ABSTRACT
Reading difficulties can be understood from the perspective of two interlocking models. The first, overarching, one is referred to as the ‘component model of reading’.5 This argues that there are three factors that influence the acquisition of reading: psycho - logical, ecological and cognitive. Psychological factors include a learner’s motivation and interest, while the ecological factors include the literacy environment of a learner’s classroom and home. The third factor – the cognitive domain – is the focus of the present chapter. Some writers explain this domain in terms of what is known as the ‘simple view of reading’ (SVR).6 According to this model, learning to read involves working out how to print maps onto a learner’s existing spoken language. This process can be decomposed into two components: word recognition (decoding) and oral language comprehension, both of which are necessary and are of equal importance. In turn, word recognition comprises letter knowledge and phoneme awareness – the subject matter of the remainder of this chapter.
