Improving Your Spelling: My top tips

Hello. My name is Emma; and in today's lesson, I am going to teach you my

favourite tips on how to improve your spelling. Before we begin, I wanted to

first talk about: Why is spelling important? It's actually very important,

and I'm gonna give you some reasons why. So, why does spelling matter? Well, when

you're learning new words, spelling actually... learning to spell the word

helps you to remember the word better. And that actually has to do with your

brain, and how your brain learns new information. So, learning how to spell a

word helps you to remember the word better. This is my favourite reason why

you should learn how to spell and why you should improve your spelling: When

you have poor spelling — unfortunately, if you are looking for love, it can make

finding love difficult, especially if you are looking for love online. So, if

you're on Tinder or some of these dating apps — if you have poor spelling, it

makes it difficult for you. The reason is: When people see spelling mistakes,

they think that maybe you're not as intelligent. I know this is not correct.

Just because you make a spelling mistake doesn't mean you're smarter or less

intelligent than someone else. But on dating apps, like Tinder, if you make a

spelling mistake, people might think this. I don't think this, but other

people might judge you if you make a spelling mistake. Another reason why

it's important to improve your spelling is because poor spelling can impact your

ability to get a job. When you make spelling mistakes on your resume, or on

your cover letter, or just, you know... to your boss — it can impact how people

see you, and it does not look professional. So, it's very important

for work to have good spelling. Finally, if you are learning English and you plan

to take a test, like the IELTS, the TOEFL, the TOEIC — any of these tests —

it's important to have good spelling, because when you make a spelling

mistake, you lose marks. Okay? So, you lose score... you lose marks when you

make a spelling mistake on these tests. So, spelling is important. Now I am

going to teach you some tips on how to become a better speller.

Okay. So, how do you become better at spelling? My first tip is: Learn

prefixes. So, what is a "prefix"? A "prefix" is a part of a word that has

meaning. It comes at the beginning of the word, and many words actually have

similar prefixes. So, let me show you some examples to help you understand

what a "prefix" is. We have the word, here: "unhappy". We have the word, here:

"unprofessional". Both of these words have the same prefix; the prefix is

"un". So, "unhappy" means not happy. "Unprofessional" means not professional.

So, one way to improve your spelling is to start focusing on prefixes. Pay

attention to them. Learn the prefixes, and that will help you with your

spelling. Here are some more examples of prefixes. We have: "distracted",

"disappointed". Many words in English start with "d-i-s". So, those are

prefexes... sorry. Prefixes. So, learning the common ones can really help

you with your spelling. One more example of a prefix: In English, "r-e" is a very

common prefix. So, we have: "reply", we have: "repeat" — these are just some

examples of words with the prefix "re" in them. So, by learning prefixes, you

can improve your spelling. My next tip is very similar: Learn suffixes. So,

what's a "suffix"? Well, a "prefix" comes at the beginning of a word; a

"suffix" is at the end of a word, and it has meaning in it. So, for example, we

have: "procrastination", "relaxation". Many English words end in "a-t-i-o-n".

By learning common "suffixes", we can see patterns and improve our spelling,

because you will see many words are spelt with the same prefixes or the same

suffixes. So, "procrastination", "relaxation" — they both end the same

way. Here's another example of a common "suffix" in English: "i-t-y". So, we

have, here: "ability". "i-t-y" is the suffix in "ability"; it's the last part

of the word. We have: "unity". Again, it has the same suffix: "i-t-y". Here's a

very common suffix in English: "i-s-m"; "ism". In English, the suffix "ism"

means a belief in something, or an idea, or a thought. So, we have, here, the

word: "racism". We have, here, the word: "capitalism". Both of these words end in

the suffix "ism", and there's so many in English. "Sexism", "communism",

"Catholicism"; we have a lot of "isms". So, learning how to spell common

prefixes and common suffixes will help you with your spelling. Let's learn some

more tips about how to improve your spelling.

So, now, I am going to teach you a rule that really helped me learn how to spell

better, and that rule is: "i" before "e"; except after "c". Children in North

America learn this spelling rule. It's very common to help kids remember how to

spell certain words. "i" before "e"; except after "c". So, let's look at some

examples of this. Many learners of English make a spelling mistake with the

word: "friend". They can't remember: "Is it 'ie' or is it 'ei'?" What do you

think? Is it "ie" or "ei"? Well, think about the rule. "i" first, then "e"; the

exception is after "c". So, there's no "c" in this word, so that means "i"

comes first, then "e". So, this is the correct spelling; this is incorrect. "i"

before "e", and the exception is "c". Okay. So, now, let's look at another

word: "receive". Which is the correct spelling of "receive"? Is it "ie" or is

it "ei"? So, let's take a moment to think about the rule. "i" before "e" —

okay? — except after "c". Oh no. There's a "c" here. So, how do we spell this?

This is actually incorrect. Because there's this "c", it's "ei". So, this is

correct. Native speakers make mistakes with these words a lot. Yesterday, I

think I saw three different situations where a native speaker of English spelt

"receive" incorrectly. So, this is a very common spelling mistake. Okay. The

last one I wanted to show you is with the word: "believe". Is it "ie" or is it

"ei"? Well, again, let's look at the rule: "i" before "e" — okay — except

after "c". There's no "c", so this means this is correct; "ie". "ei" is

incorrect. So, that's just one spelling rule; but by memorizing rules like these

— when you have doubts, they can really help you. Now, I should say that there

are always exceptions in English. For every rule, you will always find an

exception, but for the majority of cases, this is the rule. Okay? So,

another way to improve your spelling is: Start to notice what letters go together

often. You might notice this: "ght" is so common in English in spelling. We

don't pronounce "ght", but many words have "ght" in it, like: "night",

"bought", "thought", "caught". So, "ght" is common. It's silent. But it's good to

learn that this is common in English spelling. You might see "st" together a

lot, or "sc", or "sk". "Q" and "u" go together a lot, like in: "question",

"quest". So, learning... and starting to focus on what letters go together a lot

can help you with your spelling. So, let's learn a couple more tips on how to

improve your spelling.

Okay. So, there are different dialects of English. Many people use American

English; many people use British English. So, when it comes to spelling,

there are different rules depending on the type of English you are learning.

So, let me show you some examples. So, we have here the word: "centre" —

"c-e-n-t-r-e". We also have the word here: "center" — "c-e-n-t-e-r". Notice

that the ending of the word is spelled differently. It's the same word, but it

has a different spelling for the ending. Why is that? Well, one of these is

American, and one of these is British. "er" is a common American spelling, so

you will see this in words, like: "center". "re" is a common British

spelling. So, they use the same word, but they spell them differently. Here's

another example. I have, here, the word "favourite" — "f-a-v-o-u-r-i-t-e". And

then I have "favorite" again — "f-a-v-o-r-i-t-e". The spelling is

different, even though it's the same word. Why? Because one of these is the

American spelling, and one of these is the British spelling. "our" in

"favourite" — this is the British spelling, whereas just "or" is the

American spelling. So, my recommendation to you is: Think about what dialect of

English do you want to learn, and focus on that spelling. So, if you are going

to visit England and you're going to spend a lot of time working in England,

you want to learn British spelling. If you're going to come to North America...

well, if you're going to come to the US, you're going to want to learn American

spelling. In Canada, we actually use British spelling. So, for me, this is

how I spell. So, it depends on where you plan to go or why you are learning

English.

So, here is my final spelling tip today. There are many letters in English that

are silent. A silent letter is a letter that we write, but we don't pronounce.

This makes English really difficult for many learners. I wanted to teach you a

quick trick that can help you know whether or not you need a silent "e" at

the end of a word. So, many words in English end in "e", and this "e" is not

pronounced; it's silent. So, how do you know if a word has a silent "e" or not

when you write it? Well, there's a really cool pronunciation trick. I have

here two words: "a-t-e" — "ate" and "a-t" — "at". One of these words has a

silent "e", and one of them does not have a silent "e". How do I know which

one has a silent "e" and which doesn't? Well, it has to do with the

pronunciation. This is the letter "a". The beginning of this word: "ate" —

sounds like the letter "a". "a", "ate". When the letter before the end sounds

like the alphabet letter, it usually has a silent "e" at the end. So, you might

have to think about this for a moment. But, again, "a", "ate". These sound the

same, so we add this silent "e". Now, when I pronounce this word: "at", "a"

and "at" — they're different sounding "a's"; they don't have the same

pronunciation — there's no silent "e". Okay? So, let me show you some more

examples. I have here another vowel: "i". So, this is the letter "i". Now, I

have two words: "b-i-t-e" — "bite", and "b-i-t" — bit. So, these words are very

similar, but one of these words has a silent "e". How do we know which one has

the silent "e"? Well, I think: "Okay. This is the alphabet letter 'i'. Which

vowel sounds like an 'i' sound? 'Bite', 'bite', 'i'". So, this has the same

sound as this alphabet letter. They both say "i" in the word, "i" — "bite",

"i-t-e", "ite". So, I know because the vowel here sounds like the alphabet

letter, we can add an "e" here. This is different from "bit", "it". There's no

"e" sound. Sorry. There's no "i" sound here. So, as a result... okay, "it". No,

it doesn't sound like the letter "i", so there's no vowel here. So, you might be

confused — that's okay. We're going to look at another example. "O". So, this

is an alphabet letter; the letter "o". I have here the word: "note" and "not".

One of these has a quiet "e" or a silent "e" and one of them doesn't. How do I

know that this needs an "e"? Well, I think: "Okay, the pronunciation. This is

'o'. Does this have an 'o' sound in it? 'Note'. 'Note'. It does". So, that

means: Okay, there needs to be an "e" at the end. "Note". Now, this is different

from "not". Is there an "o" sound here? "Not". No, I don't hear the letter "o"

in this word, so there's no silent "e". So, again, the letter "a" has the "a"

sound; letter "i" has the "i" sound; letter "o" has the "o" sound. What about

"u"? So, I have here the word: "cute". So, it has that "u" sound: "cute".

Versus: "cut". "Cut" — that does not sound like the letter "u". So, because

this has a "u" sound in it, like the letter "u", I know we need an "e" at the

end. And I know this does not have a "u" sound: "cut", so there's no silent "e".

One more example. I have here two words. This word has a silent "e". This word

does not have a silent "e" at the end. How do I know which has the "e" and

which doesn't? Well, think about the letter "e". Let's start here. "Pet".

"Pet" doesn't have the letter "e" sound in it. "Pet". No. What about "Pete"?

That actually sounds like the letter "e". "Pete", "e", "Pete". So, we need

the silent "e" here. So, that's one trick that can help you remember when

you need a silent "e" or not.

There are many different spelling tricks in English. I've shown you a couple in

today's video. I recommend taking our quiz and practicing what you learned

here. So, where can you do this quiz? If you visit www.engvid.com, you can

practice the different tips, as well as some spelling. I also recommend you

check out my YouTube channel, and subscribe. I have many different videos

on all sorts of different things related to English, including pronunciation,

tips and tricks, spelling, grammar, vocabulary, and so much more. Finally,

you can check out my website at www.teacheremma.com; and there, you can

find even more free content. So, thank you so much for watching. I hope that

you realize how important spelling is, and this is something that you will work

on. I think this is something many people need to work on. Thanks again for

watching; and until next time, take care.