ABSTRACT
For native readers of English, listening comprehension is a good predictor of reading performance; better listeners tend to be better readers. This chapter explores the issue by looking at the simple theory of reading, the development of phonological awareness, and the consonant and vowel phonemic inventory of English. The simple view of reading holds that there are only two components that affect reading comprehension: word recognition and listening comprehension. There are different ways to read depending on what memory traces are activated. Babies’ earliest language awareness system emerges as they segment speech and create neural networks associating distinctive features at the lowest level to spoken syllables and words at the upper levels. This chapter presents the phonemic inventory of consonants and vowels, as well as allophones, dialect variation, International Phonetic Alphabet transcription, and prosody. Interlanguage issues that affect listening and pronunciation are discussed.
