By Laura Payne
Why is English spelling so difficult? Consider the following example that has been used since 1855.
What does ghoti spell?
It might never cross your mind that it could spell fish. Here is how:
gh = the f-sound from enough
o = the short i-sound from women
ti = the sh-sound from action
Over the years there have been many different methods of teaching children to spell. Because English spelling is so irregular, phonemic awareness is key to helping your child become great at spelling.
What is Phonemic Awareness?
Phonemic awareness is the ability to differentiate sounds, and recognize and manipulate sounds in words. You can help your son or daughter gain phonemic awareness by talking about the sounds of words, not the letters in them.
With young children, you can introduce phonemic awareness when you read to them. It is as simple as asking your child if he or she notices any of the same sounds in words that you have read. Remember to talk about sounds, not letters. Start with sounds in the beginning of words for young children because they are easiest to distinguish. It is also easier for children to recognize sounds of single consonants rather than blended ones, for example sore instead of store.
Here are some example sentences:
Sam ate some soup.
Bobby bought a balloon.
Kelly loves cats and koala bears.
George feeds his goat jelly beans.
Play with Words
Once a particular sound is recognized and named, ask your child to come up with additional words that start with the same sound.
Rhyming games are great way to help increase your child’s phonemic awareness. You can play rhyming games almost anywhere.
Come up with a word, and ask your child to name words that rhyme with it, for example, “What rhymes with the word cat?” The answers can be real words like rat, mat, bat and sat; and they can also be nonsense words like jat and zat because the focus is on sounds.
Believe it or not, teaching your child Pig Latin even helps raise phonemic awareness. After all, it is about recognizing and manipulating sounds. Igpay atinlay isyay unfay ootay.
Now Move to the End
Once your child is comfortable with the beginning sounds of words, move on to ending sounds and then middle sounds (these are the hardest for children to distinguish). Sound changing games work well for ending and middle sounds.
Come up with a word and ask your child to change the ending sound to create new words, for example, “What words can you make by changing the ending sound of cat?” Answers might include cab, car, can, caz and cag.
Next have your child try changing a middle sound, for example, “What words can you make by changing the ending sound of cat?” Some answers could be coot, kit, cot and coat.
These are just a few ideas to get you started. Have fun and create your own sound games based on your child’s interests.
About Laura Payne
A self-confessed language nerd, Laura Payne is the mother of two boys, and she is a part-time English teacher. She has also done freelance writing about several topics including the structure and grammar of English.
