AU2005200242B2

AU2005200242B2 - A Spelling System

Info

Publication number: AU2005200242B2
Application number: AU2005200242A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Jacqueline Anne Kelly
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-01-23
Filing date: 2005-01-21
Publication date: 2008-03-06
Anticipated expiration: 2025-01-21
Also published as: AU2005200242A1

Description

tF) 1 0 0 A Spelling System ci Field of the Invention.

This invention is directed to a system that improves the ability to spell words. The system does not limit itself to the phonological system, which is found to be unsuitable for many children. The system utilises a combination of sequence steps o which is found to improve the ability to spell words. Other advantages are found to ccome from the improved spelling ability such as improved self-esteem, improved orecollection of words, improved memory and the like.

Background Art.

There is no doubt that the ability in correctly spelling words in the English language or in any other language is essential in proper learning development of children and adults.

Hereinafter, the specification will refer to children with respect to the invention, but no particular limitation should be placed on the invention merely by the exemplification of children, and it should be appreciated that the invention is also applicable to any other person who has difficulty in spelling, and not just children.

The present way that children are taught in schools to read and write is to read and write words based on their sounds. This is known as the phonological system.

However, the system is not accurate with words that have hidden sounds. For instance, in the word "liaise" the second is silent when spoken. Children find this 2 5 very confusing.

As an example, one method that is commonly used in the early grades (grades I and 2) is where the child is shown a card with a word printed in large type on the card.

The teacher says the whole word and then points to each letter on the card and sounds out each letter of the word. The card is then taken away and the child is asked to write the word they have just seen. This is the phonological system that focuses on learning the sounds of the words.

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0The children are often given a number of separate words to be learned in a week and repeat the words every day for one week until a spelling test is given usually at the end of the week. Again, this uses the phonological system.

It is also known to provide computer programs (some of which are quite expensive) which also use the phonological system to promote spelling.

0However, in Australia at least, studies have shown that at least one in three boys has olearning difficulties and one in 10 girls has learning difficulties. The studies also show that by the time these children reach grade 9 (typically 14 years old), they begin to leave the school environment because of their difficulty in coping.

Studies also show that if a child has not learned the foundation skills of language, literacy and numeracy by the end of grade three, these children are at serious risk of being left behind by the education system. It is shown that up to 75% of children that have not learnt the foundation skills by age 7, will struggle for the rest of their lives.

The 1996 Australian census dealing with the language, literacy and in numeracy skills found that 20%-almost 50% of all Australians have "poor" to "very poor" literacy skills and 76% of young adults entering first-year University (typically 17 years of age) have very poor spelling abilities.

Therefore, there would obviously be an enormous commercial advantage if it were possible to provide a system that could improve spelling abilities of people having difficulties in this field, and where the system was relatively simple and straightforward.

It will be clearly understood that, if a prior art publication is referred to herein, this reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms part of the common general knowledge in the art in Australia or in any other country.

t3 0 c Object of the Invention.

It is an object of the invention to provide a spelling system that is not limited to only the phonological system, that is relatively simple and straightforward to use, and that can provide an improvement in the spelling ability of children and adults that have difficulty in spelling.

o After extensive research and development, it has now been found that a particular 0 sequence of steps in the learning and spelling of words can result in a surprising and o unexpected improvement in the child's ability to remember the spelling of words.

0 Therefore, in one form the invention resides in a method to remember the spelling of words, the method comprising the steps of presenting a word to a person, having the person write each letter of the word while simultaneously vocalising each individual letter of the word as each letter is written, and pronouncing the entire word.

In a more specific form, the invention resides in the method as described above including the use of a "focusing" word or sound between the step of pronouncing the entire word and the steps of writing each letter and simultaneously vocalising each individual letter of the word as the letter is written.

The "focusing" word or sound, in a simple yet effective embodiment of the invention, may comprise pronouncing the word "spells" or a variation thereof (for instance "is spelt" etc) after pronouncing the entire word and prior to writing and vocalising each individual letter of the word. While not wishing to be bound by theory, it appears that the use of a focusing word does improve the ability to remember the spelling of the particular word, and tests show that without pronouncing the focusing word or sound, the ability to remember the spelling is reduced. Of course, it is not considered that the focusing word should be only limited to the word "spells", although in practice, it is considered that this will be the most used type of focusing word. Other words may be suitable. Certain types of sounds that are not words could also be used, although in a classroom environment, it would be considered that using a focusing word as opposed to a focusing sound might be more suitable.

t4 0 0The word that is pronounced can be pronounced either prior to writing and vocalising each individual letter of the word, or can be pronounced after writing and vocalising each individual letter of the word, or can be pronounced both prior to and after writing N and vocalising each individual letter of the word.

N While not wishing to be bound by theory, it seems that the general form of the o invention, and the more specific form of the invention, provide a synergistic effect by 0engaging more than just the "ears" of the person in attempting to spell the word (e.g.

othe phonological system), and the invention now combines various senses including the fine motor skills in handwriting each letter (handwriting including printing or otherwise creating the letter), and the synergistic combination of visualising the letter as it is being written together with pronouncing the letter as it is being written. It is demonstrated (and will be described in greater detail below) that this particular combination provides a surprising and unexpected improvement in the person's ability to spell and to remember the spelling of words.

Again, while not wishing to be bound by theory, it appears that the combined and simultaneous engagement of the brain or central nervous system and its faculties and senses to words and their correct letter combination has an extremely powerful impact inside the brain in that the brain has a greatly intensified capacity to retain the actions the hand, the voice, the ears and the eyes are engaged in.

Optionally, the method may include this use of other senses such as the human sense of smell which may also be applied to learning words and their letters. Smell could be associated with large groups of words learned on any given day.

Tests have shown that the above method can improve the spelling accuracy of a child from less than 25% up to 100% in a relatively short period.

The method may further comprise the step of repeating each word a plurality of times.

Tests have shown that this can improve the spelling accuracy. It is found that the repetition should be between 5-20 times and preferably approximately 10 times.

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0In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the method may be as described immediately above where the process of pronouncing the word, and writing the individual letters of the word while simultaneously pronouncing each individual c- letter, is repeated between 5-20 times and approximately 10 times for each word.

The method may further comprise the step of writing each repeated word in a o particular juxtaposition between the words. For instance, tests have shown that the 0spelling accuracy is better if the words are listed one below each other as opposed to othe words being listed next to each other. Put differently, it seems that providing 0 10 columns to list the words provides a greater accuracy.

The method may further comprise the step of providing a particular number of new words to be learned. It is found that spelling accuracy is better if the number of new words is no more than 20 words.

Therefore, in a particularly preferred form of the invention, there is provided a spelling system that comprises being provided between 1-20 words that are to be spelt, providing the words on one or more sheets, with a space below each word to enable the word to be spelt between 1-20 times, such that the spelt words are positioned below each other, pronouncing a particular word that is to be spelt, pronouncing a "focusing" word, writing each individual letter of the word on the sheet while simultaneously pronouncing each letter, and then repeating the process between 1-20 times by again pronouncing the same particular word, pronouncing a "focusing" word, writing each individual letter of the word on the sheet while simultaneously pronouncing each letter.

The spelling system that forms part of the present invention can be used to improve the spelling ability of children that do not do well in a traditional spelling test. Thus, a spelling test can be given which may be a traditional type of spelling test, and the children that consistently do not do well in the traditional spelling test can then improve their spelling by using the spelling system that forms part of the present invention.

6 0Detailed Description.

An embodiment of the invention will be described using the below given examples of sheets containing words to be spelt, but it should be appreciated that this is an cembodiment only of the invention and the invention is not to be limited only to the particular exemplified embodiment.

In the embodiment, the particular sheets contains nine words that are to be spelt and 0below each word are 10 lines (only 9 lines being illustrated in the particular Sembodiment) to allow the word to be spelt and pronounced and written 10 times.

dictionary thesaurus dictinarythesurusvocabulary language expressions terminology spelling speech writing 8 An example aa sheet of words to be Icarned is given above. Up to 20 words are included ona sheet depending on the year level of taugt market.

Each word is repeatedly writen 10 tmes each following one beneath the other and columns of words an formed As each letter is witten it is spoken out loud .pplying the alphabet sound to each letter and NOT the phonetic sm& After the last ltt oft, word is wriuea and spoken on loW the word "spells" is spoken out loud and then the whole word spelled is also said out loud.

Eg "sssJJ sp 11 s speUing7 or o spewrrgufla seed UqqLL or "spelling is spelled sp kl~ u spells spejling Antonymous words are grouped on a sheet.

Pictures and/or symbols of antonynus words ae included an the same sheet, Synonymous wards SeM grouped on a sheet.

Picures and/or symbols of antonymous words are included on the same sheet Homogaphs are grouped on a sheet Pictures and/or symbols of howographa are included on the am shee Homophoic words are grouped on a sheet.

Pitures andor symbols of dac homophonic words u= included on the same sheet 9 Groups of homonyms ae included on a sheet eg: rowed road rode boat bumpy hose Words a= spelled and witten going down the pg forming a column of words one beneath the other and proceeding back up to the top ofte page begiwning at the top of the ext column and so on.

Tests on children have demonstrated a real improvement in the ability to spell words, and particularly for children that find the traditional phonological system difficult and confusing.

The system does not rely only on auditory learning and uses a combination of auditory learning together with visual learning and kinaesthetic learning.

Children using the system can also develop and benefit from other improvements. For

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0instance, the children begin to accumulate large numbers of words in their brains which are not forgotten and where the spelling is known, and it seems that this also improves the ability to understand syllables. Some children start improving their handwriting skills when previously they could only print words. Many children develop a huge improvement in self-esteem. This seems to set a beneficial loop of Slearning improvement.

0 The system is simple, straightforward and uncomplicated and can be taught in two ohours with a great and lasting effect. The supervisor/ instructor needs to be vigilant at 0 10 that stage that the student does not attempt to cut corners. Studies show that any person can learn to improve spelling using the particular system.

Throughout the specification and the claims (if present), unless the context requires otherwise, the term "comprise", or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to apply the inclusion of the stated integer or group of integers but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers.

Throughout the specification and claims (if present), unless the context requires otherwise, the term "substantially" or "about" will be understood to not be limited to 2 0 the value for the range qualified by the terms.

It should be appreciated that various other changes and modifications can be made to any embodiment described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A spelling method to remember the spelling of words, the method N comprising the steps of presenting a word to a person, having the person write each letter of the word while simultaneously vocalising each individual letter of the word as each letter is written, pronouncing the entire word, and pronouncing a "focusing" S word between the step of pronouncing the entire word and writing each letter of the Cword while simultaneously vocalising each individual letter of the word as each oindividual letter is written.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the focusing word is the word "spell" or a variation thereof

3. The method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the word that is pronounced can be pronounced either prior to writing and vocalising each individual letter of the word, or can be pronounced after writing and vocalising each individual letter of the word, or can be pronounced both prior to and after writing and vocalising each individual letter of the word. 2 0

4. The method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further comprising the step of repeating a plurality of times the steps of pronouncing the entire word and writing each letter of the word simultaneously pronouncing each letter.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the steps are repeated between 2-20 times and preferably about 10 times.

6. The method as claimed in any one of claims 4-5, wherein the letters of each word are written on a particular line on a sheet, and the letters of each repeated 3 0 word are written below the letters of the word above such that a column of words is provided on the sheet. A spelling system that comprises being provided between 1-20 words 12 O that are to be spelt, providing the words on one or more sheets, with a space below each word to enable the word to be spelt between 1-20 times, such that the spelt words 0 are positioned below each other, pronouncing a particular word that is to be spelt, pronouncing a "focusing" word, writing each individual letter of the word on the sheets while simultaneously pronouncing each letter, and then repeating the process between 1-20 times by again pronouncing the same particular word, pronouncing a "focusing" word, writing each individual letter of the word on the sheets while N simultaneously pronouncing each letter. In' C 10 8. A spelling system substantially as hereinbefore described. Dated this 9'h day of October 2007 Jacqueline Anne Kelly By her Patent Attorneys CULLEN CO.