With kids communicating in text-speak, and teachers spending more time nurturing creativity and reading, do spelling and proper grammar even matter anymore?
One would think they matter. After all, kids will have to communicate without the use of technology at some point in their lives. Most educators agree that spelling and grammar still matter but they don't agree on how spelling and grammar should be taught—if at all.
"The whole system is moving towards word study with vocabulary building rather than spelling and grammar instruction," says teacher and literacy expert Krysten Cameron. "You’re looking at word families and word clusters so you’re building a vocabulary. It isn’t just the memorization—it’s making it meaningful."
That means teachers are teaching spelling and grammar through reading and writing. The more kids read and write, the more they learn. But some experts do not believe that's enough.
“I still think the whole area of teaching spelling explicitly is important and I don’t for a minute believe that most children can learn to read and write, spell and use grammar adequately just by reading," says Brock University professor, and spelling guru, Ruth McQuirter Scott.
Scott believes teachers are not adequately trained to teach spelling and grammar. "It’s very difficult to give teachers the kind of background in word study that they need."
Associate Professor in the Curriculum, Teaching and Learning department at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Linda Cameron, agrees. "I think one of the biggest issues in spelling and grammar is teachers need to understand the development of spelling. They need to know when it’s appropriate to teach. It isn’t a one size fits all."
If teachers are not adequately trained to teach spelling and grammar using word study, and the spelling drill is a thing of the past, have we created a generation of bad spellers?
"This statement that kids can’t spell is a myth," bristles Linda Cameron. "There are kids that are good spellers and they’ll always be good spellers and there are kids that have trouble spelling and they’ll always be bad spellers. It’s been that way as long as I can remember and I’m 62 years old."
Then why is it that most text messages are unintelligible? Why do we hear that kids are now writing essays in text-speak?
It all has to do with context.
Elizabeth Cowper, a linguistics professor at the University of Toronto, reminds her class at the beginning of each semester that she prefers English spelling, not text-speak. "I get emails like 'hi prof RU in UR office 2day,'" she laughs. But that does not mean she think text-speak doesn't have its place.
“I’m certainly not going to say that text-speak or text spelling is wrong in any absolute sense," Cowper says. "It’s just that you need to know when it’s appropriate and when it’s not. It’s like wearing a bathing suit to church. There’s nothing wrong with bathing suits on the beach but there’s a lot wrong with a bathing suit at the office.”
Linda Cameron agrees that what kids need to know more than anything else is there is a time and a place for everything.
"Spelling and grammar are good manners," she says. "You use your best manners when you’re in a formal situation and when you’re at home you might fart."
As long as kids know that text-speak is fine for friends but it’s not okay when you’re applying for a job, they’re off to a good start.
Experts also say that sometimes bad spelling needs to be ignored during the writing process. Kids who think they’re going to be graded for spelling will only use words that they know and feel creatively inhibited. However, after that initial draft, a proofread is essential. That’s when teachers can bring in the formal spelling instruction.
If your child is struggling with spelling, it may have something to do with their learning style. Check out Ruth McQuirter Scott’s tips on teaching spelling to auditory, visual and kinesthetic learners.
The number one thing you can do at home is read to your children. The more words they are exposed to, the more words they can add to their vocabulary and their spelling list.
