All natural languages started off as spoken-only before writing systems were invented for them. Therefore, tying all aspects of language-teaching to the sound of the language is essential. If you've heard terms like phoneticsand phonics thrown around and are confused about what it all means, keep reading!

Phonetics is the study of how the sounds of languages are physically produced. This allows to define each sound unambigously. Linguists across the globe came to a consensus on how to represent each different sound and created the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). If you learn the IPA, then you can pronounce any word of any language in the world with confidence! Go to the Phonetics page for more info.

**English Pronunciation for Thais - Apply phonetics to teaching the tricky sounds of English to Thai learners

Phonicsis a teaching technique whose goal is for students to establish a connection between written letters and the sounds they usually make. English is tricky, because there's not a one-to-one connection between letters and sounds. Therefore, the teacher's job is to help them see certain patterns so they can remember familiar words more easily and so they can guess the pronunciation of new words more accurately. Go to the Phonics page for more info or to add your favorite phonics activities.