Arizona State University
Discussion
Started 8 June 2024
What techniques do you use for teaching about the chaotic English spelling system?
Humorous English Spelling
Our English alphabet has only 26 letters to represent 45 different sounds. And some of our letters (like C, Q, H, and X) aren’t very useful. English has five vowel letters to represent thirteen different vowel sounds. And we use them all for our short vowels, as in pat, pet, pit, pot, and put. So we don’t have any letters left for our long vowels, and the result is chaos. This is how we spell our long vowels A, E, I, O, and U:
A: He ate the freight. It was his fate. How do you spell 8/eight?
E: The silly amoeba stole the key to the machine. Or Did he believe that Caesar could see the people?
I: I write eye-rhyme, like “She cited the sight of the site.”
O: Our chauffeur, although he stubbed his toe, yeomanly towed four more boards through the open door of the depot.
U: blue, blew, gnu, Hugh, new, Pooh, Sioux, through, two.
Don and Alleen Nilsen “Humor Across the Academic Disciplines” PowerPoints:
Most recent answer
Isra: Excellent response. Thanks.
All replies (6)
Biruni University
Teaching the chaotic English spelling system can be challenging due to its irregularities and numerous exceptions. Here are some effective techniques that can be used to help students navigate and understand English spelling:
- Phonemic Awareness:Sound and Letter Correspondence: Teach the basic sounds associated with each letter or group of letters. Focus on common phonemes and their most frequent spellings. Phonics: Use phonics-based approaches to help students understand how letters combine to produce sounds.
- Spelling Rules:Common Rules: Teach common spelling rules such as "i before e except after c," doubling consonants before adding -ing or -ed, and changing y to i before adding suffixes. Patterns and Generalizations: Identify and teach patterns in English spelling, such as the use of -tion, -sion, and -cian for the /ʃən/ sound.
- Morphological Awareness:Root Words and Affixes: Teach the meanings and spellings of common prefixes, suffixes, and root words to help students understand how words are constructed. Word Families: Group words with the same root or base to highlight consistent spelling patterns (e.g., "nation," "national," "international").
- Visual Memory Techniques:Look-Say-Cover-Write-Check: Have students look at a word, say it, cover it, write it from memory, and then check their spelling. Flashcards: Use flashcards with pictures and words to reinforce visual memory.
- Multisensory Approaches:Tactile Learning: Use activities that involve writing words in sand, tracing letters, or using magnetic letters. Auditory Learning: Encourage students to say words out loud as they spell them to reinforce auditory memory.
- Contextual Learning:Reading: Encourage extensive reading to expose students to correct spelling in context. Writing: Have students write regularly, providing opportunities to practice spelling in meaningful contexts.
- Spelling Games and Activities:Games: Use games like Scrabble, Boggle, or online spelling games to make learning fun. Puzzles: Incorporate crossword puzzles, word searches, and spelling bees to engage students.
- Mnemonics:Memory Aids: Use mnemonic devices to help remember tricky spellings, such as "Big Elephants Can Always Understand Small Elephants" for "because."
- Technology and Apps:Spelling Software: Utilize educational software and apps designed to improve spelling skills. Online Resources: Incorporate websites that offer spelling practice and interactive activities.
- Differentiated Instruction:Individualized Support: Provide extra support for students who struggle with spelling, using tailored strategies and resources to meet their needs. Peer Learning: Encourage peer learning and collaboration, where students can learn from each other’s strengths.
By combining these techniques, teachers can create a comprehensive approach to teaching spelling that addresses the various challenges posed by the English language and caters to different learning styles.
1 Recommendation
Arizona State University
Mosully: This is a superb response. I'm recommending your response to other scholars. Thanks again for such an insightful response.
1 Recommendation
Dallas International University
I teach adults with dyslexia using the Wilson Reading Method. We focus on teaching 6 basic syllable types, so the vowels are learned in the context of the syllable. Morphemes are taught as are Latin base words. High Frequency Words are taught as sight words and those with complex vowel pairing are taught near the end. English is difficult but many of the words do follow a pattern and we focus on those.
1 Recommendation
Arizona State University
Joy: Excellent response. I'm recommending it to other scholars. Thanks.
1 Recommendation
University of Mosul
Dear Don,
From my point of view and from actual experiences in teaching English as a foreign language to my students who are non - native speakers of English, the forthcoming can be the main strategies and techniques to teach chaotic English spelling system:
Pupil or learner of English language should be taught how to write a word as he / she sees as it is.
He or she has a good chance to reserve or keep information quickly.
After passing some time, teacher can explain some points about English sound system, and focus on the fixed truth which is " In most cases English sound system DO NOT match with English letters " so, you have to learn how pronounce the word orally, but in writing you have to reserve shape or spelling of the word in your mind. Teacher after that can support pupils with simple examples from words that most of pupils use them daily.
After some attempts in using this deductive technique, the learner will have cumulative experience about the correct spelling of English words.
1 Recommendation
Similar questions and discussions
What is the significance of linguistic humor and language play in the field of Linguistics?
Linguistic Humor and Language Play
There are many different types of linguistic humor: phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic. There are
Oxymorons (Civil War),
Metaphors (raining cats and dogs),
Slang (T’sup),
Allusions (Jiminy Cricket),
Anagrams (George Bush = He bugs Gore),
Chiasmus (Aging is a matter of mind over matter;
if you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.),
Enigma (It’s been a strange day.
First, I found a hat full of money,
and then I was chased by an angry man with a guitar),
Eponymy (Gloomy Gus),
Irony (Paglacci is not a happy clown),
Nonsense (T’was brillig and the slithy toves),
Palindromes (Dammit I’m mad),
Synecdoche (“Father, he’s asked for my hand.”
Father responds, “It’s the whole thing, or nothing.”),
and Zeugma (A little song. A little dance. A little seltzer down your pants).
International Society for Humor Studies: http://www.humorstudies.org/
Linguistic Rules of Politeness (Conversational Implicatures): Why do some people break these rules?
Linguistic Rules of Politeness (Conversational Implicatures): Why do some people break or flaunt them?
Here are H. P. Grice’s rules of politeness (conversational implicatures), while other social groups tend to break or flaunt these rules?
I. Quantity
A. Be informative
B. Don’t give more information than is required
II. Quality
A. Don’t lie or mislead
B. Don’t make statements unless there is adequate evidence
III. Relation
A. Be relevant
IV. Manner
A. Avoid obscurity
B. Avoid ambiguity
C. Be succinct
D. Be orderly
Why do some social groups tend to follow H. P. Grice’s rules of politeness (conversational implicatures), while other social groups tend to break or flaunt these rules?
Don and Alleen Nilsen “Humor Across the Academic Disciplines” PowerPoints: https://www.public.asu.edu/~dnilsen/
Related Publications
The great variety of spoken sounds of a language can by their very nature not be satisfactorily described on paper; the sounds of a new language being learned must be heard at as early a stage as possible. The following brief summary is therefore intended only as a rough guide to the pronunciation of the principal Dutch sounds. Such a summary of so...
This presentation focuses on Englush language phonology: defintions of phonetcs terminology, difference between sounds and letters,word transcription, alphabetics of consonant and vowel sounds etc.