Blog posts
Apostrophe catastrophe
A little twist to the Word for Wednesday blog this week: we’ll be looking into the grammatical enigma that is the apostrophe. This week, the government has introduced a new spelling and grammar test for primary school children across the UK. Last year, Education Secretary, Michael Gove introduced a new policy which penalises students for poor spelling and grammar in their national examinations. This is the first time such emphasis has been put onto correct spelling and grammar in the education system. In my opinion, one of the biggest culprits for poor grammar is the misuse of the apostrophe. This is so widespread that one need’nt look far (did you spot it?) to find an incorrectly placed...
Ways to Tackle Tricky Spellings: A Recap
Over the last few weeks we’ve been sharing different methods which we hope will help make learning to spell a little easier and a bit more fun. Here is a recap of our posts – which ones did you find most helpful? In our blog post about why English spelling is so difficult, we discussed heterographs, homonyms, and heteronyms. These groups of words make it difficult to solely rely on the ‘sound’ of a word in order to figure out its spelling. The word heterograph refers to words that sound the same, but have different spellings and meanings. Hetero- comes from the Greek heteros which means ‘other’ or ‘different’, whilst -graph comes from graphein which means ‘write’ or ‘express by written...
Fancy a Coffee?
Coffee is a morning ritual for many, a source of comfort for others, and for most an invaluable tool to get us through a long day at the office. However you look at it, the familiar inky beverage has become one of the world’s favourite drinks. It’s a Word for Wednesday that many of us will use on a daily basis (I know I do!) but where does it come from and why is it so remarkably similar almost in every language? Despite preconceptions we might have of coffee (think Italian ‘espresso’, or a big American ‘cup of Joe’) coffee, like alcohol comes from the Arabic tradition. The best coffee is considered to come from the Arabica bean, native to the Yemen highlands. The Arabic ‘qahwah’ –...
Five tips for teaching spelling
Make sure your student knows that they are not alone. Finding spelling difficult to get to grips with does not mean that someone is stupid. In fact, some of the world’s cleverest people have struggled with English spelling. Why not organise a research project on successful people and what they have accomplished despite finding spelling hard? Your students might be surprised at how many there are and the variety of fields that they have excelled in. Recommend that your student starts a SPELLING LOG. Whilst your student is certainly not alone in finding spelling difficult, it is important to remember that not everyone will find the same words hard. Students should create...
Win a subscription to Spellzone
Do you remember our post earlier this week on mnemonics? If you missed it, you can read it here. We are offering a free one year Spellzone subscription to whoever can come up with the best method for remembering how to spell the word 'mnemonic'. Please either post your entries on our Facebook wall or Tweet them to us. All entries must be in by Wednesday 8th May and the chosen winner will need to provide us with their full name and email address. We may use any of the entries in future blog posts or on our Facebook and Twitter accounts. An annual individual subscription is worth £29.95 and will allow you full access to the Spellzone course. Please visit our website for more information on...
Freedom
This week is all about freedom. On Tuesday we had International Jazz Day, a celebration of music breaking racial boundaries through music. Angelique Kidjo describes music as having ‘no nationality, no boundary no colour; jazz belongs as much to you as it belongs to me’. On Wednesday, we have International Worker’s day, which represents the right to fair employment. Finally, on Friday, it is Press Freedom Day. A day to celebrate, promote and encourage freedom of the media. It’s always nice to have a word for Wednesday choose itself and I couldn’t think of a more fitting one for this week! Freedom is a word that has strong emotional connotations for most of us. For some people life is a...
Mnemonics
Last week we blogged about why, despite being difficult, learning to spell is really worth the effort. The Spellzone course will help you get to grips with English spelling rules and their exceptions, but there will always be individual spellings that each of us will find hard to remember. In these situations it can sometimes help to come up with mnemonic. A mnemonic is a memory device. It comes from the ancient Greek word mnemonikos which means ‘mindful’. The ‘m’ at the beginning of the word is silent. Mnemonics can take a variety of shapes, such as rhymes, visual cues, and word associations, but they work best if they are personal to the individual using them. You are more likely to...
Five reasons why it is worth learning to spell
Unfortunately there is no shortcut when it comes to learning how to spell – it takes practice, and sometimes lots of it. Spellzone will guide you through the ins and outs of English spelling, but you are probably wondering: Is it worth the effort? Here are five reasons why we think learning how to spell is important…… Poor spelling can lose you marks in exams More and more examination criteria are testing students’ ability to spell and punctuate well. Whilst this may seem unfair, it doesn’t seem worth taking the risk. Do you really want to lose marks in a subject you’re passionate about because of poor spelling? Poor spelling will distract your reader Writing ‘loose’ when you mean...
Word for Wednesday: Art
In the limelight this week for various reasons is a word that encompasses almost all human achievements; a word that has come to represent our creativity and our desire to explore and progress. Art. Today we are in a social climate where art completely surrounds us, whether we like it or not. The paintings of masters, the music of the greats, the work of our finest writers and the world’s most incredible buildings can all be accessed with the click of a mouse and, finance permitting, in ‘the flesh’ by travelling abroad. But what is art? Unfortunately, to many, the word art conjures up an image of pretentiousness, luxury and controversy. A quick look in to the meaning of the word should...
Five reasons why English spelling is so difficult
Does it sometimes feel like just as you’ve got to grips with a spelling rule, you are faced with a number of situations where that rule doesn’t apply? You’re not alone. Here are five reasons why English is such a hard language to learn… English words are from all over the place The English language has been heavily influenced by European invaders; art, music and literature; the colonisation of other countries; and immigration. Even common-sounding words can originate from far-away places, such as: ‘rucksack’ (borrowed from German) or ‘pyjamas’ (borrowed from Hindi). There are different ways of spelling the same sound Because English is so full of borrowed language, words that...
A Word for Wednesday: Mac
Come rain or come shine, you need a Mac. This week’s word for Wednesday is an interesting example of both strong brand identities and of diachronic language change. Mac. To most people over the age of 60, Mac refers to a type of rubberized waterproof raincoat first sold in 1824. The coat is named after its fabric invented by the Scotsman Charles Mackintosh. Mac is also used as slang for a Scottish person, such that irrespective of their first and second names, outside Scotland, a Scotsman might be nicknamed Mac. In contemporary use, the word Mac refers to the Apple Macintosh computer. This usage has superseded both of the uses above, even in the rainy Scottish climate where Mackintoshes...
A Word for Wednesday: Thatcher
The word for this week is another that has evolved from Old Norse ‘thekja’ meaning to cover, the high German equivalent ‘decchen’ was borrowed to create the old English ‘theccan’ later culminating in the word ‘thatcher’. A ‘thatcher’ is someone whose trade is to apply thatch roofs (a roofing material consisting of straw, reed, twigs etc.). To ‘thatch’ is the act of applying such roofing. A roof can be described as ‘thatched’ It can even be used to describe anything that resembles thatching, so one could have ‘thatched’ hair. So ‘thatcher’ is yet another example of the English language taking influence from a mish-mash of cultures to create its own words - a ‘thatched’ word, if you will....
When is a lake not a lake?
The South Norwood Tourist Board (SNTB) based in the London Borough of Croydon has requested that Cumbria Tourism cease from using the label ‘Lake District’ to describe the vast area of outstanding beauty speckled with many bodies of water, so that they can use it instead. The reason for this request is that according to SNTB, only one of Cumbria’s lakes is actually a lake while the rest can be described as tarns, meres or waters. By comparison, South Norwood boasts two lakes. The claim has yet to become legal and I suspect it is a publicity stunt to promote the delights of South Norwood. I doubt the claim will be upheld since according to Cumbrian angler and environmentalist Eric Hope,...
What came first?
In true Easter spirit our Word for Wednesday this week is the word ‘egg’. Eggs have been a consistent food source since the beginning of humanity. Throughout the history of the English language, the word ‘egg’ saw a handful of spellings before we settled on the Old Norse, ‘egg’. Let’s take a look at a few variations: Old English: ‘oeg’ or ‘eai’ Middle English ‘eye’ or ‘eyren’ The borrowed Norse ‘egg’ first saw popular use in northern England in the mid-fourteenth century and by the fifteenth century anyone wanting to buy ‘eyren’ might not have been understood at all. Interestingly, the word egg has a few other contexts other than its common noun form. You can ‘egg someone...
A Word for Wednesday: Hoi polloi
This week’s word for Wednesday is a strange one indeed. A word of 17th Century Greek origin and whose meaning is widely misused. The word… well err… two words… is ‘Hoi polloi’. Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of it, and let’s de-mystify this expression a little. Let’s start by dismissing the common misconception that ‘Hoi polloi’ refers to the upper class of people or a higher social order. This simply isn’t true as 'Hoi polloi' translates literally to mean ‘the many’ or ‘the masses’. There are a few other popular age-old terms used to express a similar meaning, these are mainly used as pejoratives: plebs (or plebians), peons, riff-raff and so on. Apparently the word crept into modern...
Keep it simple...
Richard Branson recently spoke of his extraordinary success and his ways of coping with dyslexia. Interviewed by pupils from Lincoln Castle Academy as part of the BBC News School Report, he said he liked "everything to be simplified". He put some of his success down to being "quite good at delegating and getting really good people around". He continued: "I just don't think people who are dyslexic need worry because they are often really good at other things" he added "They'll realise they've got a problem in some areas but they'll be really good at other things." Incredibly, Branson, one of the world’s wealthiest men, admitted that he did not know the difference between gross and net...
R.I.P Chinua Achebe
Author of “Things Fall Apart", the most-widely read book in African literature and of whom Nelson Mandela once hailed “in whose company the prison walls fell down.” ...
A Word for Wednesday: Budget
This week in Britain, all eyes are on Chancellor George Osborne’s fourth budget statement as Britain’s growth forecast is halved. On a brighter note our word for Wednesday is ‘budget’. Isn’t a bit of etymology slightly more uplifting than the growth forecast? As a noun, the word budget means an estimated financial expenditure over a determined period of time. ‘We have a budget of £10,000 to start this company’ As a verb, one can ‘budget’ their funds for an event they know will be costly. ‘We need to budget our holiday costs carefully’ As an adjective, budget describes an inexpensive or lower quality item. ‘It’s only a budget laptop as I only need the Internet.’ The...
SoundSpel: Does English spelling need rethink?
English is full of tricky spellings and inconsistencies that make it especially hard to learn compared to some other more phonetic languages. Perhaps these complexities give the English language its character and expressive qualities in literature and but do they alienate people who would otherwise be more inclined to read and write? English spelling is already very firmly and widely established, is it too late to re-think the entire method of spelling? Perhaps rather than changing the way we spell it would be wiser to support the proper learning of spelling? Spellzone posted a blog yesterday about the late Edward Rondthaler who was a strong supporter of a spelling reform called...
A man of new words...
The late Edward Rondthaler was a strong supporter of a spelling reform called ‘SoundSpel’. He passionately believed that a new method of spelling would eliminate the struggles of learning to spell English through phonetic spelling. Using SoundSpel every word would be spelt exactly as it is pronounced making it possible to spell any word so long as you can say it. Rondthaler is best known for this wonderful clip, in which he demonstrates some of the inconsistencies of English spelling and how the new method of spelling, ‘SoundSpel’ would resolve them. ...
What is the gossip?
It’s midweek, that means it’s time for ‘A Word for Wednesday’. This week, we’ve chosen a word that has become commonplace in British culture, yet whose origin is often confused: ‘Gossip’. We are well aware of what the word ‘Gossip’ has come to mean. The general public’s fixation with the lives of celebrities has never been more apparent. We are bombarded daily across the media with often personal reports on the lives of others and these make alarmingly popular topics of conversation. I mean how many times a week are we presented with insights into the private lives of celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Victoria Beckham or even the Royal Family? The Oxford Dictionary defines gossip as: ‘the...
effect or affect... confused? You are not alone!
The words effect and affect are perhaps two of the most confused words in the English language. Oxford Dictionary Online reports that the most-searched word each month is ‘affect’. So if you have struggled with these words in the past, you are certainly not alone! Interestingly, the words themselves actually have entirely different meanings and functions… ‘Effect’ usually functions as a noun: ‘You will be banned from the tournament with immediate effect’ in this context effect is a noun, the state of something being in effect. ‘Being banned from the tournament had a terrible effect on your results’ So a good definition for the word effect would be a ‘state’ or a ‘result’. But when used...
A Word for Wednesday: Jazz
‘A mish-mash of colliding egos, conflicting claims and confused memories has led researchers down many false trails while searching for the origins of this American art form, not least where the name came from.’ – Posh and Other Language Myths, Michael Quinion. This unusual word has fascinated scholars and the public alike since its very gradual and shrouded inception sometime in early twentieth century America. Although its history has been rather well documented, its early use and actual origin is still shrouded in mystery. The word Jazz continues to be and always has been a very versatile word encompassing a plethora of different meanings and even spellings. Spellings such as Jas, Jass...
'Neither here nor their...'
One of the most alarmingly persistent grammatical errors in the English language is the incorrect use of the words there, their and they’re. We’ve all asked that age-old question: ‘Is it there, their or they’re?’ So why is it that this mistake is so commonly made and how can we learn to master these pesky spellings and help resolve this issue for good? There, their and there are a certain type of homophone known as heterographs. This means they sound the same but both their spellings and their meanings are different. Since their meanings are different, when one is used in the incorrect context, the sentence actually fails to make sense. Here is a common example of incorrect use. See how...
International Mother Language Day
Today is the UN International Mother Language Day. The day has been observed every year since February 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. The date represents the day in 1952 when students demonstrating for recognition of their language, Bangla, as one of the two national languages of the then Pakistan, were shot and killed by police in Dhaka, the capital of what is now Bangladesh. In May 2009, the United Nations General Assembly called upon Member States ‘to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world’. Languages are the most powerful instruments of preserving and developing our heritage. There are somewhere...
Spellzone and the Year 7 Catch-Up Premium for UK schools - it makes good maths!
In September 2012, the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced that UK secondary schools will receive £500 of additional ‘Catch-Up Premium’ funding for each year 7 pupil (aged 11-12 years old) who did not achieve Level 4 or better at Key Stage 2 in reading and/or maths. The aim of this funding is to pay for additional support for these pupils in literacy and numeracy to help them to catch up and access the secondary curriculum more fully. This support is welcome. According to Department for Education figures (from the 2012 Key Stage 2 provisional data and the autumn 2012 School Census data), 13 per cent of UK Year 7 pupils did not achieve level 4 in reading in 2012. At the time of the...
Voice by Choice
Spellzone s aim is to help improve the spelling of English worldwide. The use of sound and speech technology is one of the keys to the functionality and effectiveness of our educational resource. Where would we be without this technology and more fundamentally, where would we be without the ability to speak? Sadly many people worldwide have to rely on assistive speech technology for their day-to-day communication needs, something which most of us take for granted. Spellzone have recently been involved in a research project called The Creative Speech Technology Network (CreST). CreST is an interdisciplinary network of contributors to the field of computer speech. It is led by Dr Alistair...
Spellzone are happy to be at BETT once again!
BETT is dedicated to showcasing the best in UK and international educational technology products, resources and best practice, BETT has enabled thousands of practitioners to enhance their knowledge of learning through technology. http://www.bettshow.com BETT 2012 takes place on 11-14 January 2012, at Olympia in London. Come along to see us at SN26 for a free 3 month trial for your school or organisation! ...
Free trial of Spellzone for schools and colleges
Would you like to trial Spellzone in your school or college? We can offer a free trial of Spellzone. This includes everything within the website and normally included in a site subscription. There is no obligation to buy Spellzone after the free period. If you would like to trial Spellzone for your school or college just click here and follow the instructions. Should you then wish to subscribe after the free period all you need to do is either pay online or by invoice and you can continue using the same account....
Sentences for word lists
You may have recently noticed that our word lists now sometimes have sentences appearing on them. We have started the process of adding sentences to all word lists associated with the Spellzone course. This will provide a database of around 5000 sentences. These sentences are available on the word list pages and will be used in the sound test and Against the clock game. We believe the addition of sentences will help users with vocabulary and will add a feature that has previously been requested. We expect it will take a few months to add 5000 sentences. In early 2012 we then plan to add a new facility which will allow you to add your own sentences....
A whole-school spelling policy - suggestions
Spelling mistakes cost millions in lost online sales
Nonce upon a time…
25 Norse words used in Yorkshire English
11 Tips for learning spelling
Help Spellzone and make life easier for yourself
American spellings or British spellings - are they now interchangeable?
Michael Gove and The Importance of Teaching
How much is spoken English changing?
Special Needs London 2010