by Malatesha Joshi, Rebecca Treiman, Suzanne Carreker, and Louisa Moats
Original article: LINK
Noah Webster once said that good spelling is like the foundation of reading and a key part of writing well. Back in the day, his books helped people learn to read and spell at the same time. But as time passed, spelling kind of took a backseat to reading in schools. That’s a bit of a shame because knowing how to spell words properly actually helps a lot with reading. When children learn to spell, they start to recognise the sounds that make up words, which makes reading easier.
But here’s the thing: even though spelling and reading go hand in hand, schools often teach spelling as its own thing. Teachers sometimes focus on having children memorise whole words or just visualise them in their heads. Now, some researchers think this idea came about in the 1920s. They did a study with children who were deaf who could spell pretty well, even though they couldn’t hear words. Based on this, people started to think that spelling was all about memorisation, not really understanding how words are put together.
So, instead of teaching children the connections between sounds and letters, some methods started focusing more on memorising whole words visually. But now, experts are starting to rethink that approach. Recent studies have shown that relying solely on visual memory isn’t the best way to become a good speller. Researchers have found that our ability to memorise strings of letters visually is limited, usually to just a few letters in a word. Plus, when kids make spelling mistakes, it’s not always because they couldn’t picture the word in their heads. For example, if visual memory was the main thing at play, both regular words like “stamp” and irregular words like “said” should be misspelled at the same rate. But that’s not what happens. Irregular words tend to be misspelled more often.
So, if it’s not all about memorising how words look, how do we actually learn to spell? Well, it’s a bit more complex, but Noah Webster had the right idea. Spelling is all about understanding the sounds that make up words and the patterns of letters that represent those sounds.
Good spellers figure out these connections between sounds and letters, as well as the meanings behind word parts like prefixes and suffixes. This understanding helps them develop a kind of specialised memory for how words are spelt, which researchers call “orthographic memory.”
Basically, to become a good speller, you need to understand the structure of language, especially how sounds work. So, teaching spelling isn’t just about memorising words—it’s about learning the rules and patterns behind them too.
Many teachers have traditionally used methods like flashcards or repetitive transcribing to teach spelling, believing that English spelling is so irregular that memorisation is the best approach. However, research suggests that focusing on the sounds of language can be more effective.
For instance, a study compared two groups of second graders learning spelling using different methods. One group relied on visual learning, while the other focused on understanding the sounds behind the letters. The group that learned through sound-based instruction showed significantly greater improvement. Similarly, successful spelling programs for children with learning disabilities have emphasised structured language instruction, explicitly teaching sound-letter correspondences. Studies have also shown that at-risk students improved spelling and other literacy skills after instruction based on the alphabetic principle, which connects speech sounds to written letters.
Explicit instruction in spelling patterns, rather than rote memorisation, has been found to improve both the spelling of studied words and the ability to spell novel words. In one study, students were taught to spell Latin-based words ending in “tion” or “sion.” Those who received linguistically explicit instruction, focusing on both orthographic (letter) and sound patterns, showed better ability to spell these words and generalise the patterns to new words.
In essence, teaching spelling through understanding language structure helps students learn how to spell, rather than just memorising words.
In another study, first-grade students were split into two groups. Both groups were taught to spell one-syllable words ending in /k/. One group learned by focusing on letter units like “ank,” “ack,” and “ake.” The other group learned to break down the sounds of the words and understand the pattern for spelling /k/ based on the surrounding letters and vowel sounds.
The students in the second group, who learned to think about the sounds and patterns, spelled the words more accurately and read them more quickly. This suggests that understanding the structure of words and how sounds correspond to letters improves spelling proficiency.
Many wonder if English spelling is consistent enough for explicit teaching. It turns out that it’s not as arbitrary as one might think. About half of English words have predictable spellings based on sound-letter relationships, like how “back,” “cook,” and “tract” all have the /k/ sound spelt the same way. Another third of words are mostly predictable, except for one sound, like “knit” or “boat.”
Even tricky irregular words, which make up only about 4 percent of English vocabulary, can often be understood through their origins or meanings. Noam Chomsky and Morris Halle, prominent linguists, even called English a “near optimal system for lexical representation.” They saw that the spelling of words isn’t just about pronunciation; it’s about conveying meaning. Imagine if homophones like “rain,” “rein,” and “reign” were all spelled the same—it would be much harder to understand their different meanings.
The English writing system also reflects the history of the language. Different pronunciations of the same letter combinations, like “ch” pronounced as /ch/ in “chair” (Anglo-Saxon origin) versus /sh/ in “chef” (French origin), show the influences of different languages on English. Understanding these patterns can help make sense of English spelling, making it more than just a jumble of letters.
Understanding the origins and history of words can make spelling much more predictable. For instance, words from Greek origins often have consistent spelling patterns, like “ph” for /f/ sound, as in “photosynthesis” and “philodendron.” Similarly, French words often use “ch” for the /sh/ sound, like in “champagne” and “chandelier.”
Words of Anglo-Saxon origin, on the other hand, are typically shorter and related to everyday life. They often include silent letters that were once pronounced, like in “knee” or “gnat.” Learning about these silent letters can help students understand the historical pronunciation of words and remember their spellings.
Sometimes, words have unusual spellings because of their connections to historical figures. For example, “caesarean” is linked to Julius Caesar, while “pasteurise” comes from Louis Pasteur. Understanding these connections can provide clues to spelling and deepen students’ understanding of words and their meanings.
Understanding syllable patterns and meaningful parts of words can greatly aid in spelling. Closed syllables, which end with a consonant and have a short vowel sound (like “cat” or “not”), contrast with open syllables, which end with a vowel and typically have a long vowel sound (as in “he” or the first syllable of “hotel”). Knowing about closed and open syllables helps explain why certain words have double consonants in the middle, like “rabbit,” where the first syllable is closed (rab/bit), or why others, like “label,” have only a single consonant (la/bel) due to the open syllable.
This understanding, often known as the “rabbit rule,” simplifies spelling decisions in two-syllable words, where a double consonant typically follows a short vowel in the middle. While there are exceptions, like “cabin” or “lemon,” these follow less frequent patterns.
Additionally, recognising prefixes, suffixes, and roots—known as morphemes—can also assist in spelling and expanding vocabulary. For instance, understanding that words ending in “-er” or “-or” often indicate a person who performs an action (like “worker” or “actor”) can help students grasp the spelling of related words. Similarly, recognising that “-able” and “-ible” indicate capability and understanding their origins (like “-able” for Old English words and “-ible” for Latin roots) can aid in spelling words like “passable” or “edible.”
Understanding letter patterns in words can provide valuable clues for spelling. For instance, certain combinations like “qu” almost always go together, as in “queen” or “quail,” except for rare exceptions like “Qatar” or “Iraq.” Similarly, words generally don’t end with the letter “v,” except for borrowed words like “Kiev.” Some letters, like “h” or “j,” rarely double in any position, while others, like “llama,” break the rule of not beginning with identical consonants due to their origins.
Children often intuitively follow these patterns, as seen when young students identify which of two made-up words looks more like a real word. Understanding these patterns helps students grasp spelling conventions, like knowing that “c” typically precedes “a,” “o,” or “u,” while “k” comes before “e,” “i,” or “y” to represent the /k/ sound.
While there are exceptions to these rules, discovering and understanding them reinforces students’ grasp of spelling patterns. By integrating these patterns into instruction over several years, teachers can effectively guide students in mastering spelling conventions.
Here’s a breakdown of what could be taught in each year for systematic spelling instruction:
- 5-6 Year Olds: Focus on building awareness of sounds in language and developing letter-sound knowledge. Activities can include counting syllables in words, identifying specific sounds, and practising letter recognition and sounds. Students should be able to quickly name letters and their sounds and engage in writing activities so they can connect speech to writing.
- 6-7 Year Olds: Introduce Anglo-Saxon words with regular consonant and vowel sound-letter correspondences. Teach spelling of one-syllable words with basic patterns such as short vowels and consonant sounds. Students learn common patterns like the use of “c” and “k” depending on the following vowel, adding “e” after a long vowel sound, and the “floss rule” for final sounds “f,” “l,” and “s.” Exceptions to these rules should also be introduced.
- 7-8 Year Olds: Progress to more complex Anglo-Saxon letter patterns and common inflectional endings. Teach spelling of one-syllable words with patterns such as “ck” after a short vowel, “k” after a consonant or two vowels, “tch” for final “ch” after a short vowel, “dge” and “ge” for final “j,” and the spelling of “ou” for /au/ sounds, including exceptions.
- 8-9 Year Olds: Students expand their spelling skills by learning to spell words with inflectional endings like “ing” and “ed.” They understand when to double or drop a letter when adding these suffixes. For instance, when adding a vowel-starting suffix to a one-syllable word ending in a vowel-consonant pattern, the final consonant is doubled (e.g., hopping, running). Similarly, when adding a vowel-starting suffix to the last syllable of a stressed multisyllabic word with the same pattern, the final consonant is doubled (e.g., beginning). If a word ends in a final “e,” it’s dropped when adding a vowel-starting suffix (e.g., hoping). Additionally, students should tackle multisyllabic words, learn about the unstressed vowel “schwa” (as in “sofa” and “alone”), and master common prefixes and suffixes. They also encounter more complex patterns, like the use of “c” for both final /k/ after a short vowel in multisyllabic words (e.g., public, lilac) and medial /s/ in multisyllabic words after a vowel and before “e,” “i,” or “y” (e.g., grocery, recess). They practise changing “y” to “i” when adding a suffix that doesn’t start with “i” to a word ending in a consonant and final “y” (e.g., happiness).
- 9-10 Year Olds: Latin-based prefixes, suffixes, and roots are introduced. Students spell words with meaningful parts like “vis” (television), “audi” (auditorium), “duc” (conductor), “port” (transportation), and “spect” (spectacular). Finally, students delve into Greek combining forms, spelling words with meaningful parts such as “photo” (photography), “phono” (symphony), “logy” (biology), “philo” (philosophy), “tele” (telescope), and “thermo” (thermodynamic).
To teach spelling effectively, it’s important to show students that there are rules to how words are spelt, even though there are some exceptions. Instead of just memorising words, students should understand and recognise the patterns in spelling. This kind of teaching needs careful planning, but it’s much better than simply memorising words without understanding why they’re spelt that way.
Noticing sounds
One way to do this is by helping students notice the sounds in words and how they’re spelt. For instance, you can introduce a group of words that have the same sound and spelling pattern. Let’s say we’re looking at words like “ship,” “shop,” “wish,” “dish,” “bash,” and “usher.” Before diving into the list, students should understand terms like “initial” (the beginning sound), “medial” (the sound in the middle), and “final” (the ending sound).
Here’s how a lesson like this might go:
Teacher: “Say each word after me and listen for the sound that is the same in all the words.” [The teacher reads the words one by one.]
Students: “/sh/”
Teacher: “In what positions did you hear /sh/? Did you hear it in the initial position?”
Students: “Yes.”
Teacher: “In which words?”
[Students identify the words.]
Teacher: “Now, listen again. Did you hear it in final position?”
Students: “Yes, in ‘dish’ and ‘splash.'”
Teacher: “Listen one more time and tell me if you hear /sh/ in medial position.”
[The teacher reads the words again.]
Students: “Yes, in ‘usher.'”
Teacher: “Great. Now, let’s look at these words and tell me what letter or letters are the same.”
Students: “sh”
Teacher: “And in what positions do you see the letters?”
Students: “In initial, medial, and final positions.”
Teacher: “So what’s the pattern?”
Students: “When you hear /sh/, spell it ‘sh’.”
This kind of lesson helps students notice the sounds in words and understand the letters and patterns that spell those sounds.
Word sorts
Another effective method for teaching spelling is through word sorts. Students can be given a list of words and asked to categorise the words based on their spelling patterns. Even if only a portion of these words appears in their weekly spelling lesson and test, students should be able to apply what they’ve learned to other words that follow the same spelling patterns.
Assessing spelling
When assessing students’ spelling, it’s important to move beyond a simple right or wrong approach. The assessment should serve as a chance to gauge students’ grasp of sounds and standard spelling patterns. Paying attention to the types of words students struggle with and the errors they make is crucial for evaluating their spelling skills and understanding of language structures.
Ultimately, spelling is a psychological, linguistic, and conceptual process that reflects a person’s knowledge of words and language. By expanding their understanding of words and language, individuals can enhance their spelling skills.