Why Letters and Letter Sounds Aren’t Enough: Phonological Awareness Is the Real Foundation of Reading

Many well-intentioned reading programs focus heavily on letters and letter sounds—flashcards, worksheets, and early decoding drills. While letters matter, they are not where reading truly begins.



Reading starts before print.

It starts with a child’s ability to hear, recognize, and manipulate sounds in spoken language—a skill known as phonological awareness.

Letters Are Symbols—Sounds Are the Foundation

Letters are arbitrary symbols created to represent sounds. They only make sense after a child understands how spoken language works.

Before children ever read or write, they must be able to:

• Hear that words are made of parts
• Recognize when words sound the same or different
• Break words apart and put them back together
• Play with sounds orally—without letters

If a child struggles with sounds, letters alone won’t fix it.

What Is Phonological Awareness?

Phonological awareness is the ability to notice and manipulate the sound structure of language. It includes skills like:

• Recognizing rhymes
• Identifying first and last sounds in words
• Blending sounds together (“c-a-t” → cat)
• Taking sounds apart
• Deleting or changing sounds (“say cat without the /k/”)

These skills happen entirely in spoken language—no print required.

Why Focusing Too Early on Letters Can Backfire

When children are pushed into letters and decoding before they understand sounds, they may:

• Memorize letters without understanding how sounds work
• Guess words instead of decoding
• Struggle with spelling
• Read words accurately but not understand them
• Fall apart when reading becomes more complex

This is why some children “know all their letters” but still struggle to read.

Phonological Awareness Predicts Reading Success

Research consistently shows that phonological awareness is one of the strongest predictors of future reading and spelling success.

Children who struggle to manipulate sounds orally often struggle later with:

• Decoding unfamiliar words
• Spelling
• Reading fluency
• Comprehension

This is especially true for children with a history of speech or language delays.

Reading Is Built From the Ear Up

Before reading becomes a visual task, it is an auditory and language-based process.

Children must first:

1. Hear sounds clearly
2. Understand how sounds combine to make words
3. Manipulate sounds flexibly
4. THEN connect sounds to letters

Skipping these steps is like building a house without a foundation.

How Speech-Language Therapy Supports Reading Readiness

Speech-language therapy directly targets the skills that reading depends on, including:

• Phonological awareness
• Speech sound development
• Vocabulary and language comprehension
• Listening and auditory processing skills

Therapy helps children build sound awareness in meaningful, playful ways, creating a strong base for literacy.

This support doesn’t replace phonics—it makes phonics work.

What This Means for Parents

If your child:

• Knows letters but struggles with reading or spelling
• Has difficulty rhyming or playing sound games
• Had early speech delays
• Reads words but doesn’t understand what they read

The missing piece may be phonological awareness—not effort or intelligence.

The Bottom Line: Sounds Come Before Symbols

Letters matter—but sounds matter first. Children must be able to hear and manipulate spoken language before reading and writing can truly click.

👉 If your child is struggling with reading, spelling, or early literacy despite knowing their letters, a speech-language evaluation can help determine whether phonological awareness is the missing foundation. Early support can change the trajectory of reading—and confidence—for years to come.