【 明 報 專 訊 】 Why is spelling so
important? It is important because good spelling helps people say what they mean without causing confusion. Correct spelling is particularly important in its written form. Good spelling matters in examinations, in academic pursuits and in job applications.
The first task in learning to spell well is to recognise your mistake about a certain word. Having a good memory improves spelling.
How does one improve one's memory?
The mnemonic technique ( 助 記 憶 的 技 巧 ) involves four basic steps :
1.To love the subject: learning by heart starts from the heart.
2.To recognise the word visually: to get a mental picture of the word.
3.To spot the difference between similar words.
4.To repeat and repeat: practice makes perfect.
In spelling, there are certain ground rules to remember. For example :
a.The "e" at the end of a word is dropped before a suffix starting with a vowel is added on : "ing", "ed", "er", "en", "y" or "ous" .
eg.love → loving; hope → hoped; broke → broken; noise → noisy; fame → famous.
b.The last consonant of a one-syllable word is doubled before "ing", "ed", "en" or "est" is added on.
eg.hop → hopping; rot → rotten; hot → hottest.
c.When a word ends with "y", the "y" is changed to "ies".
eg.Baby → babies; lady → ladies; hurry → hurries.
Good spellers should distinguish between commonly used words, illustrated below.
■ Passage of the Week ﹕ Spelling Bee 串 字 比 賽
"Spelling bee" refers to a spelling competition. Spelling bees are held in many countries. Originally, the word "bee" was associated with the activities of the "bee-hive". Now it simply means the gathering of people for an activity.
Easter time is Spelling Bee time. Happy Spelling! Happy Easter!
作 者 為 前 港 英 高 官 ， 移 居 澳 洲 多 年 ， 著 作 多 元 化 ， 包 括 回 憶 錄 、 小 說 、 英 語 教 學 書 、 散 文 等 。
文 ︰ 黃 錢 其 濂
沒有留言:
張貼留言