Long, long time ago...when I was learning how to read, the process did not seem to be difficult at all.  I learned my letters.  In my native language, each letter is a unique sound as well.  Learning how to read in comparison to learning how to read English, seemed much easier.  I even learnt to read in two different alphabets, Latin and Cyrillic, by the age of 6.  But again, it did not seem hard.  I even remember the moment, when it clicked.

Couple of years later, I started learning English.  Learning how to read in English was harder but I was older and used a number of association methods to recognize the patterns and read.  To be honest, it was more of a memorization and association exercise.  Today, I can read English well.  But, it is still my second language and my comprehension is not at the level it should be.  Although, my theory is that due to my still fairly limited vocabulary, I make lots of assumptions about the meaning of certain words based on the context around it.  Hence, I can read the word.  I can read the sentence, but the lack of familiarity with the word does not yield proper association and limits my comprehension.  

Today, I watch children learning how to read English.  I watch them struggle, and feel that perhaps they are just too young to master it.  Applications like these will