Any speaker of English will know that the language is full of tricky spellings. Not surprisingly, ESoL students struggle with many of the same words that prove to be such bugbears for native speakers. So, what makes a word “hard to spell”? Research shows that double letters, silent letters and vowel combinations create the most problems for learners across CEFR levels. Learners at the A1 and A2 levels also struggle with certain letter combinations like ch versus tch and w versus wh. So, what can we do to help learners spell with accuracy? Janelle Kolas explores…
Quick spelling activities are great ways to start or end any lesson. Old favourites include rearranging letters to form words, playing hangman, doing a word search, completing a crossword or even just doing a simple gap fill. All of these can be made competitive for livelier groups. If you have a bit more time, you might try one of the activities below to get your class feeling enthusiastic about spelling.
Spelling activity #1: Spelling Bee
A spelling bee takes a lot of time but is worth it. The bee has formed a memorable part of American education for ninety years and has even made its way to the silver screen. To get your students geared up for a spelling bee (and to provide some cultural background), you might show your class these film trailers.
How to Play:
Have all of the students stand up. Say a word to one student. That student repeats the word, spells the word and says it again. If the word is spelled correctly, the student remains standing. If not, the student sits down. There are many rounds until the teacher is able to identify the winner. Consider giving students a word list in advance to promote independent learning.
Spelling activity #2: Team Quiz
Sometimes small twists to standard activities can help us to keep students engaged. A “team” spelling quiz takes a typical spelling quiz and turns it into something fun and motivating.
How to Play:
Have the students sit in groups and give each student a piece of paper. Recite spelling words for students to write down just as you would in a typical spelling test. Provide each group with an answer sheet and have students mark their own work. Ask each group to add their individual scores together and write the team scores on the board. Allow 5-10 minutes for teams to revise the spellings before the quiz is given again and the new scores are recorded. Students will likely revise spellings out of a desire to compete with the other teams and not let their team down. Most students should be able to see good progress once the activity has ended.
Spelling activity #3: Spelling Volleyball
Sometimes students just want to get up and move, so the ambitious teacher might try to combine spelling with sport. With a small package of balloons, you have an instant spelling game.
How to Play:
Put students into groups of three with two students facing each other and a referee standing to the side. The referee says a word (from a list) and the players spell it letter by letter as they volley the balloon back and forth. The referee listens for poor spellings and awards points.
Spelling activity #4: Slap the Board
A small amount of movement and competition can go a long way in getting students to focus on what are often considered minor errors. If you have an electronic whiteboard (or a bit of paper and tape), you can get your students spelling with enthusiasm.
How to Play:
Put students into teams and project (or tape) the alphabet on the board. One player comes up to the board at a time. After the teacher says a word, the student slaps the letters on the board while shouting out the letters to spell the word.
Spelling activity #5: Spelling Yoga
For a more relaxed kinaesthetic approach, try bringing a bit of yoga into the classroom. The students will likely enjoy the opportunity to be up and moving and the teacher will enjoy watching the students take part.
How to Play:
The teacher says a word and the students say the spelling while moving their bodies to form the letters (like the YMCA dance). The teacher can see if they are getting it right or wrong and have the students spell the more challenging words more than once.
Do you have more ideas for spelling activities? Add them to the comments sections below.
If you enjoyed this article, you might also want to read Christina Cabel’s article about American versus British English spelling!