Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
AELTE 2022, Ankara, Türkiye, 27 - 29 Mayıs 2022
Phonological awareness is defined as the speakers’ sensitivity to the units of the spoken
language, such as rhyme, syllables, or phonemes (Adams, 1998). As one of the significant
components of phonological awareness, rhyme awareness refers to the ability to detect
rhyming sounds and generate rhyming words. Previous literature demonstrates phonological
awareness as a critical element in children’s early reading abilities in their second language,
English (Cheung et al., 2010). It also proves rhyme awareness to be a predictor of reading
ability. The present study aims to explore whether the chosen authentic books, graded
reading books and phonics materials include rhyming words, how often they address rhyming
and what might be the rationale behind using it. For this purpose, a total of 193 English books
were peer-coded in terms of whether the rhyming exists and how many occurrences exist in
these books. The findings revealed almost 60% of books included at least one case of rhyming
words, which varied from one to one hundred thirty-four occurrences. These findings may be
inferred as the authors tend to use rhyming words to keep the readers, especially young ones,
engaged in sound awareness and make the books fun to process. Regarding second language
learning, these books may engage the learners with the second language. The implication of
the present study is that it provides a clear picture to the practitioners with how these books
can be used to promote rhyme awareness, and thus phonological awareness, in English-as-aforeign language instruction.
Key words: phonological awareness, rhyme awareness, young learners, storybooks