Why is phonological awareness essential in learning to read?
The letters in print correspond to the phonemes in words- therefore, learning how the alphabet is used to represent the sounds in words is important to the growth of reading skills. An individual must learn the letter/sound correspondences to “sound out” new words. Also, in order to understand how the alphabet works, one must have a conscious awareness that words in oral language are composed of sound segments (phonemes) that can be represented by letters of the alphabet. When phonological awareness and decoding are low, reading comprehension can be virtually non-existent.
