Ultimate Spelling Software

Is Anyone Really a “Bad Speller”?

July 21, 2012

Writing in Wired magazine a few months ago, Oberlin College professor Anne Trubek became the latest voice in an ongoing debate over English spelling rules and whether they make sense. This debate has been going on for many years, though spelling wasn’t always a matter of contention. At first, not many people knew how to read or write, and the way a word was spelled mattered less than whether it was understood. However, as printing presses and wider literacy made written texts more available and useful, scholars and authors (and typesetters) began advocating for a more standardized system of spelling. Unfortunately, not many people could agree on which system was the right one.

As Trubek points out, spelling rules depend on many things: where a word came from, how it was originally pronounced, what habits people adopted regarding a word’s spelling over time, and changes in society and technology. Is it justifiable, she asks, to continue using spellings that were adapted or invented four hundred years ago? The English language changes over time, including the way words are spelled, so is there any such thing as a “bad spelling” now, when that concept has only existed for a few centuries?

Back in the 18th century, Benjamin Franklin said this about English spelling: “The difficulty of learning to spell well in the old way is so great, that few attain it; thousands and thousands writing on to old age, without ever being able to acquire it. ‘Tis, besides a difficulty continually increasing; as the sound gradually varies more and more from the spelling.” An English speaker in the 12th century would have pronounced the word knight in the same way as it was pronounced in German, the origin of the word (knecht), with a vocalized k, short i sound, and glottal gh (it would sound more like K-NIHCHT than our modern pronunciation NITE). No wonder native and non-native English speakers alike have problems with spelling!

Because the rules of spelling and pronunciation have changed so much over time, perhaps Trubek has a point when she says, “Let’s make our own rules.” What do you think?

You can read the original article here.

5 Steps to Spelling Success

July 12, 2012

Parents know that helping children learn to spell can be a long and difficult process. Because a lot of the work of spelling is memorization, younger children especially can quickly get bored and distracted. To help your child learn to spell, and even to learn to love studying their spelling words, it’s a good idea to know how to make spelling fun. Here are five ways you can keep your child active and engaged while helping them improve their spelling skills:

1. Incorporate spelling into everyday activities. Do you go grocery shopping every week? You can ask your child to write out the list for you, dictating the things that you want to buy, and correcting their spelling once they’ve finished the list. Of course, you might find that they’ve added “cookies” to the list – but if it’s spelled correctly, that might make an excellent reward!

2. Use time in the car for spelling review. When you pick your child up from school, ask if they have new words to learn. You can use the drive home to practice those words. On the way to school the morning of the spelling test, quiz them again to refresh their memory of the words.

3. Play spelling-centered games. Family time is fun if you’re playing games together, and word-based games like Scrabble and Hangman help strengthen spelling skills at any age.

4. Encourage your child to read. Studies have consistently shown a strong link between reading and spelling skills. When a child reads, they’re seeing words spelled correctly, and that image and information is stored unconsciously in their brain. This stored knowledge will help them in the future when those words appear on spelling tests, because the existing unconscious memory will support the conscious learning process.

5. Encourage your child to write. If you link several areas of your brain together by incorporating visual, physical, and spoken elements, you’ll make a stronger connection and a long-lasting memory. Children are naturally creative, and you can ask them to use that creativity to write short stories using their spelling words. By illustrating the story with drawings, they’ll increase their chances of remembering the word.

With your help, your child will be at the top of the class when it comes to spelling – and they’ll remember the fun as well as the words!

Adults like to have fun too, so why not incorporate some of these strategies into your own spelling study program?

Don’t Lose Customers Because of Poor Spelling!

July 4, 2012

People who are applying for jobs know the importance of making sure that their resumés, applications, and cover letters are checked and double-checked to eliminate any spelling errors. After all, you don’t want to give a negative impression of your knowledge and competence when you’re hoping to be hired for a lucrative position. However, everyone needs to keep in mind that the importance of proper spelling doesn’t end with the first paycheck. In fact, if you don’t keep your skills sharp, you might risk losing that paycheck in the end – not because you’re fired, but because your company fails when you lose too many customers.

Whether it’s a sales letter, a brochure, an answer to an e-mail through the corporate website, or the tag to a television advertisement, one misspelled word might be enough to make customers doubt the quality of your organization. A year ago, one of the major television news organizations in the United States got nationwide attention when they made an announcement regarding an upcoming speech to be given by President Obama. Unfortunately, that attention was negative, rather than positive. You see, they’d announced that President Obama would be making a “personal” statement, rather than the statement regarding “personnel” that was actually planned. So instead of what many people thought might turn out to be a startling and exciting piece of completely unanticipated news, there was eventually a very unexciting and routine announcement of a change of leadership in one of the many federal departments.

When something like this happens once, a company loses credibility with customers, but perhaps not enough to make those customers go elsewhere. However, if it happens too many times, customers lose faith in the company’s willingness to take the time to fix errors. What this means from the customers’ standpoint is that if no one at the organization thinks it’s important to take a few minutes to review a document for accuracy, perhaps they don’t think it’s important to review an invoice either. In the customer’s mind, that lack of attention to accuracy and detail implies future incorrect billing, missed shipments, poor customer service, and even lower quality of merchandise.

You might think that one typo in a sales brochure isn’t such a big issue, but keep in mind that it’s the small things that sometimes have the biggest consequences. Pay attention to your spelling at work as well as at home, and you’ll find that you’re well repaid for your efforts.

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the message was lost.
For want of a message the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.
– 17th-century English proverb

The 3 Most Important Spelling Study Habits

June 29, 2012

Are you worried about your child’s ability to spell correctly? It’s definitely something to be concerned about as a parent; spelling skills are closely connected to a child’s ability to read and communicate, to understand and answer questions, and to get higher grades on tests and examinations. If you’d like to help make sure your child has the spelling ability they need to succeed in school – both in primary school and throughout their university years as well – then it’s never too early to help them learn these three important spelling study habits:

Good Spelling Habit #1: Organization
Whether a student has only a few assignments each week or a homework to-do list that keeps them busy, learning to stay organized is a skill that will help with spelling as well as all the other school (and eventually work-related) responsibilities they have now and in the future. For spelling lists and studying for tests, keep track of words that they’ve learned well, and focus on words that cause problems. Keeping separate folders for “learned” and “needs review” words will make it easy to create quick mini-quizzes and encourage self-study as well.

Good Spelling Habit #2: Preparation
Although teachers will often surprise students with a “pop quiz” to check their spelling abilities, it’s more likely that your child will know when a spelling test is scheduled. Be sure to set aside enough time for study and review. If your child has a specific study time set in the family’s schedule, you might designate the last half hour for spelling words. To help your child become completely confident in their ability to spell the words, use as many methods as possible to teach them the correct spelling: flash cards, writing out the words, dictation and transcription, using words in stories, even spelling bees that involve the whole family. On the day of the test, do a quick review over breakfast to ensure the proper spelling of the words is fresh in your child’s mind.

Good Spelling Habit #3: Dedication
Like any other skill, good spelling takes time, effort, and commitment. Children are often easily bored and distracted, and as a parent it’s important that you help them develop the focus and willpower they need to become responsible and self-sufficient adults. It might not seem like spelling study as a child is the key to becoming a successful adult, but the habits a child learns when young will affect their lives for years to come. By providing your child with a quiet study environment where they can focus without other distractions, a set time for studying every day on a routine schedule, and help and guidance in their study process, you’ll help them get good grades on their spelling tests, and learn the good habits that lead to future rewards.

11 More Hard-to-Spell Words

June 22, 2012

We thought you might like another set of words to study after you finished the last list. Again, these words are among the most commonly misspelled words in the English language. They cause problems for many people, but with a little study and application on your part, you’ll find that you can master them for good.

withhold
Definition: To keep back, keep for oneself.
Difficulty: We don’t often see a doubled h in an English word, but it’s important to put both of them in here.

noticeable
Definition: Obvious in someway.
Difficulty: Because the e isn’t pronounced, it’s easy to forget. Remember that the e here is changing the pronunciation of the c to an “s” sound.

exceed
Definition: To go beyond.
Difficulty: There are only three words in English that end in the letter cluster CEED, and this is one of them (the other two are succeed and proceed). All other words with the “seed” sound as the last syllable end in CEDE …

supersede
Definition: To take the place of.
Difficulty: … except this one!

necessary
Definition: Required, needed.
Difficulty: It’s not required to double the c, just the s.

misspell
Definition: To spell incorrectly.
Difficulty: It’s ironic that misspell is on the list, isn’t it? Just remember to pronounce the word carefully and you’ll remember to double the s.

miniature
Definition: Smaller than normal.
Difficulty: Though many people pronounce this word MIN-ah-tchur, if you correctly pronounce it MIH-nee-ah-tchur you’ll find it easier to remember the second i.

whether
Definition: Implying a choice or doubt.
Difficulty: This word is most often confused with the word weather. Just remember to check the weather forecast to find out whether or not it will rain before you go out.

surprise
Definition: Something unexpected.
Difficulty: Here’s one more pronunciation vs. spelling problem, and an easy solution: pronounce the word correctly as sur-PRIZE and you won’t unexpectedly spell it wrong.

accommodate
Definition: Make room for.
Difficulty: You’ll need to make room for an extra c as well as a second m to spell this word correctly.

congratulate
Definition: Give praise or good wishes.
Difficulty: Though you might go up to a new college graduate (notice the DJ sound in the middle of the word) to congratulate them (notice the TCH sound in the middle of the word) you won’t spell the words with the same letters.

Congratulations on learning another set of words that you’ll never misspell again!

9 Words You’re Probably Misspelling

June 21, 2012

Even the best spellers have those few certain words they always seem to misspell the first time. That’s why it’s so important to study spelling (so that you don’t make mistakes in the first place) and edit your documents (so that you don’t miss any mistakes you might have made). Your computer’s spell-check feature is a useful backup, but it’s better to learn the correct spelling of words rather than relying on any outside help. Here’s a list of words that frequently cause problems for native and non-native English speakers alike. Review them until you’re sure that you’ve memorized these problem words – and then they won’t be a problem for you any more!

acquaintance
Definition: Someone you know, but perhaps not well.
Difficulty: Be sure to include the c before the q at the beginning of the word, and note that this is one of the words that ends in ance rather than ence.

desperate
Definition: Feeling hopeless, full of despair.
Difficulty: Unlike the word separate (also a frequently-misspelled word), this word has an e in the middle rather than an a.

cemetery
Definition: A burial ground.
Difficulty: Because the word’s pronounced with an AYE sound in the last syllable, it’s tempting to put an a there, but all the vowels in this word are e.

embarrass
Definition: To cause to feel shame.
Difficulty: Don’t feel bad if it’s hard to remember to double both the r and the s in this word – but be sure to do so!

hygiene
Definition: Standards of cleanliness and health.
Difficulty: As with many other hard to spell words, it’s a “silent vowel” that causes the problem here. Even though you don’t pronounce the i make sure you put it in the right place.

guarantee
Definition: A warrant or promise of something.
Difficulty: Again, it’s the “silent vowel” issue here, this time the unvoiced u at the beginning.

interesting
Definition: Attracting attention or notice.
Difficulty: Here’s an example of why pronunciation and spelling are so closely linked. If you slur this word and say in-tres-ting instead of in-ter-es-ting that’s probably how you’ll spell it, too.

pronunciation
Definition: The way a word is spoken.
Difficulty: Speaking of pronunciation, notice the difference between the verb pronounce (with the OU cluster between two Ns) and the noun pronunciation (with only a U between the Ns).

successful
Definition: Victorious, able to achieve one’s goals.
Difficulty: Doubled letters are the problem here – and non-doubled letters as well. Don’t be tempted to double the last l in the word.

Keep working towards your goal of being an excellent speller, and success will be yours.

Five Quick Tips to Help Children Spell

June 4, 2012

Parents and teachers both know how important spelling skills are for children. With good spelling, reading is easier, and children won’t fall behind in their assignments because of how long it takes to simply read through the homework. Spelling skills make writing easier, of course, and not only will a child be able to finish their homework or tests more quickly, they won’t run the risk of losing points for spelling errors. Unfortunately, teachers don’t always have the time they need to focus on each individual child during class during the day, which is why it’s so important for parents to step in at home, and help their children practice spelling outside of school. Here are six quick and easy ways to help your child learn to spell:

1. Make commute time into spelling time. Many parents spend lots of time with their children in the car, going from one activity to another. These short car trips are the perfect time to review spelling words, or to quiz children on the words they need to learn. Depending on the length of the journey, you might only have time to go over one or two words, but every little bit of help is valuable. For those long car trips in the summer, think about purchasing a hand-held spelling game for your child. If there’s more than one adult in the car, they can take turns with the spelling review. If there are two or more children, why not try a spelling bee?

2. Create individualized spelling lists to focus on problem words. Whether your child misses a word once, or has constant difficulties remembering how to spell a word, it’s very useful to create a special list of those words that they can use to review. If you’re using the Ultimate Spelling software system, creating these lists is quick and easy, and allows the child to review the words using the games and quizzes. You can also create flash cards to use in review sessions.

3. Find creative ways to learn words. When your child brings home a list of spelling words to study, work with your child to make up a story using as many of them as possible. Have the child write out the story and then read it out loud to you. The creativity required to come up with the story, the images associated with the story, and the practice writing and reading the words will all help your child remember the words and how to spell them.

4. Practice the right way to learn words. It’s best to correct errors in spelling as soon as they’re made. For that reason, instead of having children study a long list of words, then practice writing out that long list, then go back to the original list and correct their mistakes, work on words one at a time. Flash cards are ideal for this. Show the child the word on the flash card and let them study it for a minute. Hide the card, and ask the child to write down the word, or spell it out loud, or both (remember, the more ways they study a word, the easier it is to learn by heart). Correct any errors, then move on to the next word. If the child made a mistake, set the card aside for later review. Older children can do this process for themselves.

5. Review spelling patterns. There are some basic sound/letter combinations that children can learn to help them spell words. For example, you could look at the words night, fright, delight, and sight to practice the I-G-H-T pattern and its sound. It’s useful to point out words like bite and site that have the same sound, but different spelling; this will help children start to group words by letter patterns, which makes learning easier.

The Important Connection Between Spelling, Vocabulary Improvement, and Literacy

May 28, 2012

The University of Western Australia recently sponsored a study called “Making the Links” that underlines the importance of the connection between a good vocabulary and good spelling skills. While the overall goal of the project was to promote literacy, the study found that without a solid basis in vocabulary and spelling, the student’s ability to comprehend and build on the information they read was severely limited. This “basic literacy” should be achieved by students by the time they reach secondary school age, concluded the researchers, but not all students are achieving that goal. This basic skill is more “word-oriented” and requires the teachers and the students together to concentrate on vocabulary building, understanding the roots and origins of words, and accurate spelling. Once these are well integrated into the study routine, it is easier for students to focus on comprehension.

One surprising result of the study, which concluded in 2011, was that teachers quickly realized that the way they teach would need to change in order to support this focus on literacy. Groups of instructors started sharing their techniques, and results from different classrooms were compared. Understandably, one of the more difficult aspects of this system is to incorporate the literacy targets into all of the subjects being taught, because classroom time and resources are often limited. Teachers, researchers, and outside organizations combined their energies into finding the best ways to accomplish this goal.

The effort and time put into adapting teaching styles to incorporate vocabulary improvement, spelling skills, and reading comprehension paid off in the end. Testing showed that the majority of students in the literacy-focused curricula scored higher than national averages in all three areas, with an amazing 76% of students scoring at least 13 percentage points higher than average in vocabulary skills.

This and other studies emphasize the importance of a good vocabulary in student success in all areas of study. Without a good vocabulary, and the ability to recognize and correctly spell words, it’s very difficult for children to get the skills they need in reading comprehension, which is necessary for acquiring knowledge in any field.

Cross-posted at The Vocabulary Builder’s Blog.

Spelling Study During School Breaks

May 25, 2012

While children do look forward to breaks from their classroom routines in winter, spring, and summer, it’s important that they realize that learning doesn’t stop just because they’re not in school. Some teachers might give homework assignments for students to work on in the shorter breaks, but parents need to make sure that important skills like spelling don’t slide backwards during longer breaks. In order to accomplish this, it’s useful for parents to think like teachers – or at least have access to the thought processes that teachers go through when developing their lesson plans. There’s an excellent book out there for spelling practice that most parents won’t hear of unless they have teachers as friends, but in fact anyone can use it, whether they’re a teacher or not.

The book is “What Really Matters in Spelling: Research-Based Strategies and Activities” by Patricia Cunningham. It covers spelling techniques for young children and teenagers, and offers outlines and suggestions for ways to help children learn quickly and easily. Cunningham focuses on word patterns, and uses pattern recognition to help students build their vocabularies as well as their spelling skills. The word lists are sorted by grade level as well as relationship, making it easy for parents to create a weekly spelling schedule that can be worked into the other activities a child has during their break. The suggestions for using “word walls” can be used for other learning activities as well. Cunningham also emphasizes the connection between reading fluency and spelling skill, which is a good reminder to parents to encourage reading as a fun way to spend the holidays, rather than playing video games or watching television.

Because this text builds on many standard classroom techniques for teaching spelling, it’s a good way to make sure that the progress children make on spelling skills in school doesn’t fade away when they’re out of class.

Common Spelling Mistakes and How to Fix Them

May 17, 2012

In the last decade or two, researchers have been able to take advantage of larger numbers of test subjects and better data analysis methods to come up with interesting new ideas on why people make spelling mistakes. This is useful information for parents and teachers who are looking for ways to help children learn to spell, and also for adults who find they’re making mistakes more often than they’d like. By using these studies to identify the most frequent mistakes, it helps people target these errors and focus on eliminating them. Many of these studies are done using groups of children, because it’s during the early years of education that children learn how to spell correctly. One of the most comprehensive studies was done in 1995 by Ronald Cramer and James Cipielewski, and involved over 18,000 children, resulting in an excellent overview of common spelling errors.

One of the most common mistakes was using the wrong vowel; in fact, over one-third of the total errors made were due to this type of mistake. It’s easy to understand why so many students confused the vowels in words, since the relationship between sounds and letters is often unclear for English vowels. For the most part, the students used vowels or vowel clusters that represented the correct sound when used in other words, just not the particular word they were spelling. For example, think of word and bird and heard (and say them out loud to test the sounds) – the vowels in combination with the letter r all make the same sound, but all are spelled differently. It’s not surprising when children take the familiar spelling of bird and logically, to them, try to spell the others as wird and hird. One way to help children avoid this error is to practice these different phonemes and the various ways they can be spelled. Once they’ve seen the alternate spellings of a sound, they’ll find it easier to remember.

Another pattern that emerged from the study was the frequent dropping of doubled letters. It’s hard to explain why words like letter and missile use double consonants, because the t and s sounds don’t change. In this case, vowels are easier to understand, because there’s an obvious difference between the sounds of single and double vowels, from the short to the long vowel sounds. The difference between loot and lot is easy to see and hear. Of course, there’s the issue of explaining the word look (in most cases pronounced LEUK and not LOOHK) and why that’s a doubled vowel as well, but again, presenting these words together for consideration will eliminate a lot of confusion.

The next most common mistake, one which many adults continue to make, is confusing spellings of homophones. The study found that the words too/to/two and they’re/their/there occurred at all grade levels. Only regular practice with word groups like this will help children (and adults!) overcome the tendency for errors. Again, once a student sees these groups together and focuses on learning the correct spelling and usage of each, the better they’ll be able to automatically spell them in the future.

Reference: R.L. Cramer, J. F. Cipielewski. Research in Action: A Study of Spelling Errors in 18,599 Written Compositions of Children in Grades 1-8. Spelling Research and Information: An Overview of Current Research and Practices. (1995)