Literacy Basics - Community Literacy of Ontario

Spelling

Literacy students may tell you that they are bad spellers. Feel free to tell them that lots of people have difficulty spelling! Many “good” spellers aren’t actually good spellers, they have just identified strategies so that the final version of their work does not reflect spelling difficulties.

Why even teach spelling or worry about it? Hundreds of years ago people spelled words however they thought was right – but that made reading difficult. Having consistent, agreed-upon spellings helps the reader. It also helps the writer because once he or she has developed a good foundation of words, it becomes easier to write. Writers become more confident in their abilities, and they spend less time struggling with spelling.

Being able to spell properly can also have an impact on how the writer is perceived. For example, a resume with lots of spelling mistakes might make an employer think twice about offering an interview. Or, a letter of complaint might not be taken seriously because of spelling errors. It might not be fair, but it does happen – we are sometimes judged by our writing abilities.

We all know that the English language can be confusing when it comes to spelling! However, we also know that there are some rules regarding spelling, and a good grasp of those rules can go a long way. Of course, the exceptions do exist but many learners develop lists of words that they simply memorize.

Before being able to help someone improve their spelling and find strategies to avoid spelling mistakes, you need to identify the types of mistakes they are making.

Once you have done that, you can use some or all of the following strategies:

NEXT PAGE

Designed and hosted by in collaboration with CLO