Learn Phonics with Free Lessons & Tips

So I would say the letters.

The letter names are a convenient way to reference a particular spelling, but the sounds they represent are essential to learn, so concentrate on sounds (phonics) first, moving quickly to the sounds of the many digraphs common in English spelling, like "sh," "ch," "ow," "ck," "oa," etc.

Yes, the phonics method of learning to read is used for other languages besides English, including Russian, Arabic, Finnish, Italian, Spanish, and Turkish. Phonics is an effective approach for teaching beginning reading in alphabetic languages where the letter-to-sound correspondence is consistent and predictable. Research shows that phonics instruction is beneficial for second-language learners, but the benefits are less than for first-language learners. This is likely because phonics helps readers translate from print to Verbal language, which can be challenging for non-native speakers.

Phonics or Sight Words? My answer was "a little of both!" Both have importance in learning to read and need to be taught for students to be successful in learning to read.

Though there is so much more to reading and writing success, these are two aspects that many teachers argue are both important.