Assuming that every word in the spelling lesson is already long since in
the child’s speaking vocabulary there should be no word in it that he
cannot and does not pronounce correctly. However, there are some very
common words too often mispronounced. The teacher should watch for these
words and secure a correct pronunciation.
There is little chance for a boy to spell “_kept_” correctly, if he
pronounces the word as though it were spelled “_k-e-p_.” In words of
more than one syllable the form should be emphasized by syllabication,
thus making certain that each syllable is pronounced. Of 155 pupils who
misspelled “_boundary_,” 100, or 64.5% spelled the word they heard,
namely “_boundry_.” This spelling was certainly caused by poor
pronunciation. Syllabication makes the spelling more obvious, promotes
clear enunciation, and assists in making a clear mental picture of the
word. If the word is composed of two words, as “somewhere,” he sees more
readily that the long word is only made up of the two short words with
which he is already familiar. Throughout the book all words of more than
one syllable are so syllabicated when first taught. It is unwise to
require children to divide such words in a written spelling lesson.
Much time and much thought may wisely be given to the enunciation of
children. Clear and accurate enunciation should _always_ be demanded.
Children strongly tend to spell as they speak. Slovenly enunciation will
give inaccurate spelling.