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NICOLE R. MURPHY
How to Improve Your Spelling
Spelling. Some of us don't really consider it at all, since we don't have a problem with it but for some, it's enough to send shivers down your spine.
Unfortunately, if you are a writer, you need to be able to spell and the old spell check just isn't good enough to fully cope. So, what can you do to improve your spelling?
The first thing you need to do is figure out your learning style. Do you learn best from being told things or reading things? Do you find you don't learn a thing until you do it? Perhaps you need to have music involved in the learning. Whatever your personal style is, you need to use it to learn, or your learning won't be successful.
Once you know how you best learn, you then set yourself the task of learning one word a week. That's right, just one. The reason? Well, you've already got enough things happening in your life without dealing with a spelling list and also, you can really concentrate on that one word and guarantee that you will learn it whereas in a list of ten words, you can't guarantee to learn every one.
You need to work with that word every day. What you do will depend upon the type of learner you are. If you an an oral learner, then you need to hear the word. So make a tape of yourself saying the word, spelling it out, using it in a sentece and then saying the word again. Have the tape repeat several times, then write the word down five times. If you are a visual learner (you learn by reading), write down the word, the spelling and a sentence. Read it several times, aloud, and then cover that and write the word down five times. If you are a physical learner (you learn by doing), make up an envelope that has the word and the sentence written on the front and on the inside, has the letters of the word on separate pieces of paper. Read the envelope, then tip the letters out and arrange them into the correct spelling. Repeat this several times, then put aside and write the word five times. If you are a musical learner, make up a song with the word, the spelling and a sentence. Sing it several times and then write the word five times.
At the end of the week, you put the word you have learnt into your own personal dictionary. Use a telephone book (since it's already alphabetised) and write in the word and the sentence for the word. That way, if you do forget it, then you know where you can look it up again.
If you want to work harder on your spelling, focus on spending time looking at patterns of spelling. There are some letter combinations that just don't go together, some that are always seen together. Make up lists that you can keep in an exercise book. The easiest way is to base it on sounds. For example, did you know there are several ways to spell the long 'e' sound? Look at the following words: feed, field, steal, scene and that's not all. Discover as many different ways of spelling a sound as you can, and then make lists of at least five words per spelling and keep them on the same page of your exercise book so you have an easy reference to go to when spelling.
To make learning to spell more fun, here's a game you can play with your children, nieces and nephews or your partner (adults can get really caught up in this game). It's a variation of Hangman called "Could be/couldn't be".
You choose the word, put down the number of dashes needed for the letters and write the first letter in place. Then you draw up two columns, marked Could be and Couldn't be. Then the other players have the guess the next letter of the word. The letters have to be guessed in order.
Let's say the first letter of the seven letter word was 'B' (the word is butcher). One of the people guesses 'e' as the next letter. It's not the correct guess, but it could have been since 'be' is a common spelling combination. This guess gets written in the Could be column and the guess passes on. If a person guesses 'f' as the next letter, this gets written in the Couldn't be column as no word has 'bf' as a spelling combination. Any guess in the Couldn't be column means a part of the hangman is drawn. The correct guess is 'bu'and the 'u' is written into the correct place, then the next letter must be guessed. 'n' and 'd' are Could be guesses, 'buh' and 'bux' are Couldn't be guesses. 'but' is right, 't' is written in and so the game goes on.
This game not only teaches you how to spell a particular word, but also teaches you which letter combinations you can have and which ones you can't put together, useful information for someone who has problems with spelling.
The important thing is not to be scared of spelling. There are many people who think writing is some mysterious thing that they can never do, but you know it's just a matter of practice and persistance. The same is true of spelling. Tell yourself that you can be a good speller, start working at it and you'll find you can achieve good results.
--- copyright NICOLE R. MURPHY.
In a past life, NICOLE R. MURPHY was a primary/elementary school teacher in a past life; She's now a writer and a copy editor who's corrected more spelling than she can possibly count. She'd love you to put her out of a job but if you don't want to, you can take advantage of her free copy editing trial at www.yourbestwork.com
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