Spelling

Pretty is a very interesting word beginning with how it is pronounced. Why is the ‘e’ pronounced as /i/ like in insect and not /e/ like in egg? It is actually not uncommon for the ‘e’ to represent the /i/ … Continued

I have just finished reading an interesting and informative book by David Crystal titled ‘Spell It Out: The Singular Story of English Spelling’. David devotes a chapter to arguing that the teaching of spelling rules fails to work because of … Continued

If you are not a particularly good speller, the more spelling rules you know and understand, the better your spelling becomes because it gives you a framework to determine the most likely spelling of a word and this is supported … Continued

English is a confusing language!!  However, like every language, the written form of English is a code for the spoken language.  For many children to become proficient in reading and spelling they need direct explicit instruction in this language code.  … Continued

Many words in English (and other language) are a reflection of natural sounds (or our interpretation of natural sounds) – onomatopoeic words. Frogs croak, cats meow, horses whinny. Quite a few words in English reflect the sound of frustration or … Continued