Becoming a better speller allows you to express yourself more clearly, while spelling helps you communicate better in your daily life. Here are some tips on how to improve your spelling skills.
how to become a better speller
If you’re learning how to become a better speller, or just want to get better at spelling, you’ve found the right place. Learning how to spell doesn’t have to be difficult. We have some great tips on how to improve and make sure you’re getting it right.
1. Check out etymology. I’m sorry. I used a tough word to spell right out of the gate, like a big, arrogant stinker. Let me explain. Etymology is the history of a word — where it came from and what it means because of that. If you come across a word you don’t know or that you can’t spell, look it up, but don’t just grab the spelling and move on. Find the root of the word. Chances are it’s used in other words. Learn why words mean what they do.
Once you recognize groups of words, including those that were borrowed from other languages, you’ll be able to notice patterns in their spellings. You’ll also recognize parts of words that have specific meanings. It’s like getting a cheat sheet for a spelling quiz, every time.
2. Learn words in groups. Toe, roe, hoe. Awful, claw, fawn, straw. Bread, read, spread (“ea” with a short “e” sound). Eat, heat, meat (“ea” with a long “e” sound). Chief, shriek, piece, retrieve. And so on.
3. Break words apart, literally (prefix/suffix/roots). Find a list of the most common prefixes and suffixes and learn their meanings. Try to pinpoint the root of a word before you spell it.
Pre- meaning before. Anti- meaning against. Pro- meaning for, in affirmation of. -Ly meaning characterized by or like in appearance. -Tion used to turn verbs into nouns to describe a state, process, or condition.
Acknowledge. Knowledge. Know. Funniest. Funny. Fun. Once you’ve stripped them down, add in the surrounding parts, taking into account spelling rules. In the second example, we need to change the “y” in “funny” to an “i” to preserve the long “e” sound of the “y,” otherwise, it will be pronounced “fun-yest.”4. Find some dependable rules, based on phonetics. Contrary to a more recent popular educational approach and perspective, English is a phonetic language. All but a few of the most common English words can be spelled and pronounced using phonetics.**
Here are a few examples of spelling/pronunciation rules to aid you:
- English words don’t end in “i,” “j,” “u,” or “v.”*** If you hear those sounds at the end of a word, you can bet that the word is either borrowed from another language or the sound is spelled another way (e.g., “dge” for the “j” sound, as in “judge”).
- “C” always makes a soft “s” sound when it comes before “e,” “i,” and “y.” If a word has a hard “c” sound but one of those three letters immediately after, it must be spelled with a “k” instead. Simple, right?
- If you know there are a few ways to spell “shun,” it’s easier to guess which one is correct (-tion, -sion, or -cian), especially once you become familiar with words in groups, based on their etymology and parts (see 1-3).
- There are two ways to spell the “ay” sound (ay/ai), but if you hear that sound at the end of a word, it must use “ay” since English words don’t end in “i,” as mentioned in the first rule.”
- “Au” and “aw” are used to spell the lamentable sound of “aw,” but “au” is never used at the end of an English word, once again because of the first rule in this tiny list.¥
5. Read. Then read some more. And then a little bit more. You’re encoding the meaning, spelling, and context of every single word over and over as you read. This knowledge will reward you with effortless recall over time. Don’t put any effort into this one. Just feed your mind with words.
Hopefully this information has been useful to you. If you are a very poor speller, try to work on your spelling every day; you will see consistent improvement over time. You can also remember that there is hope for you, as long as you always try to improve. There is nothing wrong with being a poor speller. I know of many people who are adults and still struggle with their spelling, so do not be ashamed if you can’t spell like an adult. It’s okay – we have all been there at least once in our lifetime. Just keep trying and don’t give up!
