Try, Try Again

When I was student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I attended several lectures by Catherine Compton-Lilly, author of Sounding Out: A Pervasive Cultural Model of Reading. I even chatted with her in the hallway a few times, although she wouldn't remember me. It is odd for me to see Dr. Compton-Lilly listed as a visiting assistant professor here, because I know her as one of the well-established, all-star faculty members in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction there. Funny to think she could have ever been anything else, although of course this is the case. 

I hope that you will believe me when I say I am not namedropping because I am a jerk. I am namedropping because I have had several experiences teaching reading since first encountering Compton-Lilly's call to actively challenge the myth of "sounding out." These experiences reflect, despite my best efforts, just how difficult letting go of this prominent cultural model for reading can be. For example, Compton-Lilly describes how she consciously avoids the phrase "sound it out" during her reading instruction. I have worked for some years to excise "sound it out" from my own instruction. Yet it is still there! Directing students to "sound it out" is one of the first strategies that comes to my mind when I am reading with them. Usually, I can catch myself before I ask students to sound it out, but occasionally, it slips through.

I do not ask students to sound it out because I believe it is a valid way of teaching reading. After careful reflection on my teaching practice, I believe my inclination toward "sound it out" remains because I am not confident in my depth of knowledge of reading strategies. That is, I panic when a reader starts to struggle and do not allow my training to overtake my (wrong) instincts.  "Sound it out!" is a panicked plea, rather than a contemplative response.

Reading this article was a reminder that I can do better. More importantly, it was a reminder of why providing students with a wide range of useful word-solving strategies matters. Compton-Lilly's point that "sounding out" (and other issues of pronunciation) privileges "standard" forms of English and may cause students (and adults) that experience difficulties with pronunciation to feel like failures is a powerful rationale to expand our students' range of reading strategies. That "sounding out" is an ineffective strategy is almost beside the point.         

Reference:

Compton-Lilly, C. (2005). " Sounding Out": A Pervasive Cultural Model of Reading. Language Arts, 82(6), 441-451.