"The doctor spilled wine all over his “genes”; oops, I mean, he spilled over his jeans!
English is quite unique as a language. There are numerous homographs—words that share the same spelling but have different meanings, like bark (dog bark, tree bark) or left (an action or direction), and then there are also homophones—words with similar sounds but different spellings, like hair and hare. Thus, it is important to teach phonetics to children, as it helps them discover the sounds associated with each letter. This is crucial for speaking, reading, writing, and listening, and thereby learning the language.
According to research published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, teaching phonetics is one of the best strategies to help kids learn to read and can help them build a solid foundation for literature. With phonetics, children are able to comprehend and imbibe the key to understanding the language.
Now, let's discuss a few other benefits of teaching phonics to children:
Develops fluency
Fluency is the most notable advantage of learning phonics. Children can develop into fluent readers and speakers over time who can swiftly identify familiar words, sound out new words they come across, and subsequently improve their command of the language. Studies published by the International Literacy Association on the growth of children's reading abilities have shown that the phonics approach is more successful in enhancing young children's reading abilities than meaning-based approaches, such as the whole-language approach. This is due to the fact that phonics teaches kids how to recognize simple words and sounds, making it easier for them to read increasingly complicated words as they get older.
Improves pronunciation
Phonetics is incredibly helpful since children can read the spelling of a new word and know how to pronounce it. Adults, for instance, are aware that the word "c-a-t" is pronounced "cat." However, young learners might read it incorrectly. Using phonics, a student may distinguish "c/khe/”, "a /ae/”, and "t /the/" and combine them to form "cat." While pronouncing words correctly, they can also understand phrases and sentences as well as identify new words when they learn phonetics.
Improves phonological awareness
Phonological awareness teaches kids to blend sounds to construct words and decode written words into sounds for better understanding. It combines alphabetic principles, phoneme awareness, and phonics skills. For example, to translate a printed word into a spoken word or a spoken word into a written word, readers must be aware of the speech sounds and letter combinations. Therefore, learning phonetics will enhance their capacity to recognize various syllables, rhymes, alliteration, and other patterns.
Learn to decode complex and unfamiliar words
Learning phonetics assists children in decoding any new or complex word they come across. The kids' exposure to a wider vocabulary will increase as they become more adept at decoding new words. Children can connect the regular patterns of words they encounter through phonics instruction, which makes reading easier. Academic success is more likely to occur when they get more at ease with the words and how to use them in sentences.
Improves spelling
Kids can learn to spell words correctly by understanding the specific letter codes. Phonetics is an excellent tool to identify words with complex spelling patterns. When a child masters phonetics, they can deconstruct words into sounds and determine how to spell them. Children who understand the rules and sounds of English are better able to choose the appropriate phonograms for the sounds they hear in words.
Teachers and parents can help children by encouraging them to use their newly acquired knowledge of phonetics to decode words they come across in books, stories, and rhymes. For instance, during storytime, teachers and parents can count the syllables in the target words with the children and also encourage them to figure out whether the keywords contain onsets, rhyming families, and letters that they have already learned. With regular practice, children will be able to read words and sentences, and learning the language will be a piece of cake for them!
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