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- Until now, we have only talked about spoken language, but how does a child learn to read? After all, one can't proceed without breaking words down into syllables and letters, reverting to the "from particular to general" method, can they?

No, certainly not. If the principle of "from general to particular" has already been formulated (thought-phrase-word-syllable-letter), we have no right to violate it within this program. Have you ever encountered a situation where a child loved the English language in kindergarten (songs, poems, performances - if they were lucky, and they weren't bombarded with letters and syllables), and then, after entering school, began to hate it? It turns out that in kindergarten, the language was "for fun", but the serious language involves letters, syllables, and articles. So, goodbye kittens and bunnies! Hello open syllables, articles, tenses, etc. And by the time all these fragments of speech reassemble into bunnies and kittens, the latter will no longer come to life. We are faced with the complex task of ensuring that reading does not destroy speech. After all, one of the previously formulated principles states: "A child should categorically not listen to incorrect speech, just as a musician should not endure off-key singing!" And reading by syllables is akin to off-key music, as it cannot fit into the overall intonation of a phrase. Our criteria for proper reading are such that, when closing our eyes, we should hear someone's conversation or story, but not reading. That is, there should be no audible connection to the text. The text is merely food for thought! It's as if a student is peeking at cheat notes (without the teacher noticing) and doesn't interrupt the natural narrative. In other words, the Stanislavsky Criterion applies to reading just as it does to spoken speech!

- It sounds wonderful for someone who can read fluently! But we're talking about the first steps in reading!

Well then, let's describe the process of mastering the reading technique from the very first steps.

Hundreds of times, I had to answer the same question from parents: "How can they read if they don't even know the alphabet?" And every time I respond: "By the time they know the alphabet, it will be too late to learn to read because the first word, 'Hello', will turn into 'eit∫', 'i:', 'dbl', 'el', 'eu'! Is there anything common between the sound of the former and the latter?

- So, the alphabet is not needed at all?

It is very much needed, but for something entirely different! It has nothing to do with speaking or reading and serves a specific, quite narrow purpose – the correct spelling of a word, that is, pronouncing it letter by letter (if the interlocutor didn't hear the name or term over the phone or doubts the spelling of a word). In such cases, we use names as examples, for instance, МГУ – Максим, Григорий, Ульяна. You'd agree that children rarely encounter situations where they need to pronounce something letter by letter.

A conversation with a 5-year-old kid (in English):

What’s your name?
Johnny.
How do you spell “Johnny”?
What???
This is quite an adult topic, so there's no need to rush with the alphabet when working with children. However, once we get to it, I tell the kids how crucial it is to know the alphabet. Making a mistake in pronouncing a single letter could mean missing a flight or not getting a hotel room if you made a reservation over the phone. But introducing kids to the letter "A" as the beginning of language is like studying car brands with an infant – something I, for instance, still don't know and get by just fine without.

- By the way, when do kids start to read?

It's, of course, good to have extensive speaking experience without relying on text before reading (if we start teaching early). But if it's after the age of 5, when children can focus on a line of text, there's no reason to delay the process. So you can start right away, simultaneously (it's too tempting to have such information as printed text as food for thought). Another thing is that, in the learning process, at any stage, even the most advanced, the auditory image of a phrase must always precede the graphic one! This fundamental rule of the communicative method was formulated a long time ago. We will just try to understand the essence of this rule. So, the "graphic image of a phrase".

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