Spelling is a part of Grammar that deals with the correct way of writing words, whose main use is communication, and in order to communicate effectively, it is necessary that we elaborate the messages in a correct and understandable way, as well as correct the mistakes that our students make when writing.
Key words: spelling, grammar, reading, writing.
Spelling is a part of grammar that deals with the correct spelling of words, whose main use is communication, and to communicate effectively, it is necessary that we develop the right messages and understandable, and correct errors our students make when writing.
Keywords: Spelling, grammar, reading, writing.
The word orthography comes from the Greek orthos, which means correct, and grapho, which means to write, so orthography means to write correctly. Just as we should do when we speak, to write correctly we must pay attention to spelling.
The language needs Spelling and Grammar, although through time the language changes due to different situations such as: idioms, inclusion and adaptation of words from other languages, etc., writing with mistakes cannot be accepted, for this simple reason, writing without spelling mistakes should occupy an important place when writing.
The text is the highest unit of communication and of the speaker's organizational competence, therefore we must consider factors related to discursive competence, situation, context and textual and orthographic rules. Its length is variable and corresponds to a comprehensible whole that has a communicative purpose in a given context.
With spelling mistakes, the content of a text, a comment in a blog, a reply in a forum topic or even a message or message, loses quality. In addition, the person who wrote it also loses authority and prestige, even more so if it is a teacher.
Spelling has become a delicate issue for the new (and not so new) generations. Thanks to technology, most school assignments are now done on a computer with a word processor, which includes an automatic spell checker, and sometimes young people do not know it exists and do not use it, resulting in a homework with spelling mistakes.
This is one of the great problems we encounter in teaching. There is no discussion on this point, good spelling is the basis of a well-written text and it must be taken into account that, on most occasions, we communicate in writing.
Therefore, the problem of spelling is not only a school problem, it goes beyond that, it belongs to life: letters, resumes, research papers, memorandums, offices, etc., everything goes in writing and consequently everything should be impeccable, as far as spelling is concerned. Sometimes word processors that incorporate some spelling tools are not enough.
Spell checkers are one more tool to make our life easier, but they are just that, a tool; we should not depend totally on them. And I cannot leave out the punctuation marks, the correct placement of these, is another important point when it comes to give a sense and a correct interpretation to a text.
According to experts, the reasons why a person writes with errors are several, among them are distraction, the little importance given to spelling, the little reading of books and the influence of other types of technological languages such as the one used with text messages, at present, we find that students write as if they were writing a text message, there is a terrible mutilation of language.
One way to memorize or fix our spelling is by reading, when we write a text it is necessary to read it several times in order to find mistakes and correct them before sending or printing to deliver a flawless document, it is necessary to resort to the dictionary if we have any doubts.
It is necessary to stimulate the practice of reading in our students; good readers, (with exceptions of course), have good spelling, it should be taken into account that the reader not only understands the words but also "sees" their orthographic characteristics.
On the other hand, poor readers generally have poor spelling because of their unfamiliarity with written words. This awareness of the relationship between reading and spelling should result in not spending too much time on spelling learning practices, such as word flats.
It is also necessary to support our young people to carry out a plan of individual or interactive self-correction of their spelling mistakes, this is facilitated when they have a clear purpose to make the correction. For example, when young people know that their writings will be read by others, they feel it is natural to review and formally correct their texts.
Within the classroom, we can do many things with our students, in order to improve their writing, spelling or writing, in any subject we teach we can achieve this, we need to look for but above all find the way to encourage our students to write, it is necessary to make them notice the need to use punctuation marks, through an anecdote, or with examples.
We are a role model for our students, a role model for many of them, so we must strive to set a good example for them, we need to increase our cultural background in order to improve that of our young people, reading will not only improve our spelling, it will also improve the way we express ourselves.
Speaking correctly is also very important, sometimes we pronounce things incorrectly or we commit language vices and consequently in the production of texts we do it, we make excessive use of crutches and when we want to write our vocabulary is limited.
In order to communicate effectively, it is necessary to elaborate messages in a correct and understandable way, therefore writing well will avoid misinterpretations of what we want to say. A misspelled word can change the meaning of what we want to express.
Students show many deficiencies in the correct spelling of words, due to the lack of knowledge of spelling rules and disinterest in reading, factors that have a significant impact on the production of a good written text.
Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the level of spelling in students, so that they can express themselves correctly in oral and written form, we must put special care to ensure that our students improve their spelling and therefore the production of texts.
It is necessary to work with spelling, but it is also necessary to write. "It is not a matter, then, of stopping writing to teach spelling, but of reflecting on the orthographic norm within writing situations, since knowledge of this norm must be at the service of textual communicability."[1].
Kaufman, A. M. (1999). Alfabetización temprana...¿Y después? Buenos Aires: Santillana.
www.educared.net/.../diccionarioOrtografia/capitulo_1.pdf - Spain
[a] Research Professor at the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo.
[1] Ana María Kaufman, Alfabetización temprana.... y después? ( Buenos Aires, Santillana,1999) p. 174.