The English language is built on an alphabet of 26 letters. Each letter has an uppercase (big) and a lowercase (small) form. Learning to recognize these letters is the first step toward reading and writing in English.

Every letter has a name, like "ay" for A or "bee" for B. But more importantly, each letter represents one or more sounds. For example, the letter B makes the /b/ sound you hear at the beginning of the word "ball."

Understanding the connection between a letter and its sound is key to reading. This connection is called letter-sound correspondence.

The letters of the alphabet are divided into two main groups: vowels and consonants. Every word in English has at least one vowel.

Vowels are the heart of words and syllables. Think of the sounds they make in these simple words:

• A as in apple
• E as in egg
• I as in igloo
• O as in octopus
• U as in umbrella

Sometimes the letter Y can also act as a vowel, like in the word "sky."

Consonants are all the other letters in the alphabet, like B, C, D, F, G, and so on. They work with vowels to form complete words. You can often feel where the sound is made in your mouth—with your lips, teeth, or tongue.

The best way to learn pronunciation is to connect each letter to its most common sound. Some letters can make different sounds depending on the word, but it's best to start with the basics. For example, the letter 'C' makes a /k/ sound in "cat" but an /s/ sound in "city." For now, we'll focus on just one common sound for each letter.

Let's look at a few examples.

Let's check what you've learned about the alphabet and its basic sounds.

Great work. Mastering the alphabet is the first major step to communicating in English.