Education by Shala Books

  • Home
  • Resources
    • FSL Resources
    • ESL Resources
    • Reading Resources
  • Consulting Services
  • Blog
  • Shop
  • Support
    • About
    • FAQ
    • Contact
    • Opportunities
  • Home
  • Resources
    • FSL Resources
    • ESL Resources
    • Reading Resources
  • Consulting Services
  • Blog
  • Shop
  • Support
    • About
    • FAQ
    • Contact
    • Opportunities

THE EDUCATION BLOG

BLOG HOME PAGE
Let's Talk Education
Educational Frameworks
Planners
Reading
ESL
FSL
Modern Foreign

Languages
Mother Tongue
Tips for Educators
Tips for Parentss
Education Quotes

Blog

January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018

LEARNING TO SPELL: LIFE SKILL VS. ACADEMIC

16/5/2018

 
A colleague of mine and I were recently discussing how to teach spelling to ESL/EAL students and how important spelling is. A thought occurred to me: what if there were two forms of spelling – spelling as a life skill and academic spelling, and how these two forms should inform how we approach spelling.  My daughter is at the beginning stages of learning how to spell as a native English speaker; the words she can spell are strongly related to the ones she can sound and read – CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words, CCVC (consonant-consonant-vowel-consonant) words, sight words, and so on. For me, learning how to spell these words is a life skill – they form the basic rules of English and determine how words are formed.  It would make sense that any spelling lists sent home would link to what she is learning to read in class.  But then as students get older things will shift – once a foundation is formed, how does the purpose of writing change at school?  Writing will be used for explaining math problems, answering science questions, and writing essays; the vocabulary students must learn to spell will change as they advance. Should the way we approach teaching how to spell change accordingly – especially for those students coming in at slightly later grades who don’t speak English or who have limited English, but who have a similar spelling knowledge base as my daughter in their own native tongue.  If this is the case, that there are two forms of spelling and two purposes for spelling – life skill and academic – how do the spelling programs we currently have in place for ESL/EAL students need to change to meet those two different needs? Is it okay to start a student coming in after grade 1 or 2 with the same types of words as my daughter is learning, or should they simply focus on the academic words they will need to answer subject-related questions, to write essays, etc. Are our current spelling programs for ESL/EAL students meeting their immediate academic needs, or do we need to change our approach?
Learning to Spell: Life Skill vs. Academic
Further Reading

Academic English Language Learners - A Change in Perspective
Academic English Language Learners - A Proposed Solution
Setting Up an EAL Department at an International School
ESL Students and Specialist Classes
Learning to Read vs. Vocabulary Building
PD for ESL/EAL Teachers
FIND OUT MORE
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    SHARE ARTICLE

    Welcome to
    The Education Blog

    Christina Shala
    Christina Shala
    About Christina Shala

    Recent Post

    Quick Links


    FSL Resources
    ESL Resources
    Beginning Readers
    Consulting Services

    Have a Question?

    CONTACT US
Vertical Divider
Vertical Divider
OUR COMPANY
About
Blog
FAQ
Contact
Opportunities
Terms and Conditions
PRODUCTS & SERVICES
FSL Resources
ESL Resources
Emergent Readers
Transitional Readers
Consulting Services
Vertical Divider
CONNECT WITH US
© Copyright 2021  Education by Shala Books 
Picture