Computers in phonological awareness instruction in the pre-school classroom: A case for Turkish

Proficiency in reading is a major indicator of success in school. While reading accuracy is a prerequisite to understanding, which itself is essential for learning, phonological awareness is one of the critical skills in reading acquisition. The use of computerized materials in building phonological awareness (PA) skills has been as effective as print materials used in face-to-face instruction. The main goal of this study is to develop a phonological awareness program based on the relevant research findings, complete with computerized and print materials, and a teacher training component. A two-episode game-like PA software was developed for use in early literacy instruction in Turkish, and was tried out with 32 children. Preliminary findings showed that children made the highest number of mistakes in rhyming and elision. Their motivation for the content and interaction was high. The findings from the needs analysis phase are consistent with the literature in that phonological awareness and rapid naming explain unique variance in word reading. However, rapid naming appears to have a stronger role in Turkish compared to that in English. Further development and testing will be carried out based on the current findings.