5 spelling tips to improve your English

Worksheet:

Which of these is the correct spelling?

Busyness, Business, Bussness.
Receipt, Receept, Reciept, .
Belief, Beleif, Beleef.
Niebour, Naybour, Neighbour.
Satisfyaction, Satisfaction, Satisfiaction.
habittable, habitable, habiteble.
hopeing, hoppeing, hopping
regrettable, regretable, regreteible
admiting, admitting, admiteing
happyest, happyjest, happiest
ordinarily, ordinaryly, ordinerily
employable, emploable, emploiable
Sientific, Cientific, Scientific,
Approximately, Approximitly, Approximitely
Beginning, Begining, Baginning


Answers.
Business
Receipt
Belief
Neighbour (See exceptions).
Satisfaction
Habitable
Hopping
Regrettable
Admitting
Happiest
Ordinarily
Employable
Scientific (see exceptions)
Approximately
Beginning


Exceptions
1. ‘I’ before ‘E’.
Exceptions: We also put the e first if it makes the sound /ei/ as in. neighbour, weigh.
science, efficient, foreign, caffeine, seize, weird.

2. ‘Magic ‘E’.
Exceptions: If the ‘u’ has a ‘q’ before it. Also: ‘one’

3. CVC words
Exceptions: If the word ends in w,x,y, (e.g. paying).

Also: 2-syllable nouns, adjectives, and adverbs are usually stressed on the first syllable. 2-syllable verbs are usually stressed on the second syllable


4. Y+ suffix
Exceptions: This is not true with the suffix -ing. With -ing. When we add-ing we keep the y. For example, supplying

Certain words: dryer, drying

5. Drop the ‘E’.
Exceptions: Keep the 'e' before -ous and -able in words that end in 'ce' or 'ge' such. E.g. noticeable, changeable. Also in words: likeable, saleable. Or if you have ‘ee’ or ‘ye’: agreeable.

Tips:
Keep a record of words that you spell incorrectly and regularly test yourself before the exam.
Look at words that are particularly hard to spell for your first language. You can find these by searching on google. E.g. ‘Difficult words to spell for Spanish speakers’.
Use mnemonics or rhymes to help you remember. E.g. Emma had a dilEmma.
When you learn a word write down as many versions of that word as possible. E.g. success (n), succeed (v), successful (n), successfully (adv), etc. This is even more successful if you put the words into full sentences.


Teaching tips
Introducing multiple spelling rules at a time can be overwhelming for the learner and be demanding for the teacher. Instead, introduce rules of thumb as they apply to certain classes. For example, when teaching the present continuous we can point out that CVC doubles the final consonant when -ing is added.

Activities.
1. Noughts and crosses. (This is a great opener or ender to lessons)
Draw a noughts and crosses board on the whiteboard with numbers.
Divide the class into 2 teams.
The teams have to choose a number they want corresponding to a place on the noughts and crosses board.
Read a word (maybe one you know to have tricky spelling).
Students in that team have to spell it in order to put their nought or cross in the space.
Play until a team wins then play again and again.

2. Keep a poster of tricky word spellings.
This is made more successful when the students decide which words should be added and words can be added throughout the year.


Improve your spelling with these 5 spelling tips.
0:14 Tip 1: 'I' before 'E' except after 'C'.
1:06 Tip 2: The magic 'E'.
2:03 Tip 3: CVC words.
3:57 Tip 4: 'Y' + suffix.
5:28 Tip 5: Drop the 'E'.