The article focuses on the special instruction language used in the Letterland system for teaching early literacy skills in English which was created by the author. The pre-school and early primary school years are the time in children’s lives when they sponge up new vocabulary, when they are full of curiosity, and when they are keen to participate in imaginative play. Letterland is designed to fit right into this formative stage of development by providing its ‘secret’ imaginary land for youngsters to explore, and a set of characters they can surround with words which begin with their sound. Learning the letter shapes and letter sounds starts to feel more like play when they can speak about these new alphabet friends using their alliterative character names.

Keywords: Teaching English to young learners, teaching reading in English, phonics,learning strategies for children.