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Reading as we all know is a receptive skill and can be defined as something presented in written symbols and the readers get meaning or information from that written text. It not only requires looking at symbols but also requires the skill of speaking to pronounce the words that we read. So, teaching reading requires not only words awareness, but it typically begins with knowledge of alphabets which includes familiarity with letter shapes and names. This generally is taught at the very beginning levels or early years of school education. This is then followed by the development of phonemic awareness, word recognition, and phonics. Phonemic awareness is an auditory skill that means the ability to hear and manipulate the individual sounds in spoken language. Phonemic awareness can be taught through oral language there is no involvement of print or letters. In this, the teacher can teach students the sounds in spoken language. For Example, the teacher is teaching the word ‘cat’ she will elaborate this by producing sounds /c/, /a/, /t/ and ask students to observe the movement of the mouth while producing each sound. The teacher can ask them to repeat and blend them together to produce the word. This can be taught by using several other activities such as using picture snap cards in which students recognize the sounds for the object name and through recognizing rhymes etc. Word recognition becomes easy once students become able to recognize the right sound. There are again several ways to practice and develop words or vocabulary such as building words in which students are given three to four letters initially and ask them to develop words as much as possible. Many students face problems of pronunciation because they are unable to associate sound to the letters. This problem can be solved by teaching phonics. When it comes to letters/ text or linking sounds to spelling patterns that deal with phonics. In this, children are taught that the letter ‘a’ spells the sound ‘/a/’, the letter ‘b’ spell the sounds ‘/b/’, and so on. Once students learn these basic sounds the instructor teaches them to decode or sound out simple words such as the word ‘bat’ consist of three sounds /b/, /a/ and /t/. Students in this way can learn words easily by decoding and then blending sounds together. Once the teacher builds the foundation of phonics firmly then the students will be able to decode and blend unfamiliar words that they have not seen before. This way they develop reading abilities. As a matter of fact, teaching phonics is not only important for teaching reading and writing but it is equally important to teach pronunciation. Phonics can be taught by using several activities such as Sound concentration in which students can pick up a card from a set of flashcards and say the sound. In conclusion, teaching reading can be made more effective by using continuous assessment of the performance of students and by providing necessary guidance according to their needs. The lessons can be made more effective and interesting by using the ESA approach. So, the teacher should build a strong foundation of basics in order to teach students reading and make them good and fluent readers.
