Basanti CS : Head Early Primary – shares her perspective on the role of phonics in learning to read and write. Read on:
These days, many parents are concerned that if children aren’t taught using phonics, they may fall behind in reading and writing or miss out on foundational skills. Interestingly, about 15 years ago, phonics wasn’t as prominent as it is today—yet children still learned to read and write.
So how did we all learn, back when the word phonics was hardly part of mainstream vocabulary?
We learned through a natural understanding of letter sounds—“a” for apple, “b” for boy—and gradually made sense of how letters and sounds are connected. This process of associating letters with their sounds was phonics, even if it wasn’t labelled that way. We also relied on rhyming words, visual cues, and repetition, all of which helped us recognise patterns in language. Regular dictations reinforced spelling and expanded our vocabulary.
The emphasis was clear:
- Build the ability to distinguish sounds
- Recognise common patterns
- Introduce sight words
- Blend sounds
- Practice consistently
Together, these strategies, combined with regular exposure to reading and writing—helped develop strong foundational literacy.
In the Indian context, children already come with a rich exposure to phonetic learning, through languages like Hindi (barakhadi), Telugu (guninthalu), Tamil, and others. These early experiences enhance a child’s ability to discriminate between sounds and recognise sound-symbol patterns; skills that naturally support learning English.
To read and write effectively, it’s essential to understand how letters represent sounds, and how combinations of letters create words. In Indian languages, this mapping is consistent. What you hear is what you write, making decoding much simpler. English, by contrast, has irregularities that can confuse learners, as its spelling doesn’t always match pronunciation.
Phonics, by definition, is a methodical approach to teaching letter-sound relationships, covering consonants, short and long vowel sounds, blends, digraphs, syllables, and sight words. It’s structured, but not always simple.
The challenge lies in its complexity: many rules, and just as many exceptions. Take the word pan—it follows basic phonics rules (p/a/n). But what about the? It can’t be decoded the same way. Such words are taught as sight words—they must be memorised.
Or consider man versus mane. The magic e rule changes the pronunciation, but the same rule doesn’t apply to have or give. For every rule in English phonics, there are exceptions that children must also learn. This can become overwhelming, especially for young learners.
From experience, we’ve found that instruction must be responsive to the learner’s needs. In a typical classroom, 3–5 students may benefit significantly from a structured phonics-based program—especially those with learning challenges. But for most learners, a combined approach works best.
This means:
- Learning the 26 letter sounds
- Blending three-letter words
- Introducing a core set of sight words
- Building fluency gradually through repetition and meaningful reading experiences
Phonics is a powerful tool, especially for early learners or those who need additional support, but it is not the only tool.
A balanced approach that blends phonics with:
- Sight word recognition
- Contextual word learning
- Listening, speaking, and regular reading
…is often more effective in helping children become confident, fluent readers.
Teaching should always be guided by the learner’s needs, ensuring they gain not just literacy skills, but also comprehension, confidence, and a lasting love for reading.
Basanti CS
Head – Early Primary