Insight

Phonological Awareness

by Kirsty Daw

Published on Jun 16, 2025

0 min read

Why It Matters for Children’s Speech, Language, and Literacy

As Speech and Language Therapists, we often work with children who are developing their communication and literacy skills. One foundational area that frequently comes up is phonological awareness—a critical, yet often overlooked, building block for speech clarity and reading success.

What Is Phonological Awareness?

Phonological awareness is a broad term that refers to a child’s ability to hear, recognise, and manipulate the sound structures of spoken words. This includes:

Rhyming (e.g., cat, hat, bat)
Syllable segmentation (e.g., el-e-phant has three syllables)
Alliteration (e.g., “Peter Piper picked...”)
Phoneme identification (e.g., "dog" starts with /d/)
Blending and segmenting sounds in words (e.g., /s/ /u/ /n/ = sun)

Phonological awareness is entirely auditory—it doesn’t involve written letters and prepares children to understand phonics, where sounds are linked to letters and words.

Why Is It Important for Speech and Language Development?

Children need to hear and process speech sounds correctly in order to produce them accurately. Difficulties with phonological awareness are often linked to speech sound disorders and phonological processing delays.

Research shows that children with speech sound disorders are at higher risk of reading difficulties later on (Raitano et al., 2004).
Children who cannot identify or manipulate individual sounds in words may struggle with both expressive and receptive language skills
By helping children develop strong phonological awareness, we support clearer speech, better listening, and stronger vocabulary development.

The Link to Literacy

Phonological awareness is one of the strongest predictors of early reading success.

According to the National Early Literacy Panel (2008), phonological awareness is a key skill that supports the development of decoding, word recognition, and overall reading comprehension.
Children who have well-developed phonemic awareness by age 5 are more likely to become proficient readers by age 7 (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998)
Conversely, weak phonological awareness is a hallmark feature of dyslexia and other reading disorders.

Developmental Norms: What to Expect

Age Typical Skills

3–4 years - Recognises and generates rhymes; claps out syllables in words

4–5 years - Identifies the first and last sounds in words; blends syllables

5–6 years - Segments words into individual phonemes (e.g., /c/ /a/ /t/); begins manipulating sounds

6–7 years - Adds, deletes, and substitutes phonemes to make new words (e.g., 'hat' to 'bat')

How Parents and Teachers Can Help

You don’t need to have special tools or training to support phonological awareness. Try these playful, everyday strategies:

Read rhyming books and pause to let the child finish the rhyme.
Clap syllables in words, names, and phrases.
Play 'I spy' with sounds (e.g., “I spy something that starts with /b/”).
Sing songs and nursery rhymes, which naturally emphasize sound patterns.
Use puppets or toys to break words into sounds (e.g., one clap or puppet tap per sound).

Final Thoughts

Phonological awareness is more than a “pre-reading” skill—it’s a vital part of your child’s ability to speak clearly, understand language, and learn to read and write confidently. The earlier we nurture these skills at home and in school, the stronger the foundation we provide for lifelong communication and learning.

If you’re concerned about your child’s development in this area, reach out to a Speech and Language Therapist. Early support can make a lasting difference.

If you are a staff member in one of our partner schools in Plymouth or Devon and would like to learn more about supporting children’s speech and language development, then liaise with your MAST link educational psychologist or book onto one of our CPD courses.

References

National Early Literacy Panel (2008). *Developing Early Literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel*.
Snow, C. E., Burns, M. S., & Griffin, P. (Eds.). (1998). *Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children*. National Academy Press.
Raitano, N. A., Pennington, B. F., Tunick, R. A., Boada, R., & Shriberg, L. D. (2004). *Speech sound disorders and reading: An investigation of children with speech sound disorders, their siblings, and unrelated controls*. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research.

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