What Is Phonological Awareness? – Being Parents

The phonological awareness is essentially  the ability to understand that words are made up of syllables and phonemes. These are the sets of letters and their respective pronunciation. It is the basis of most of the processes necessary for education and life in society.

This ability to understand language – also called ‘metalinguistic’ – is a cognitive process. As such, it understands the control and ordering that the person does when producing and understanding linguistic signs.

The importance of phonological awareness

First of all,  this ability stands out for its relevance in learning to read in children. In this sense, it involves understanding that words divide into syllables, and letters with different sounds are elementary.

Thanks to his reading ability, the child will be able to be involved in activities and processes throughout his life. For example: studying, working, reading works of literature, textbooks, etc., as well as any other action which requires this knowledge.

Of course,  phonological awareness is also fundamental for the other part of literacy: learning to write. It is essential that the child or the individual willing to integrate this competence can distinguish and understand the use of the different linguistic elements.

Thus, we can conclude that,  as the basis of the process of production and of written and oral comprehension, phonological awareness is a central characteristic in maturation.

How does phonological awareness develop?

As with many other human skills, phonological awareness develops in stages. In kindergarten, the first objectives are to pronounce letters and words and to separate them into syllables  through short songs.

Thereafter,  activities focus not only on listening and rehearsing, but also on being able to practice these separations. This is when the person begins to know the letters, their sounds and their combinations. After a period of adaptation, this is when phonological awareness begins to form as such.

“As the basis of the process of production and of written and oral comprehension, phonological awareness is a central characteristic of maturation”

Activities to develop my child’s phonological awareness

Reality indicates that,  like with many other things, children can integrate this ability from the environment in which they find themselves.

Therefore, if they have access to a rich environment in terms of communication and reading, they will gradually integrate this awareness. Here are some simple activities that can help with this process:

• Pun. The simple game of saying a word and having the child repeat it or asking the child to come up with rhymes can be very beneficial.
• Songs that contain syllable separations and sounds that grab children’s attention.
• At more advanced levels, we can consider  games in which sounds must be added or removed to form new words.

• Read to children. If they get used to being in contact with new words from an early age, children will be able to absorb each new sound more easily.

In the midst of the 21st century,  we cannot ignore the technological resources at our disposal. Indeed, we have at hand mobile applications, videos on the internet as well as computer games that offer activities and challenges to stimulate phonological awareness.

How do I know if my child is having difficulty with this ability?

Parents must be extremely involved in the process of educating their children. They will therefore be able to identify any gaps in their development and help them correct them.

Phonological awareness can be one of the areas in which children have difficulty. In order to spot these disturbances,  we need to pay attention to the following behaviors:

• Difficulty learning rhymes or having fun listening to them for lack of understanding.
• Problems identifying and counting syllables.
• Do not distinguish the repetitions of sounds in words.
• Inability to combine sounds to form words.
• Difficulty learning new words.

Due to these difficulties, problems with reading and writing will arise later. Therefore, we must be attentive to it from the start in order to avoid major complications. In addition, it can also have a negative impact on the esteem and self-confidence of the little one.

Although this is often an underestimated skill, phonological awareness is of the utmost importance.

Indeed,  its deficiency can lead to problems not only in the educational field. But also in the social and emotional fields.  So take a few minutes out of your day to create games that promote these abilities in children.