Does Teaching Letter Names First Hurt Struggling Readers?
Why “A-B-C” Can Cause Confusion — and What to Teach Instead
If your child knows the alphabet song but still can’t read cat, you’re not alone.
A lot of bright kids memorize letter names early… and then hit a wall when decoding begins.
Parents often ask:
“Should my child learn letter names first?”
“Could that be why they keep guessing?”
“Why do they say /wuh/ for W or /yuh/ for Y?”
Let’s break it down in a way that’s simple, brain-based, and backed by research.
The Short Answer
Teaching letter names by themselves — especially before children are ready for sounds — can create real confusion for struggling readers.
The research shows:
letter names can confuse early learners because the name often contains extra sounds or doesn’t match the sound at all. NAEYC+1
letter-sound knowledge is a stronger predictor of reading growth than letter-name knowledge. JSTOR+1
the most effective instruction is teaching sounds clearly and explicitly, and pairing names only when helpful, not making names the main goal. Reading Rockets+1
So the problem isn’t that letter names exist.
It’s that kids are often taught to think in names instead of sounds.
Why Letter Names Can Cause More Harm Than Help (Especially for Struggling Readers)
1. Letter names add “extra sounds”
Take the letter H.
Its name is “aitch.”
But the sound in words is /h/.
For many kids, that mismatch creates errors like:
reading hat as “aitch-a-tuh”
spelling ship with an extra ch sound
saying “church” when they see “hrch” because they hear “ch” in the name of H
This exact confusion is documented in early literacy research. NAEYC
2. Some letter names don’t give the sound at all
Examples:
W = “double-you” → no /w/ in the name
Y = “why” → doesn’t clearly represent /y/ or /i/
H, J, Q → names don’t map cleanly to their sounds
Research shows children learn sounds less easily for letters whose names don’t contain their sounds. SpringerLink
3. Struggling readers cling to what feels “known”
When a child has been praised for alphabet mastery, they may think:
“Reading = saying letter names.”
So when decoding starts, they default to names because it feels safe and familiar — even though names don’t build words.
That’s why you hear:
“cuh-ay-tuh” instead of /k/ /a/ /t/
“bee-ay-tee” instead of blending bat
guessing at words because the names don’t lead anywhere useful
What the Research Actually Says (Simple version)
Letter sounds matter more for reading than letter names
Multiple studies show that letter-sound knowledge predicts word reading more strongly than letter-name knowledge. JSTOR+1
That means kids who know sounds well tend to become readers faster — even if letter names are shaky.
Letter names can help only when kids can isolate the sound inside the name
For example, the letter name B (“bee”) contains the /b/ sound at the beginning.
If a child has phonemic awareness, they can use the name to support the sound.
But if they can’t isolate sounds yet, the letter name becomes noise, not help. earlyliteracyci5823.pbworks.com+1
Teaching names and sounds together can be fine — if sounds stay primary
There is evidence that teaching both together can work well when instruction is explicit and sound-focused. Reading Universe+1
So again, the issue is not that names exist.
It’s the order and emphasis.
Speech-to-Print Perspective: What Kids Need First
In speech-to-print, reading starts with:
Hearing the sounds in spoken words
Mapping those sounds to letters
Blending the sounds into words
That requires sounds, not names.
Sounds-first instruction looks like:
“This is /m/.”
“These letters represent /m/.”
“Let’s build map: /m/ /a/ /p/.”
Names can come later as labels — after the sound-to-print connection is solid.
Real-Life Examples of Letter-Name Confusion
Here are common patterns I see in therapy:
Example A: The “alphabet reader”
Child sees sat and says:
“ess-ay-tee”
They aren’t being lazy.
They’re using the only strategy they’ve been trained to use.
Example B: The “extra sound speller”
Child spells jump like:
“juh-uh-em-pee”
Because they’re thinking:
J = “jay” (has an /a/ sound)
M = “em” (starts with /e/)
P = “pee” (ends with /ee/)
They’re spelling the names, not the word.
Example C: The “W problem”
Child writes double-you when asked for W
or says “double-you” instead of /w/.
That’s not a memory issue — it’s a mapping issue.
What You Should Do Instead (Simple Plan)
Step 1: Teach sounds clearly and consistently
Use one sound per letter to start.
No extra “uh” (say /m/ not “muh”).
Step 2: Blend early and often
Kids should start blending as soon as they know a handful of sounds, not after they memorize all names.
Step 3: Add names later as labels
Once blending is easy, letter names become harmless background knowledge.
FAQ Parents Always Ask
“But schools teach letter names first… won’t my child be behind?”
No.
Names are a label system.
Reading is a sound-to-print system.
If your child can read, spell, and map sounds to letters, they’re ahead where it matters.
“Should I stop teaching names altogether?”
Not necessarily.
Just don’t make names the foundation.
Think of names like shoe sizes — useful labels, but they don’t teach you how to walk.
Bottom Line
If your child is a struggling reader, sounds and blending must come first.
Letter names aren’t evil.
But teaching them early as the main goal can:
slow decoding
reinforce guessing
create spelling confusion
and make reading feel harder than it needs to be
When you flip the process to speech-to-print, reading becomes logical again.
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