Phonics or the alphabet: letter names, letter sounds and how English reading starts

The short answer

The alphabet teaches the names of letters: "bee" for b, "see" for c. Phonics teaches the sounds letters usually stand for in words: /b/ as in bat, /k/ as in cat. To read a new English word, a child needs the sounds. Saying "see, ay, tee" does not lead to cat; saying /k/ /a/ /t/ and blending them does. Both are worth knowing, and children often learn them side by side, but the sounds are what open up early English reading.

This guide is about English

Everything here is about English. Bahasa Melayu and Mandarin work differently, so do not expect the same method to fit all three. BM reading is commonly taught through syllables, or suku kata, such as ba, bi, bu, helped by its regular spelling. Mandarin is written in characters, and pinyin is a guide to how they sound. A child learning all three is learning three different systems, and it is normal for progress to look different in each.

Letter names and letter sounds side by side

Before letters: playing with sounds

Many children can hear sounds in words before they are ready to match them to letters. Play like this needs no paper at all:

• I spy with sounds. "I spy something that starts with /m/." Use the sound, not the letter name.
• Rhyme time. Cat, hat, mat: what else rhymes? Silly made up words count.
• Clap the beats. Clap once for each beat in family names and favourite foods.
• Robot talk. Say a short word in sounds, /k/ /u/ /p/, and let your child blend it back into cup. Then swap roles.

Blending and segmenting

Blending is pushing sounds together to make a word: /s/ /u/ /n/ becomes sun. It is how children start to read. Segmenting is the reverse, pulling a word apart into its sounds, and it is how children start to spell. Both begin out loud, long before a pencil is involved.

As background, Cambridge International describes structured phonics and handwriting support for families on the parent pages of its Cambridge Early Years programme. That is a separate programme from the Cambridge English our school teaches, and we mention it only as an example of how phonics is commonly explained to parents.

Practising at home, gently

• Keep it short: a few minutes, and stop while it is still fun.
• Say sounds cleanly, without adding "uh". If you are unsure how a sound is said, ask your child's teacher to show you.
• Follow your child's interests: the sounds in their name, a favourite food or a toy.
• Read aloud every day, in any language, and talk about the pictures. Enjoying books matters as much as decoding them.
• Keep singing the alphabet song if your child enjoys it. Just add the sounds too.

Cambridge English groups its free activities for children by level, for reading and writing, listening or speaking, and suggests starting with an easier level when you are unsure. That is a sound rule at home too: start where your child is comfortable.

There is no fixed reading age

Children start blending and reading at different times. One four year old may read short words while another is still enjoying rhymes and sound games at five, and neither tells you much about later reading on its own. If you have questions about your child's progress, ask the teacher what they see in class. If you are concerned about speech or hearing, talk to your doctor.

Where Cambridge English levels fit

Cambridge English describes language ability in six main CEFR levels, A1 to C2, with Pre A1 below them for young learners who are just starting. Its qualifications for young learners are Pre A1 Starters, A1 Movers and A2 Flyers, each a step more complex. They are not tied to a fixed age or reading age. Phonics is part of the foundation, not a shortcut to a level.

At SunnySeeds

Cambridge English with phonics is part of our Early Years day from nursery, covering listening, speaking, reading and writing. Separately, our Cambridge English enrichment class for ages 4 to 8 is a standalone English class, and from age 6 children can prepare for a Cambridge English Qualification according to their level. Preparing is not the same as sitting the exam, and no certificate comes automatically, so ask us whether your child is ready and about exam dates, registration and any exam fee. See how English sits alongside Bahasa Melayu and Mandarin on our curriculum page.