{"id":30839,"date":"2023-10-26T00:14:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-26T00:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cos.net.au\/c\/?p=30839"},"modified":"2023-10-18T22:41:18","modified_gmt":"2023-10-18T22:41:18","slug":"boosting-spelling-skills-for-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cos.net.au\/c\/cospedia\/boosting-spelling-skills-for-students","title":{"rendered":"Boosting Spelling Skills for Students \u2014 5 Key Strategies"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

As one of the basic building blocks in education, spelling has received a lot of scrutiny over the years, with vastly different opinions on how it should be taught. Methods for teaching students how to spell have changes over the years, going from strict wrote learning to a more experiential style back to a more formalised, direct instruction approach.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

This return to direct spelling instruction is backed up research, including a 2014 meta-analytic review in the journal <\/span>Reading and Writing<\/span><\/i>, showing that explicit teaching results in gains in spelling, reading, writing, and phonological awareness, which are maintained over time.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Direct instruction is not simply a matter of encouraging rote learning, but involves specific strategies that allow children to better predict how to spell words they may have never encountered before.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

The difficulties with English spelling<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Unlike phonetic languages \u2014 languages that have a strong correlation between spoken and written sounds \u2014 English can seem baffling. There are 44 distinct sounds, with words drawn from Germanic, French, Greek, and Latin languages.\u00a0 English is also so widely spoken, vowel sounds can have a closer or more distant relationship from the spelling of a word. Further difficulties arise from the fact that the language as it is pronounced has morphed over time whereas the alphabet has retained old spelling<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Take the word “slough” as an example. When referring to the English town, Slough is pronounced “slou” (rhymed with cow). If referring to skin slippage, it’s pronounced “sluff”.<\/span><\/p>

With such complexity of spelling and pronunciation., being able to properly spell is no mean feat. This is why the implementation of a range of strategies is help boost spelling is vitally important to students.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

5 key strategies for boosting spelling proficiency <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t