Editing Phonics (section)

=== Russian Federation ===

According to a 1998 report in ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]'', there is some debate in the Russian Federation about phonics vs. whole language, however Olga Viktorovna Pronina, an author and teacher in Moscow, allegedly said that today, most teachers in Russia would tell you they use phonics.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1998-03-04-1998063127-story.html|title=Russia has phonics debate, Baltimore Sun, 1998-03-04|date=4 March 1998 }}</ref>

The 2016 international [[PISA]] study states that the method widely used now to teach reading in the Russian Federation was developed by the famous psychologist [[Elkonin boxes|Daniil Elkonin]] in the 1960s. It says, "students learn to define the sequence of sounds in a word and characterize each sound ... acquiring the knowledge of the phonetic system at an early stage" and "become better familiarized with the skills of reading".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://timssandpirls.bc.edu/pirls2016/international-results/wp-content/uploads/encyclopedia-pirls/downloadcenter/3.%20Country%20Chapters/Russian%20Federation.pdf|title=PIRLS 2016 Russian Federation, Language and Literacy|date=2016|page=3}}</ref>

In 1959, a journal report adds more details about how phonics is used. It says other
observers report that the Russian system in beginning reading is "strictly phonetic". However, there are no separate phonics lessons, drill periods, drill books, exercises or "gadgets" as you might see in typical American schools. Instead, each new letter-sound is introduced at once in meaningful words the children can pronounce as soon as they know the sound of the new letter. There are no "blending" of the sounds, or "crutches" such as equating the sound of /s/ with a snake. Instead, "all learning is by eye and ear in tandem", and the association is formed solely between the printed symbol and its sound. And finally, each lesson makes use of exercises to confirm comprehension.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Reading Teacher
|volume=13|number=2|date=1959|pages=134–143|publisher=International Literacy Association}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20197238|title=The Reading Teacher, Vol. 13, No. 2, Research in Reading|date=1959|pages=141–143|publisher=International Literacy Association|jstor=20197238}}</ref>

Amongst 50 countries, the Russian Federation achieved the highest score (581) in ''Reading Literacy'' for students in their fourth year of school according to the 2016 [[Progress in International Reading Literacy Study]] (PIRLS).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://timssandpirls.bc.edu/pirls2016/international-results/wp-content/uploads/structure/PIRLS/3.-achievement-in-purposes-and-comprehension-processes/3_1_achievement-in-reading-purposes.pdf|title=Exhibit 3.1: Achievement in Reading Purposes, 2016 PIRLS Encyclopedia}}</ref>