What is phonemic awareness?

Phonemic awareness is the skill that involves the identification and manipulation of individual sounds, known as phonemes, in spoken language. This ability is crucial for developing reading skills, as it lays the foundation for understanding how sounds correspond to letters and words in print. Phonemic awareness encompasses several activities, including recognizing sounds in different positions of words, blending sounds to form words, and segmenting words into their constituent sounds.

Being able to hear and work with phonemes directly influences a child's ability to decode words while reading. This skill is not about written words, context clues, or pronunciation of complex words but rather about the auditory processing of sounds within language. Recognizing and manipulating these sounds enables learners to develop stronger reading and spelling abilities over time.