Correct spelling makes written work make sense

MASTERING spelling, punctuation and grammar is very important in the English Language learning process. Learners who are proficient in these areas are guaranteed to bag extra marks as well as making their written work make sense. They should also be aware that marks are given for correct spelling, punctuation and grammar in various subjects. Even if a subject does not award marks for the stated areas, it is still really important to use them correctly.

We previously dwelt with commonly misused words. What we have seen is that a lot of words get mixed up like we tried to show in the examples we gave. For example, many people and learners get confused in the use of these two words, affect and effect. Affect is an action which influences something, but an effect is the result of an action. Laziness affects your performance in class. This means that laziness is doing something to your performance. Laziness has an effect on your performance. This is talking about the result of laziness on your performance.

Commonly confused words lead us to spelling. This is a problem area again to learners. Experts state that no matter how hard you practise, there will always be some words that you struggle to spell correctly. The sad part about it, is that spelling mistakes are really obvious to the examiners, so they advise that learners use tips provided to help them spell perfectly. Here are some spelling tips learners can use:

Keep a list of words they find tricky. Practise spelling them until they get them right every time. Use flashcards and write the spelling on the front and put the meaning on the back. That way they can test the spelling as well as the meaning. Learn spelling rules — the “i” before “e” rule and the C-V-C rule can help learners work out how a word is spelt. For starters, the C-V-C rule tells when to double letters. If you are adding a suffix that begins with a vowel, you can use the C-V-C rule.

“For most words, if the last three letters go consonant –vowel – consonant (C-V-C). begin, regret, forgot — all these words end with C-V-C. You double the last letter when you add the suffix. Regret + ing > regretting. “-ing” starts with a vowel so double the “t”. forgot + -en – forgotten. “-en” starts with a vowel, so double the “t”.

The “i” before “e” rule. The letters “i” and “e” often appear together so it is easy to confuse which way round they should be. “i” before “e” except after “c”, but only when it rhymes with bee. The whole word does not need to rhyme with bee, just the “ie” sound. Remember the spelling of “friend” which always confuses many people. Following are some examples we should learn: believe – The “ie” sound does not come after a “c” and it rhymes with bee so it goes “ie”. Words like thief and chief.

Receive — The “ie” sound does come after a “c” and it rhymes with bee so it goes “ei”. Science — The “ie” sound does come after a “c”, but it does not rhyme with bee, so it goes “ie”. Reading from a variety of sources learners will come across examples of spelling tricky words. Some learners divide words into syllables to easily remember all the parts of the word. Some experts suggest that learners should make up mnemonics. Mnemonics are sentences or phrases that help learners remember spellings. The first letters of the words or phrases help them remember spelling difficult words.

Check this example: Necessary - N stands for Never, E – eat, C – chips, - Eat Salad Sandwiches And Rwandan Yams. In clear terms the sentence reads – Never eat chips – Eat salad, sandwiches and Rwandan yams. Another example which is effective in spelling tricky words is using funny sentences. These sentences help learners remember the bits in the words that are often misspelt. There is a rat in separate.

The bit which forms rat always confuses learners when they spell it separate by remembering it, chances of writing a wrong spelling are minimised. There is a lie in belief. The secretary has a secret. Believe you me, these are interesting activities which help bring life to the class. As I said earlier there is a general feeling that language lessons are boring. The reason for that is there is lack of variety in the presentation of the lessons. Activities that involve learners help change the dull atmosphere and improves the learners’ performance.

Trying all the suggested activities will improve the performance of learners on spellings. Improved performances on spelling, punctuation and grammar means excellence right across the curriculum. Here is a piece of advice proffered on spelling tricky words: If you are quoting from source material in the examination, check your spelling against the extract. If you are struggling to spell a word — sound it out in your head. Work out how each syllable sounds.

Write out any troublesome words in rough, to see whether they look right before you use them in your sentences or essay. If you are still not sure how to spell a word, try to use a different word that means the same that you definitely know how to spell. Remember to leave five minutes at the end of the examination to check your work. This is where spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors are corrected.

Before we end, learn the following words as they come up time and time again in essays: definitely, argument, believe, interesting, successful, whether, recommend, independent, reference, strengths, criticism, embarrass, forty, posses, occasion, discuss, exaggerate, analyse and experiences. These are just a few examples but there are many more which learners can come across. Learners do not panic but remember the tips suggested for improved performances.

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