Spelling as an Invention

As an educator, I was pleased to read the letter from Dr. Stephen J. Wilson in the Times Valley Edition of March 28. He is to be commended for his strong interest in the education of young children. Because his strong concern about the teaching of “invented spelling” may reflect the concerns of many parents, it is an appropriate subject to examine.

But I say “No! No! No! Teachers do not teach invented spelling. However they do recognize that children learn to write by inventing their own spelling.”

This is why teachers encourage children to put their ideas on paper even though they can’t spell correctly, yet.

I am a retired former elementary school teacher who, for the past 10 years, has been teaching child development and reading courses for teachers at local universities.

All of the language arts are acquired through active involvement with ideas, other people, objects, and words. Babies learn to talk by inventing. We adults accept their mispronounced words, incorrect pronunciation, and incomplete sentences because we know that with more experience they will be speaking standard English (or whatever their native language may be).

By “inventing” their spoken language, all children learn to speak their home language.

Spelling, like speech, is a language art and it is learned in a similar manner. When children are taught spelling by memorizing lists and being tested each Friday, they may learn to spell words correctly for the test. Some will remember those spellings, but most will not remember the spellings until after they have used those words in their own “invented” sentences.

So even though the teacher teaches lists, children learn by inventing and using. It seems natural for people to teach babies to speak in a baby- or child-like way, yet when it comes to spelling, every little mistake is criticized.

One can imagine what might happen to a 1-year-old if every mispronounced word, incomplete sentence, or incorrect sentence were followed by a punishment or reprimand.

Language and thought are forever bound. We must never forget the reason for learning and using spelling. It is to help us convey ideas. A person who must worry about spelling or letter formation when writing a word will have trouble writing originally or taking notes.

Many adults have developed an aversion toward writing because of this concern for mechanical correctness.

For little children, inventing spelling involves high-order thinking skills. Dr. Wilson had to work hard to “invent” his badly spelled letter about “invented spelling.”

KAY PULSKAMP

Sherman Oaks