The ability to recognize words quickly and easily - and, in particular, to translate print to speech is the best differentiator of good from poor readers. Benefits of explicit, systematic phonics instruction affirmed by literally hundreds of method comparison studies.
Phonemes are the smallest phonological segments that make a difference to meaning.
Phonemic awareness is the insight that every spoken word can be conceived as a sequence of phonemes. Because phonemes are the units of sound that are represented by the letters of an alphabet, an awareness of phonemes is key to understanding the logic of the alphabetic principle and thus to the learnability of phonics and spelling. The term phonics refers to instructional practices that emphasize how spellings are related to speech sounds in systematic ways. Phonemic awareness is more highly related to learning to read than are tests of general intelligence, reading readiness, and listening comprehension. Without phonemic awareness it is essentially impossible to acquire an adequate reading vocabulary.