        Using it to identify which letter he was naming, he pronounced them each three times, slowly and carefully.  She got the idea, repeating them after him.  Each time, she would take notes.  A glance told him that she was not using the same alphabet as the one she had written on the beach, which was curious.  Maybe it was their version of a phonetic system, and she was writing a pronunciation guide.  If so, they were rapidly going to run into complications when they arrived at actual words, but that was a bridge to cross when they got there.  He could have brought “Hooked on Phonics.”  One call to 1-800-ABCDEFG, and they would rush a system to his door which could teach a preschooler, or even an adult.  They never did say in the commercials if it would work on aliens, though.