---
key: mechanic/education--family-36
type: mechanic
id: education--family-36
lang: en
title: Speech sounds and phonological actions
summary: >-
  The learner distinguishes speech sounds, compares pronunciations and
  identifies a sound in a word or sequence.
updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
status: active
url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/education--family-36/'
jsonUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/education--family-36.json
markdownUrl: >-
  https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/education--family-36.md
aliases:
  - Speech sounds and phonology
tags:
  - Educational games
  - Language and subject applications
sourceIds:
  - source-3f737da5825c0658
sources:
  - id: source-3f737da5825c0658
    title: Duolingo
    url: 'https://blog.duolingo.com/duolingo-english-sounds-tab/'
    verifiedAt: null
relations: []
placements:
  - catalogId: education
    id: family-36
    title: Educational games
    url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/education/#family-36'
    categoryIds:
      - language
supersededBy: []
attributes:
  preview:
    updatedAt: '2026-10-22'
    title: Speech sounds and phonology
    description: >-
      The learner distinguishes speech sounds, compares pronunciations and
      identifies a sound in a word or sequence.
    image:
      src: images/mechanics/learning-duo-pronunciation-3.webp
      width: 665
      height: 1440
      game: Duolingo
      sourceUrl: 'https://blog.duolingo.com/duolingo-english-sounds-tab/'
      originalUrl: >-
        https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/content.duolingo.com/How+to+practice+English+pronunciation+on+Duolingo/IMG_3253.PNG
      credit: Duolingo
      rights: © Duolingo. All rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.
      caption: 'Duolingo: distinguishing dock from deck'
      alt: 'Duolingo: distinguishing dock from deck'
      markers:
        - x: 47
          'y': 52
          label: The two words differ in their vowel sound
    tips:
      - Separate sound discrimination from knowledge of letter names.
    examples:
      - title: Duolingo
        url: 'https://blog.duolingo.com/duolingo-english-sounds-tab/'
endsAt: null
provenance: >-
  Educational reference expanded from all 64 families and 749 variants of the
  original children-education taxonomy, with original editorial additions dated
  2026-10-20. Sources support specific methods and examples, not the entire
  classification or its effectiveness.
license: CC-BY-4.0
codeLicense: MIT
attribution: gamemechanics.pro contributors
catalogKey: catalog/education
---
# Speech sounds and phonological actions

id: education--family-36
type: mechanic
key: mechanic/education--family-36
lang: en
status: active
url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/education--family-36/

The learner distinguishes speech sounds, compares pronunciations and identifies a sound in a word or sequence.

## At a glance

![Duolingo: distinguishing dock from deck](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/learning-duo-pronunciation-3.webp)

[Duolingo](https://blog.duolingo.com/duolingo-english-sounds-tab/) · © Duolingo. All rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.

1. The two words differ in their vowel sound

- Separate sound discrimination from knowledge of letter names.

- [Duolingo](https://blog.duolingo.com/duolingo-english-sounds-tab/)

## How it works

Identify initial or final sounds

## Variants

### Variants

<a id="family-36-branch-1"></a>

- Identify initial or final sounds <a id="family-36-variant-1"></a>
- Find a sound in a word <a id="family-36-variant-2"></a>
- Distinguish similar sounds <a id="family-36-variant-3"></a>
- Divide words into syllables <a id="family-36-variant-4"></a>
- Combine syllables <a id="family-36-variant-5"></a>
- Blend sounds into words <a id="family-36-variant-6"></a>
- Find rhymes <a id="family-36-variant-7"></a>
- Change one sound <a id="family-36-variant-8"></a>
- Remove or add sounds <a id="family-36-variant-9"></a>
- Match sounds and letters <a id="family-36-variant-10"></a>

## Design example

Choose passengers whose names begin with the same sound.

## Context and limits

A mechanic map for games with explicit learning goals, from first encounters with a topic to professional practice. It covers children, teenagers and adults; choose subject, difficulty, context and controls for the learner. Player actions, subject content, instructional support and assessment are distinct layers. Scores and game completion alone do not establish mastery or skill transfer.

## Connected materials


## Sources and provenance

Educational reference expanded from all 64 families and 749 variants of the original children-education taxonomy, with original editorial additions dated 2026-10-20. Sources support specific methods and examples, not the entire classification or its effectiveness.

- [Duolingo](https://blog.duolingo.com/duolingo-english-sounds-tab/) (id: source-3f737da5825c0658)

CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors