Info about Spelling
Spelling – An All Important Part of Effective Writing Skills
I remember that the time I started going to school or may be even before that; spelling has been with me since then. First my parents used to make me learn spellings of various words and then the same started when my school life began. I realized that spelling is an essential part of grammar. When you are a kid, you start learning spellings of basic words that are used in everyday life and gradually you move upwards to a higher level as your academics proceed. My father used to give me treats when I used to do well in spelling tests or the tests that were made by him. If I scored a hundred percent, I would get chocolates, sweets, etc.
If you are poor at spelling words, I am afraid you can never be good at writing anything my friend. It is important that you focus on spelling things write. When you spell things write, you automatically get good at pronouncing them as well and your vocabulary starts to get stronger too. I used to hate learning spellings of different words but with time I got good at it. If you have ever noticed, you can easily spell words if you focus on how they are pronounced. Lip movements can easily tell you how a word should be spelled.
It is sad how many grownups today cannot spell even the most basic English words. I have seen many teenagers and other people using short forms and spelling words in a short manner when they are chatting online or typing on their cell phones. Let me tell you something, you should avoid doing this. Always try to spell things how they should be whether you are texting someone or chatting with someone on your phone.
Recently I was surfing online for spelling games and found many of them that children can make the most out of. If you are a parent, these spelling games are the best thing to polish your kid’s mind and get him to spell things like they should be. Also, if you notice at Microsoft Word and other such softwares, if you spell a word wrong; it gets underlined. You can take help from such softwares and dictionaries regarding how a particular word should be spelled like. Remember, taking help with spelling a particular word would make sure that you never forget how it is spelled again; try it.
How to Improve Your Spelling at any Age
While spelling words correctly may come natural to some, it can be difficult for others. No matter what your age, it is never too late to improve your spelling and the way you learn to spell correctly. Spelling words correctly is important as an adult in order to reduce errors when conducting business. While many documents are run through spell-check, this is not always the case and you should do your best to learn how to spell the words you use most often, or that seem confusing to you. With practice, you can learn to spell much better in a short amount of time.
Start by using imagery to learn how to spell. Imagining what a word looks like in a variety of ways helps tremendously when you need to write the word down correctly. Rather than viewing the word in your head as a simple black-font script, you can change the look of word with your imagination such and picturing it as a glowing word, very large or very small, bold, italicized or with a fancy font. Try an imagery exercise by closing your eyes and picturing the word as it is spelled correctly, and see it on a large, glowing billboard. Picture each letter in the word, as they are in their proper place. You can also use flashcards to promote imagery exercises such as writing the correctly spelled words on the cards in various colors, fonts and sizes.
Use correctly spelled word lists only, rather than writing words that are misspelled in hopes that you will notice the error and learn that way. The best way to learn how to spell properly is to see how each word should be spelled. It can become confusing when you have lists with the purpose of teaching how not to spell a word; that incorrect spelling might be what sticks in your mind, and thus prevents you from learning how to spell it correctly. Add 3-5 correctly spelled words to your word list daily, and read it through several times a day until you feel comfortable with how to spell each word. Additionally, word lists are helpful when they follow a specific theme or are familiar to each other, such as one list of sports terms, and another teaching you how to spell various US cities.
Involve your other senses in the lessons such as saying the words and how to spell them out loud. Start by looking at the word, and visualizing it with imagery. Then read it out loud to see how it sounds. Finally, spell the word out loud, one letter at a time. Repeat this a few times for each word on your word list. It also helps to write the words down several times for each word during this practice session.
Test yourself first when you receive a new word list or terms to spell correctly, before you begin studying them, using imagery and making flashcards. You don’t want to spend time on words you can already spell correctly. Test yourself with each word and cross off words you can spell easily and correctly, focusing only on the words you are not as familiar with.