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Most people were taught to spell through lists of spelling words and a weekly spelling test. While spelling tests have their place, there are much more effective ways to learn to spell properly. Rather than memorizing the spelling of individual words, those who wish to spell well should focus on types of words and how they are related.

Language Arts as a subject encompasses reading and writing, as well as spelling. All of these subjects are tied together, and improvement in one area leads to improvement in the other areas.

A person who would like to improve spelling should read frequently, as this helps them become familiar with the way the words should look like. Likewise, the person who wishes to spell well should also write frequently by hand, rather than typing.

Writing with a purpose helps improve spelling drastically. A handwritten letter, list, or itinerary, is useful and is good spelling practice if the person has someone else check the document for spelling. A story, song, or poem, is an excellent way of expressing oneself, as long as the writer does not avoid using a words that he or she does not know how to spell correctly.

Although learning to spell may be the end goal, frequent writing is often the best method. When practicing spelling through handwriting, do not put too much emphasis on correctness, and do not be discouraged by making mistakes.

It is through correcting mistakes that spelling skills develop. As Lutz (1986) says, writing gives practical application to spelling knowledge, and helps the writer internalize spelling rules. Simply memorizing lists of words does not help a person effectively learn to spell.

It is very difficult to learn to spell by learning rules and exceptions. The English language is terribly complex and there are always exceptions to the rules. According to von Duyke (2003), spelling is easier to learn by watching for visual patterns and similarities between words.

One method for improving spelling is to keep a list of recently misspelled words, and sort them into groups based on similar letter clusters; for example, words ending in -ent. One can then focus on these words for a week or two, and watch for that specific cluster when reading the newspaper or a favorite website.

The next week the focus may be on words with the vowel pair ea. One can note where these clusters appear in words and how words with similar spellings may be pronounced differently. In this way, you can develop a familiarity with words that will allow you to recognize a misspelled word and correct it.

REFERENCES

Lutz, E 1986, 'Invented Spelling and Spelling Development,' ERIC Digest, ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills.

Von Duyke, K 2003, 'Montessori Language Arts at Home,' Practical Homeschooling, March-April, i52.