You Might Be Mispronouncing Certain Letter Sounds!

Taylor Sofranko
Jul 29, 2024
3 min read

Updated: Aug 13

When teaching kids to read, it's crucial that they learn to pronounce each letter correctly. Yet, many of us unknowingly add an extra sound to certain letters, leading to potential confusion for kids. This issue often stems from the insertion of the schwa sound, a subtle yet pervasive vowel sound that can distort letter sounds and hinder early literacy development. Let's explore how this happens and why it's so important to address.

The Schwa Sound: A Sneaky Distorter of Letter Sounds

The schwa sound, represented by /ə/ in the International Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common vowel sound in English. You can think of it as a "lazy" vowel sound commonly heard in an unstressed syllable. It’s the "uh" sound we hear in words like "sofa" or "about." While it’s a natural part of our spoken language, it can cause problems when attached to letter sounds during letter pronunciation.

For example, instead of teaching the sound of the letter "p" as a crisp /p/, it’s often pronounced as "puh." This slight addition of the schwa sound can confuse children when they begin to blend sounds together to form words. They might hear "puh-ă-t" instead of "pat," leading to difficulty in decoding and reading fluently.

A speech pathologist teaching letter sounds

The Impact of Incorrect Letter Sounds on Reading and Decoding

Research shows that accurate phoneme (individual sound) pronunciation is vital for developing strong phonemic awareness, a key predictor of reading success. When students learn letter sounds incorrectly, they struggle to decode words correctly. This mispronunciation can lead to:

Reading Errors: Kids may add unnecessary sounds to words, making them harder to recognize and understand.
Decreased Fluency: Extra sounds can slow down reading, making it less smooth and more laborious.
Comprehension Issues: Mispronounced words can disrupt the flow of reading, leading to misunderstandings and frustration.

Teaching Correct Pronunciation of Letters

To help your child avoid these pitfalls, it’s important to teach the correct sounds of each letter. Here are some tips:

Be Conscious of Your Pronunciation: Pay attention to how you say each letter sound. Aim for a clean, concise sound without any trailing vowels.
Use Visual and Auditory Cues: Show your child how to form each sound using mouth movements and listen to correct pronunciations.
Practice, Practice, Practice: Regular practice with correct sounds can help reinforce proper pronunciation.

Alphabet Sound Review

In the video above, I demonstrate the correct way to pronounce each letter sound without the schwa. Use this as a guide to ensure your child hears and practices the correct sounds.

Feel free to fast forward to specific letters if needed! You can use this video as an assessment for yourself to see which letters you are saying correctly, and which letters you may need to work on. Some of them can be surprising!

Ensure Future Reading Success

Getting letter sounds right is one of the most powerful ways to set your child up for reading success. If you found this post helpful, there’s so much more I can share with you.

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