How fun it is to teach the English alphabet with children. English alphabet. How to learn the alphabet quickly and fun

When starting to learn a new language, we first become familiar with the alphabet. Letters and sounds are the constituent parts of words, from which phrases and sentences are further constructed. The stages of learning English are different for adults and children, but both face the stage of learning the alphabet as the basis for further progress. What methods are more effective? How to quickly learn the English alphabet and do it easily and based on exciting tasks? Let's look at the most popular methods for adults and children.

Songs, rhymes and tongue twisters

One of the most popular and effective ways is the study of the alphabet, based on the perception of rhythmic music and rhymed poetry. Exists large number video and audio content developed by methodologists and teachers around the world for this purpose. It is based on funny entertaining songs with minimum set vocabulary and speaking/singing the English alphabet. The melody, rhythm and bright pictures in the video are simply ingrained in the memory, and learning becomes simple and easy. This method is suitable for both adults and children. You can play songs or play videos for several days in a row, even in the background, and the task will be completed. This approach gives a clear answer to the question of how easy it is to learn the English alphabet.

Pictures, cards, posters and puzzles

This method can be adapted for both adults and children from two years of age, when they begin to show first attention to letters and sounds as such. It is important to maintain this interest. Hang cards, pictures, posters depicting letters or the full alphabet around the apartment (office, room, play/study area). In this situation, the association method will be the most effective. Each letter must be associated with the word that begins with it.

How to learn the English alphabet with your child using puzzles? It is recommended to take ready-made ones or cut the letter/card into several parts and then assemble them into a whole. If it is possible to bring several children together, it would be effective to arrange such a game for speed or for points scored based on the results. This method makes it easy to work through individual letters, rather than the entire English alphabet at once. How can adults learn the latter using these materials? The most effective method will be cards with the image of a letter, a transcription sound and a word.

It is more effective to learn a word or phrase right away. Each word is worked through by “spelling,” that is, pronouncing the letters of the alphabet. Visual, auditory memory and imaginative thinking work. There will be no further problems with this simple task, how to dictate your email, an unfamiliar word or first/last name when communicating with foreigners.

Outdoor games, motor skills

The answer to the question of how to learn the English alphabet on your own at home can also be given by outdoor games. They are suitable mainly for children, since they learn mainly by playing. Soft toys in the shape of letters, cubes, educational materials, magnets and even cookies of the appropriate shape will suit the purpose. Show your child the alphabet in English. Name each letter several times, repeat daily, reinforce the next day and beyond if possible.

Play dance songs with the alphabet, educational cartoons aimed at learning and memorizing this topic. Let your child try to depict the shape of each letter with his body or fingers with your help to remember the English alphabet. How to learn it faster will be determined by the child’s hobbies and preferences. They are the ones you should rely on to make outdoor games interesting.

Children love the Steam Locomotive game, which uses a car with a trailer and letter cards. The parent “drives” the car and periodically makes stops with “letter” names. The child must load the appropriate card for the trip to continue. The things that are best remembered are those that are rich in images, emotions and fascinating details.

Plasticine

Indispensable assistants in learning the English alphabet with preschool and school age become plasticine or elastic modeling dough. It is recommended to prepare stencils or blanks in the form of letter shapes. Then they are decorated with colored “patches”. You can make beautiful letters from clay or dough and bake them, turning them into interesting toys for further study. Joint creativity in this direction will also tell you how to learn the English alphabet with your child. Use clay to draw on paper using your fingers and outline shapes. Learn 1-2 letters a day in such a way as to improve their visual memorization.

Drawing and copywriting

Various versions of albums with images of English letters for coloring will also help in mastering the alphabet. This activity is suitable for children aged three years and older. For preschoolers and primary school children, copybooks will be a good help. There are special notebooks that will allow you to master the English alphabet faster and more interestingly. How to learn the names of letters in copybooks? Engage with your child. Name the letter, understand its constituent forms. These can be lines, circles, semicircles, etc. Come up with associations together about what this or that letter looks like for a child.

Summarizing all of the above, we can highlight a number of individual recommendations that will guide the activities of mastering the English alphabet in the direction effective memorization.

Posters in play and work areas for systemic perception and activity visual memory.
Songs, rhymes that you can listen to, sing and dance to.
Educational videos, computer games and cartoons aimed at presenting and consolidating the alphabet.
Coloring pages with letters and copybooks.
Plasticine, play dough, and craft clay, which can be used in a number of ways.
All tasks and games should be exciting, rich in images, and contain some stories for more effective memorization and development.
Constant repetition and reinforcement is important for both adults and children, due to the nature of short-term and long-term memory. All of the above methods and materials will greatly facilitate the solution to the question of how to quickly learn the English alphabet, and will provide the opportunity for an interesting pastime with your child.

Learning any language begins with letters and sounds. Knowledge of the English alphabet will be a reliable aid for further mastery of words, grammar, reading, and pronunciation. And while children learn through play, adults will have to make a little effort to master the English alphabet. How to learn the letters and sounds of a foreign language without boring cramming? Songs with funny motives, posters, the association method, cards will help you achieve your goal.

When you start learning English, the first thing you encounter is English alphabet (alphabet |ˈalfəbɛt |). Writing English letters is not something completely new, even in the most initial stage training, because anyone modern man faces daily in English letters on the keyboard of a computer and telephone. And English words are found at every step: in advertising, on the labels of various products, in store windows.

But even though the letters seem familiar, their correct pronunciation in English is sometimes difficult even for those who speak English quite well. Everyone is familiar with the situation when you need to spell an English word - for example, dictate an email address or the name of a website. This is where the wonderful names begin - i - “like a stick with a dot”, s - “like a dollar”, q - “where is the Russian th”.

English alphabet with pronunciation in Russian, transcription and voice acting

English alphabet with Russian pronunciation is intended only for beginners. In the future, when you become familiar with the rules of reading English and learn new words, you will need to study transcription. It is used in all dictionaries, and if you know it, it will once and for all remove the problem of correct pronunciation of new words for you. We advise you to compare the transcription icons in square brackets with the Russian equivalent at this stage. Perhaps, from these short examples, you will remember some of the relationships between English and Russian sounds.

Below is a table showing the English alphabet with transcription and Russian pronunciation.

← Move the table to the left to view in full

Letter	Transcription	Russian pronunciation	Listen	Add. information

If you want to listen to the entire alphabet, please!

English alphabet cards

Cards of the English alphabet are very effective in learning it. Bright and large letters will be easier to remember. See for yourself:

Features of some letters of the English alphabet.

In the English alphabet 26 letters: 20 consonants and 6 vowels.

The vowels are A, E, I, O, U, Y.

There are several letters in the English language that we want to pay attention to special attention because they have certain features that need to be taken into account when learning the alphabet.

The letter Y in English can be read as a vowel or as a consonant. For example, in the word “yes” it is a consonant sound [j], and in the word “many” it is a vowel sound [i] (and).
Consonant letters in words, as a rule, convey only one sound. The letter X is an exception. It is transmitted by two sounds at once - [ks] (ks).
The letter Z in the alphabet is read differently in the British and American versions (as you probably already noticed in the table). The British version is (zed), the American version is (zi).
The pronunciation of the letter R is also different. The British version is (a), the American version is (ar).

To make sure that you pronounce English letters correctly, we recommend not only looking at them and reading them (using transcription or the Russian version), but also listening. To do this, we advise you to find and listen to ABC-song. This song is usually used when teaching children the alphabet, but it can also be useful for adults. ABC-song is very popular in teaching, it exists in various variations. If you sing it with the announcer several times, you can not only check the correct pronunciation of the letters, but also easily remember the alphabet along with the melody.

A few words about spelling

So, we have learned the English alphabet. We know how to pronounce English letters individually. But moving on to the reading rules, you will immediately see that many letters in different combinations are read completely differently. A reasonable question arises - as the cat Matroskin would say - what is the benefit of memorizing the alphabet? In fact, there are practical benefits.

The point here is not the ability to recite the alphabet from beginning to end, but the ability to easily spell any English word. This skill is necessary when you need to take dictation english names. If you need English for work, this skill can be very useful, since English names, even those that sound the same, can be written in several ways. For example, Ashley or Ashlee, Mila and Milla, not to mention last names. Therefore, for the British and Americans themselves, it is considered absolutely natural to ask to spell a name if you need to write it down (spell it) - hence the word spelling (spelling), which you can see in various tutorials.

Online exercises for learning the alphabet

Choose the letter that goes

Complete the letter with which the word begins.

Complete the letter that ends the word.

Decipher the code and write down the secret message in letters. The number corresponds to the order of the letters in the alphabet.

Well, the final, interactive exercise “Dictation”, you can follow this link.

You can apply the acquired knowledge in practice with the help. With the help of unique exercises, even at the most basic level, you can master not only reading, but also writing English words, and also study the basic grammar rules and continue learning further.

To start learning English, you first need to master the letters, their sounds and correct pronunciation.

Without this, it is impossible to learn reading and writing, which are basic when learning a foreign language. The modern English alphabet consists of 26 letters, of which 6 are vowels and 20 are consonants.

How to quickly memorize the alphabet?

First of all, you need to learn the vowels. There are few of them, so they are easier to remember.

IN English transcription sign - colon indicates the longitude of the sound, i.e. it must be pronounced in a drawn-out manner.

Particular attention should be paid to the letter Yy. This letter is often mistaken for a consonant. In fact, it is very easy to remember if you associate it with the letter Ii. In words, these two letters are read the same.

Consonants are easier to remember if you break them into logical groups:

Consonant letters that are similar in appearance to Russian ones and are pronounced the same way:

Cc		si
Kk		kay
mm		Em
Tt		you

Consonants that are similar to Russian, but are pronounced or written differently:

Consonants that do not exist in Russian:

Ff		ef
Gg		ji
Hh		HH
Jj		Jay
Qq		Cue
Rr	[ɑː]	A
Vv		vi
Ww	[‘dʌblju:]	double
Zz		zed

It is better to learn the English alphabet in blocks, writing and naming each letter in several lines. This is how three types of memory work at once: auditory, visual and motor.

After you have done this, then perform a series of exercises to consolidate the results.

Exercises:

Write the letters on a piece of paper from memory, saying each letter out loud. If you don’t remember the name or are at a loss as to which letter is next, you can look at the hint. When you have written a “difficult” letter, underline or circle it and continue further. After writing the entire English alphabet, write out all the underlined letters separately in one row. Repeat them. Write a few more rows of these letters randomly, calling them out loud. When you are sure that you have memorized, start the exercise over again.
Cut 26 small squares and write letters on them. Place face down on the table. Take each square in turn, saying the letter out loud. Check yourself using the table. Put those letters that you named incorrectly or forgot aside. After working with all the squares, take all the letters set aside and do the same exercise only with them. Repeat several times, each time putting aside only those that are not remembered.

Remember that any work on memorizing something should be structured as follows:

Learn and set aside.
Repeat after 15 minutes
Repeat in an hour
Repeat the next day
Repeat in a week.

In this case, the memorized material will be stored in memory forever!

Games for memorizing the English alphabet

If it is possible to involve 2-3 people, then you can diversify the study of the alphabet with games:

“Spell the word”

Any English text is accepted. Players take turns calling out the letters in order, starting with the first word in the text. The one who named incorrectly is eliminated from the game. The last one left in the game wins.

“What’s missing?”

The presenter chooses from 26 cards with letters 5-10, depending on the age of the group. Players remember letters. After everyone has turned away, the presenter removes one or two letters. Players must guess which letters are missing.

“Who is faster?”

Each player is dealt the same number of cards; they need to be sorted in alphabetical order as quickly as possible.

“Find a match”

Participants in the game are given cards with capital letters. WITH reverse side Each card has a lowercase letter. 3 minutes are given. During this time, each player must remember and write down a lowercase letter. The one who writes the most letters wins.

“Continue”

One of the players begins to say the alphabet from the beginning, the leader stops at any letter. Players must pick up where they left off as quickly as possible.

“Remember Five”

The leader gives each player a letter face down. On command, players turn over the card. You need to write the next 5 letters of the alphabet as quickly as possible. The one who completed the task raises his hand.

Songs

To quickly memorize the alphabet, you can use songs. The melody for them can be found on the Internet.

Oh, well you see,

Now I know the ABC!

There is another version of this song, the last two lines of which go like this:

Now I know the ABC

Next time won’t you sing with me!

Currently in textbooks English language two options are given for pronunciation of the letter Rr: [ɑː] and [ɑːr] In the second option, the second sound is an oversound, that is, it is not pronounced in its pure form, but muffled. Both options are correct.

In English transcription you can find several ways of writing the same sound. This is due to the fact that the rules for writing certain sounds are gradually changing, often towards simplification, for example:

Both sounds are pronounced [e] with the sound [e].

I learned the alphabet, what should I learn next?

After learning the English alphabet, it is advisable to learn the sounds that each letter can convey.

In English, many letters have multiple sounds, depending on the type of syllable and combination with other letters:

Aa	[æ]	her, a (long), e (with a sound I)
Bb	[b]	b
Cc	[s][k]	s,k
Dd	[d]	d
Ee	[e]	uh, and (long)
Ff		f
Gg	[g][s]	g, s
Hh	[h]	X
II	[i] [ə:]	ay, i, e (similar sound)
Jj	[j]	y, j
Kk	[k]	To
Ll	[l]	l
mm	[m]	m
Nn	[n]	n
Oo	[əu][ɔ:][ɔ]	uh, oh (long), oh
Pp	[p]	n
Qq		que
Rr	[r]	a (long), p (similar)
Ss	[s]	With
Tt	[t]	T
Uu	[ə:][ʌ]	yu (long), yo (similar), and
Vv	[v]	V
Ww	[w]	ue (there is no equivalent in Russian)
Xx		ks
Yy	[i]	ah, and
Zz	[z]	h

Then you should move on to mastering the rules of reading. You need to start with the simplest, namely the first and second types of syllables. Having studied the basic rules, you can move on to mastering basic language topics.

You should start with the simplest:

“A story about myself”
“A story about a friend”
"Appearance. Character"
“My family”
“My daily routine”
“My hobby”
"Weather"
“My home”
“My city (country)”

The sequence of such work is as follows:

Working with thematic text: reading, translation, memorizing words
Memorizing text
Translation of written sentences from English into Russian and vice versa.
Answers to questions
Compose your story by analogy

At first, these topics can be very basic. After studying and practicing them, you can complicate them. Each text should be worked out “inside and out”.

If the text contains grammatical tasks, then be sure to work them out by studying the topic in detail.

Good results can only be obtained with systematic training. You should exercise every day for at least 30 minutes. In order not to relax, you need to make yourself a schedule of classes and hang it in a visible place.

And, of course, strictly adhere to the schedule, without citing any circumstances. You can study less often, 2-3 times a week. In this case, the lesson should last at least an hour.

If these rules are strictly followed, learning the alphabet will take a maximum of 3 lessons.

From the first days of school, children are taught the alphabet and explained from scratch that words are made up of letters, and words are used to build phrases, phrases and sentences. Without knowledge of letters, you cannot read or write anything. But not only children need the alphabet, but it is also useful for adults to take up the alphabet and learn it. The English alphabet consists of 26 letters

Well, of course, to learn to read English words
Knowing alphabetical order easy to look up words in the dictionary
Pronounce abbreviations, try to pronounce them correctly without knowing the letters (NUL and VOID, UNESCO, ASAP)
And for such a concept as spelling - spelling out a word. Because English words are not always written as they are pronounced.

Even these 4 reasons are enough to take the alphabet in your hands.

It is difficult to imagine a case or situation where words from the alphabet would not be used. Even ours cell phones The telephone book is compiled according to an alphabetical list. And if you remember school years, then the list of students in the magazine is compiled according to the same principle

The ABC is order, a system that significantly saves time. And this is very important for our 21st century - the century information technology. I am sure that the following lessons for beginners will help you and bring you benefit and pleasure. Why do we need the English alphabet?

English alphabet

The English alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet. In the Russian alphabet, as you already know, there are 33 letters, in the English alphabet there are seven letters less - that is, only 26.

20 consonants: B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Z 6 vowels: A, E , I, O, U, Y It is worth noting that the letter W (and in British pronunciation also R) is itself a consonant, but is mainly used as part of diagrams, that is, two-digit letters denoting vowel sounds. The letter Y can represent both a vowel and consonants.

There are 5 digrams in English:

sh = [ʃ], “shine” [ʃaɪn]
ch = , "China" [ˈtʃaɪnə]
zh = [ʒ], “Zhukov” [ˈʒukov]
th = [ð] or [θ], “the” [ðiː, ðə], “think” [θɪŋk]
kh = [x], “Kharkov” [ˈxarkov]

The most commonly used word in English is article the . The most commonly used letters are T and E, and the rarest are the letters Q and Z. By the way, the pronunciation of the letter Z is also different in the American and British versions. An American will say “zee”, and a British person will say “zed”.

Introduction to letters and pronunciation

Next to each letter of the English alphabet its correct pronunciation is indicated. There are certain differences in the phonetics of American and British English. For example, in some American words, the letter "u" preceding th, d, t or n is pronounced /u:/, but in the British it is pronounced /ju:/.

Letter	English transcription	Russian transcription

And this is what capital letters look like: There can be uncertainty about how to spell a particular name correctly, and therefore the alphabet needs to be learned by heart in order to clarify it. For example, Maria [ɑ:].

Names, just like the names of continents, countries, cities, villages and streets, are written with a capital letter.

Several English words with translation and transcription

If you want to learn English from scratch, then you should start with the simplest words, that is, with prepositions, pronouns, numerals and question words. These words appear frequently in both written and spoken English.

And [ənd] and
at [æt] about
be located, be
do
from from

A few English words for beginners with translation and transcription One of the most important advice for beginners in learning - at first, try to study individual words, and only then move on to phrases. This method is much more effective and faster. You should also pay due attention to transcription - correct pronunciation.

Nowadays knowledge foreign languages is a guarantee of additional opportunities and success in life. Knowledge of English is in some way a necessity. It is used everywhere, which means it makes it possible to understand and be understood in any corner of the world. It is not surprising that a huge number of parents strive to teach their child English. And any training, as you know, begins with the basics. That is why today we will look at the English alphabet for children, analyze its features and methods of memorization.

First, however, let's address the issue of age. Often, mothers and fathers may have doubts about whether it is possible to start teaching English from the first years of a child’s life. The answer is simple: you need it! The fact is that during the first years of a person’s life, his brain goes through the first stage of development. This stage is characterized by the fact that the brain has many more neurons than it can use. Thus, the child’s brain is preparing to master the world. However, subsequently the excess neuron cells that were not used disappear. Therefore, if you take advantage of the moment and start learning as early as possible, the process on a purely physiological level will be easier and faster for children.

In addition, children, as a rule, do not have any stereotypes, and therefore they have an easier attitude towards languages and their learning. Plus, they have more time and fewer excuses like adults. It is worth noting that this does not mean that the child needs to be stuffed with a large amount of information at once, just as it does not mean that learning at another age is not even worth starting. From 3 years old or 5, 15, 30, 60 or 80 – you can start learning a language at absolutely any age. Therefore, if you were once planning to learn English, you can start learning the language with your child.

English alphabet for children: composition

English alphabet [ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ ˈalfəbɛt] or the English alphabet consists of 26 letters, of which 5 are consonants and 21 are consonants. English letters are practically not similar to Russian ones; they differ both in appearance and pronunciation. Therefore, it is very important that when teaching children, the English alphabet with transcription and Russian pronunciation is used in order to avoid mistakes in their subsequent use. Having studied the introductory information, it’s time to move on to the English alphabet itself.

Letters of the English alphabet with pronunciation and examples for beginners
№	Letter	Name	Transcription	Pronunciation	Examples
1.	A a	a		Hey	apple [ˈap(ə)l] (epl) – apple; ant (ant) – ant
2	B b	bee		bi	brother [ˈbrʌðə] (braze) – brother; bear (bea) – bear
3	C c	cee		si	computer (computer) – computer; cow (kau) – cow
4	D d	dee		di	desk (desk) - desk; dog (dog) – dog
5	E e	e		And	elephant [ˈɛlɪf(ə)nt] (elephant) – elephant; earth [əːθ] (ес) – earth
6	F f	ef		ef	father [ˈfɑːðə] (phase) – dad; flower [ˈflaʊə] (flave) – flower
7	G g	gee		ji	goat [ɡəʊt] (goat) – goat; garden [ˈɡɑːd(ə)n] (gaden) – garden
8	H h	aitch		HH	house (house) – house; horse (hows) – horse
9	I i	i		ah	ice cream [ʌɪs kriːm] (ice cream) – ice cream image [ˈɪmɪdʒ] (image) – picture
10	Jj	Jay		Jay	jam (jam) - jam; juice (juice) – juice
11	K k	kay		kay	key (ki) – key; kindness [ˈkʌɪn(d)nəs] (kindness) - kindness
12	L l	el		el	love (lav) – love; lion [ˈlʌɪən] (layen) – lion
13	Mm	em		Em	mother [ˈmʌðə] (maze) – mother; monkey [ˈmʌŋki] (monkey) – monkey
14	Nn	en	[ɛn]	en	nose (nose) – nose; name (name) - name
15	O o	o	[əʊ]	oh	orange [ˈɒrɪn(d)ʒ] (orange) – orange / orange; oxygen [ˈɒksɪdʒ(ə)n] (oxygen) – oxygen
16	P p	pee		pi	pig (pig) – pig; potato (pateytou) – potato
17	Q q	cue		Cue	queen (queen) - queen; queue (kyu) – queue
18	R r	ar	[ɑː,ar]	a, ar	river [ˈrɪvə] (rive) – river; rainbow [ˈreɪnbəʊ] (rainbow) – rainbow
19	Ss	ess		es	sister [ˈsɪstə] (siste) – sister; sun (san) – sun
20	T t	tee		you	teacher [ˈtiːtʃə] (tiche) – teacher; tree (three) – tree
21	U u	u		yu	umbrella [ʌmˈbrɛlə] (umbrella) – umbrella; uncle [ˈʌŋk(ə)l] (uncle) – uncle
22	Vv	vee		vi	vase (vase) – vase; violin (vayelin) – violin
23	W w	double-u	[‘dʌbljuː]	double	wolf (wolf) – wolf; world (world) - world
24	X x	ex		ex	xerox [ˈzɪərɒks] (ziroks) – copier; x-ray [ˈɛksreɪ] (exray) – x-ray
25	Y y	wy		wy	you (yu) – you / you; yoghurt[ˈjəʊɡət] (yogut) – yogurt
26	Z z	zed		zed	zebra [ˈziːbrə] (zebra) – zebra; zip (zip) - lightning

Pronunciation of English letters

A = (a-n-d, a-f-t-e-r, a-p-p-l-e)
B = (b-a-n-a-n-a, b-a-t-h-r-o-o-m, b-o-y)
C = (c-a-r, c-o-a-t, c-o-l-o-u-r)
D = (d-o-g, d-r-e-a-m, d-o-l-l-a-r)
E = (e-l-e-p-h-a-n-t, e-y-e, e-x-t-r-e-m-e)
F = [ɛf] (f-i-n-g-e-r, f-o-u-r, f-i-r-e)
G = (g-i-r-a-f-f-e, g-i-r-l, g-r-e-e-n)
H = (h-o-t-e-l, h-a-p-p-y, h-o-l-i-d-a-y)
I = (i-m-a-g-e, i-s-l-a-n-d, I-n-d-i-a-n-a)
J = (j-u-n-g-l-e, j-o-l-l-y, J-o-s-e-p-h-i-n-e)
K = (k-a-n-g-a-r-o-o, k-o-a-l-a, k-a-r-a-t-e)
L = [ɛl] (l-o-w, l-e-v-e-l, l-i-o-n)
M = [ɛm] (m-o-t-h-e-r, m-o-m-e-n-t, m-e-s-s)
N = [ɛn] (n-o, n-i-g-h-t, n-o-o-n)
O = (o-l-d, o-b-j-e-c-t, o-a-t)
P = (p-e-n-g-u-i-n-e, p-i-a-n-o, p-a-c-k-e-t)
Q = (q-u-i-e-t, Q-u-e-e-n, q-u-o-t-e)
R = [ɑr] (r-e-d, r-i-g-h-t, r-a-b-b-i-t)
S = [ɛs] (s-t-r-o-n-g, s-e-v-e-n, s-i-l-v-e-r)
T = (t-e-a, t-h-o-u-s-a-n-d, t-w-o)
U = (u-s-e, u-n-f-a-i-r, u-n-d-e-r)
V = (v-a-c-a-t-i-o-n, v-e-r-y, v-a-m-p-i-r-e)
W = [ˈdʌbəl juː] say: double-ju (w-e-s-t, w-o-r-m, w-h-i-t-e)
X = [ɛks] (X-r-a-y, x-y-l-o-p-h-o-n-e, X-m-a-s)
Y = (y-a-r-d, y-e-l-l-o-w, y-e-a-h)
Z = in British English, in American English (z-e-r-o, z-e-b-r-a, z-i-l-l-i-o-n)

In addition to these letters, the English language has digraphs or signs that consist of two letters. There are 5 of them in total:

Digraphs
Digraph	Transcription	Pronunciation	Examples
ch	, sometimes like [k]	h or k	chocolate [ˈtʃɒk(ə)lət] (choklet) - chocolate; echo [ˈɛkəʊ] (ekou) - echo
sh	[ʃ]	w	shine [ʃʌɪn] (shine) - shine
th	[ð] or [θ]	h (for pronunciation the tongue must be between the teeth)	article the [ðə]; noun thought [θɔːt] (hundred) - thought
kh	[x]	X	surnames: Akhmatova (Akhmatova), Okhlobystin (Okhlobystin)
zh	[ʒ]	and	surnames: Zhulin (Zhulin), Zhirinovsky (Zhirinovsky)

Explain to your child that English letters have their own sounds, which can sometimes change with different combinations of letters. Pay his attention to letters such as g and j, e and i, a and r, since the pronunciation of these letters is often confused with each other. Try to explain everything in simple words so that the child understands what he is being taught and does not close his eyes with the thought: “Why do I need these English letters?”

It is probably better to refrain at the initial stage from explaining digraphs, which may subsequently lead to descriptions of the people indicated in the examples. Just be aware of their existence and when learning a word in English that contains a digraph, tell your child how this or that combination of letters is read.

How to teach children the English alphabet

Of course, you won’t be able to get by with an ordinary table on top when working with children, and therefore we offer several options on how to help your child learn the English alphabet faster.

First and foremost, create a pleasant learning environment. If your child whines, denies and is distracted by other things, you will not get the same results. It is important not to force, but to be able to interest the child. Therefore, your English lessons should not be like training, they should be like a game. If the English alphabet is presented in a fun and interesting way, the child will remember the information much faster and will be interested in further learning the language. How can you teach a fun lesson in a playful way?

English alphabet in pictures

We all differ from each other and perceive information in different ways. Your child may remember information better using visual memory. If so, then let him learn the English alphabet with pictures. These can be simply brightly drawn cards with letters, or cards that, in addition to letters, contain some images. It is not necessary to buy such cards with the English alphabet; you can make them yourself or even involve your child in this process.

English alphabet

Where do you usually start learning the Russian alphabet? That's right, from the alphabet. So why not apply the same method to English? English ABC books for preschoolers on book markets there's a lot now. All you have to do is check that each drawing matches the contents of the page and buy the book that you like best.

Songs

If your child does not like books or does not perceive visual information at all, you can try using auditory memory to learn English. And don’t say that you’ve never heard a song with the English alphabet. Perhaps it is even more popular than the anthem of Great Britain itself. Sing it yourself or play it on an electronic device. Besides the standard version, you can also look for other versions of songs with English letters. There are quite a lot of them on the Internet.

You can also play association games. For example, learning the English alphabet with animals. Tie words on the topic “animals” to the letters. These animals should begin with the letter that you want to explain to the child. Then play the sounds these animals make and let your child guess who you wished for them. Animals are usually remembered by a child much faster, so a similar exercise can be used from the moment the child begins to repeat after you and pronounce his first words.

Items

The English alphabet for little ones can be taught using various things. Show an object to your baby and name it in English. In the future, this will greatly simplify his understanding of the letters, since he will already have an idea of how they are pronounced.

At older ages, you can also use stickers. You need to write words on them that denote the objects that are in your house and, in fact, stick them in their places. Constantly noticing a word, the child will involuntarily associate it with the object to which the sticker is attached.

Educational cartoon

Another way of visual learning is watching cartoons. The alphabet in pictures for children may not seem very interesting, because there is no movement in it, there are no characters. But cartoons will probably attract the attention of any child. On at the moment There are a huge number of educational cartoons in which main theme is English for children. Usually in such cartoons they present in an entertaining form initial themes English language, including the alphabet. They come in both Russian and English. Decide for yourself which one to choose. But if your child does not yet speak Russian, then he can be shown cartoons exclusively in English, while for older children, Russian cartoons about English will be more understandable at first.

Subsequently, the child can also include some ordinary cartoons or the same films about superheroes. First, in this case, those cartoons and films, phrases from which your children know by heart, may be suitable. Accordingly, by giving them the English version, you can be sure that they follow the plot and understand everything that happens on the screen.

Computer game

Not all parents agree with this method, but it is still worth mentioning. If you want to enrich your child's learning and add more interactivity, you can use electronic gadgets. On the Internet you can find a huge number of games that help solve the question of how to learn English. This method can probably replace the first 3 at once, because these games can have cards with the English alphabet, “talking alphabet”, animals with their own sounds, and funny songs. There is also a training game in which the child needs to, for example, determine the order of letters or choose one letter out of two. Children will undoubtedly enjoy such exercises and will help them with their learning, because a child does not associate the word “game” with something tedious and dreary.

Checking what you have learned

Learned letters and words tend to be forgotten. To prevent this, periodically return to the topic of the alphabet. Listen to how your child speaks, pay attention to those moments when he chooses a letter at random rather than actually remembering its pronunciation or spelling. Don't swear if your child forgets something. When a person learns a large amount of information at once, this happens.

Nanny

There is, of course, another training option. Probably one of the most effective methods, which was used by the families of the Pushkins, Lermontovs, Griboyedovs and other famous Russian people. If you do not want or are unable to move to English speaking country, but want your child to talk to a native speaker on a daily basis, a nanny or teacher who will communicate more than teach your child at a desk is the most faithful helpers. When a person is not understood in one language, he has no choice but to learn the language of his interlocutor. In children, this process occurs spontaneously without any wasted effort. They will not be confused about which person to speak which language with, and will switch from one language to another instantly. A native speaker will save you from English classes with your child and will save you time, but, unfortunately, not money, so approach this option wisely.

It is also worth noting that you don’t need to think about how to quickly learn a language or teach it to someone. You will agree that you cannot learn even the same English alphabet in 30 seconds. Yes, sometimes even one letter may not be mastered in 30 seconds. Therefore, we teach or study English gradually, dwell on each letter, and learn its pronunciation.

We hope that the question of how to remember the English alphabet for children has become less pressing for you. Games, songs, cartoons, interactivity and simple patience - this is what English for children consists of. As you can see, there is nothing complicated about this, and therefore you should not wait for the first grade, start teaching your children right now.