Which statement correctly distinguishes decoding from encoding in early literacy?

Which statement correctly distinguishes decoding from encoding in early literacy?

• A. Decoding is translating print to sounds; encoding is representing sounds with letters.
• B. Decoding is writing words; encoding is reading aloud.
• C. Decoding and encoding are the same.
• D. Encoding is translating print to sounds; decoding is representing sounds with letters.

Answer: (A)

In early literacy, decoding means translating print into spoken sounds, while encoding means turning spoken sounds into written letters. Decoding is what you do when you read a word: you see the letters, map them to sounds, and blend them to say the word. Encoding is what you do when you spell a word: you hear the sounds and choose letters to represent each sound. That directional distinction is exactly captured by saying decoding translates print to sounds and encoding represents sounds with letters. For example, decoding the word cat gives the sounds /k/ /æ/ /t/. Encoding the same word would produce the letters c-a-t. The other statements mix up the directions or equate the processes, which isn’t accurate.

In early literacy, decoding means translating print into spoken sounds, while encoding means turning spoken sounds into written letters. Decoding is what you do when you read a word: you see the letters, map them to sounds, and blend them to say the word. Encoding is what you do when you spell a word: you hear the sounds and choose letters to represent each sound.

That directional distinction is exactly captured by saying decoding translates print to sounds and encoding represents sounds with letters. For example, decoding the word cat gives the sounds /k/ /æ/ /t/. Encoding the same word would produce the letters c-a-t.

The other statements mix up the directions or equate the processes, which isn’t accurate.