Why RD2 Works
The RD2 strategy works reliably with any new word with two or more syllables, because it is easier for us to repeat sounds from working memory than it is to read a succession of new sounds whose order can follow an infinite number of possible sound patterns. Research has shown that children can repeat words that they cannot read — our listening vocabularies are more robust than our reading vocabularies. RD2 is effective for learning new multisyllabic vocabulary words in English, Spanish, and French.
Once a word becomes a permanent resident in our sight vocabulary, we can quickly move past that familiar word without retracing the decoding steps previously needed to slowly unlock the sounds of each syllable. At least 95 percent of the words in a reading passage must be known before reading comprehension can take place. Here, the pattern of those words gets recognized first by sight. They are processed quickly, and the reading goal now shifts to sense-making rather than reading each syllable or individual word.
Accomplished readers find few if any obstacles in pronouncing familiar words. Once a word is readily recognized, we seldom decode it any more, or read it in a letter-by-letter or syllable-by-syllable fashion. Instead, we look for a familiar letter pattern. “Typoglycemia” is one example:
Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht frist and lsat ltteer is in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Oihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe.
—Author unknown
Gifted readers automatically process words at lightning speed, while their less-skilled peers continue to struggle with decoding. Researcher Dr. Charles Perfetti has found the ability to decode long words regardless of genre impacts qualitative difference between good and poor readers.
Our pattern-seeking brains naturally look for well-known and recognizable patterns first, rather than unleashing phonics strategies when we see a new word in a sentence. Being well-versed in phonics would be an impediment to carefully reading this passage, and clearly of little or no help in deciphering the words.
The Dolch word list, compiled in 1948 by Dr. William Dolch, is composed of 220 “service words” (high-frequency, high-utility sight words) that competent readers respond to by sight (not phonics) paving the way to reading fluency. In a study at the University of Leicester, researchers found that early word-recognition skills were indispensable to lifelong reading success. Adults who learned to recognize words as young readers were able to recognize more words and read them faster than words they learned later in life. Background knowledge is important in learning new concepts, and building background knowledge includes all related vocabulary.
As students advance through the grade levels, the number of difficult terms from a variety of specialized fields and subject areas that they will need to know will continue to accelerate annually. These words typically will be composed of three or more syllables. According to Drs. William Nagy and Richard Anderson, the average student is confronted annually with over 10,000 new words, beginning in fifth grade. Those printed words seen for the first time are frequently multisyllabic and critical for understanding content.
Competent reading is vital to success in high school, college, graduate school, and our adult careers. Contemporary projections indicate that today’s college graduates entering the workforce will take on five to eight different careers during their lifetimes. The 21st-century professional will need every advantage at his or her disposal. We hope that RD2 will revolutionize how we teach reading in English-speaking classrooms around the world. It can be an academic lifesaver for both struggling children and adults.
Regardless of the professional role each of us plays in educating our young, the long-range reading goal for all of our children is that they can read, understand, and enjoy the printed word. In her book “Beginning to Read: Thinking and Learning About Print,” Dr. Marilyn Adams states, “The automaticity with which skillful readers recognize words is the key to the whole system. The reader’s attention can be focused on the meaning and message of a text only to the extent that it’s free from fussing with the words and letters.” reverse direction decoding will help students get back on the right track, where they can focus on reading for the meaning or pleasure and do so with ease and success.
Kenneth Wesson is a former faculty member and administrator in higher education. He works with educators and administrators throughout the United States and overseas. He delivers keynote addresses to educational organizations and institutions on the neuroscience of learning.
This article is updated from its initial publication in Brain World Magazine.
