Why Learn Phonics
Sounds and Speech
Writing systems like the Egyptian, Chinese and Japanese use pictographs or ideographs to represent meaning. By contrast, the letters of the English alphabet represent sounds, not ideas or pictures. In order to read well, all learners must first be taught the sounds of English letters. They must then learn how to merge the sounds of all the letters in a word to read the entire word. With a firm grounding in phonics, second language learners will not have the weaknesses in pronunciation resulting from the interference of their first language.
Sounds and Grammar:
Correct pronunciation is important for the sake of avoiding misunderstanding. It is also of paramount importance if a learner is to acquire good grammatical skills as he increases his vocabulary. For example, common pronunciation errors among second language learners include the dropping of end sounds like the final “s” in singular verbs. Hence, in the sentence “She likes music” second language learners often read or say it as “She like music”. Consequently, their minds fail to remember that the singular verb requires a final “s” with the net result that their conversation is flawed with subject-verb disagreement.
