by Matthew Leitch, 23 October 2006

If you already know Sound Speller and just want to get on, here's a link to:

Sound Speller

If you are new to Sound Speller and want to know how to use it for best results then read on.

Welcome

Sound Speller is a simple way to learn and practise basic spellings and is suitable for people between about 7 and 10 years old. You hear the words spoken (so use speakers or headphones) and type your answers instead of writing by hand. This means you can change your answer before you hit enter or press the 'Check' button. Sound Speller offers tips on memorising each spelling that help you understand why our English words are spelt in the odd ways they are.

There are lots of groups of words you can put into your learning session. You choose what to work on. With practice you will get faster, make fewer mistakes, and even begin to find the spellings easy.

Sound Speller is often improved and if you need some words or spelling guidance it doesn't offer why not write and tell me at matthew@learningideas.me.uk. I don't promise to add them, but I might.

Choosing levels to work on

The groups of words are what my own children needed to learn, so obviously what they had as homework isn't going to be the same as your homework unless you are in a class with one of them!

Many of the word groups do not have spelling guidance (yet) so you will have to make it up for yourself. Have a look at "Help your child learn to spell" for ideas on this.

Keep motivated

Fun and games are great but we all get a boost when we can see that we have done a lot and we are getting better.

To help you see your progress Sound Speller always shows you how many words you have done so far in your session.

Look at the words you made a mistake on and try to understand why. Click to Redo Errors and see the spelling guidance again.

Use the Session Summary button to see how much you have done. If you copy and paste the summaries into a word processed file you can keep a permanent record of your work.

Techie fun

If you are learning about computer programming why not have a look at the code of Sound Speller. On your browser click View, Source then scroll down to enjoy many lines of Javascript.

The screen display is updated by using Javascript to rewrite the HTML of the page, which your browser then displays instantly and automatically each time. This is called Dynamic HTML (DHTML).

Waste no more time. Click here to start Sound Speller:

Sound Speller

About the author: Matthew Leitch has been studying the applied psychology of learning and memory since about 1979 and holds a BSc in psychology from University College London. He has three children at school.

Contact the author at: matthew@learningideas.me.uk

Words © 2006 Matthew Leitch