English for FunWhat is phonics, and should preschoolers learn it?
Phonics is a word parents hear a lot when looking into English for young children, often alongside strong marketing claims. This guide explains what phonics is, why children in England learn it early, and what that means for a child learning English as an additional language.
What phonics is
- Phonics teaches reading through the link between written letters and sounds: c says /k/, the a in cat says /æ/, t says /t/.
- Once children know the sound of each letter, they blend the sounds to read new words (c-a-t makes cat). This is called synthetic phonics.
- It also works the other way: children split a word into sounds to spell it, cat into c-a-t.
Letter names and letter sounds
- A letter name is what we call the letter in the alphabet: A is "ay", B is "bee", C is "see".
- A letter sound is the sound the letter usually makes in a word: the c in cat says /k/, not "see".
- Both are useful. Names are for talking about letters and spelling words aloud; sounds are for reading.
Listen
Tap to hear a letter name, then a word that starts with it. Notice that C is called "see", but in cat it says /k/.
When children in England start phonics
- The Department for Education's reading framework guides schools in England to teach systematic synthetic phonics from reception (age 4–5), together with talk and stories.
- The key point: children in England start phonics when they already speak English every day and know thousands of words. Phonics helps them read words they can already say.
So should a child learning English start early?
- Phonics helps, because English spelling is hard to predict and phonics gives children a rule-based way in.
- But phonics does not replace listening and speaking. A child who blends c-a-t without ever having heard "cat" can sound it out without understanding it.
- A suggestion: for beginners aged 4–5, focus on listening, speaking, vocabulary, letter names and first sounds. Once your child knows a good number of words (often around 5–6), add phonics a little at a time, playfully.
- Every child is different. If your child loves letters and keeps asking "what does this say?", follow their interest.
Does English for Fun teach phonics?
- Not as a full programme. We say this clearly so you can choose what fits.
- Letter Island teaches the names of the 26 letters and finding the first letter of a word.
- Read It! (free) is a small first step: 29 short words grouped by sound (a, i, o, u, sh) to read and say.
- If you need a full phonics programme, English learning apps compared shows which apps teach phonics.
- See also teaching children to read their first English words.