Spelling, explained
English Words Not Spelled the Way They Sound: A Guide for Learners
Wednesday, colonel, island, receipt: why some English words ignore their sounds, the short history behind each surprise, and a way to learn them that lasts.
October 8, 2026
How to Prepare for a Spelling Bee: A Six-Month Plan for Families
A month-by-month spelling bee plan for families: word parts, languages of origin, spaced review of the study list, oral practice with a parent as pronouncer, and keeping it enjoyable.
October 8, 2026
Best Spelling Apps for Adults in 2026: An Honest Comparison
Seven spelling tools for adults compared on what they really do, price, platform and honest limits, plus a simple method that works with any of them.
October 7, 2026
Personal Statement Spelling: The Words Admissions Readers Notice
Writing a UCAS personal statement or a graduate statement of purpose? The names, words and confusable pairs admissions readers notice, this season's UCAS dates, and a proofreading method.
October 7, 2026
English Spelling Mistakes Portuguese Speakers Make, and the Fixes
Responsable, confortable, oportunity: why Portuguese speakers make the same English spelling mistakes, where Portuguese actually helps, thirty words to practice and a plan.
October 7, 2026
Spelling for Developers: Words Programmers Get Wrong in Code and Docs
Misspelled names outlive the code that made them. The words developers get wrong most, why word parts make them predictable, and a ten-minute routine you can do on a commute.
October 6, 2026
The Testing Effect: Why Trying to Spell a Word Beats Looking at It
Rereading a spelling list feels like studying and fades within days. What the testing effect research found, and how to turn any list into a few minutes of recall that lasts.
October 5, 2026
English Spelling Mistakes Bengali Speakers Make, and How to Fix Them
Why v and b, ship and sheep, and double letters trip up Bengali speakers in English, with forty words to practice and a short daily method that trains the ear first.
October 5, 2026
English Spelling Mistakes Filipino (Tagalog) Speakers Make, and Why
F and p, v and b, th, double letters and dropped endings: why Filipino speakers misspell certain English words, forty words to practice, and a short daily method.
October 5, 2026
English Spelling Mistakes Indonesian and Malay Speakers Make
Why sukses becomes sucess and komunikasi becomes comunication: the borrowed-word, double-letter and ending traps for Indonesian and Malay speakers, with forty words to practice.
October 5, 2026
2nd Grade Spelling Words: What Kids Learn and How to Practice at Home
The patterns second graders learn, about 120 grade-level words grouped by pattern, and calm ways to practice at home that lead to better spelling in real writing.
October 4, 2026
Why Spell-Check and Autocorrect Are Making Your Spelling Worse
What spell-check and autocorrect catch, what they quietly let through, why leaning on them weakens the skill, and how to make them teach you instead.
October 3, 2026
How Spelling Should Be Taught: What the Research Actually Says
For teachers: what the meta-analyses and the science of reading say about teaching spelling, why the Friday list does not transfer, and what a good week looks like.
October 2, 2026
IELTS Listening: How One Wrong Letter Costs You the Mark
How IELTS Listening answers are marked for spelling, which answers are most at risk, about sixty words worth drilling, and a dictation method that fixes the habit.
October 1, 2026
How to Improve Your Spelling as an Adult: A 30-Day Plan
A realistic month of ten-minute sessions for adults who want to spell better: how to find your own weak words, what to practice each week, and what 30 days can and cannot do.
September 30, 2026
English Spelling Mistakes Arabic Speakers Make, and Why They Happen
For Arabic speakers learning English: why vowels go missing, p turns into b and v into f, what the research says about it, and a focused way to fix each one.
September 29, 2026
Spelling for Nurses: The Medical Words That Go Wrong in Charts
For nurses and nursing students: why diarrhea, pruritus and ileum go wrong in notes, which errors actually matter for safety, and a five-minute routine that fits a shift.
September 28, 2026
Hopping or Hoping? The Doubling Rule Explained Once and For All
Why hopping has two p's and hoping has one, why it is stopped but visited, and the stress rule that settles beginning, occurred and traveling for good.
September 27, 2026
Right on the Friday Test, Wrong on Monday: Why Spelling Does Not Stick
Your child aces the spelling test, then misspells the same words in a story days later. Here is why that happens and a ten-minute weekly routine that fixes it.
September 26, 2026
The Forgetting Curve: Why You Forget a Word You Learned Yesterday
Why a spelling you studied on Tuesday is gone by Thursday, what 140 years of memory research says about it, and the simple timing that makes words stay.
September 25, 2026
The Most Common English Spelling Mistakes Chinese Speakers Make
Why Chinese speakers write "wery", drop word endings and misspell unstressed vowels, what Pinyin changes, and memory tricks built on word parts rather than word shapes.
February 5, 2026
Why English Spelling Makes No Sense: The History Behind the Chaos
Silent k in knight, a b in debt, five sounds for -ough. How invasions, printing, the Great Vowel Shift and Latin fashion shaped English spelling, and why it is less random than it looks.
January 31, 2026
Spelling Milestones by Age: What to Expect and When to Worry
The stages children move through in learning to spell, what is typical at each age from four to thirteen, how wide the normal range is, and the signs worth raising with a teacher.
January 27, 2026
How to Prepare for TOEFL Spelling: The Words That Trip Up Test-Takers
Where spelling counts in the TOEFL iBT since the 2026 redesign, the five patterns behind most misspellings, high-value academic words, and a four-week plan.
January 24, 2026