Making English Decodable
What if every English word told you exactly how to say it?
English spelling lacks the information needed to decode words accurately.
Fonetic English adds pronunciation, syllable breaks, and stress to standard spelling — without changing a single letter. Developed with Professor John Sweller. Backed by seven research frameworks. Used by tutors, schools, and ESL colleges worldwide.
There are 42 English sounds but only 26 characters, so letters make more than one sound. This is a big problem: see the video to understand how “signed” has “76,800“ possible pronunciations.
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The Solution: Fonetic English Adds the Missing Information
The spelling itself never changes. Every sightword built while reading Fonetic English text works identically in standard English — any book, any screen, any font, even handwriting. There is no transition step. No dependency.
Because words now make sense when sounded out, they are stored in long-term memory in 2–5 repetitions instead of 20–50. This is the difference between months and years of learning time.
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The Results
42-Sounds Tool
With phonetic Finnish, students learn to read in about 6 months. English speakers take 2.5 -3 years to reach the same level of fluency.
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Sounding Out Syllables
How sightwords form →
Vocabulary System
Explore vocabulary →
FE Dictionary
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Progress Dashboard
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Six integrated tools take learners from first sounds to fluent reading. Every interaction is logged. Progress is tracked automatically for students, tutors, parents, and schools.
FE eReader
Tap any word to hear native pronunciation, see syllables sounded out progressively, compare your pronunciation, and get a native-language translation. Daily reading at the correct CEFR level (A0–B2).
The eReader →
The problem isn’t you or your teacher. The problem is English spelling which makes learning to read unnecessarily hard.
Who Is Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish For?
Educators
Foundation Partners
Commercial Partners
Parents
ESL Learners
English spelling lacks the information needed to decode words accurately.
There are 42 English sounds but only 26 characters, so letters make more than one sound. This is a big problem: see the video to understand how “signed” has “76,800“ possible pronunciations.
The problem. English spelling does not tell a reader how a word is said: which syllable is stressed, where the syllables divide, which characters are silent, or the sound a character makes when it is not making its usual sound. A student meeting an unfamiliar word has to ask a teacher or look it up.
Of the 26,125 English words we have marked up into Fonetic English, 94 per cent are missing at least one of those four things. English spelling is severely information deficient.
The Results
With phonetic Finnish, students learn to read in about 6 months. English speakers take 2.5 -3 years to reach the same level of fluency.
Italian dyslexics can graduate university without external reading intervention because phonetic Italian is easier to learn than irregular English. Fo√ne…tic √Ēng…lish makes English phonetic, more like Italian, and this helps everyone, especially struggling readers.
But if we add the missing information to English, we can learn more like the Finns or the Italians — in way less time with less frustration and repetition.
The problem isn’t you or your teacher. The problem is English spelling which makes learning to read unnecessarily hard.
How Fonetic English helps tutors, schools and English language colleges
The problem. English spelling does not tell a reader how a word is said: which syllable is stressed, where the syllables divide, which characters are silent, or the sound a character makes when it is not making its usual sound. A student meeting an unfamiliar word has to ask a teacher or look it up. Of the 26,125 English words we have marked up into Fonetic English, 94 per cent are missing at least one of those four things. English spelling is severely information deficient.
The lessons are already written
Fonetic English provides complete lessons for the 42 sounds of English, for the most common syllables and for words of one, two, three and more syllables. Vocabulary is taught from A0 to B2, with lessons on prefixes and suffixes. The eReader provides reading practice with comprehension questions. Any Word document can be converted into Fonetic English, so a student can also read material chosen by the tutor or the student.
Sounds, pronunciation and syllables are taught explicitly
Each English sound is taught and practised until the student recognizes it automatically. A sound is played and the student chooses the Fonetic English spelling that makes it. Pronunciation Instructions show the mouth for each sound from the front and in cross section, with videos. Students record their own pronunciation and compare it with the reference. Students learn the sounds missing from their own language, and practise the pairs of sounds their language makes difficult. Syllables are sounded out one sound at a time, starting with the most common.
Homework that can be monitored
Students practise between lessons. Every attempt is recorded: the item, whether the answer was correct and how long the answer took. The tutor can see which sounds and syllables are slow, which ones the student confuses and whether the homework was done. Lesson time then goes on what the student cannot yet do.
Less administration
Students subscribe directly to Fonetic English. Practice is marked automatically and the results are recorded automatically. The tutor does not need to prepare lessons, mark practice or keep records of it.
Faster learning, more students, higher fees
Students learn English faster with Fonetic English. A student who learns English faster gets a good job and good pay sooner, which makes a tutor teaching with Fonetic English very attractive to students. A tutor whose students progress faster is likely to attract more students and can charge higher fees. The same applies to schools and English language colleges.
A difference competitors do not offer
Fonetic English is new. Tutors, schools and colleges that teach with Fonetic English can offer students something other providers do not.
Free for educators
Fonetic English is free for tutors, teachers, schools and English language colleges. Students directly subscribe to Fonetic English and tutors, teachers, schools and English language colleges are paid a commission on the subscriptions they generate.
Getting started
If you are a tutor or education organization, you need to take the Fonetic English Decoding Challenge https://fels.foneticenglish.com/decoding-challenge. We will then send you a code that will allow you to register as a tutor or an education organization. The best access to the Fonetic English websites is currently via a laptop.
