Final answer:
The term 'phonics' refers to phoneme-grapheme correspondence, a decoding strategy for new words, and is one of the five essential pillars of reading. The correct answer to the question is option a. Phonics.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding Phonics in Language
The term phonics refers to various aspects of language learning including phoneme-grapheme correspondence, which is the relationship between individual sounds (phonemes) and their written representation (graphemes). Phonics is also a strategy for decoding new words, allowing readers to break down words into pronounceable parts to read them correctly. Lastly, phonics is considered an essential component of reading and is recognized as one of the five pillars of reading instruction. The other options given, morphology, syntax, and semantics, are also important aspects of language but do not encompass the features described in the question. Morphology deals with the structure of words and their parts (morphemes), syntax is the set of rules for constructing sentences, and semantics concerns the meaning of words and sentences.
Therefore, the correct option that refers to phoneme-grapheme correspondence, a strategy for decoding new words, and an essential component of reading is: a. Phonics.