Yes, Your Child Can Read Fluently At 4!

In Europe, Australia, and North America, it’s common for children to be fluent English readers by the age of four. Reading fluency occurs when a child has acquired sufficient knowledge and skills to recognise words swiftly, effortlessly, and accurately. In South Africa, however, children usually start learning to read by the age of seven. Contrary to popular belief, I advise parents to enrol their children in reading programs as soon as possible. In my opinion, the optimal age is 3.6 years, so that by age 5, the child can read for meaning, which is a challenge.

According to research, there are numerous benefits to learning to read at a young age. These benefits include increased general knowledge, a broader vocabulary, and greater attention span and focus. Furthermore, learning to read early provides children with a significant edge in other academic areas later in life, such as life orientation, science, and mathematics. After all, reading is the foundation of all formal education. The better your child's reading skills, the better he or she will understand the content.

LEWB teaches reading in three simple steps:

1. Learn the letter sounds.
2. Blend two letters.
3. Blend three letter words. 

Learning letter sounds is the most crucial phase in teaching children to read. During this stage, children develop a variety of skills, including pronunciation, phonemic awareness, letter processing, and letter recognition. Also, it’s vital to introduce lowercase letters first, as these make up the majority of the print we read. Uppercase letters can be introduced once children are familiar with the letter sounds. Once the child has learned the letter sounds a–z (preferably in order), 40% of the job is done. The next stage, blending two letters, is a quicker process. We start with simple CV (consonant-vowel) words. See below. 

Once the child can blend two-letter words together fluently, the next step becomes a little more challenging: reading three-letter words. We use CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words to accomplish this successfully. See below.

Learn English with Bathabile (LEWB) is an English language school situated in Pretoria. We specialise in English, business, and communication. We offer ESL services, career development, corporate services, and mental health services in person and online. Register your child for reading classes by clicking here.