Using Phonics to Teach Reading and Spelling

Students often struggle to find the relationship between the sounds of English and how those sounds are represented through the English writing system.  This is particularly true of students whose first language does not use a writing system based upon the Roman alphabet.  Because of the complicated and convoluted path that English has taken throughout its development, our writing system does not directly correspond to our sound system.  There are sounds that are represented several different ways, and letters that can represent several different sounds.  Phonics is a system that helps make the relationship between the English writing system and sound system clearer for English language learners.  It is useful for beginners who are learning to read and write in English and also for low intermediate students who need to improve their spelling.