Abstract

This article explores primary school teachers’ views and practices in literacy instruction to support students’ word knowledge development. This study provides insights into how primary school teachers with a deep interest in literacy understand and apply the literacy strategies they employ in their classrooms, and how previous professional development has influenced and contributes to their practice. Drawing from semi-structured interviews with six expert teachers, as well as classroom observations, the results highlight rich metalinguistic learning journeys. Themes generated from the data include: use of a range of tools and strategies to support students’ linguistic understanding brought about by impactful professional development experiences; use of a range of assessment techniques to drive instruction; and a supportive mentoring culture for teachers’ development of word knowledge. The findings suggest that experienced teachers recognise that English language learning can be a complex process, especially when it comes to the written form. Therefore, it was evident that the interrelationship of phonology, orthography, morphology and etymology played a crucial role in teaching for understanding of the language and its structure. This article highlights the importance of four linguistic elements and their role on learning English in the primary classroom, particularly in the context of spelling, writing and reading development.  

Keywords

References

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