I would also like to point out that none of this exploration of language is referring to sound; it is non-phonic learning. There is no need to say anything about the sounds of any of these words, parts of words or letter patterns. Sam knows it all already. Let him just learn the spellings!

Listening Skill: a method.

When we talk, the sounds of language blur, merge and even disappear altogether. We do not say ‘The cat sat on the mat” – we say ‘ ’ca’sa’oth’ma’ ”. Only those who already spell will know that cat has a ‘t” in it. Conversational listening relies heavily on context and uses criteria too woozy and intermittent for spelling purposes.

When seeking a candidate spelling one strategy is to replay the sounds of the word, preferably aloud, and listen to the result. To do this, though, you need to enunciate the word far more precisely than you do when it comes embedded in a conversational flood of smeary sound. The ear must be much more meticulously ‘tuned up” for spelling than it is for talk; must train itself to use more finicky criteria and attend to finer detail. This ‘tuning up” turns out to be ‘phonemic awareness”.

Phonemic awareness is easily taught. Although even as a novice tutor I could dimly see the need for the skill of accurate listening I did not, initially, realise how easily it can be taught, nor what a difference to performance (and confidence) it makes, cheaply and in a very short time, nor how well and immediately the skill generalises. Using the technique was a real eye-opening experience. My method is as follows:

1. Make lists of words. Each word should contain only one of two or three alternative sounds which your student confuses and needs to distinguish.
   For example: a list might exercise the ear in distinguishing between the sounds of ‘cl” and ‘cr”, or those of the ‘short e” and the ‘short i”.
   In the first case your list might begin ‘cream, climb, crumb, clean, declare, creek, clone …”
   In the second case your list might begin ‘will, well, till, bill, end, spend, better, hit, blister, bitter …”
2. Explain the need for detailed listening - how & why this exercise goes in practice.
3. Tell the student which letter or letter patterns to listen for in an upcoming list. (These may be jotted down as an aide memoire if this is felt helpful – eg ‘s / sh” or ‘er / y” or a / o.)
4. Read the list aloud to the student one word at a time. All the student does is to listen and declare, after each word, which of the letter patterns it contains. The student sings out, for example, either ‘bee / ell” or ‘bee / ar”, (if the list is rehearsing bl & br) or perhaps ‘eye / enn / gee” or ‘why” (if rehearsing –ing or –y endings).

Note that the student sings out letter names – not weird noises. Learning to listen precisely is not the same as learning that spelling is primarily a phonic activity!

The student is very specifically not asked to do any more than recognise the previously agreed letter patterns, particularly not to spell any of the words. This must be made clear from the very beginning. The exercise is pure listening, pure aural letter pattern discrimination, nothing more.

Place the student under no additional pressure – such a choice exercise is stress enough. Make sure that you allow time to assimilate and that the student can ‘hear” any errors before banging on. As with any such exercise, if it doesn’t go well and easily, stop. Keep it light and this will make a cheerful break with big payoffs in terms of learning to listen accurately and of becoming just a little, but precious, bit more confidently autonomous.