Teaching letter sounds to kindergarten English language learners using incremental rehearsal

Proficiency in letter-sound correspondence is important for decoding connected text. This study examined the effects of an evidence-based intervention, incremental rehearsal (IR), on the letter-sound expression of three kindergarten English language learners (ELLs) performing below the district benchmark for letter-sound fluency. Participants were native speakers of Hmong, Spanish, and Polish. A multiple-baseline design across sets of unknown letter sounds was used to evaluate the effects of IR on letter-sound expression. Visual analysis of the data showed an increase in level and trend when IR was introduced in each phase. Percentage of all non-overlapping data (PAND) ranged from 95% to 100%. All participants exceeded expected growth and reached the spring district benchmark for letter-sound fluency. Results suggest that IR is a promising intervention for increasing letter-sound expression for ELLs who evidence delays in acquiring letter sounds.