First Graders Receive Instruction in Homonym Detection and Meaning Articulation: The Effect of Explicit Metalinguistic Awareness Practice on Beginning Readers

An experiment examined whether beginning readers can successfully learn to detect and define homonyms, and whether this ability correlates with vocabulary and/or phonological awareness. First graders received ambiguity instruction involving homonyms in isolation, in riddles, and in text. A control group received reading lessons without a metalinguistic component. Results showed that a very brief training program was effective in teaching students to identify multiple meanings of homonyms in isolation. No correlation existed between the ability to learn about homonyms and pretest oral language ability, indicating that this instruction is appropriate for all learners.