**There are 44 different phonics sounds in English and you have to learn them all**

The main problem with phonic sounds is that a lot of sounds are the same, but they are written differently. For example the phonic sound for /j/ can be used for these letters and letter combinations j, g, ge, and dge, and they are all pronounced the same way. Like in the words ‘j ‘ in

jam, ‘g’ in giant, ‘ge’ in cage and ‘dge’ in bridge. In those words the phonic sound /j/ is the same in all words even though the words are all spelt different.

There are 26 letters in the alphabet, around 44 to 48 different phonic sounds depending on which country you are in, and around 108 different combinations.

For example these phonic sounds er ar or ure a e i o u as represented in these words upper collar doctor measure zebra garden fossil lion circus all sound the same. Slightly confusing for the child but this way they only need to learn the 108 different combinations, then they should be able to pronounce any word.

So you see learning phonics can get very complicated. But not really, you just have to keep practicing them by reading simple books. I prefer the Montessori approach to teaching reading with sandpaper letters as the children seem to learn the phonic sounds faster after tracing the sandpaper letters.

If you are not too confident with phonic sounds use an internet based phonics program as they say the phonic sounds for you. And while on the computer your children can see and hear the phonic sound so they can match up which letters make what sound.

For more information about phonics courses I recommend including a Montessori course see our Teach Reading page.