Understanding the Role of Silent Letters in Spelling Have you ever noticed that some letters in English words don’t seem to be pronounced when spoken aloud? These silent letters, though tricky to navigate, are an essential part of English spelling. In this guide, we'll delve into the world of silent letters, exploring common patterns, understanding the historical context, and learning practical tips. By the end, you'll be equipped with the knowledge and skills to master silent letters with confidence. Tip 1: Learn Common Spelling Patterns Common silent letters in English include: k, w, b, t, l, n, h, g, and p. You can use the letters than come fo...
What does each word mean? If someone is right about something (rather than wrong), it means they are correct about it. If something is to the right (rather than the left), it means it is on the south side of something that is facing east. If someone has the right to something, it means they are entitled to it. Here is right used in some example sentences: I got all the answers right in the spelling test. The plates are in the cupboard on the right. We have the right to vote. Look up right in the Spellzone dictionary. A rite is a ceremony or observance which is often relgious in nature. Here is rite used in some ...
Here at Spellzone, we encourage our students to learn spelling using as many senses as they can. By learning in this way, we are able to connect as many associations as possible with the spelling of a particular word. These associations should help trigger our memories when we are trying to remember spellings. So how we can be aware of the five senses when learning spelling? SIGHT When learning a word, LOOK closely at it. Then cover it up and try to remember how the letters are positioned on the page. Picture your own handwriting and the way the letters look beside each other. Sometimes if you spell a word in a few different ways, one of the spellings will LOOK more familiar than...
The key to remembering how to spell words with silent letters is, unfortunately, the same as that for remembering all spellings: practise, practise, practise! Here are Spellzone, we know that the ‘Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check’ method of learning and testing spelling provides results, and here are some of our other top spelling tips. Some silent letters were pronounced hundred years ago, but over the years, because the words were difficult to say, some of the sounds died out. Get into the habit of pronouncing silent letters in your head whenever you think of the word. When taking a Spellzone Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check test, click on the loudspeaker icon to hear...
What is a loanword? A loanword is the term given to a word which is directly borrowed from another language and used in the recipient language without being translated first. One of the reasons why English is such a difficult language to learn (and why its spellings are so inconsistent!) is because the language is full of loanwords. Some loanwords are obvious, such as words used to describe food traditionally from other countries (such as ‘tsatsiki’ or ‘chow mein’), whereas others were borrowed so long ago that you might be surprised to discover they are loanwords at all (such as: ‘pyjamas’ or ‘breeze’). Last week we shared a list of Japa...
Tomorrow marks National Handwriting Day, a testament to all things handwritten and a day to encourage the joys of putting pen to a fresh sheet of paper! With the increased use of word-processing and smartphones, many of us (myself included) are neglecting the pleasures and benefits that our scrawlings might allow. It is said that a great deal can be told about an individual by their handwriting. In fact, just to put your minds at ease, some of history’s creative genii were notorious for their terrible handwriting: Beethoven and Picasso to name a couple. Handwriting is, by nature, incredibly personal. Interestingly, however, you do see emerging from the education system a ‘s...
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