The Skill That Makes Reading and Writing Easy: Phonological Awareness

A child’s ability to master reading and writing depends on several factors. The most important skill, however, is Phonological Awareness — the ability to understand that spoken language is made up of sentences, words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).

This skill must be well-developed before starting primary school.

🔍 How can I tell if my child has phonological awareness?

Try this simple task: Say a word to your child sound by sound (e.g., /c/–/a/–/t/). Your child should be able to blend the sounds to form the word.
Important: Do not use the names of the letters (e.g., “cee” or “ay”), but rather their phonetic sounds as heard in speech.

If your child can easily blend even longer words (e.g., /t/–/e/–/a/–/c/–/h/–/e/–/r/), it’s a good sign of well-developed phonological awareness.

⚠️ If your child struggles:

• It’s wise to assess their overall learning readiness
  • A preventive screening is recommended before entering first grade — something done systematically in many European countries
  • At Evlogon, we conduct standardized tests (such as the A-Test and Athena Test) to evaluate your child’s readiness

Assessments can begin from age 5. Early detection of difficulties paves the way for targeted and effective support — and that makes all the difference.

Maria Lazarou
Speech and Language Therapist (SLP, BSc, M.A)
Head of the Multidisciplinary Team at Evlogon