“The batter with the butter is the batter that is better”.
If you can say this fast enough and as many times as possible, it can be derived that your tongue is trained well enough and also that you have played never-ending games of tongue twisters in your childhood!
It is indeed a matter of great pride for parents when their children speak English confidently and fluently. As with learning to walk, learning to talk requires time for development and constant practice in day-to-day life situations. The main difference between rice and mice is in the movement of your tongue. Phonetics helps children to understand the movement of their tongue as they say different letters of the alphabet. It is essentially a science that deals with the sounds of human speech which is based on sound. When the foundation of reading is being laid, utilizing appropriate rules of phonics helps develop a meaningful approach for English language oral skill development. Practicing accurate vowel and consonant sounds while reading helps to improve a child’s fluency in reading. Reading at a quick pace and correctly comes with this practice. When children learn to pronounce words very well, they are able to decipher what they read and acquire more vocabulary in the process. In the later stages, as children grow, they can speak fluently if their phonetic base is strong enough.
As they begin to vocalize more, children need to develop more confidence in their speaking ability. This happens when they realize that they can pronounce words correctly like grownups. If they do not know the usage of phonetics, they do not understand how to pronounce a particular word thus marring their speaking skills. Preschools provide phonetic skill development of children in a literacy-rich environment. In the reception year, children begin to better understand the elements of speech. They are also exposed to linguistic imitation and learn to speak from their teachers, thus building upon the language skills acquired at home.
