ERIC Number: EJ1487065
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Nov
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0034-0561
EISSN: EISSN-1936-2714
Available Date: 2025-09-19
Ready, Set for Variability, Read!
Erica M. Barnes1; Donna M. Scanlon1; Kimberly L. Anderson2
Reading Teacher, v79 n3 e70027 2025
In printed English, there is some variability in the relationships between graphemes and the phonemes they represent. Learners who are sensitive to this variability learn to adjust their attempted pronunciation of an unfamiliar word such that they identify a real word that fits the context. This sensitivity and the ability to adjust attempted pronunciations are referred to as "Set for Variability" (SfV). Readers with a well-developed SfV try out different, reasonable pronunciations for graphemes in unfamiliar words and confirm accuracy by matching the decoding attempt to a word in their oral vocabularies and/or ensuring their attempted word makes sense in context. In this article, we discuss the research behind SfV and present instructional suggestions for developing SfV in young readers.
Descriptors: Phoneme Grapheme Correspondence, Pronunciation, Vocabulary, Decoding (Reading), Reading Instruction, English
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, New York, USA; 2East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA

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