Chris Bentley from TeacherBentley.com shares his favourite teaching hacks for the most dreaded aspect of English lessons – spelling.
I have never met an English language teacher who entered the profession for their love of spelling. Nor did they desire to drive academic standards in the future generation’s ability to put letters in the correct order (in accordance to the dictionary definition). And, rightfully so (conjunctions used not in error but for effect – you’re a critical bunch!)
I am sure you can picture the following situation at a parent consultation: after giving beautifully detailed feedback to parents, summarising study, followed by a personalised target which encapsulates the nuances in the pupil’s learning, to be then met with the following question like a blow to the kidneys: “But is their spelling alright? Could they improve it?” A metaphorical “Thanks!” after your declaration of love.
Does spelling practice belong in the classroom?
Spelling, although a worthy subject, and an arguable necessity to our literacy skills, is not often at the forefront of an ELT teacher’s mind. With subject content, metalinguistic terminology, exam technique and texts to devour, time is limited.
Hand on heart, within lesson time, I spend barely any teaching time on spelling – but with justifiable reason:
- Those who can spell, do not need the time spent on spelling
- Those who struggle with spelling have already had teacher input for spelling at a younger age, repeating it does not mean it will be successful
- Those who struggle with spelling: being made to continually do the same types of spelling, in the same manner, again, and again, will be made to feel unsuccessful in their education
However, the need for at least basic spelling is important and we need to support our students. So, what should we do?
- Have vocabulary lists for the topic you are teaching as mini dictionaries so students can refer to them throughout the class
- Display subject terminology around your classroom and encourage pupils to take note and use it to aid their work in class
- Try not to just spell words for pupils. If you are a walking dictionary for the pupils, it is too easy for them not to learn. Instruct pupils to look up a word and attempt to learn it, before writing it in their work
- When marking work, select a few (no more than 3) spelling errors and have pupils correct them in the margin three times. Over time, this should become habitual.
- Have a spelling guide to give to parents at parent consultations
- Create videos so pupils can learn spelling rules and techniques in their own time
Help for you, your learners and their parents
I have created a video to help and also a downloadable sheet I give to parents at consultations to help them reinforce spelling techniques at home. Pre-empt that mundane question “…and what about their spelling?” and give parents the tools to help their child to practice practise.
Download How to improve your spelling
If you found this article useful, make sure to check out Chris’ own blog for more of his tips and resources!