Why extraneous sounds shut down curious kids
If a runner is limping, the first thing I would do is check whether a thorn is stuck under his foot. Pulling out that thorn comes before looking for deeper medical explanations. In the same way, when children disengage from learning to read, the first step is to examine the most immediate source of confusion: the way consonant sounds are taught. Even Sue Lloyd, author of Jolly Phonics, agrees that “saying the sounds as purely as possible is important.” That acknowledgment matters, because teaching letters with extraneous sounds—“buh” for /b/, “duh” for /d/—is not a trivial detail. It is the thorn that causes many otherwise curious children to shut down. To dismiss this as a “narrow focus,” as Pamela Snow has suggested, is unacceptable. Until we remove that thorn, no amount of broader theorizing will help children walk, let alone run, toward literacy.
Dr. Richard Selznick, in our many exchanges and in his published work, has confirmed this reality. He told me that out of the thousands of children he has seen, the majority who cannot read are those taught consonants with extraneous sounds. In fact, he described them as “instructional casualties” who would not have shut down if they had been taught differently. That is not a minor observation—it is a direct indictment of poor instruction. When respected practitioners like Selznick echo what I have observed over 15 years of teaching, it underscores that this is not a narrow obsession but the central problem we must address before anything else. Pamela Snow’s refusal to engage with this evidence, dismissing it as narrow, only highlights the gap between theory and practice.
Sue Lloyd (the author of Jolly Phonics)
I agree with you that reading failure is virtually always linked to poor instruction. I have also explained to you that saying the sounds as purely as possible is important, too. I just do not think it is the main and only problem.
My thoughts:
I never said it is the only problem but it is the main problem that causes many curious kids to shut down/ disengage from learning to read.
When I wrote on Prof. Timothy Shanahan’s blog post that consonants should not be taught with an extraneous sound he asked me to show him evidence – show him the research.
Do we really need research reports to say that consonants should not be taught with extraneous sounds? I have maintained for the past 15 years that this is the main factor in kids disengaging themselves from learning to read.
I have mentioned in my book ‘Shut Down Kids’ what Dr. Richard Selznick and I discussed over many email exchanges. One of the quotes by him on page 9 of my book is:
“I agree with you (Luqman) that many of these kids are instructional
casualties and if they had been taught differently,
many would have not shut-down.”
Dr. Richard Selznick had told me that out of the thousands of his patients, a majority of those who cannot read are those who pronounce consonants with extraneous sounds.
Here is a tweet by Pamela Snow on 5.6.2020.
Pamela Snow Replying to @luqmanmichel @NathanielRSwain and 9 others.
Dear Luqman I am not your on-call response service. I have replied previously, but b/c your approach to reading problems has a narrow focus (pronunciation of phonemes) there is little for us to discuss. I also see no reason to respond to ppl who are insulting, racist & rude
Let us take baby steps. That comment by me on her blog was in 2018. I don’t find any insulting, racist or rude remarks. I believe I have written that as politely as I could.
She did not respond because of rudeness or because she did not understand as she has never tested kids in languages other than English?
Some Messenger exchanges with ‘Your Dyslexia Expert’ today, 1st September 2026:
Also, food for thought, if pronouncing the sounds crisply is important than phonemic awareness must be. After all, it’s the understanding of how those sounds comprise words.
I don't know about you but I was never taught phonemic awareness. We in Malaysia were taught letter sounds and then straight into reading. Who started this phonemic awareness business?
The above reminds me of some Twitter discussions in June 2020:
Alyssa Ahlgren @AlyssaRuza
We are at a point in our culture where asking for facts, stating statistics, and recognizing objective reality is considered hateful, bigoted, racist, and intolerant. We are far past the point of even being able to have rational conversations with each other.
Neal McCluskey @NealMcCluskey
I hope this is not broadly true, but I've seen it in just the last few days in a Twitter argument about education.
We can neither progress nor coexist if this becomes the norm. We must talk and listen in good faith and be open to considering all ideas.
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