Methods  For  Studying  Spelling

─ 葉得勝 ─

選自：林中學報  創刊號

    Accurate spelling is as important to us as deadeye marksmanship was to Buffalo Bill.  In fact, it's much more important.  We'll spell far more words in our lifetime than Buffalo Bill shot bullets.

    Right now, according to certain authorities, we know the meaning of more 25,000 words -- words that we must also spell at one time or another.  Luckily, only a hundred or so of those words cause most of our spelling troubles.  If we can build up a working vocabulary of 25,000 words, we can certainly learn to spell those troublemakers.  Once we've mastered them, it will be easy for us to "bat a thousand" in spelling from then on in.

    When we meet a new word or a word we've heard but haven't seen before, we'll do well to look it up in our dictionary.  Follow these steps:

1. Be sure to learn the correct pronunciation of the word.

2. Find out its meaning.

3. Look closely at its spelling.

    Knowing the correct pronunciation of a word will help us spell it correctly.  Therefore, it is a good idea to learn the correct pronunciation of every word we need to spell.

    Perhaps we'll want to put each new word we meet into a word notebook.  In it we can record every word we misspell-- word in our written work, as well as those we miss on a spelling test.  Study those words carefully, and then ask someone to test you.  Repeat the process if you need to.  There are some words that are often misspelled because they are mispronounced.  Study them carefully, noting especially the combinations of letters that cause trouble.

    Nobody is a born speller.  Every good speller has a system or a method to help him.  Here are four helps to make you a better speller.

1. Say the word.

    Let your sound-memory help you.  Look at the word "athlete" and pronounce it.  Do you say "ath'lete" or "ath'uhete"?  If you pronounce it the second way, you need to hear the word pronounced correctly.

2. Look at the word.

    Let your sight-memory help you, too.  Look closely at the word accommodate.  Then close your eyes and, in your mind, "see" the word as if it were written on the board.  Do you see two 'c's and two 'm's?  If not, you know you need to observe more carefully.

3. Write the word.

    Be sure that you copy every letter.  Circle any parts that are not spelled as you would expect.  Then cover your work and write the word again.

4. Check your work.

    Did you write the word correctly the second time?  If not, copy it three times, pronouncing it correctly as you write.  You may need to repeat several times in order to erase a wrong spelling from your mind.  The more you use this "say-look-write-check" method, the better you'll spell.

    Here is a list of words that everyone knows how to spell- or thinks so anyway.  Yet they're written incorrectly all too often, probably because they look easy.  Notice how many of them are contractions-- words written with an apostrophe to show that one or more letters have been omitted.  When you study these words, be sure you know what each one means.  When you write them, think about what you are doing.

    too    to    two    we'd    we'll    we're    you'll    you're    you've    its    it's    they're    they've    their

   there    there's    that's    aren't    can't    doesn't    don't    hasn't    haven't    isn't    mustn't

    Many words follow certain rules in their spelling.  Here are six useful spelling rules.  Some common exceptions to these rules.  After all, they are very important.

1. Put an i before e except after c or when ei sound like ﹝e﹞ as in neighbor.

    believe    brief    receive    weigh    freight

2. When a word ends in silent e (like make), drop the e before adding a suffix beginning with a vowel.

    making    dancing    famous

3. When a word ends in silent e (like safe), keep the e before adding a suffix beginning with a consonant.

    safety    rarely    amusement

4. When a word ends in y preceded by a consonant, change the y to i before adding a suffix that does not begin with i.

   carry  --  carried  --  carriage

5. When a word of one syllable ends in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, double the consonant before adding a suffix beginning with a vowel.          

    big  --  bigger      knit  --  knitted

6. When a word which is accented on the last syllable ends in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel (like begin) double the final consonant before adding a suffix beginning with a vowel.

    begin  --  beginning      admit  --  admitted

Finally, never forget to add any misspelled words to the list in your spelling notebook,  Restudy them over and over again.