If your child is struggling with spelling (particularly in English which is notoriously complex to spell, but also in other languages), it does not mean that they are lazy or a slow learner.

 

The most likely cause of your child’s lack of progress is their mismatched learning style.

 

Think about the way your child’s spelling is tested: are they expected to write the word down, or recite it letter by letter? Think about the way your child’s spelling is taught: visually from a book, or by listening to the teacher spell it letter by letter? (Click here for the article “Help, my teacher doesn’t know my learning style”.)

 

If your child has a non-preference for learning visually, learning spelling by reading words in a book is no good. Similarly, if your child is not auditory, learning letter by letter will not produce results.

 

(What is your child’s preferred learning style?)

 

Other potential causes of poor spelling include:

 

·        Dysgraphia (a difficulty writing coherently, if at all, regardless of ability to read, unusual pencil grip),

·        Dyslexia (especially if the child has good ideas for writing but a poor ability to write them down).