phonological awareness
nounUK /ˌfɒnəˈlɒdʒɪkəl əˈweənəs/
US /ˌfoʊnəˈlɑːdʒɪkəl əˈwernəs/
Knowing how the sounds in words work, like hearing that cat and hat rhyme.
Teachers use rhyming games to build phonological awareness in young children.
OTHER MEANINGS
2. The ability to notice and work with syllables in spoken words.
Clapping out the beats in a name is an early sign of phonological awareness.
3. The skill of recognizing individual sounds at the start of words.
Phonological awareness helps a child hear that 'sun' and 'sock' begin with the same sound.
4. An understanding that spoken words are made up of separate sound units.
Phonological awareness lets children break the word 'bat' into three sounds.