What type of language activity is phonemic awareness?

Phonemic awareness is primarily an oral language activity that focuses on the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds, or phonemes, in spoken words. This skill is foundational in developing reading abilities because it helps learners understand how sounds connect to form words. Engaging in activities that build phonemic awareness, such as rhyming, sound segmentation, and blending sounds, occurs through listening and speaking rather than through reading written text. Thus, the nature of phonemic awareness directly aligns with oral language skills, as these activities require auditory processing and verbal responses.