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Show Spelling Problems Can Be Overcome by Learning Du u hav truble speling? Dr. Ruel A. Allred says you can overcome it. You can become good at spelling by learning how to learn words. Allred, a professor of elementary education, is a principal author of a new spelling program that is rapidy being adopted by schools throughout the nation. It is geared for pupils in grades one through eight, but he says some of the principles taught in the program can be used by adults as well. Allred, a nationaly known expert on teaching spelling to children, wrote the program at the request of The Economy Co., the largest private publishing house for educational materials in the United States. He said "Keys to Spelling Mastery" is designed not only to teach young people how to spell, but also how to use the dictionary, build their vocabulary and improve their ability to express themselves in writing. Two coauthors made vital contributions, the BYU pro fessor emphasized. They are writer-researcher-teacher Louise Baird and Dr. Edwin A. Reed, former director of the laboratory school at BYU and now director of schools for the Arabian American Oil Co. (ARAMCO) in Saudi Arabia. "Keys to Spelling Mastery," incorporates findings of recent research conducted throughout the nation by Allred and other experts. One of those findings is that while the English language has hundreds of thousands of words available for our use, there is a core of about 4,000 that includes 97 percent of the vocabulary of both children and adults. Some of the words common to children are less Used by adults, and some used by adults are foreign to children, but there is a large overlap within this 4,000-word core. The program concentrates on those most-used words, including the 300 that account for more than 50 percent of the words children misspell. Among other things, that finding suggests that the task of learning to spell need not be nearly so overwhelming as some might think. For most adults, there are certain words they've "never taken the time to build the visual image for" that trouble them in spelling, Allred explains. They could learn to overcome these words by following eight steps used in teaching children to spell. "You have to learn to apply the study steps. You don't just memorize them." The steps employ auditory, visual and kinesthetic senses to best reinforce learning. They are: (1) pronounce each word carefully; (2) look carefully at each part of the word; (3) say the letters in sequence; (4) attempt to recall how the words looks and spell the word to one's self; (5) check this attempt to recall; (6) write the word; (7) check the spelling; and (8) repeat the steps if necessary. The difference between knowing these eight steps and applying them is as critical as the difference between knowing and applying the steps to repen- tance, Allred empnasizes. We can't learn to be good spellers if we only read the steps and don't follow. Adults who have trouble with spelling should make a list of their own troublesome words and follow the eight steps to conquer them, he recommends. "We have lots of five-minute periods, and that's one thing you can do in five minutes learn how to spell a word. Then you could eliminate a lot of dictionary usage." |