For years, phonology has been incorporated into language education. Young children are introduced to phonics as educators guide them through visual flash cards, teaching them the sounds of the alphabet. Children learn to connect sounds to words, using what they have learned from the alphabet to apply a system of sounds to a word. Controversy over this method of reading education has also been popular. Although researchers have found negative effects of learning to read phonologically, teachers can still strategically incorporate it into the classroom as long as they are aware of its potential negative effects. According to Bentin S. (1991), phonological awareness is "the ability to recognize the internal phonetic structure of spoken words" (271). This is measured, he explains, by the individual's ability to "isolate and manipulate individual phonetic segments in words" (271). When young children begin to read, their educator uses phonology by encouraging them to "probe" it. Here children take a word, such as "cat", and read it by breaking it down into phonetic sounds: "cu"-"aa"-"tuh"...."cat". This method of learning language is useful for children because it allows them to read larger or unfamiliar words simply by saying them. Millions of instructional materials focusing on phonics have been developed, including "Hooked on Phonics" materials that have been sold commercially. Despite the popularity and positive results of phonics, its method is controversial. Many scholars argue that different approaches, such as the semantic approach (Dick and Jane), are much more effective for learning to read. Horrace Mann, an education reformer in the 1800s, advocated that studying or... middle of paper ... be aware that phonics can be daunting as it requires a slow and careful start. Besides that, teachers should understand that there are many false illusions about the benefits of phonics and that it is acceptable to include additional methods, such as the semantic method, in the classroom. Works Cited Bentin, S., Hammer, R., & Cahan, S. (1991) “The Effects of Aging and First Grade Schooling on the Development of Phonological Awareness.” Science of psychology. 2.4.Burke, D.M. and Shafto, M.A. (2004) “Aging and language production.” Current directions in psychological science. 13.1.Dewhurst, S.A. and Robinson, CA (2004) 'False memories in children: evidence for a shift from phonological to semantic associations.' Psychological science. 15.11.Corno, E. "Phonetics and spelling". (1957) The Elementary School Diary. 57.8