My English School’s Foundation Class is where children learn basic phonics for beginners, from recognising individual letter sounds to blending them into their first words. Trusted by over 40,000 Singapore parents since 2012, we place each child by current ability rather than age, so a complete beginner never sits alongside a child who already reads. Classes stay small, and every lesson introduces sounds through games, songs and rhymes rather than worksheets alone. A free assessment at any of our 15 centres shows exactly where your child stands before you commit to a term.
Understanding what phonics is and how it supports reading development helps explain why early English enrichment makes such a lasting difference to a child's confidence and academic success.
English has 26 letters but around 44 distinct sounds, and knowing the alphabet song does not teach a child to hear or produce them. A child who can recite A to Z may still pause when asked what sound the letter S makes on its own. Phonics closes that gap, connecting each sound to the letter or letters that represent it, which is what the skill reading actually depends on.
Phonics is the relationship between letters and the sounds they represent, and it is what lets a child decode: connect the sounds they hear in spoken English to the letters they see on the page. A child who has memorised a handful of words by sight can recognise them, but only a child who can decode has a tool that works on any unfamiliar word. In My English Foundation Class, this decoding skill is the starting point for everything that follows in our Reading Programme.
Most children are ready to begin phonics learning from around age 3, when their speech and language development supports sound awareness and simple instruction. Readiness varies, and both early and late starters are normal. What matters more than the exact age is recognising the early signals, such as noticing rhyme or asking what a word on a sign says, and starting a gentle introduction when they appear. Because placement in My English Foundation Class is based on ability rather than age, this is also the starting point for any child, including a primary school student, who needs to build these foundations.
Every letter has a core sound, and our English phonics lessons for beginners start by connecting sound with symbol, letter by letter, before any blending begins. The chart below shows one common example word for each letter, the same starting point we use in the Foundation Class.
| Letter | Example word | Letter | Example word |
|---|---|---|---|
| a | apple | n | nest |
| b | ball | o | orange |
| c | cat | p | pig |
| d | dog | q | queen |
| e | egg | r | rabbit |
| f | fish | s | sun |
| g | goat | t | tiger |
| h | hat | u | umbrella |
| i | insect | v | van |
| j | jam | w | web |
| k | kite | x | box |
| l | lion | y | yoyo |
| m | moon | z | zebra |
We introduce s, a, t, p, i and n before the rest of the alphabet, because these six letters combine into the most simple words a beginner can blend, such as sat, pin and tap. A child who has practised blending with a small, high-yield set of letters builds confidence before facing the full alphabet. This is systematic phonics that moves from letter sounds to blending to reading real words, not memorisation of the alphabet in order.
Blending is the moment phonics becomes reading. A child hears the sounds /c/, /a/ and /t/ separately, then learns to push them together into the word cat. In our Foundation Class, children practise this with letter tiles, sound games and simple three-letter words before moving on to longer patterns, saying each blend aloud until it becomes automatic.
Once a child can blend confidently, we introduce decodable books: short texts built entirely from the sounds already taught. Children in My English Foundation Class read decodable books, not just recite letter names, which turns phonics into real reading practice from the very first weeks, and prepares them for the storybooks used further along the Reading Programme.
Here is what My English Foundation Class looks like in practice, so you can feel confident it is the right fit for your child.
My English Foundation Class is designed for children beginning their English literacy journey from Nursery 1 onwards. Placement is based on your child’s current phonics ability, not their age or school level, so a first-time learner is never grouped with a child who already reads. This also means a primary school child who needs to build stronger reading foundations is placed here at the level that genuinely fits them, not held back to a younger-sounding label.
Every centre runs on the same ability-based structure, with groups kept small enough for individual sound-out practice in every lesson. Our team can confirm current fees and session details at your nearest centre.
Children who are shy or reluctant to speak up in a larger group often do well in this class-size setting. Because groups are ability-based and small, and sound-out practice happens aloud in every lesson, quieter children get many low-pressure chances to speak, which is exactly the encouragement they need to build confidence.
Learning phonics early gives your child far more than the ability to sound out words. It builds listening skills, vocabulary and confidence, and in Singapore’s many bilingual households, structured phonics helps children distinguish English sounds from their home language from the very start.
My English Foundation Class is designed to deliver these outcomes in every lesson, through:
Multi-sensory lessons mean complete beginners connect letters to sounds from scratch, through actions, songs and rhymes rather than repetition alone. Movement and sound work together, which helps young children remember letter sounds faster than a worksheet can.
Children practise saying each sound aloud, not just recognising it on a page, which catches mispronunciation early before it becomes a habit. This matters especially in bilingual homes, since some English sounds do not exist in Mandarin, Malay or Tamil. Focused practice here carries directly into clearer speech and stronger reading aloud.
Our teachers closely observe how each child learns and adjust pace, content and activities accordingly. Because classes are ability-based rather than age-based, your child is always working at a level that challenges without overwhelming them.
Storytime builds listening comprehension and a love of books alongside phonics itself, while early writing practice, learning to form letters and beginning to write simple words, prepares your child for the writing demands that follow in Primary 1.
As children grow more confident sounding out words, they also build vocabulary and the presentation skills to speak up, retell a story or answer a question in class.
Phonics practice does not stop at the end of a lesson. A few minutes a day at home, woven into routines you already have, reinforces what your child learns in class and helps basic phonics for beginners stick faster.
When your child sees an unfamiliar word, resist supplying the answer right away. Encourage them to sound it out and blend it back together, even if it takes a few tries. This is how decoding confidence gets built.
Choose books built mostly from sounds your child already knows, so they can decode most of the words independently. Repetition helps: reading the same simple book several times builds fluency before moving to a slightly harder one.
Find out how to learn phonics at any of our 15 centres across Singapore. With locations spread across the island, there is always a My English School near you.
Bukit Timah/Bukit V
Choa Chu Kang
Clementi
Downtown East
Jurong East
Jurong West
Khatib/Wisteria
Novena
Parkway Parade
Potong Pasir
Punggol
Simei/Eastpoint
Tampines
Tengah
Tiong Bahru
Woodlands
Yishun/Northpoint
Once your child is ready to move beyond My English Foundation Class, our Reading Programme builds on those sounds with real storybooks and comprehension, and our P1 Preparation Class prepares K2 children for the jump into Primary 1.
Explore our range of programmes designed to support your child’s learning journey:
My English School's Foundation Class is built for complete beginners, from age 3, with ability-based groups so a first-time learner never sits with a child who already reads. Lessons combine games, songs and rhymes with structured letter-sound teaching, and a free assessment at any of our 15 centres confirms the right starting point.
Most programmes, including ours, start with a small set of high-frequency letters such as s, a, t, p, i and n, because they combine into the simplest words a beginner can blend. Teaching then moves through the remaining consonants and vowels in a set sequence, building toward digraphs and blends.
English has 26 letters but around 44 distinct sounds, since many letters and letter combinations represent more than one sound. Learning phonics means learning to hear, produce and read these 44 sounds, not just the alphabet.
Our free assessment lets you confirm fit before committing to a term, and our team can share current fees at your nearest centre.
Letter sounds come first in a systematic phonics approach, because sounds are what your child needs in order to decode words. Letter names remain useful for spelling and the alphabet song, and they sit alongside sound learning rather than ahead of it.
Every child progresses at a different pace. With regular lessons, many children begin to learn phonics within a few months. My English Foundation Class supports each child's individual journey, allowing them to build confidence gradually and advance when they are genuinely ready.
Our teachers closely observe how each student learns phonics and adjust the pace, content and activities to match their progress and learning style. Because our classes are based on English ability rather than age, your child will always be learning at a level that appropriately challenges them.
Simple, everyday activities make a real difference. See our full list of sound games and home reading tips above.
Yes. Phonics gives children a reliable, structured way to decode words, which is especially valuable if reading feels difficult. Because My English Foundation Class groups by ability rather than age or school level, older children needing this support learn alongside peers at the same stage, without feeling singled out.
Phonics gives your child a reliable starting point for reading, and English's many irregular spellings mean the strongest readers build skills well beyond phonics as they grow. That is why My English Foundation Class is only the first step in our Reading Programme: as your child progresses, reading classes for kids build a genuine love of language once the phonics foundation is in place.
Bukit Timah/Bukit V
Choa Chu Kang
Clementi
Downtown East
Jurong East
Jurong West
Khatib/Wisteria
Novena
Parkway Parade
Potong Pasir
Punggol
Simei/Eastpoint
Tampines
Tengah
Tiong Bahru
Woodlands
Yishun/Northpoint
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