How to Learn to Spell Fast
In this age of increased technology, being an accurate, fast speller is becoming more important as typing emails and text messages is a more frequent form of communication. Making spelling mistakes creates a bad impression and constantly stopping to look up the correct spelling of words is tedious. Thus, it's important to be able to spell words correctly the first time by using your knowledge of the English language. There are two ways to do this: by visually remembering how to spell the word or by learning the rules of spelling.
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Instructions
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Remembering Words on Sight
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1
Compile a list of words that you don't know how to spell. This could be words that your teacher gave you for the weekly spelling test or, if you're an adult, a list of words that you commonly misspell.
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2
Look at each word and run your finger underneath it while saying it out loud. Take a long look at it.
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3
Conceal the word so that you can't see it and then write the word from memory. Uncover the word and check it against the word that you just wrote. Fix any mistakes that you made. Commit the word to your memory and write it again if you need to.
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4
Practice spelling words that you don't know each day until you don't hesitate when it comes to spelling a particular word.
Spelling Rules
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5
Learn the four different ways that you can spell the sound "/k/." You can spell it with a "c" as in "cat" or a "cc" as in "stucco" or a "k" as in "skin" or a "ck" as in "luck." Study all similar words.
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Study words that begin with the letter "j." Words that begin with the letter "j" usually have a, o or u following them.
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Study words that begin with a "g" and have an "e" or "y" following them. These words have a softer"/j/" pronunciation, such as "gym" or "gentle."
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Study words that have a "/ch/ "sound in them. This sound is spelled with a "tch" when there is a short vowel, such as "switch." This sound is spelled "ch" everywhere else, such as "beach."
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9
Study words that have an "le" in them. Study words that have a short vowel and notice how, with these words, two consonants are used to separate the vowel from the "le" such as "little" or "angle." Study how words with "le" and a long vowel have just one consonant separating the word from the "le," such as words like "bugle" and "poodle."
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10
Review these spelling words each day and find more words that embody examples of these rules. Practice writing them. Use spelling websites to help (see examples in Resources).
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Tips & Warnings
The more you practice and the more confident you become, the faster a speller you will be.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit pen and paper image by Melissa Schalke from Fotolia.com
