Phonemic awareness refers to an understanding of what?

Phonemic awareness is a critical component of reading and language development, particularly for learners of English as a second language. It specifically refers to the ability to identify and manipulate individual sounds in spoken words, known as phonemes. This skill involves recognizing that words are made up of discrete sounds and being able to isolate, blend, segment, and substitute these sounds.

For example, a child demonstrating phonemic awareness can hear the word "cat" and understand it consists of the sounds /k/, /æ/, and /t/. This understanding is foundational for decoding written words and is essential for developing reading skills. When students have strong phonemic awareness, they are better equipped to connect these individual sounds to the letters that represent them in written language, which plays a significant role in literacy.

Understanding word meanings and social language use are related to vocabulary development and pragmatic language skills, respectively, but they do not capture the specific focus of phonemic awareness on the sound structure of language. Sound-letter relationships, while also important in literacy, encompass a broader concept that includes phonics and spelling patterns, but phonemic awareness is strictly about the individual sounds themselves. Therefore, individual speech sounds are precisely what phonemic awareness refers to, making this choice the correct answer.