Suggestions for adults with auditory memory/perception disabilities

• Reinforce the spelling of words by focusing on words with similar patterns.
• Utilize the chunking technique by breaking words into smaller chunks.
• Teach syllabication rules which help learners see the syllables even when they may not hear the vowels within the syllables i.e. when there are two or more consonants between vowels the words are generally divided between the first and second consonant - fac/tor, chal/lenge.
• Continue practice with breaking words into parts for learners who have difficulty tracking the sound sequence.
• Utilize various visualization techniques.⁵⁵ (For spelling, visualize the difficult part of the word to help improve retention of the correct way to spell.)

Sample strategies

Word sorts:

This strategy helps learners identify and remember spelling patterns by associating words with the same visual or structural formation, e.g. pine, rate, like, all of which have the final silent e that has an effect on the preceding vowel. Word sorts change learners' perceptions of spelling from the attempt to spell hundreds of unrelated words to a more systematic approach. Words for word sort activities are printed on cards or pieces of paper. The sorts are either open (sorted into whatever categories learners can identify for themselves), or closed (sorted with the direction of a practitioner who wants to demonstrate a particular pattern at that time). Words for open sorts are drawn from learners' own sources of words, so they can be identical to the personal spelling lists that they may have composed.⁵⁶