PLD’s High-Frequency Words (HFWs)

High-frequency words (HFWs) encompass both phonetically regular and irregular common words that require little effort for recall, forming what is known as the orthographic lexicon or sight vocabulary. Historically, they have been referred to as “sight words.” However, the term “sight word” can be interpreted in different ways. It may incorrectly imply that these commonly used words should be memorised exclusively through visual means. Research supports the idea that these words should not be taught as complete visual units without considering the sound-to-letter correspondences, or phoneme-grapheme relationships. A more effective approach is to view “sight words” as high frequency words (HFWs) that require explicit instruction, eventually leading to sight-based recognition. The ultimate goal is for these words to be automatically recognised through systematic and explicit teaching of speech-sound mapping.