Development of word awareness skills in typically developing english language learners during early primary grades

Background: The paucity of developmental data on phonological underpinnings in English Language learners in the Indian context poses a special concern to professionals in the identification of reading disabilities. Aim: To explore the developmental trends of phonological awareness at word level amongst English language learners during the early years of schooling. Method: 50 children each from Grade I, II and III attending English medium schools for typical learners were assessed for word awareness skills and the performance across the Grade was compared. Results: The results showed a significant (p<0.05) increase in the scores in all the tasks with Grade depicting an ascending trend. The performance of Grade I children was poorer, Grade III was better and Grade II remained intermediate. Conclusion: Improved scores with the absence of floor and ceiling effect on all the tasks indicate an active development of word awareness skills in English language learners during the first three years of schooling and they mature beyond Grade III.