Helping multilingual children hear English sounds

The superpower

Multilingual children are expert sound-switchers — they already know that different languages carve up sounds differently. That awareness is a genuine head start for phonics.

The handful that need care

A few English sounds don't exist in many Indian languages or work differently: the two th sounds, the English w versus v distinction, and the schwa that hides in unstressed syllables. These deserve explicit, playful practice — never correction-by-embarrassment.

Keep the home language loud

Research is clear: a strong first language helps English reading, not hurts it. Read, sing, and chat in your home language freely. English phonics is an addition, not a replacement.