Tips for students: Improving your English language spellings in a few simple steps (Part- 2)

**If you haven’t gone through the first part of this article, we would suggest you to check that out first before going through this one right here.

In part 1 of this article, we said we would come up with an extension as soon as possible. So here it is as promised. Let’s begin.

6. Check the origin of certain words in your dictionary

Certain English words have a Roman or a Greek origin. This might signify the fact that they have Latin or Greek words in them. A simple knowledge of things like these can help you understand and spell more words over time.

Let’s take an example; say, bicycle.

Why do you think the word is spelled that way? B.I.C.Y.C.L.E?

The word “bi” is in Latin which signifies two. The cycle is derived from the Greek word “cycl” which means circle. The combination of those two gives the word bicycle. So the next time you see a word with “cycl” in it, you should know the meaning by the looks of the word itself.

Simple things like that can go a long way indeed.

7. Homophones can be confusing; WATCH OUT

So what are these homophones?

Homophones are two words having the same pronunciation but different meanings. Homophones can really be confusing in certain situations. They are commonly misspelled by students almost all over the globe. So keep an eye out for them.

A few examples:

• accept / except

• discreet / discrete

• oral / aural

• adverse / averse

• elude / allude

• palette / palate

• affect / effect

• eminent / imminent

• populace / populous

• altar / alter

• ensure / insure

• precede / proceed

• boarder / border

• elicit / illicit

• prescribe / proscribe

• broach / brooch

• hanger / hangar

• principle / principal

• callous / callus

• illusion / allusion

• right / write / rite

• casual / causal

• incidents / incidence

• stationary / stationery

• censor / censure

• isle/ aisle

• tenet / tenant

• cite / site/ sight

• its / it’s

• there / their / they’re

• climactic / climatic

• led / lead

• tortuous / torturous

• compliment / complement

• liquor / liqueur

• waver / waiver

• conscience / conscious

• lose / loose

• whose / who’s

• desert / dessert

• naval / navel

• your / you’re

• new / knew

8. Say it out loud

This is a trick that’s often taught to little children in particular.

If you are not sure of a certain spelling, say it out loud, very slowly, such that each syllable becomes audible to you. As soon as you do this, scribble down the things that you hear as a result of the same. You might get the desired results in no time.

Note: This tactic is not going to work on every word in general. Say for example, “friend.” It doesn’t exactly sound the way it’s written; does it? And then there are those words involving a silent letter, in particular, e.g. psychology. This tactic won’t work for them as well.

9. Use flash cards to your advantage

Flash cards can be a great learning tool for you especially when learning spellings and vocabulary is concerned.

Get an index card from the market. It should be around 3 by 5 inches in size for easy portability.

Reserve one side of the card for words and the other for meanings.

For example,

If you are facing trouble with words like “vacuum, friends, rendezvous, and conscience,” write them down systematically and serially on one side of the card in larger fonts for easier comprehension.

Then, write the meaning of the words according to the serial number on the reverse side of the card.

Your flash card is ready. You will be able to carry it with yourself wherever you go, and refer to it whenever you want to do so. Convenience you wanted, convenience you’ll get.

10. Last but not the least, use a reliable dictionary

Use only a trusted dictionary for learning English word meanings and spellings in general.

You can even use reliable dictionary apps on your smartphone for this purpose of yours. The ones like the Oxford, Macmillan, and Cambridge can very easily do the job for you.

So that sums everything we wanted to tell you through this article. It’s time to sign off finally for the day. Hope you really had a good and useful read.