SPELLING should be made easier. That is the view of a Wareham literacy expert who thinks the English-speaking world should follow Germany by trying to make its language easier to learn.
Masha Bell was invited to join in a discussion on Newsnight recently about whether there is a case for the English language undergoing a similar spelling reform to Germany's.
Ms Bell is author of Understanding English Spelling, and has experienced first-hand the difficulty of getting to grips with English.
She said: "They keep trying different teaching methods and spend masses of money on remedial work but it is because the English spelling system is so hard. There are so many exceptions from basic rules."
She points to the current debate about whether to make more use of the phonics of the language as a way of teaching.
"There are so many tricky words that kids have to learn by sight and so many kids don't cope because there are so many words that don't follow the rules.
"Most people think the way we spell now is really right. They have very little idea where it comes from, they just assume this is the way it has to be."
First published: August 19, 2005
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