Month: November 2021

Phonics instruction supplies learners with strategies for approaching unfamiliar words in the text. In fact, research has shown that using nonsense words in phonics instruction can increase a student’s ability to read words with accuracy and automaticity. 

Benefits of Using Nonsense Words

1) They are an effective way for teachers to measure how well a student is applying the skills taught in explicit, solid instruction.

Fluent decoding is the ability to quickly match sounds to written spelling patterns outside of English. Check out here to know more about non-sense words.

When students memorize words in general, it is difficult for teachers to understand whether they are relying on parsing strategies or memory skills for reading.

2) Practicing meaningless words increases students' ability to "attack" unfamiliar or unfamiliar words in the text.

How many times have you seen a student who had just stopped reading when they came across a word they couldn't understand easily? Students who have practiced deciphering words that they know clearly are not real words translate the same word attack skills into real words.

This skill allows them to use the context of sentences correctly to understand the meaning of unknown words, rather than relying too much on context to decipher words.

3) They can be used to teach syllables effectively.

Many children experience a plateau in reading in third or fourth grade. So far, they have been able to handle memory and strategy suggestions.

Until grade three or four, more advanced attack skills were required. In the case of polysemy words, very small "word parts" must be decoded and put together. These word parts are like stupid words (multi-pli-ca-tion).