Teaching Phonics Without the “Buh”: A Practical Guide for Educators

 

In our main post, we challenged the dominant narrative that children struggle to read because they lack phonemic awareness. We argued that many children already possess strong phonemic skills, and that the real barrier is distorted phonics instruction—especially the widespread habit of teaching consonants with added schwa vowels (e.g., b as “buh”).

 

This companion post offers practical strategies to fix that.

 

🎯 What’s Going Wrong in the Classroom?

Many phonics programs teach consonants as continuants—adding a vowel sound to make blending easier. For example:

 

b is taught as “buh” (/bə/)

 

d becomes “duh” (/də/)

 

t becomes “tuh” (/tə/)

 

This approach may seem helpful, but it creates confusion when children try to decode real words. Instead of blending /b/ + /a/ + /t/, they attempt /bə/ + /a/ + /tə/, which distorts the word and stalls decoding.

For the clean crisp sounds get a copy of 'Teach Your Child to Read'. LINK.  

✅ What to Do Instead

Here are three simple shifts that can dramatically improve phonics instruction:

 

1. Teach Pure Phonemes

Use crisp, isolated consonant sounds: /b/, /d/, /t/, not “buh,” “duh,” or “tuh.”

 

Model sounds without trailing vowels. Use mirrors, gestures, and visual cues to reinforce articulation.

 

2. Use Visual Aids That Reinforce Sound Clarity

Replace cartoonish phonics posters with visuals that show mouth position and airflow.

 

Use icons (like a face, loudspeaker, and lightbulb) to reinforce the idea of pure sound, accurate instruction, and insight.

 

3. Bridge from L1 Strengths

If a child reads fluently in another alphabetic language (e.g., Pinyin, Malay), explicitly connect their decoding skills to English.

 

Use side-by-side comparisons to show that /b/ in both languages is the same—and that English phonics should honour that.

 

🧠 Bonus Tip: Rethink Blending Drills

Instead of teaching “buh-a-tuh” → bat, try:

 

Say each phoneme cleanly: /b/ /a/ /t/

 

Use hand motions or blocks to represent each sound

 

Blend only after the child hears the pure phonemes

 

This respects their phonemic awareness and avoids confusion.

 

✍️ Final Thought

Phonics instruction should empower, not confuse. By teaching pure phonemes and bridging from children’s existing strengths, we can unlock literacy without pathologizing normal learning differences.

 

Let’s stop saying “buh.” Let’s start teaching reading the way children actually hear.