Chapter 5
The Components of Language and Reading Instruction
Multiple references have been made in preceding chapters to the use of “balanced” reading instruction in studies of reading instruction. Prior to describing the components of reading, an introduction to the components of language that shape that foundation is warranted.

Components of Language
Reading would not exist without the human capacity for language. Because the components of language and their associated terminology align with our demarcations for many of the elements of reading, they are described briefly in this section. Linguists have identified five basic components (phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics) found across languages. Language acquisition progresses across these components with increasing quantity (e.g., sounds, words, and sentence length) and gradual refinement, and understanding of the subtler and more complex points of usage (e.g., using “taught” rather than “teached”). Readers are encouraged to explore the literature in the field of language development to better understand and appreciate the oral language skills students may bring to the reading process. Speech and language pathologists are a great resource for identifying resources in this area and assisting in determining whether a child’s language skills are developing normally and providing support when assessment and intervention may be required.

Phonology

The study of speech structure within a language, including both the patterns of basic speech units and the accepted rules of pronunciation, is known as phonology. The smallest units of sound that make up a language are called phonemes. For example, the word “that” contains three phonemes the “th” represents one phoneme /th/, the “a” maps to the short a sound /ă/, and the “t” to its basic sound /t/.

Morphology

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