Nachiketa Rout* Associate Professor (Speech and Hearing) The National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Mulyiple DisabilitiesECR, MuttukaduChennai- 603112Phone: +91- 9940124537 Resi: 044- 27472086

Phonics skills are considered to be the predictors of reading disability, which is off late viewed as a language based disorder. The aim of the present study is to compare the phonics skills of high and low academic achievers across Bengali and English. A checklist consisting of three parameters was developed in both the languages to assess phonics skills. A total of 42 normally developing bilingual females who attended standard three to standard five in the age range eight to eleven years participated in the study. The participants were classified as high and low academic achiever based upon school performance. Significant differences were found in all the phonics skills in both the languages except vowel sound skill in Bengali and letter name in English. It is concluded that phonics tasks should be provided importance and during classroom curriculum as it distinguishes between high academic achievers from the low academic achievers.