Before your eight-year-old turns eighty,
help them improve their spelling skills with 2 pages a day for 50 days!
Why is spelling important?
Language consists of 'speech (sound)' and 'writing (letters)', and 'spelling' refers to the rules for representing speech in writing. It is a social agreement that has been established for effective communication through writing. While children primarily communicate verbally at a young age, they begin to learn writing around the time they enter elementary school, leading to an increasing amount of written expression and communication. If they do not learn to spell correctly at this stage, it becomes difficult to understand the Korean language accurately, communicate effectively with others, and convey their thoughts precisely. As this situation repeats, writing can become increasingly burdensome, making it hard to achieve good grades, build positive relationships, and navigate social life successfully. How should we study spelling for the best results?
Studying spelling should start with understanding the differences between the sounds and shapes of words. In Korean, there are words like [바다] (bada) that sound and look the same, but there are also many words like [국어] (gug-eo), [숟가락] (sutgarak), and [좋다] (jota) that have different sounds and shapes. There are also many words that sound the same but have completely different meanings, like [벌이다]/[벌리다], [대다]/[데다], and [어떡해]/[어떻게]. Even adults often get confused, and many people misuse foreign words.
You might feel overwhelmed trying to learn all of this, but there’s no need to memorize every vocabulary word. The author, Kwon Gwi-heon, recommends 'copying' as the best method for studying spelling. By practicing writing words like you would practice handwriting, and copying sentences to see how they are used, you will naturally develop strong spelling skills.
Why is it best to study spelling through repetition?
Because spelling rules can be very difficult and complex for both children and adults to understand. If you have to understand and memorize the rules first, and then apply them every time you write, no one would enjoy studying spelling. The reason the author, Kwon Gwi-heon, recommends 'copying' for spelling study is that it is the easiest and best way to read vocabulary deeply.
When you repeatedly write down words you commonly use, you naturally become familiar with the letters, and if you can accurately write down the words you frequently use, studying spelling becomes increasingly enjoyable. Therefore, it is best for parents to encourage their children to write various vocabulary words repeatedly before they enter elementary school to become accustomed to spelling.
Is it true that mastering spelling can improve reading and writing skills?
The acts of reading and writing are connected to all activities a person engages in. Children who read and write well tend to do well in school and studies, and adults who read and write well achieve higher success in society. Especially as the COVID-19 pandemic has prolonged, children's literacy and comprehension skills have been declining, making reading and writing abilities even more crucial, becoming essential skills for modern individuals. Many people are anxious about this situation, but most parents and children still find writing to be overly difficult.
Don't think of writing as difficult. Expressing your thoughts and feelings in sentences is also writing, and transcribing everyday conversations into writing is also writing. If you diligently copy the words and sentences from this book, '50-Day Completion of Elementary Spelling Practice,' with your child for just 50 days, writing and spelling experts will emerge before you know it.
What can you learn from the '50-Day Completion of Elementary Spelling Practice: Advanced Edition'?
The '50-Day Completion of Elementary Spelling Practice' selects over 1,500 vocabulary words from 30 elementary school textbooks for grades 1-2 that have different sounds and shapes, and carefully chooses 1,000 optimal spelling words based on difficulty and frequency of use in daily life, divided into 'Basic Edition' and 'Advanced Edition' for 50 days of study.
The 'Advanced Edition' focuses on vocabulary related to consonant assimilation, nasalization, palatalization, phonetic reduction and deletion, and the phenomenon of linking sounds. It allows students to learn vocabulary that is easily misspelled due to softer sounds than their appearance, as well as those that are easily misspelled due to harsher sounds than their appearance. This helps not only elementary students but also adults learn frequently confused vocabulary and spacing correctly, leading to better writing. Through this, they will not only experience the achievement of writing well but also develop a deeper appreciation and love for our language and writing.