Pronunciation Matters: A look at commonly mispronounced words

I’ve had the pleasure of living around the United States- on the East coast, the South, the Midwest, and the West; some people say they can even hear a British English accent when I speak. Hmm?  I grew up with one grandma speaking with a thick Southern accent, the other had a Midwestern accent and called the sofa a “davenport.” I call soft drinks “pop” and gym shoes are “tennis shoes.”  I find it interesting to hear the various words we use around our country and the pronunciations for words we use on a daily basis that are actually incorrect.   So today, let’s have a little fun and step back into the classroom to take a look at some commonly mispronounced words.

almond:  The “L” is always silent! Who knew?  Say, “ah-mund” not “all-mund.” 

bury:  It is pronounced just like berry, not “burr-ri.”

dessert:  If you say, “dizz-urt” you’re correct.  It’s not pronounced “des-ert” like the dry barren land.

 coupon:  The correct pronunciation is “Koo-pon” (pon as in pawn). It is often mispronounced as “koo-pun” (pronunciation of u as in sun).

 cocoa:  It should be pronounced as “koh-koh,” not “koh-koh-wa.”

electoral:  We’ve been saying: e-lek-TOR-al; say: e-LEK-tor-al.

mischievous:  We’ve been saying: miss-CHEE-vee-us; pronounce it: MISS-che-vus.

realtor:  We’ve been saying: REE-la-tur; it’s actually pronounced: REEL-tur.

sherbet:  Do you say: SHER-bert; oops! I do! The true pronunciation is: SHER-bet.

often:  The “T” is silent, although you may still see heated debates surrounding the "T." Often rhymes with coffin. 

ideal: While ideal is not necessarily a commonly mispronounced word, it is a word that has a regional variance in usage. Ideal is NOT conventionally a synonym for idea, though sometimes it is used that way. Here’s how Webster’s Dictionary defines these two words:

            Ideal-an honorable or worthy principle or aim

            Idea-existing as a mental image or in fancy or imagination only

It’s easy to get sucked in to the region we live in and pick-up verbal habits of the people by whom we’re surrounded. So, pay attention to the words you use and their pronunciation as you leave your mark on today’s youth.

What is cyclical spelling?

Here’s an idea to kick your kids’ spelling prowess into high gear. While it’s true that some kids are just naturally good spellers, my experience has been that most are not. They need a sure-fire way to lock in accurate spelling, especially when summer time rolls around and school is out.

Cyclical spelling might just be for you and your kids. Here’s how it works:

1. Start small.

Choose a source from which you will draw out vocabulary. It might be the word list your kid(s) used during the school year. Words can be drawn out of a book that you are reading aloud this summer, from a book your child is reading, from the newspaper, or even from video games with text narration.

Now, here’s the “start small” part…only pick one word a day! You pick it, or your child picks it—but pick only one. You will pick one word a day, but make it a fun competition between you and the whole family.

For that one word that is picked, have your players write it down somewhere fun. You can write words in sand in the sandbox, in sugar scattered on the table, or on paper with liquid jello. This is the time to get creative! The goal is for the word to be practiced at least six times throughout the day…and it MUST involve actually writing it down.

At the end of the day, at a designated time, the word should be spelled aloud and then written on lined paper. Everyone who is participating needs to have their own sheet of paper so that the list can grow.

2. Add a word-a-day.

When day two comes, pick another word and follow the same procedure for the new word. But, now enters the “cyclical spelling” approach. At the end of day two, both the first word AND the new word should be recited and then spelled correctly on the developing list.

Now that you will have two words for the spellers to spell, it’s time to pick the Teacher of the Day (TOD), who will be in charge of administering the cyclical spelling test. So, at the end of day two, someone needs to be in charge of gathering all spellers to take the Two-Word Test. The TOD will also be in charge of grading. Keep it light. You could implement M&M rewards…one M&M per correctly spelled word.

Remember, it's all about spelling AND having fun! At the end of day three, there will be three words on the quiz. At the end of day four…four words. You get the idea.

3. Keep the cycle going!

Continue to add the Word-a-Day and quizzing through all the words each day until you have five words on the list (skip weekends). Then, you will begin to drop off the very first word you started with, and it will now be omitted from the daily quiz. The next new word is added to the bottom of the list, which will, for now and until the end of the contest, contain five words to be quizzed daily.

The beauty of spelling like this over the summer is its cyclical nature. Too often, kids learn a group of words for the Wednesday Pre-Test and the Friday Final Test—and that’s it. When the next list of fifteen or so words is introduced, the first group becomes a mere acquaintance, soon forgotten. With cyclical spelling, spellers accumulate words that they have spelled (correctly!) and get the chance to work with them daily for five days in a row. This, my friends, is intensity without the tension.

Why not give cyclical spelling a try this summer…it may be a real hit with your kids—maybe even the whole family. Remember, the energy you put in is the energy you will get back out of it!

If you are using Shurley English, you engage in cyclical spelling in grades 1 and 2 all school year long. For more information about Shurley English and cyclical spelling in the primary levels, go to www.shurley.com.

Sensory-Based Activities for Spelling

As you approach the end of your instructional year, it’s time to pull out all the stops. It's a great time to reinforce the skills your students have learned throughout the year. Here are several cool ways to have some spelling fun:

Idea #1: Let Your Fingers Do the Learning

Tactile learners need extra stimulus through their sense of touch. No doubt, you have one or two in your bunch who learn best through touch. You can tap into their strengths by using shaving cream spread thinly on a large, solid, flat surface. Students can practice spelling basic phonemes in the shaving cream by drawing the letter symbols with their fingers in the thin shaving cream covering on the work surface. Sometimes, your kids may exhibit fine motor or gross motor issues—for instance, in their handwriting.

Idea #2: Piping Sounds and Words

Finally, for a completely edible and delicious way to review spelling strategies or phonics concepts, melt some chocolate chips and add a bit of paraffin wax to the mixture. Scoop some chocolate into plastic decorator bags or zip-lock baggies with a small hole cut out of one of the bottom corners. Announce a group of phonemes you want to review, or whole words to spell, and challenge the kids to “squeeze” out chocolate sounds and words onto wax paper. Refrigerate them after the review and enjoy eating them for a tasty and positive morsel of reinforcement!

By giving your students multiple sensory experiences with various mediums, such as shaving cream, you can review skills in a fun way and also help ease some of their frustration. Don't limit this activity to just sounds; you can have students spell out entire words, too. You can also turn this into a small-group activity and let students take turns.

Supplies Needed:

Shaving cream (foam, not gel)

Chocolate chips

Paraffin wax (the kind used in home canning)

Decorator bags or zip-lock baggies

You can always change-up the sensory activity by utilizing other materials. For example, consider using colored art sand or colored dusting sugar on a large, flat surface. Letting their fingers do the learning and the reviewing can stay with them for a lifetime if you play it up right.