Level 5 - Upper Intermediate

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English is too hard to read for children

Anushka Asthana, Education Correspondent June 8, 2008 A The English spelling system is absolutely awful. That is the conclusion of new research that has found that children meet 800 words by the age of 11 that hinder their reading because of the way they are spelt. Monkey, asparagus, spinach, caterpillar, dwarf, banana, handkerchief, soldiers, stomach and telescope have all been included on the long list of words that confuse children because they contain letter combinations that are more 10 commonly pronounced in a different way. These words have all been identified as problematic for reading, as opposed to writing, because of the unreliability of the sounds, according to the study he Most Costly English !pellings. asha !ell, who did the research, argued that there were "00 words on the list that could be improved #ust by dropping surplus letters such as the i in friend or the u in shoulder. B $English is the worst of all the alphabetical languages,% said !ell. $&t is uni'ue in that there are not #ust spelling problems but reading problems. They do not e(ist anywhere else.% !ell argued that the 20spelling system cost schools money and was the reason for poor literacy results in the )* compared with the rest of Europe. &n +inland, where words are usually pronounced as they loo,, children learn to read fluently within three months, she said. &n the )*, academics have found that it ta,es three years for a child to reach a basic level of reading competence. The spellings ma,e English particularly difficult for children with dysle(ia and children from poorer families, whose parents may not read to them very regularly. C &n the research !ell gives e(amples of words that have the same pronunciation but different letter combinations. E(amples include to and two- clean and gene- same and aim- day and grey- kite and light- and stole and coal. Then there are those that loo, similar but sound different with the combinations of ea, ee and the letter o causing most trouble. .mong the words in this category 30are eight and height, break and dreamt, and mo"e and post. The letters ough can also be pronounced in a number of different ways. D Simplifying the system would improve literacy, according to !ell, but she said people were resistant to change. $/eople feel that they have suffered so much at the hands of English spelling that they dont want to loo, at it,% she said. !ut other countries have made changes. 0ast month the parliament in /ortugal, where the spelling system is also thought to be complicated, voted to reform and simplify it. $&n 11"8 the Tur,s changed their whole alphabet from .rabic to 0atin,% said 2ohn 3ells, professor of phonetics at )niversity college 0ondon and president of the 4pelling 4ociety. $&t happened in the 4oviet )nion.% &n 5ermany there were changes made in the 1110s to ma,e the writing system more regular. English has also developed with words such as olde and worlde dropping the e.
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3ells wants to see things change again and says there are two possible approaches. The first would be to simplify the way in which words are spelt and then allow people to choose whether to use the new or old system, while the second approach would involve a complete change. $The 4pelling 4ociety is in favour of the first approach,% he said.

Adapted from English is too hard to read for children, 2008, One Stop English, last accessed 10/3/2009,

www onestopenglish com

Level 5 - Upper Intermediate

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F 6hris 7avis, spo,esman for the 8ational /rimary 9eadteachers .ssociation, said the spelling system had a ma#or effect on childrens literacy progress: $&t definitely slows English children down. &n international comparisons, languages that are phonetically uniform always come top.% !ut he said that teachers would be unwilling to see things change. $&t would be such a big change that people would find it very difficult to even consider it,% he said. $There are already problems because of the 50different spelling system in .merica, but people would also be against using .merican spelling. & thin, it is a 'uestion of ownership, that it is our language.% 7avis argued that people felt spelling was lin,ed to the origin of words. ; 5uardian 8ews < edia "008 +irst published in The =bserver, 08>0?>08
Additional "ocabulary literacy # the ability to read or write dyslexia # a condition when people find it difficult to spell or read words phonetics # the study of the use of sounds in speaking 1. 4,im the te(t 'uic,ly for the answer to these 'uestions a. b. 2. 3hy is English too hard to read for children@ AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3hat could be done to improve the situation@ AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA atch the paragraph to each of these main ideas. AAA B AAA AAA AAA AAA

Main ideas.

The view of educators English is the worst language of its type 3hy ma,ing the system easier may help 8ew research Two ways of changing the system E(amples of problem spellings . 4can the te(t for the answers to these 'uestions a. b. c. d. e. f.

9ow many difficult words do !ritish children meet by the age of 11@ AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 9ow many basic words could be simplified #ust by dropping surplus letters@ AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 9ow long does it ta,e !ritish children to reach a basic level of reading competence@ AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3hen did the /ortuguese ma,e changes to their spelling system@ AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3hen did the Tur,s change their alphabet from .rabic to 0atin@ AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3hen did the 5ermans reform their spelling system@

Adapted from English is too hard to read for children, 2008, One Stop English, last accessed 10/3/2009,

www onestopenglish com

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Level 5 - Upper Intermediate

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!. Find the follo"ing "ords. 6hoose the best meaning for each one. a. hinder paragraph A i. help someone or something to do something ii. stop someone or something from doing something iii. hide something behind something else problematic paragraph A i. easy ii. causing difficulties iii. helpful surplus paragraph A i. suitable, appropriate ii. less than is necessary iii. more than is necessary simplifying paragraph $ i. ma,ing something less difficult ii. ma,ing something difficult iii. ma,ing something impossible resistant paragraph $ i. opposed or against something ii. not harmed or affected by something iii. an organisation that fights against something reform paragraph $ i. type something again ii. ma,e something again iii. ma,e changes to a system that is not wor,ing uniform paragraph % i. ii. iii. clothes worn by students or people from a particular organisation the same in every situation a type of university Do not use a dictionary!

b.

c.

d.

e.

f.

g.

#. Discussion 3hich English words do you find difficult to spell@ 3hy@ 9ow does English spelling compare with spelling in your language@ 7o you thin, English spelling should be changed@ 3hy@ 3hy not@

Adapted from English is too hard to read for children, 2008, One Stop English, last accessed 10/3/2009,

www onestopenglish com