Invented Spelling: In Wich Way Is It Benafishul?

Inventive spelling is argued to have a beneficial impact on children's writing and confidence to explore new words that they otherwise would not due to the fear of incorrect spelling. While it may be proven to be effective in the short term, could it be effective in the long term? I believe there are both positives and negatives to this approach. There are ways in which I can see this being beneficial, but there may be some long term negative effects that we should consider.

In terms of being beneficial, it builds confidence in students and shows them that they can be adventurous. However, we must ensure that, as teachers, we will guide them in the right direction if we were to use this method. This is where teaching students constructive criticism is important. If we let them get inventive when spelling, we must also make sure that they understand the right way of spelling the words. So we must provide criticism for the students in a positive and effective way so that they learn the right way of spelling while also being adventurous and confident in their efforts. 

A negative that I can see to this approach is that it creates an unproductive mindset in children during the years in which the foundation of their grammatical growth is formed. It gets them in the habit of constantly needing reassurance even when they "take risks". This is because it teaches them that if they misspell words when trying to spell them correctly, then they always need to check with the teacher if it is right or not. This habit could then translate to other homework they have in other subjects. It may become difficult for them to be confident in their answer until they are assured that they are doing the right thing. So while it creates confidence in risk-taking, it may not allow for confidence in their choices. 

Also, it puts students in the mindset that they will always be rewarded greater for trying than succeeding. This is not the right mindset to have as a student because while trying is a part of learning and should be rewarded in its own way, succeeding as a student and learning that there are right and wrong answers is more important. If a student is asked the question "what is 1+1?" and they respond with "3", then we should not punish their effort for trying, but at the same time, we have to let them know that their answer is incorrect. Therefore, while effort is important, it is also important to ensure that the students are learning that there are correct answers and that they should aim for them. 

Antonio@NU