Enhancing phonemic awareness: Addressing difficulties in letter-sound recognition through multisensory engagement strategies for grade 1 learners

Phonemic awareness deficiency is common among children in the Philippines, and many struggle with reading because they lack the sound recognition skills needed for fluent reading. This study examines the effectiveness of multisensory engagement strategies in enhancing phonemic awareness and letter-sound recognition among Grade 1 learners. Recognizing that these foundational skills are essential for reading and overall literacy, the study employed a classroom-based action research design during a six-week intervention. 25 Grade 1 pupils who initially demonstrated low phonemic awareness participated in the intervention. Various activities, including visual aids, auditory songs, tactile materials, and kinesthetic games, were integrated into daily instruction to create an enriched learning environment. Data collection involved administering standardized tests before and after the intervention, taking observational notes, and conducting structured teacher interviews. Statistical analysis revealed that posttest scores increased significantly while performance variability decreased, indicating a positive impact of the multisensory strategies. Multisensory engagement can effectively address challenges in letter-sound recognition and support early reading development. The researcher recommends that future researchers include a larger group of students from different classroom settings. They should also examine how these teaching methods affect learning over the long term.