Glossary · Reading science and reading difficulty
What is the self-teaching hypothesis?
Definition
The self-teaching hypothesis, from David Share, says that each time a reader successfully decodes a new word, they learn its spelling, so decoding lets readers teach themselves words.
No one can teach a student all the words they will need. Skilled adults recognize tens of thousands of words instantly. Share's idea is that decoding is the engine: every successful decoding attempt is a chance to store that word's spelling.
That makes accurate decoding valuable well beyond the words practiced in a lesson. A student who can decode reads more, meets more words, and stores more of them. A student who guesses gets fewer chances to learn words, because a guess doesn't link sounds to letters.
It also explains why reading volume matters so much once decoding is in place, and why students should be prompted to decode rather than be told the word.
In a lesson
A student meets the word trumpet in a story and sounds it out. A few days later she reads it instantly in another book. She taught herself that word by decoding it.
Examples
Each word with its spelling units, one per sound.
- trumpett·r·u·m·p·e·t
- artistar·t·i·s·t
- albuma·l·b·u·m
Words come from our lexicon, checked against a pronouncing dictionary. Words a student sees in our assessments are left out.
Why does this matter for the record?
Encourage and note independent reading volume once decoding is steady. It is how word knowledge grows beyond what any lesson covers.
Rate each skill as you teach it
Needs support, Developing, Secure. The rating schedules the review and builds the report.