Speech to Print (S2P)

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Speech-to-Print methodology, also known as Structured Linguistic Literacy (SLL) or Linguistic Phonics (LP), is a systematic and explicit approach to teaching reading and writing. Unlike traditional methods that begin with letters and their sounds, Speech to Print starts with the spoken language – the sounds from the words we speak- and then matches the spellings (graphemes) to the sounds (phonemes). 

The core principle of Structured Linguistic Literacy is that spoken language is the foundation of written language as opposed to the other way around. This approach recognizes that children come to school with a well-developed ability to use spoken language and brains that naturally recognize patterns, and it leverages these strengths to teach reading and writing.

Speech-to-Print approaches provide explicit instruction in the concepts that are the foundational basis of the English alphabetic code, which circumvents the need to teach students an excessive amount of the code. Once students have a firm understanding of how the code functions, they can transition more quickly to implicit learning or self-teaching. This important distinction accelerates the acquisition of accurate, automatic reading and writing. 

The Speech to Print method offers several advantages:

1. Efficiency: By starting with sounds students already know, the learning process is accelerated.
2. Inclusivity: This method has shown significant success with all students, including those who struggle with traditional reading instruction and students diagnosed with dyslexia.
3. Reduced Cognitive Load: By focusing on patterns rather than rules, students often find the process less mentally taxing.
4. Integrated Skills: The simultaneous teaching of reading, writing, and spelling reinforces learning across all areas.
5. Flexibility: Students learn to approach unfamiliar words with confidence, applying their knowledge of sound-spelling relationships.
6. Rapid Progress: Many students advance quickly to reading a wide range of texts.

The effectiveness of Speech-to-Print is rooted in cognitive science and research on how the brain processes language. Dr. Mark Seidenberg, a cognitive scientist and expert in the Science of Reading, has contributed significantly to our understanding of the reading process.

Seidenberg’s research emphasizes the importance of phonological awareness and the ability to map sounds to letters in learning to read. He describes a phenomenon he calls “escape velocity,” where students transition from explicit instruction to self-teaching. Speech to Print methodology aims to achieve this transition efficiently.

The process works as follows:

1. Students are explicitly taught how the English alphabetic code works.
2. They learn to apply these concepts to all words.
3. As their skills develop, they require less support and can increasingly teach themselves new words.

This approach aligns with what cognitive scientists call the “Simple View of Reading,” which posits that reading comprehension is the product of decoding ability and language comprehension.