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gambasbo · Joined: 23 Nov 2003 Posts: 93 Location: Cochabamba, Bolivia

Does anyone have any experience of helping someone with bad spelling? The rest of her English is very good, but correct spelling is essential in the IELTS exam.

Mike

Justin Trullinger · Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 3:50 pm Post subject:

Very tough, if she's reached a high level without getting the spelling right. What kind of errors does she tend to make? Phonetically spelling words that aren't phonetic? ("My sister is eit years old.") Switching words that sound the same? ("my sister is ate years old.") Reversals of silent letters? ("my sister is eigth years old.") All of these are common for Spanish speakers- and you've got your work cut out for you if she's made it to a good communicative level without them being corrected.

Some ideas- reading can be the source of good spelling for natives and non-natives alike. Does she read much? If not, it's time to start.

Error correction activities. Start with her English- what does she most talk about? What interests her? And offer texts with vocabulary she knows, misspelled, for her to correct.

And, drilling and rote. Remember all those spelling tests when you were a kid? The "go away and learn these twenty words tonight, and there'll be a test tomorrow" method isn't super interesting, aesthetically pleasing, or well looked on in modern language teaching. But, if she's disciplined, and already has a good vocabulary, it can work. (It's essential that this be used only to correct spelling of words she already knows, not to introduce new vocab.)

And good luck,

Justin

gambasbo · Joined: 23 Nov 2003 Posts: 93 Location: Cochabamba, Bolivia

Very useful, Justin. Thanks very much.

I have already started her on reading, but I like the idea of checking her on words she has misspelt in the past and the 'check spelling' tests. She takes the exam in just over a month, so it's intensive study for her ahead!

Mike

Justin Trullinger · Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2007 12:55 am Post subject:

Luck, and let us know how it goes.

I see this pretty often, usually amongst Ecuadorians who have spend some considerable time abroad, but who have focused on speaking and hanging out, but never studied. It's especially bad when they were young enough (I'm thinking under 15 here) to pick up pretty naturally through listening, and don't like reading.

Good luck,
Justin