I have experience of working with students of all levels, but one of the biggest issues I find with writing fluency is not often related to the content but it is spelling. Now, this isn’t a ‘bash spelling’ blog but it is about exploring our relationship with spelling.
The two easiest things to spot with any piece of writing are handwriting and spellings. Parents often mention handwriting or spelling as being an issue or something they have noticed. They are the most visible things about writing anyone can spot. You don’t need to be an expert to see if handwriting is neat or if the spelling of words isn’t accurate. Because they are the most obvious things, they are the things that students are hyperconscious of. And parents! They can, if we are not careful, be the markers of success in subjects. For example, how many subjects, other than English, cite spelling and handwriting as key issues when marking a class set of work.
The problem with things like handwriting and spelling is that come to the final exams they count for so little in terms of the overall mark. Something we have subconsciously built as being so important collectively is of little value compared to other things such as ideas, sentence structure, control of punctuation and crafting of writing. Handwriting and spelling have some value but not that much value in the big picture of things.
When handwriting and spelling are seen as having a higher priority in terms of writing, it warps the way students think. It controls the way they write.
What do you do when you want to use a word that you know is perfect but you are not sure of how it is spelt?
Your response to that one question is quite telling. Do you guess? Do you think about it? Do you practise spelling it different ways? Or, do you go for the less effective word because you can spell it?
The response depends largely on the type of student, but if you have been trained to be conscious of handwriting and spelling is paramount, then you are going to select the less effective alternative. There’s safety in it. Better to spell an ineffective word correctly than an effective word incorrectly. Then, there becomes a hidden process for the student. They select safer words rather than effective words. There’s a built in hindrance for fluency and communication. Not only is the student trying to write, but they are trying to second guess their spellings and word choices. They are not thinking about what the best word to use is, but they are thinking what is the word in their vocabulary that they can spell and use in this context.
Let’s take this further. What if you were a student with dyslexia and you know that spelling is one of your struggles? Are you going to be able to write continuously when writing a story? No. You will be stopping, depending on the severity of the issue, every few words. This is the hidden problem for a lot of students. Because it isn’t an explicit process, we don’t know it is happening.
For me, this internal issue is such a problem for us at the heart of a lot of our fluency issues in writing. Not only are they slowing their writing down, but they are tactically reducing the impact of their choices at the hands of spelling.
What can we do to combat this internal oversimplification of vocabulary? Speaking to specific students is one way. Or, a far more simpler approach is to view other things as more important in writing. What we place an emphasis on becomes what the students place an emphasis on? If the first thing a teacher picks up on is spelling, then the first thing a student will focus on will be spelling.
There is a place for spellings in school’s curriculums, but, maybe, we need to think of it last rather than think of it first when looking at all forms of work.
Thanks for reading,
Xris