing the lessons learned from the current state of knowledge in reading. It then studies methodological issues and proposes a theoretical framework for re-conceptualising early literacy to enable preschoolers to learn English fun and systematically. Theorists such as Krashen’s theory of Language Acquisition, Hollis Scarborough's Reading Rope Theory, and The Simple View of Reading framework are discussed in this dissertation. Skills related to teaching and learning English as stipulated in the National Preschool Standard Curriculum (2017), including listening, speaking, and reading, are discussed in this proposal. They are the subject matter of this study. Focus is given to the method used in helping children decode and comprehend simultaneously. However, teachers need to be trained in a method that works to have confidence in teaching reading.