What phonetic feature should students focus on when comparing their home language to English?

Focusing on common consonant sounds is crucial for students comparing their home language to English because consonant sounds play a significant role in phonemic awareness, which is foundational for developing reading skills. Understanding the consonant sounds in both languages allows students to recognize similarities and differences, aiding their pronunciation and comprehension in English. This comparison can help students identify speech patterns and sounds they may find challenging, fostering greater phonetic awareness that enables them to decode words more effectively.

While aspects like prosody, language structure, and dialect variations are important, they are less directly related to the phonetic features that impact a learner's ability to perceive and produce the sounds of English. Consonant sounds specifically relate to the phonemes that constitute words, making this focus vital for literacy development.