A definition of Phonics

english raven's phonics!

What (essentially) is "Phonics"?

A dictionary definition of the word "Phonics" provides the following description(s):

> The science of sound : ACOUSTICS

> A method of teaching beginners to read and pronounce words by

learning the phonetic value of letters, letter groups, and especially

syllables.

From this you might glean that Phonics is all about sounds, and more importantly, about the methodology involved in applying letters, letter groups and syllables to phonetic values - for beginners.

"Phonics" therefore is all about writing, reading, recognizing and producing the phonetic values of a language, at a beginning level for learners of a second or foreign language. Due to this definition and the general perception many teachers have of "Phonics", this is necessarily an area of study most important to low-level learners and children. Phonics could be considered a holistic approach that at higher/older levels is generally broken into more specific considerations which fall into formal categories like Pronunciation, Reading and Writing.

So as a general guide, the presence of phonics-orientated study in any given curriculum represents a priority on teaching young and low-level learners how to read, write, identify and produce the various sounds of English - both as isolated units and as groups of sounds to make syllables and words.

Once students have established solid Phonics skills, they are ready to move into areas of pronunciation that have more to do with words as they sound in combination to create sentences; for example, rhythm and intonation. Rhythm involves syllable-stress (within a word) and word-stress (within sentences) - crucial elements for students to learn in order to be able to produce "natural" sounding English. Intonation can have (amongst other things) a major influence on meaning for English sentences.

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