Explicit instruction on phoneme segmentation most directly supports which literacy outcome?

• A. Improved decoding accuracy
• B. Reading speed only
• C. Vocabulary knowledge only
• D. Spelling in isolation

Answer: (A)

Explicit instruction on phoneme segmentation trains students to hear and separate the individual sounds in words, which directly supports decoding. When learners can identify each sound in a word, they can map those sounds to letters and blend them to read the word, improving accuracy on decoding unfamiliar text. Vocabulary knowledge and reading speed are influenced by broader language development and fluency, not as directly tied to the act of breaking words into sounds. Spelling involves encoding sounds as letters, which segmentation helps, but the most direct link is between segmentation and decoding accuracy because decoding is the process of translating printed words into spoken sounds. Therefore, the best fit is improved decoding accuracy.