Is spelling all in the mind?
Why are some people good spellers while others are poor spellers? I have a theory. I was working on a fourth grade spelling list with my oldest daughter—my wife is a poor speller so this charge fell to me. Katie was attempting to spell Pennsylvania and she was failing miserably. In utter frustration I blurted out, “What’s the matter? Can’t you see the word right there in your mind?” My daughter and wife looked at me like I had two heads. I explained all they had to do was see the word in their mind. They asked in utter shock, “You actually see words? All we see is pictures.” When I want to spell Pennsylvania I see the letters P-E-N-N-S-Y-L-V-A-N-I-A in my mind; my daughter sees an outline of the state while my wife sees an image of Amish people. I decided to test this with others and found some interesting results.
I talked to roughly 200 individuals of various ages, finding that traditionally good spellers see letters in their mind, while traditionally poor spellers see pictures. A third group sees both letters and pictures, but these individuals account for a very small percentage. Individuals that see mental images have to work hard at developing strategies in order to spell adequately. Abstract words such as there, their, and they’re can be especially challenging as there is no mental picture to draw upon, so the mind is often left with a blank image.
What do you see in your mind when you want to spell the word pencil?
