"The learning of literacy
in alphabetic orthography demands metalinguistic effort, because such a
system reflects the phonological units of speech. These units are abstract
therefore children must first learn how to manipulate phonological codes
in their memory and discover their relationship with graphemes. Correlational
studies have demonstrated that phonological awareness is directly related
to the learning of reading in alphabethic systems. Likewise, longitudinal
studies have been carreid out in which phonological awareness was measured
before starting to read, to later compare its effect on the levels of reading
ability reached. Some suties found that syllabic awareness is a better
predictor of future reading ability (Carrillo, ROmero & Sanchez, 1992;
Mann & Dituno, 1990: Mann & Liberman, 1984), while others considererd
the rhyme (Bradley & Bryant, 1985; Bryant, MacLean, Bradley & Crossland,
1990; Ellis & Large, 1987). And finally, there are those who have suggested
phonemic awareness is the best predictor (Calfee, 1977, Juel, Griffith
& Gough, 1986; Mann, 1984; Stanovich, Cunningham & Cramer, 1984;
Warren.Leubecker & Carter, 1988) to later reading achievement"
(from Jimenez & Ortiz ,1994 pp.130-131).
Reading Process