'Phonics' is the relationship between the sounds in words are how they are written on the page. Education expert, Elizabeth Cook, explains why many early learners find them a turn-off.

Raisingkids member's problem
My 4 yr-old is 'refusing' to learn phonics at school. He is good at Maths, but declares himself incapable of 'sounding out' words or letters. His teacher isn't sure what to do next. He's in a class of 12 and during phonics lessons, he has started being disruptive. Help!

Elizabeth's advice
Your child is very wise. The way phonics is taught in many schools is boring and doesn't make sense to many children, let alone a 4 yr-old. If you don't want to turn him off reading then don't push him on this one.

Try getting him to play with magnetic letters, creating words that are interesting to him - his name, your name, etc. Talk to him about the names of the letter, before you push the sounds they make - at least these remain the same on every occasion. The trouble with phonics is that there are 44 sounds and only 26 letters - no wonder children get confused.

The best way for children to learn phonics is through their writing, but not writing as you and I think of it. Writing where children make their own attempts at matching sounds heard to letters they know, is the best way to learn. This whole topic is something I spend many hours on with my student teachers, but if you would like to read about it yourself I would recommend The Beginnings of Writing by Nathan,Temple, Burris & Temple. It's well worth a read and may stop you worrying.

You might also like to read Reading by Frank Smith - he explains how phonics are only useful to those children who know phonics already. Phonics is only one of the 4 strategies for reading, identified in the National Literacy Strategy, and the strategy is clear that these 4 strategies should be used together, not one at a time.

• Click here for other expert answers to education questions
• Check Out Our Education Pages
• How Preschoolers Learn