Methodolohy Assignment

Name: Joseph Brown (2231416)
Module: Syllabus Design and Methodology in ELT (4004)

Tutor: Clare ODonoghue
Date: 12/5/2003
Joseph Brown
1
Q.3. Select a teaching problem, preferably one with which you are familiar or which you
are likely to face in the future. Discuss how the problem you have identified fits into the
wider methodological context of ELT theory and practice. In the light of your discussion,
identify the principles which would lie behind your choice of particular strategies and
teaching materials for the situation in question. You will need to provide theoretical and
experimental (original or reported) evidence to support your case in order to demonstrate
the link between theory and practice.
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Introduction

English orthography has long since been an issue amongst the grammarians with many
arguments for and against spelling reform. Because many words in the English lexicon
lack phonemic conformity, prescriptive grammarians have been engaged in debates
concerning reformation since the 16
th
century.
According to some estimates approximately 10,000 French words entered into the
language during the 13
th
century from various fields such as: law, administration,
medicine, art and fashion. It is said that over seventy per cent were nouns and a large
number were abstract terms constructed using French affixes such as: con-, trans-, pre-,
-ance, -tion and ment (Crystal, 1995:46).
Although this influx enriched the language immensely, it also complicated matters
greatly, resulting in significant changes in pronunciation and spelling. The biggest change,
however, occurred during the Great Vowel Shift which began towards the end of the
Middle English (ME) period and lasted approximately 225 years from 1450 to 1675.
In 1476, William Caxton introduced the first printing press in England at which
point certain words became fixed but not the entire lexicon. It was not until the advent of
Samuel Johnsons dictionary in 1755 that English orthography became standardized.
People began to use the book as the only correct model for spelling and for the first time
began to think in terms of spelling mistakes - up until that time there was no real fixed
method of spelling. There were no right or wrong spellings and nobody was considered a
bad speller. People were lackadaisical with their spelling and everyone spelt words
however they wanted.
In 1908, as a result of a growing debate concerning reformation, the Simplified
Spelling Society was founded. In one of its 1993 publications, it stated that it aimed to
establish (1) a more effective educational system (2) a higher standard of literacy (3) easier
mastery of the language and (4) a more efficient writing system and better communication
worldwide; as well as being of benefit to future generations of non-native learners of
English by introducing a more consistent spelling system which would enable the non-
native learner to grasp the English language more readily. However, English orthography
is still far harder to grasp than most other languages, yet native children and non-native
learners of English are expected to decode this chaos for academic and professional
purposes with many never mastering it properly. The fact is, [o]ur spelling is simply
chaotic [and] ... fails to display any system [whatsoever] (Sampson, 1985: 194).
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The aim of this paper is to observe English orthography in relation to the wider
methodological context of ELT theory and practice; in particular, the difficulty in teaching
English spelling due to the relative representation of its spelling sound system. This paper
is divided into the following five parts: Part 1: The historical development of English
orthography. Part 2: The theory of learning English spelling. Part 3: Teaching the
Alphabet & the Vowels. Part 4: Teaching English Vowel-Sounds, and part 5: The
conclusion.
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Part 1
The History of English Orthography

1.1 Historical Developments
English spelling, like most of our institutions, has a history. So in matters of spelling, the
past can help us to explain the present (Carney, 1994: 1). All languages change with time
as the people who speak them change. It is the people with the most power that enforces
change upon the rest of society.
English spelling is an amalgamation of the different people who have invaded,
conquered, and imposed their custom and language upon the people. Its history has been
divided into the following periods: Old English (OE) 600AD to 1150, Middle English
(ME) 1150 to 1500, Early Modern English (EMnE) 1500 to 1800, and Modern English
(M.E) 1800 to present. Towards the close of the Old English (OE) period an event
occurred that had a great effect on the English language: the Norman Conquest of 1066 at
the hands of William, the Duke of Normandy (Baugh & Cable, 1993: 105). This event
marked what was to be the beginning of a new social and linguistic period in the annuls of
English history.
Within 20 years of the conquest, all the churchs abbots and bishops were French;
newly appointed barons were French; newly established foundations were solely French;
and French merchants and craftsmen crossed the channel in their numbers to take
advantage of the commercial opportunities provided by the new regime. However,
[t]he effect on the...language was not to be fully felt for two hundred years or more
(Freeman, 1993: 27).
During the 12
th
and 13
th
century, a fundamental change occurred that was without
precedent in the history of the language and one that was to be without parallel thereafter
(Crystal, 1995: 32). The changes of this period were so extensive, affecting both the
grammar and the vocabulary, that it is difficult to say which was more significant. Those in
the grammar reduced English from a highly inflected language to an extremely analytical
one
1
, and those in the vocabulary involved the loss of a large part of the OE word-stock
and the borrowing of thousands of new words from French and Latin.

1
A language without (or with few) inflections. (The Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar, 16
th
Ed,
1999).
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1.2 First phase of borrowing
The first phase of borrowing occurred during the period 1066 to 1250 in which it is said
that approximately 900 French words were borrowed primarily from the social and
literary domain. However, the largest number of words borrowed were for use in religious
services as a result of the French-speaking Normans who took control of the church in
England.

1.3 Second phase of borrowing
The second phase occurred during the period 1250 to 1400 in which the heaviest
borrowings is said to have taken place as a result of the increase of French speakers who
began speaking English. The borrowings in this period came from a much wider semantic
field associated with the political, social and economic affairs of the time:
art;
architecture and building;
church and religion;
fashion;
food and drink;
government and administration;
home life;
scholarship and learning;
literature;
medicine;
military;
riding and hunting;
social ranks.
(Freeman, 1998: 145).

1.4 Changes in spelling
As the influx of new words and new speakers of English progressed so the spelling of
English changed. The Norman scribes began to spell words in accordance with the
conventions they had previously used for French, such as: qu instead of cw, i.e. queen
instead of cwen. They introduced gh instead of h into words such as: night and enough;
ch instead of c as in church, and ou instead of u as in house. (Crystal, 1995: 41).
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These profound changes in the English orthography brought about much confusion.
Words with the same phonetic endings were spelt differently, i.e. burglar, teacher, actor,
glamour, acre, murmur, injure and martyr. Consonants were doubled and sometimes not,
i.e. omit - omitted, commit committed, and vomit vomited. Letters were being
inserted into words with no apparent reason, such as the g in foreign; the h in Thames;
the s in island and the w in whole - nevertheless, the greatest change was yet to come.

1.5 The Great Vowel Shift (GVS)
Between the time of Chaucer in the late 14
th
century, and Shakespeare in the late 16
th

century, all the long vowels in English spoken in the Midlands and [the] South of England
shifted in their pronunciation. We dont know why it happened, and no similar shift is
known to have taken place at [any] other time [in the history of the English language]
(Freeman, 1998: 293).
The Shift was a massive change in pronunciation that gradually occurred over a
period of time in which the long vowels shifted upwards; that is, a vowel that used to be
pronounced in one place in the mouth was pronounced in another place, i.e. higher up in
the mouth; thus, Chaucers Lyf, pronounced leef, became the modern life. In Middle
English five was pronounced feef, and down was pronounced doon (see Freeman,
1998: 293-302 as regards the GVS).

1.6 Advocates of reformation
The first concerted movement for the reform of English spelling gathered [momentum]
in the second half of the sixteenth century, and continued into the seventeenth as a great
debate about how to cope with the flood of technical and scholarly terms [entering] into
the language as loan-words from Latin Greek and French (Carney, 1994: 467).
Early reformers such as John Hart
2
believed that writing should be obedient unto
the pronunciation (Freeman, 1998: 293). He proposed that superfluous letters should be
dropped from the alphabet; words should be written according to English Phonology and
not foreign etymology; and homophones
3
should be done away with - for if there is no
confusion when we speak them, then there should be no confusion when we write them.
Later reformers such as George Bernard Shaw
4
, a former member of the Simplified

2
In 1569 he published a book entitled An Orthographie in which he presented a reformed alphabet.
3
[Words that] have the same pronunciation but very different spellings. There is no rule for them, they
have to be learnt by heart (Digby & Myers, 1993: 37).
4
His central argument was not educational but an economic one, based on the cost in time and effort
caused by the irregularities in traditional spelling,. He too proposed a reformed alphabet. He believed that
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spelling Society, complained that fish could just as sensibly be spelt ghoti (gh as in tough,
o as in women, and ti as in nation) and that only institutional inertia prevent[ed] the
adoption of a more rational, spell-it-like-it-sounds system (Pinker, 1994: 18).
In recent years, the Simplified Spelling Society has moved away from its more
radical approach concerning reformation and have adopted a gradualist approach
proposing a cut spelling system wherein redundant letters are dropped. The advantages
of such a system, they say, is (1) its cost effectiveness; (2) the reduction of time as regards
printing and writing and (3), not having to represent the vowel of the unstressed syllable as
well as the stressed vowel (refer to Carney, 1994: 479-481).

1.6 Standardization
During the 16
th
century, the first dictionaries, spelling books and grammars of English
were published. The writers were responding to a growing sense that the language needed
an agreed form of spelling, grammar and vocabulary (Freeborn, 1998: 289). It was not
until the publication of Samuel Johnsons dictionary in 1755 that English spelling became
standardized. The spellings that we use today were mainly decided back then and since
that time there has been no concerted effort in respect of reformation. There is no
Academy in any English speaking country which is vested with authority to determine
how the spelling of a word should be (Carney, 1994: 68); thus it seems then that [t]he
best hope for change ... [is] the growing concern over standards of literacy [which] ...
[may] lead to a permissive tidying-up of irregularities for purely educational reasons
(ibid, p.488).

this alphabet would eventually coexist alongside the roman alphabet, a bit like the Arabic numerals,
although the latter has actually replaced its roman counterpart (Carney, 1994: 483).
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Part 2
Theory of Learning English Spelling

2.1 The alphabet
The first rung on the ladder as regards to learning English spelling is the learning of the
alphabet: <a> is for apple, is for banana, and <c> is for cherry, and so on. However,
this is an oversimplified view of the process of learning the alphabet since it involves more
than just being able to recognize letters. [K]nowing the alphabet involves learning a
letters shape(s), its usual phonetic counterpart(s) and of course its name
(Carney, 1994: 14).

2.2 Letter-shapes
Learning the letter-shapes of the English alphabet poses few problems for those whose L1
utilizes the Roman alphabet. [I]t is only where learners are illiterate or literate in a
language which uses a non-Roman script that difficulties may be encountered
(Broughton, et al, 1990: 90). In English there are twenty-six letters. Each letter has a
counterpart that is quite distinct from the other: upper-case <A> (capital letter) and
lower-case <a>; but in matters of reading they are regarded the same .
In writing, the capital letter is used in the following ways: As a punctuation device to
mark the beginning of a sentence. As a marker to mark the beginning of a line of regular
poetry. As a marker to mark the names of places, institutions, and persons, or words
which have a specific reference or a technical meaning; and as a natural device for
referring to God with the pronoun set Thou, Thee, Thine, and Thy (Carney, 1994:
51-52). This use of the capital letter is something that is not a feature of all scripts, like, for
example, the Arabic script which does not utilize upper case and lower case letters, thus
the Arabic-speaking learner may find the distinctive use of the capital-letter problematic.

2.3 Letter-names
Teaching and learning the names of the letters of the alphabet is a simple enough task. If,
however, these letter-names are taken as the basis for describing the alphabet and the
writing system in relation to speech, then problems will arise. The learner has to be able
to correlate letter and sound correctly - in isolation as well as in word formation so as to
(1), understand the auditory input they receive (2), understand the optical input they
receive, and (3), to be able to express their views and ideas meaningfully. So no matter
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how good the letters are represented, graphically - teacher and learner will not accomplish
much with the simplified method of <a> is for apple, for banana, and <c> is for
cherry, and so on.

2.4 Phonetic-counterpart
Knowledge of the sound system of our native language is complex. Minimally, it entails
knowing what are possible and what are not possible sounds in the language. For
example, a native speaker of English knows that the first vowel sound // in the word
Goeth is not a possible sound in English. Likewise, it also involves knowing what are
possible combinations of sounds in the language and what are not (Gass & Selinker,
1994: 5). Combinations such as, /b/ and /r/ in words like brave and brush can blend
together while combinations like /b/ and /n/ cannot; thus there is little value if any, in
teaching letter-sounds in isolation; that is not to say that separate sounds cannot be
isolated, however, one should bear in mind that the characteristics that a letter-sound
displays in isolation will not be the same as that displayed in the context of neighbouring
sounds.

2.5 Letter-sound correspondence
The alphabetic principle, in theory at least, requires not only that a given phoneme is
represented by a constant symbol but also that the symbol involved does not represent
other phonemes. This requirement is referred to in phonological theory as
biuniqueness; [something which] the English writing system is by no means entirely
based on (Carney, 1994: 15), thats why, L2 learners of English are often baffled by its
chaotic sound spelling-system - there often seems to be more exceptions than rules such
that mastery of accurate spelling and pronunciation appears at times to be a daunting and
demotivating task.

2.6 Relative representations of various English sounds

Childrens spelling at the early stages of learning is essentially phonic. An adult L2
beginner-learner is essentially a child
5
. Recent studies have shown that the relative
frequency of representations of a given sound is related to spelling difficulty for a word:
the more frequently a grapheme is associated with a sound the easier it is to spell. It has

5
The difference between the two is that the adult has a metalinguistic awareness of how their L1 works
and can use this to assist them in the development of the L2, whereas children are learning about language
per se.
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even been suggested that English is a dyslexic language and is increasingly been seen as a
contributing factor to illiteracy in the English-speaking world and an unnecessary burden
placed on children - something which is not present in most European languages that
have more regular written forms than English (Spencer, 1998, 1999b & 2000). Such is the
nature of English orthography that individual sounds are associated with varying numbers
of letter combinations (See appendix 1 for example thus).

2.7 English sounds not in L1
Adding to that, is the problem of sounds not realised in the L1. Arabic-speaking learners,
for example, face problems with the English consonants /p/ and /b/. This confusion is
linked to L1 interference
6
as Arabic does not realise the sound /p/, thus for the Arab, the
p/b distinction is one of the main problems in pronunciation and spelling. The following
is an example of the p/b confusion a negative transfer
7
.

Native Learner Arab Learner
Pull! Bull!
Its a pin. Its a bin.
There are pears on the tree There are bears on the tree

6
The terminology [interference/facilitation]in a language-learning settingcome[s] from the literature
on the psychology of learning. It is a term that was used extensively in the first half of the century and
refers to the psychological process whereby prior learning is carried over into a new learning situation.
A distinction that is commonly made is one between positive transfer and negative transfer. These terms
refer respectively to whether transfer results in something correct or something in correct (Gass &
Selinker, 1994: 54 & 55). It should be noted that while transfer is related to a process, the result is related
to the output as judged by the researcher, the teacher, the native speaker, and so on.
7
Could it not be argued that what the Arab learner is actually doing is substituting the English sound /p/
for one that is similar in their L1, i.e. /b/ and is using their strategic competence as appose to interference
from their L1. If so, it could then be further argued that the error is not an error per se, but perhaps one
of the characteristics of the concept of strategic competence?
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Part 3
Teaching the Alphabet & the Vowels

3.1 The alphabet
The method of teaching <a> is for apple; is for banana; and <c> is for cherry as
mentioned above, is an oversimplified view. For example, we find that the letter <a> says
its name in plate but not in apple; the letter says its name in beef but not in banana;
and the letter <c> says its name in cinema but not in cherry. The teacher must therefore
be careful not to present the names of the letters of the alphabet as the basis for
describing the writing system in relation to speech. The consequence of this is that the
learner may, for example, pronounce the short vowel sound // in apple as long, and the
long vowel sound /ei/ in ape as short, and so on. This mispronunciation at times
8
will lead
to a misunderstanding on the part of the listener and most definitely an inability to
express oneself meaningfully on the part of the learner.

3.1a Method of teaching alphabet
The letter-names should not be taught in isolation. They should be taught in word
formation also, so as to avoid the misconception that the sounds they make when in
isolation are the same sounds produced when in word formation. The CVC (consonant
vowel consonant) formation is appropriate for beginners: /ei/ as in ape, // as in cap and
/a:/ as in cab. As they progress so they can be introduced to more complex formations.

3.1b Method of teaching vowels
Introducing students to the long and short vowels from the outset is essential because of
their connection to syllables. Each word when pronounced has one or more beats. Each
beat is a syllable. In every beat (syllable) we usually hear a vowel sound. The vowels in
English are a, e, i o, u and sometimes y. One or two vowel-letters may combine to
make one sound, as in the following:

8
At times is mentioned here because if the listener is a native speaker of English then they will be able
to use their linguistic skills to decode and make sense of the input they are receiving. So at times the
speakers inability to meaningfully express his/herself would not be a problem depending on the degree
of incorrectness.
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one-syllable word two-syllable word three-syllable word
can can dy can di date
hope hope ful un hope ful
weight weigh less weight less - ness

Learners often rely on their auditory memory, that is, they write a word the way they
remember its sound; thus, it is essential that the teacher is meticulous when teaching the
pronunciation of the letter-sounds, especially if it is a sound that is not realised in the
learners L1 as they will substitute that sound for something similar in their L1 which
could lead to fossilization
9
. Likewise, there should be much recycling as is necessary in
order to reinforce memorization and correctness of pronunciation.

3.1c Lesson plan: Alphabet
Write the letters of the alphabet on the board.
Instruct the students to listen and repeat and to pay particular attention to the
pronunciation of the letters (repeat as necessary).
Instruct students to supply the correct letter-names when you point to a letter.
Erase the letters from the board and rewrite them randomly - again eliciting from
the students the correct letter-names.
At this stage the students could be reminded that all the letters mentioned are
called consonants except for five which are called vowels.

3.1d Lesson plan: Vowels
If the teacher is satisfied that the students have memorized the letters of the alphabet
fairly well, the foci can then be shifted towards the vowels.
Draw five columns on the board with the headings A, E, I, O, U.
Under <A> write cat, under <E> write bed, under write big, under <O> write
hot, and under write fun, for example.
Instruct the students to supply other words that follow the same CVC format.
Add the words the students supply to the appropriate list and instruct them to
copy the table and three examples from each vowel.

9
Fossilization is the state of affairs that exists when the learner ceases to elaborate the interlanguage [the
term interlanguage was coined by Selinker (1969, 1972) to refer to the interim grammars constructed by
second-language learners on their way to the target language] in some respect, no matter how long there
is exposure, new data, or new teaching (McLaughlin, 1987: 61).
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* See appendix 2 for practice exercises.

3.1e Lesson plan: Long & Short vowel comparison
Recognizing the difference between long and short vowels is extremely difficult especially
when one has to correlate unfamiliar letters and sounds.
Draw a table on the board like the one below.

1 2 3

Ask the students to supply the vowels for column 1.
Write in columns 2 & 3 minimal pairs
10
as in the above examples.
Instruct the students to listen attentively to the words you will dictate to them from
the list.
Ask them to identify the words in which the vowels are long and the words in
which the vowels are short.
The students can then test each other on the same list of words - one student
reads a word and the other has to say whether the vowel is long or short.


10
Minimal pairs are pairs of words that differ in pronunciation in one sound only. An example for English
is the pair ship and sheep, where the distinguishing sound is /i/ and /i:/ (Brown, 1995: 169).
vowel long sound short sound
a made mad
e read red
i wine win
o hope hop
u cute cut
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Part 4
Teaching English Sounds

4.1 The relative representation of English sounds
The relative and diverse representation of English sounds makes it nigh on impossible to
formulate general rules by which spelling can be taught. If we take for example the /sh/
sound in sheep or ship, we find that it can be realised by a number of combination of
letters: ch as in chef, chalet, or chaperon; ti as in section or Egyptian; ci as in
electrician or efficient; cea as in ocean; si as in extension or pension; ssi as in
profession or session; and xi as in anxious; thus the search for regularities and the
business of describing them is far from straightforward (Carney, 1994: 7).

4.2 Method of teaching English sounds
Whilst observing the English spelling sound system, it soon became apparent that English
sounds were too relatively represented to be able to devise a simple and straightforward
method for teaching spelling to non-natives. Finding letter-combinations that represented
the same sound and grouping them together as units seemed the only practical way.
These units could then be taught one a week or two a week, depending on the ability of
the students. There would be much recycling, in class activities (i.e. games, quizzes, lots of
student interaction), a weekly test and of course homework.

4.3 The sound a (/ei/)
In this unit the students will look at three different spelling patterns that represent the
sound /ei/: a + consonant + e; -ay; and ai; as in bake, bay, and bait. Common
exceptions to the rule are: ei as in weight; -ey as in prey; and ea as in steak.

4.3a Lesson plan: a + consonant + e = /ei/
The first lesson in this unit will look at one-syllable words that have a in the middle
followed by a consonant and the magic/silent e as in bake.
Write on the board words of the spelling pattern a + consonant + e.
Ask students to provide words that follow the same pattern.
Ask students what spelling pattern can be deduced from this. If there are no
suggestions, then instruct them to copy and memorize the following rule: when
we hear a saying its name in the middle of a one-syllable word followed by a
single consonant sound we write a e as in bake, name, fame, etc.
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15
Bring to the awareness of the students what happens when we add a suffix that
begins with a vowel (i.e. -ing, -ed, -en) to words of the above formula: we drop the
e from the base word, as in bake baking; bake - baked, and take - taken.


4.4b Lesson plan: ai (/ei/)
Another way of spelling the sound /ei/ when in the middle of a one-syllable word is ai.
This spelling pattern is generally followed by the letters l, n, r and sometimes m, d,
t, and se: fail, rain, fair, claim, maid, wait, and praise.
Write examples on the board that have the sound /ei/ in the middle followed by
l, n, and r.
Elicit from the students words likewise.
Write examples on the board that have the sound /ei/ in the middle followed by
m, d, t, and se.
Elicit from the students words likewise.
suggestions, then, instruct them to copy and memorize the following rule: when
we hear a saying its name in the middle of a one-syllable word our second
choice is to write ai.


4.4c Lesson plan: -ay (/ei/)
The sound /ei/ at the end of a word is most commonly spelt -ay as in stay. Since English
words cannot end in the letter -a, the letter -y is added making the vowel a diphthong.
Write on the board, examples of one-syllable words that end in the sound /ei/.
Elicit from the students other words that end in the /ei/ sound.
suggestions, then instruct them to copy and memorize the following rule: when
we hear a saying its name at the end of a word we write -ay as in clay, stay, may,
etc.


4.5 The sound e (/i:/)
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16
The most common spellings for the sound /i:/ are ee as in sheep and ea as in sheaf.
Other spellings are: ie as in thief; ei as in seize; e + consonant + e as in scene; and
i+ consonant + e as in elite. Unfortunately, the patterns ee and ea are equally as
common and there is no rule to help us to know which one to use.

4.5a Lesson plan: ee
Write on the board some examples of one-syllable words that have the /i:/ sound
in the middle, for example, green, teeth, beef, etc.
Ask students to suggest other words that have the /i:/ sound in the middle.
Ask students to observe what spelling patterns can be deduced from this, if there
are no suggestions, then, instruct them to copy and memorize the following: when
we hear e saying its name at the end of a one-syllable word we often write ee.

4.5b Lesson plan: ea
Another common way of spelling the sound /i:/ is ea as in steal, dream, etc. This pattern
mainly appears in the middle. However, it is also found at the beginning as in eat and
easy; and sometimes at the end as in tea, sea, and pea, etc.
Although the most common sound for ea is /i:/ it does have four other sounds
such as: /e/ as in head; /ei/ as in steak; /er/ as in early; and /a:/ as in heart. These can be
introduced to the students when they are ready.
Write some words on the board that have the spelling pattern ea in the middle.
Read them out loud and ask the students to compare them to ee words learnt in
the previous lesson.
Remind the students that there is no rule that shows us when to use ee or ea,
therefore, they only need to remember that another common way of spelling the
sound /i:/ is the spelling pattern ea.


4.6 The sound i (/ai/)
This unit looks at one-syllable words that have the letter i in the middle and are followed
by one consonant and then an e. This follows what is commonly known as the
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17
magic/silent e pattern, as mentioned above (4.3a), and is the most common way of
spelling the sound /ai/ when it is heard in the middle of a one-syllable word.

4.6a Lesson plan: i + consonant + e = /ai/
Write on the board one-syllable words that have the /ai/ sound in the middle such
as: bike, time, ride, white, five, etc.
Ask students to suggest words likewise.
we hear i saying its name in the middle of a one-syllable word followed by a
single consonant sound, our first choice is to write ie as in bike.


4.6b Lesson plan: -y
Although most one-syllable words with sound /ai/ are spelled ie as in time, there is
another common spellings for this sound: -y. Since English words cannot end in the
letter i, it is replaced with the letter -y which then becomes a vowel as mentioned above
(p, 11). Common exceptions to the rule are words such as: guy, die, or eye. Because these
words dont follow the rule they have to be learnt as sight words.
Ask the students to suggest one-syllable words that have the /ai/ sound at the end.
Ask: What spelling pattern can be deduced from this?
If there are no suggestions, then, instruct them to copy and memorize the
following rule: when we hear i saying its name at the end of a word, our first
choice is to write -y.
Bring to the awareness of the students the following: (1) Plurals or 3rd/per
singular in the Present Simple of words that end in consonant + -y, we change
the y to i and add -es, for example: try tries, spy spies; and (2), when we
need to add -ed for the Simple Past to words that end in consonant + -y, we
change the y to i and add -ed, for example: try tried, spy spied.

4.6c Lesson plan: -igh
There is yet another spelling pattern for the sound /ai/ and that is -igh. This pattern is
most commonly found followed by the letter -t as in night, but also appears as a final
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vowel sound in the words sigh, nigh and thigh. Exceptions to the rule are: bite, kite, and
white.
Ask students to suggest one-syllable words that have the /ai/ sound in the middle
and are followed by the letter -t.
we hear /ai/, followed by a -t, we write -igh.


4.7 The sound o (/oa/)
This unit covers the most common spelling patterns for the sound /oa/: bone, grow, and
boat.

4.7a Lesson plan: o + consonant + e = /oa/
This lesson introduces the spelling pattern that is found most frequently when the sound
/oa/ is heard in the middle of a one-syllable word followed by the magic/silent -e as in
bone. However, words spelt with an r like more, score and store, do not, in fact, have
the /oa/ sound at all, but /or/.
Ask students to suggest one-syllable words that have the /oa/ sound in the middle
which are followed by the letter -e.
we hear o saying its name in the middle of a one-syllable word followed by a
single consonant sound, our first choice is to write oe as in bone.
Common exceptions are words such as: folk and yolk.
Remind the students that we drop the final -e of a base word before adding a
suffix that begins with a vowel.


4.7b Lesson plan: -ow (/oa/)
The most common way of spelling the sound /oa/ at the end of a one-syllable word is
-ow. However, there are several exceptions such as: go, oh, toe, hero, though, and sew.
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Elicit from the students words that have the sound /oa/ at the end. Write on the
board examples such as: yellow, glow, flow, cow, how, and so on.
we hear o saying its name at the end of a word, our first choice is to write -ow.


4.7c Lesson plan: -oa- (/oa/)
In this lesson we shall be looking at the second choice of spelling the sound /oa/ in the
middle of a word, which is oa as in boat. Again, it should be noted that there is no rule
governing the spelling of the sound /oa/, it could either be o + consonant + e, or oa.
Write on the board: boat, moan, coat, road, goal, and coach.
Ask students to suggests words that have the /oa/ sound in the middle.
we hear o saying its name at the end of a one- syllable word, our second choice is
to write -oa-.


4.8 The sound u (/ju:/ and /u:/)
This unit will introduce the most common ways of spelling the sounds /ju:/ and /u:/.

4.8a lesson plan: ue (/ju:/ and /u:/)
This lesson introduces the spelling pattern that is found most frequently when the sound
/ju:/ is heard in the middle of a word and followed by the sound of a single consonant.
Write the following examples on the board for the students to copy:
/ju:/: cute, excuse, use, cube, and huge.
/u:/: June, rule, rude, and Luke.
we hear u saying its name in a word followed by a single consonant sound, our
first choice is to write u-e-.
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4.8b Lesson plan: -ue (/ju:/ and /u:/)
The most common way of spelling the sound /ju:/ and /u:/ at the end of a word is -ue as
in rescue and true. Common exceptions are: shoe, you, two, and through.
Write the following words on the board: blue, glue, flue, and clue.
Ask students to suggests words that have the sound /ju:/ or /u:/ at the end.
Ask students to copy and memorize the following rule: when we hear u saying
its name at the end of a word, our first choice is to write -ue.


4.8c Lesson plan: -ew (/ju:/ and /u:/)
In this lesson we shall be looking at the second choice for spelling the sounds /ju:/ and
/u:/ at the end of a word, which is -ew, as in new, view, and drew.
Remind the students of the previous lesson where they learnt that the most
common way of spelling the sounds /ju:/ and /u:/ at the end of a word was -ue.
Ask students to recall some of those words.
Introduce the students to the second way of spelling those sounds at the end of a
word: -ew.
Ask students for suggestions of other words that end in -ew and write their
suggestions on the board.
we hear u saying its name at the end of a word, our second choice is to write
-ew.


4.8d Lesson plan: oo (/ju:/ and /u:/)
This vowel digraph (two letters which read as one sound) is generally pronounced /u:/ as
in moon, but there are several common words where oo has the sound /u/ as in foot.
The most common position for oo is in the middle of a word, but it occasionally appears
at the beginning or at the end of words as in ooze and zoo. The common exceptions are:
/u:/: group, lose, truth, juice, womb; and /u/: could, would, should, put, wolf.
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Write on the board oo and two columns.
Write the words book and school in separate columns.
Elicit from the students what sounds they hear with this spelling pattern.
Ask students to suggests other oo words for each sound, and write their
suggestions on the board in the appropriate columns.
we hear u say its name in the middle of a word, our second choice will be to
write oo.
Bring to the attention of the students that the following oo words have an
irregular pronunciation: blood, door, floor, and poor.

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Part 5
The Conclusion

English spelling and pronunciation seems full of inconsistencies. We can probably thank
history for that. From 400 BC to 1066 AD, there were many invasions that resulted in
permanent settlements in various parts of Britain, and as a consequence of this, the
English language underwent profound changes which reduced the English spelling sound
system to a chaotic mess. As Pinker once commented, They [most educated people]
know that English spelling takes such wackiness to even greater heights (1994; 18).
Nevertheless, from a pedagogical point of view, this awesome mess must be reduced if
learning is to be facilitated. The question is how?
Organizing the various vowel spelling patterns into units based on patterns that have
the same basic sound seemed the most logical thing to do - even if there were more than
one sound-letter pattern for a particular sound. In writing the lesson plans I tried to make
the instructions easy to follow, with clearly defined stages. Lessons were designed to
complement previous ones, i.e. recycling was a key factor in the design so as to reinforce
memorization; also student involvement in order to stimulate and motivate. I tried to
involve the student not only by eliciting words from the board, but also by getting them to
observe common factors affecting the spelling pattern from which rulings could be
deduced. This approach, I believe, helps students to become autonomous in their
learning and in this way the lessons become more meaningful, along with activities like
trivia, crosswords, wordsearches, picture identifications and the like.
English orthography from a ELT point of view still has a long way to go to make the
crooked path straight and the rocky terrain smooth. There is undoubted resistance to
spelling reform in the UK, and a cynical point of view suggests that this reluctance reflects
a desire to prevent a large sector of society from achieving its full potential (Spencer, no
date: 8). Until the need to upgrade the system is recognised, English orthography will
continue to be a source of difficulty both for the teacher and the L2 learner alike.

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Bibliography

Baugh and Cable (1993). History of The English Language. Routledge.

Broughton, G., Brumfit, C., Flavel, R., Hill, P., Pincas, A. (1990). Teaching English as a
Foreign Language (2
nd
Ed). London and NY: Routledge.

Brown, A. (1995). Minimal Pairs. ELT Journal, Volume 49/2 April 1995. Oxford
University Press.

Crystal, D. (1995). The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of The English Language. Cambridge:
CUP

Digby, C. and Myers, J. (1993). Making Sense of Spelling and Pronunciation. London:
Prentice Hall International (UK) Ltd.

Freeman, D. (1993). Varieties of English (2
nd
Ed). London: Macmillan Press.

Freeman, D. (1998). From Old English to Standard English (2
nd
Ed). London: Macmillan
Press.

Gass & Selinker. (1998). Second Language Acquisition: An Introductory Course. New
Jersey & London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.

Grellet, F. (1981). Developing Reading Skills. Cambridge: CUP.

Krashen, S. D. (1998). Principles & Practice in Second Language Acquisition. Oxford,
NY, Toronto, Sydney, Paris & Frankfurt: Pergamon Press.

McLaughlin, B. (1987). Theories of Second Language Learning. London and NY:
Edward Arnold A division of Hodder & Stoughton.

Paran, A. (1996). Reading in EFL: facts and fictions. ELT Journal, Volume 50/1 January
1966. Oxford University Press.

Pinker, S. (1994). The Language Instinct. London and New York: Penguin Press.

Sampson, G. (1995). Writing Systems: A Linguistic Intersection. Stanford, California:
Stanford University Press.

Spencer, K. (no date). English Spelling and its Contribution to Illiteracy. University of
Hull, Cottingham Road, Hull HU6 7RX. Email: k.a.spencer@ifl.hull.ac.uk

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