The Quick Guide to the Logic of Spelling

The Quick Guide to the Logic of Spelling

OG Canada is proud to present a seminar with Jason Wade.  

About the presentation

At first glance, the English spelling system can seem a chaotic minefield of inconsistency.  But closer inspection reveals a simple logic that explains the relationship between the sounds we speak and the letters we use to write them .  This logic can be organised into five road orthographic categories.  In the presentation, Jason guides you through the five reasons that sounds are spelled as they are:

• Position: How the position of a sound within a word influences its spelling.
  
• Adjacency:  How neighbouring sounds and spellings influence one another. 
  
• History:  How the origin and journey of a word influences how the sounds within it are spelled. 
  
• Meaning:  How morphemes play a key role in determining sound-spelling relationships. 
  
• Affixing:  How combining morphemes results in spelling changes. 
  

This presentation is INTERACTIVE.  Please bring a whiteboard and dry erase marker or pen and paper. 

Duration:  90 mins with 15 min Q & A

About the presenter

Jason Wade is a UK based education linguist, trainer, and author of Sounds and Symbols, a structured spelling programme designed to help children understand the logic of English orthography.  Drawing on his experience as a primary school teacher and later as an education adviser, Jason bridges the worlds of classroom practice and linguistic research.  His work focuses on helping teachers and learners make sense of the English language - its spelling, grammar, and the patterns that connect speech and writing. 

For OG Canada members, this seminar will be 5 1/2 professional development credits.