1st Edition
Understanding and Teaching English Spelling A Strategic Guide
Concise and engaging, this text provides pre-service and practicing English language teachers with the knowledge they need to successfully teach the spelling of English. Offering context and explanation for the English spelling system as well as uniquely addressing specific problems in learning the spelling of English words, this book empowers readers with strategies for coping with these problems. Divided into six accessible sections, Brown covers the history of English spelling, the influence of technology on spelling, the role of punctuation, the features of present-day English spelling, teaching strategies for coping with difficult spelling, and the future of spelling and literacy. The short, digestible chapters include practical learning objectives and end-of-chapter exercises to help teachers understand and explain English spelling concepts.
1. Introduction
2. Types of Spelling System
3. Spelling, Writing and Reading
4. History of English
5. History of English Spelling
6. A Computer is Not a Typewriter
7. Technology
8. Rules of English Spelling
9. Punctuation
10. Spaces and Hyphens
11. Capital Letters
12. Silent Letters
13. Doubled Consonant Letters
14. Spelling of Unstressed Vowels
15. Variation
16. Loanwords
17. Names of Letters
18. Spelling Pronunciation
19. Pronunciation Spelling
20. Homophones and Homographs
21. Other Consequences of English Spelling
22. Morphological Strategy
23. Etymological Strategy
24. Phonological Strategy
25. Analogical Strategy
26. Visual Strategy
27. Teaching English Spelling
28. Testing English Spelling
29. Spelling Reform
30. English Spelling and Malay Spelling
31. The Future of English Spelling
32. Conclusion
Appendix 1: Sound-to-spelling correspondences for British English
Appendix 2: Surnames exemplifying spelling rules
Appendix 3: The main uses of punctuation in English
Appendix 4: Answers
Biography
Adam Brown is Director of Research at Auckland Institute of Studies, New Zealand.
"This book offers teacher educators and future English language teachers a welcome and overdue guide for unraveling persistent challenges faced by students in their effort to master the English spelling system. Brown helpfully demystifies common spelling difficulties, offers concise insights, and supplies readers with accessible and practical classroom solutions."
— John S. Hedgcock, Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, USA
"This is an impressive survey of English spelling. It constitutes a valuable resource for teachers of English, whether as a first language or as a foreign, second, or additional language. It’s fun to read, too."
—John Wells, University College London, UK
"All ESL/ELT teachers are faced with student questions about the peculiarities of English spelling. Most books (and pre-service training) assume that spelling is a peripheral matter, but it is actually central, since phonological awareness is basic to both intelligibility and listening perception. I highly recommend Adam Brown’s book because it is well-designed to give teachers a solid resource for answers to students’ questions about this difficult and crucial subject."
--Judy Gilbert, bestselling author, teacher, and teacher trainer
