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2.7.14 Teaching Spelling
In writing, to be able to spell correctly is significant. English spelling is considered
to be quite difficult for learners at school. The best way how to teach students to spell
correctly is to have them read as much as possible.
Extensive reading (e.g. reading short articles)
helps students to remember
English spelling rules. But this is not the only way and teachers should be more
proactive. He may give students
word formation exercises, let them find out spelling
rules or to use any other activities for helping students not only to learn spelling but also
improve it, so that they become more familiar with English spelling. J. Harmer suggests
very interesting ideas to prepare enjoyable tasks for students for teaching spelling:
a.
To work out a rule by looking at the spelling of pair or groups of words.
b.
Dictionary activities are also suitable for students e.g.:
ask students to put a
written list of words in an alphabetical order, focus on the spelling of the initial letters of
words.
c.
Dictations
– there are many alternatives how to write dictation with students. The
traditional way is to read a paragraph to the learners. Another version is to write words
that students hear on a cassette or they can dictate to each other. Running dictation is
ideal for spelling practice. Harmer suggests giving points for the correct spelling for
each and every word.
d.
Cards
– students can be given cards with letters (individual letters, digraphs etc.);
students have to make words as many as possible from these cards. (Harmer, 2004,
48)
Finally we can state that, writing is a difficult skill to learn. We expect the learners
to be able to spell correctly.