What is decoding?

Decoding refers to the process of translating written symbols (letters and words) into their corresponding sounds, enabling a reader to read aloud or understand how written language corresponds to spoken language. This skill is crucial for literacy development, as it allows individuals to convert the visual representation of language on the page into auditory forms they can comprehend and verbalize.

For someone learning to read, decoding involves recognizing letters, blending sounds together to form words, and ultimately producing speech from print. It is a foundational skill necessary for reading fluency, as it directly contributes to the ability to read words accurately and smoothly.

The other options, while related to reading comprehension and literacy, do not define the specific process of decoding:

• Understanding written text encompasses broader comprehension skills, including the ability to grasp the meaning behind the words.

• Interpreting context clues is a strategy used to derive meaning from surrounding text but does not focus specifically on the mechanical aspect of turning printed language into spoken forms.

• Summarizing main ideas pertains to the ability to distill larger texts into concise statements of their core messages, rather than the initial act of reading those texts.

Thus, the essence of decoding lies in its focus on the conversion of written words into speech, making it an essential