You may have seen this statement on the Internet, claiming that a study by Cambridge University proves that spelling is not that important, and that as long as the first and last letter of a work are correct, we can still read this statement, because our brains process the whole word rather than the individual letters.
I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!
You may be amazed that you are able to read the above paragraph, but the thing most people over looking is thatthey can spell in the first place. Today’s children are becoming less knowledgeable in reading and spelling, because of examples such as this.
If you compare the percentage rate to the number of people that are lousy at spelling, you will see that 45% of people are poor spellers and therefore do not have proper basis for deciphering the correct spellings.
The reason people are able to read the above statement is simple. They have a basis of the correct spelling as well as a correct understanding of grammar, which allows them to decipher the meaning of the words using context and visual closure as the determining factor.
If you were to give this little reading assignment to a first, second, or even a third grader to read, they would be come frustrated and unable to read the passage. They simply would not be able to figure out what the words based on the first and last letters and then unscramble the letters in between, because they do not posses the word knowledge.
No one can be a good reader or speller without a good command of phonics, syllabication and its application. For example, try pronouncing these words, “eihhbbppeooa” or “Cilgnnhlaeg”. Since they are not used in a sentence you have no context as to what the words could be, even though the first and last letters are intact. If you are confused imagine someone that cannot spell, and does not posses a good command of phonics, and syllabication to be able to sound these words out.
In order for schools to meet the needs of all students, teachers must develop a good sight vocabulary in their students, as well as a good understanding of phonics and syllabication. Correct spelling is essential when learning to read. By breaking a word down to its base sounds we are able to learn new words. We use rules for pronunciation of a word. If the word does not follow the rules you can not pronounce it.
Even a word processor uses a set of rules to identify words that do not follow the rules, and then present possible spelling alternatives based on the rules of spelling and the context.
And finally, if you are wondering the two words are “Ephebophobia” which is the fear of youth or adolescents and the word “Challenging” which is what reading is to those that do not have proper vocabulary, or understanding of phonics and syllabication.
