Kids today have it easy – instead of having to grapple with bulky dictionaries and thesauruses, all they need to do is type in the initial letters of a word they're looking up, and an online dictionary would not only provide the definition and a few examples, but would even predict the word being looked up!
Such is the sophistication of online spelling tutor tools these days, and we, as well as our kids, could well believe we couldn't live without them.
However, despite the availability of electronic aids, spelling skills seem to be deteriorating among the youth, considering that they care little about the spelling accuracy in the messages they send – for as long as they get their messages across.
What makes texting and instant messaging (IM) so popular with students?
They're used with 'the aim of saving time, effort, and even cost because it is much cheaper to send messages via SMS than making calls' (Shafie, Azida & Osman, 2010).
The downside to this, though, is because of their pervasiveness, students may eventually find it difficult to draw the line where formal and informal language is involved.
There is a need to intervene to remedy this persistent phenomenon.
Although English spelling 'could be both illogical and irritating...one cannot flout orthographic conventions and also persistently underestimate and, thus, disregard good manual editing' (Doku, 2006).
An online spelling tutor such as the popular Ultimate Spelling software solves this problem – it engages the user with fascinating trivia about a certain word he or she is looking up, and at the same time corrects the damage wreaked by the stultifying effect of text and IM shorthand.
Providing much more than what simple dictionaries could, thorough spelling software like Ultimate Spelling can provide the user with the confidence he or she needs to actually apply the newly mastered words to everyday conversation.
As an online spelling tutor, the Ultimate Spelling software can give the user even more value by scanning resources relevant to the user's personal word lists, further elaborating on the context needed for word comprehension.
Another wonderful and invaluable technological tool for teaching spelling is emailing. It's free, and it's sent and received instantly.
Children can be encouraged to compose emails on whatever subject matter interests them, and send them to trusted individuals such as teachers or parents.
The adults, in turn, can simply correct the children's spelling, add in a few encouraging words, and send the reply and original email back to the sender.
References:
Doku, I 2006, ' Technocomplacency: the spellchecker and learning', Academic Exchange Quarterly, vol. 10, no. 1.
Shafie L A, Azida N & Osman N 2010, 'SMS language and college writing: The languages of the college texters', International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, vol. 5, no. 1.