5 Innovative Ways to be Master at Spell Bee

Do you find learning the spelling of “Chiaroscurist” difficult?

How about – “Pochemuchka”?

Does “Gobbledegook” sound easy?

Confused with English spellings?

Well, if you are having difficulty with English spellings, then this blog is just for you.

If you’re learning English, you need to learn to spell in English. You might think English writing and spelling aren’t so important for mass communication.

But think about it – How will you update status on Facebook, send messages on WhatsApp or write emails? Writing is a big part of your life, even if you don’t realize it. That’s why spellings are so important!

Now, the question is how to master the art of spellings?

We have compiled 5 innovative ways to be a master at Spell Bee.

1. Study Phonetics

Phonetics is the study of speech sounds and is crucial in learning spellings. Every speech sound has a symbol or symbols which are called phonetic transcriptions. Vowels, for instance, can be long or short, which you can learn based on the length mark “:”.

For example, the word “sheep” has a long /i:/ vowel, while the word ship has a short /i/ vowel.

Of course, like with everything in English, there will be some irregular or unexpected spellings, but English is still based on the phonetic code, so it is necessary to master it. Phonetics classes help you in improving your English spellings.

You will discover that there are spelling patterns that you can learn and use comfortably in your practice. Read more about Phonetics here phonetics | linguistics | Britannica

2. Learn English Spelling Rules

Contrary to the common perception, English spelling does often follow certain rules. Becoming aware of these rules can help you avoid some common spelling errors. Below are some of the most helpful rules –

1. ‘i’ before ‘e’ (believe) except after ‘c’ (receive), or when sounded like /ay/ as in neighbour or weigh. Exceptions are always there like – weird, leisure etc.

2. When adding suffixes that begin with a vowel (-able, –ible, –ous, etc.) to words ending in silent ‘e’, drop the final ‘e’. (response → responsible, continue → continuous). Exception: notice → noticeable, courage → courageous 2. When adding suffixes that begin with a vowel (-able, –ible, –ous, etc.) to words ending in silent ‘e’, drop the final ‘e’. (response → responsible, continue → continuous). Exception: notice → noticeable, courage → courageous

3. When adding suffixes to words ending in ‘y’, change the ‘y’ to an ‘i’. (happy → happier, plenty → plentiful)

There are many such spelling rules that you must learn and also learn the exceptions to the rules.

3. Play Word Games

Playing word games for kids and adults is a fun way to test your new spelling skills and learn new words. Classic board games like Scrabble and Scattergories are great for spelling practice.

Crosswords are also great way to improve spellings. Crosswords give you a series of clues that you must fit into overlapping horizontal and vertical boxes. If you get the spelling wrong in crossword, then the other words won’t fit, so it’s a good idea to have a dictionary beside you.

There are many apps and websites you can use to play challenging word games in order to learn in fun way. For example: www.wordgames.com , Word Games – MindGames.com and many more

4. Use Dictionary

The traditional route to checking your spelling is through the use of an English dictionary. Looking up words in dictionaries will also teach you the source of words and give you an interesting history of usage, as well as providing alternative words you might use. For some people this can be fun!

For example, have you ever wondered why “bicycle” is spelled the way it is? It comes from the Greek word ‘cycl’, which means “circle.” This is easy to remember because a wheel has the shape of a circle. The bi in “bicycle” is from Latin and it means “two.” So, a bicycle is something that has two wheels.

If you get into the habit of using a dictionary regularly, you will find that your spelling will improve naturally.

5. Syllables in Words

For longer words, it can sometimes be helpful to break the word into syllables to help you remember the spelling. Many people get confused with the word “several”. You could remember “several” by breaking it down into “sev-ER-al”. “Desperate” is another tricky one because it sounds as though it should be spelt in the same way as “separate” but breaking it into syllables helps you remember that it’s “desp-ER-ate”.

There is no substitute to hard work!

There is, unfortunately, no short cut to good spelling. It is learned by memory and repetition.

However, everyone has certain words which they have an inclination to spell incorrectly. If you become aware of that and work on it then you will be able to improve your spellings relatively quickly.

“My spelling is Wobbly. It’s good spelling but it Wobbles, and the letters get in the wrong places.” – A.A Milne