PERTANIKA JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

In teaching English reading skills to preschoolers, two primary reading instruction approaches have been established: the Phonics Approach and the Whole Language Approach. However, no evidence was found in the past studies to support these methods in the Malaysian setting. This study examines the effects of early reading games on teaching English among second language learners in preschools using the Integrated Sound Word Method using 60 preschoolers aged six years old in the district of Kuala Lumpur as samples. Two groups were formed to be assigned as the control group and intervention group. Pre-test, post-test, and post-test 2 were administered to the control and intervention groups before and after the quasi-experimental study. The Integrated Sound Word Method incorporated early reading games as an intervention for the intervention group. This study used one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) as well as the learning outcomes of the experimental study to measure its significance. The findings showed that the intervention group performed better in improving early reading proficiency through games as compared to the control group at each level. The participants in the intervention group are able to grasp early reading proficiency after learning through early reading games using the Integrated Sound Word Method. This study has several implications for educators and policymakers in developing effective reading programs for second language learners, emphasizing the significance of a balanced approach to achieving the objectives of the Malaysia Education Blueprint (2013–2025).

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