Teaching spelling techniques as an eficient tool in language learning

Abstract

(ua) В статті розглядаються деякі теоретичні та практичні проблеми англійського правопису як складової в навчанні іноземній мові. Також запропоновані зразки завдань і вправ, спрямованих на розвиток навичок правильного правопису на різних етапах навчання.

(ru) В статье рассматриваются некоторые теоретические и практические проблемы английского правописания как составляющей в обучении данному языку. Предлагаются образцы заданий и упражнений, направленных на развитие навыков правильного правописания на различных этапах обучения.

(en) Today there is hardly a teacher or learner of the English language who would not say that, along with pronunciation, English spelling is one of the hardest things to master. For historical reasons, English has adopted many different pronunciation-to-spelling rules, which makes learning the spellings of individual words a real challenge. The problems devoted to introducing the new technologies in teaching spelling of foreign language are the issues of the research of many foreign researchers as Sheila Waller G., Ruth Gairns and Stuart Redman. It is also pointed out that there are numerous regional spelling variants, first and foremost British and American, formal and informal variations, professional jargon spelling variants, advertisement spellings, etc. Good English spelling is of critical importance for secondary and higher school students in Ukraine, especially those within the arts track, and more specifically, the ones with language majors, whose courses are usually geared towards passing written exams. No matter how good students' vocabulary usage, grammar, punctuation and organizational skills are, if their spelling is weak, they will be marked down in an exam. The principal concepts of studying the background of some of the major problems (linguistic and psychological) in teaching English spelling at different levels are aimed at overcoming those problems. In conclusion, two important factors can be pointed out. The first one is that there are objective reasons to believe in the regularity and consistency of the English orthographic system. By raising our students' awareness of the existence of the multiple layers which characterize it - auditory, visual, morphological, semantic, etymological – we will make them realize that there is information available to help them conquer the English spelling system. Secondly, today spelling is no longer left to chance. The experts have agreed that «direct spelling instruction» is a must at all levels of EFL/ESL instruction. It should be done in an organized fashion and with logical progression.