Spelling
Spelling is a complex process involving many skills. To be good spellers, pupils need to have phonological knowledge at the syllable, intra-syllabic level (onset and rime) and phoneme level. They also need to have orthographic knowledge, (knowledge of clusters of letters that represent phonemes blended as units and observed in print) at the onset and rime, syllable and whole word level.
It is important that alphabetic knowledge (phoneme / grapheme knowledge) is introduced early. Alphabetic knowledge is essential and can be used successfully when spelling phonetically regular words. However, it is not reliable when spelling a significant minority of words in the foundation stage due to the deep nature of English orthography. One grapheme can represent several phonemes and some words have parts that cannot be spelled by sounding out. There are pupils who cannot learn by phonics alone because they have a severe phonological deficit. Alphabetic knowledge must be taught alongside orthographic knowledge (recognition of punctuation, common letter patterns, and irregular whole words) and morphemic knowledge (morphemes are the smallest units which carry meaning in spoken language-for example, prefixes and suffixes). Many pupils pick up this knowledge implicitly just by looking at words but other pupils do not have a sensitivity to seeing them often and need to be explicitly taught. Pupils with orthographic insensitivities find it difficult to recognise patterns in words. Research has shown that individuals with literacy difficulties may have an orthographic deficit as large as that of phonological awareness and rapid automatized naming. Therefore, from the Foundation Stage the approach to teaching spelling needs to be sequential, structured, multisensory, cumulative and phonics based. Phonological awareness, orthographic processing and morphemic knowledge must be taught simultaneously to prevent an over-reliance on any one approach. An attempt to teach pupils using one approach may result in self-esteem being impacted and the development of a sense of failure for a significant minority of pupils. 5-8 years of age (Foundation and Key Stage 1) is the best time to teach using an integrated approach.
Pupils need to learn flexibility in their thinking and the ability to draw on various sources of knowledge. Pupils will use multiple strategies when spelling a word, in fact some pupils can recall orthographic patterns, for example, ‘pin’, ‘bin’, ‘tin’ before they have even learned alphabetic knowledge and they draw on the rich linguistic tapestry of a word to spell it correctly:
- Phonological knowledge
- Orthographic knowledge
- Morphological knowledge
- Semantic knowledge
- Etymological knowledge
If the focus is solely on using phonic knowledge at the grapheme-phoneme level the pupil stops using flexible thinking and strategic problem-solving. Morphological knowledge can often step in when phonological language confuses, for example, the word ‘jumped’ can be correctly spelt if the pupil has developed knowledge of affixes. If the pupil relies on sound alone the word may be spelt, ‘jumpt’. Building a collection of ‘mental orthographic images’ helps make spelling more fluent and automatic.
Spelling problems tend to persist in pupils with literacy difficulties even when reading improves. Explicit, multisensory teaching using a structured, cumulative, sequential, multisensory and phonics-based spelling program is essential for all pupils to achieve maximum learning, this allows pupils to use various senses to understand and learn what is being taught, vision, hearing and movement. The teaching of spellings should be regularly reinforced and reviewed to consolidate learning, build in repetition, provide opportunities for overlearning and develop automaticity. The goal of teaching spelling should always be to develop the pupil’s meta-awareness skills which empowers the pupil to apply the knowledge and strategies he / she has learned to new spellings.
Pupils may have co-occurring difficulties such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), Dysgraphia or Autism. There may also be early signs of specific literacy difficulties (SpLD)/ Dyslexia. Attention and concentration difficulties or underperforming orthographic and phonological processors will impact on learning to spell and the production of written work. Other cognitive processing difficulties may be present such as deficits in working memory, and short-term verbal / visual memory. Any, or a combination of any of these difficulties will make the learning of spellings even more complicated. Reasonable adjustments need to be made at the point of learning to address any co-occurring difficulties.
A diagnostic spelling test can provide evidence of the gaps in pupils’ spelling knowledge, which can then be specifically addressed. By looking at a sample of a pupil’s free (independent) writing we can see how his / her spelling knowledge has developed.
Research indicates that orthographic processing difficulties may not be detected until the pupil can write, however that does not negate the impact, which is why an integrated approach needs to begin from the start of learning in the Foundation Stage to prevent future difficulties.
Integrating the teaching of spelling with the opportunity to use the words in a meaningful context, in writing, will help the pupil to see that spellings are a tool for communicating ideas. As the pupil’s spelling becomes increasingly fluent and automatic, the working memory is freed up for composition, thereby resulting in improvements in writing.