OzIdeas Home Social Innovation Political and Economic Life-style Education Ideas Literacy Spelling Writing Systems

The Sixteen Words Spelling Test for anyone who thinks they are a good speller

Some or all of these words may be incorrectly spelled. Write them out correctly.

acomodate . . . . . . . . . miniture . . . . . . . . . . remembrd . . . . . . . . . disapoint . . . . . . . . . mischivus . . . . . . . . . sovren . . . . . . . . . . . iliterat . . . . . . . . . . ocasion . . . . . . . .

exessiv . . . . . . professr  . . . . . . unparaleld . . . . gardian . . . . . . . psycology . . . . . disiplin . . . . . . . . recomend . . . . . . . tecnicly . . . . .

The reason why hardly anyone can spell even these 16 words 'correctly' is because the letters that have been left out are all surplus. There is no need for them to be there, so it is difficult to remember what they are and where to put them.

How did you rate? Hundreds have tried this test, at conferences, exhibitions, schools and games-nights.

Average scores

16 Primary Teachers at a voluntary in-service course on teaching spelling - 2 had perfect scores.
Average score- 14.8

45 Experts at an International conference on Intelligence, 4 perfect scores.
Average score- 13.8

50 Reading Experts at an International Conference, 12 had perfect scores.
Average score- 13.6

30 Cognitive psychologists at an International.Conf.erence on Reading, 5 perfect scores.
'Psychology' was the only word they all got right. Average score- 13.6

7 Lawyers concerned with delinquents' illiteracy. No perfect scores . Average score- 12.8

30 Post-graduate teacher trainees. One perfect score. Average score- 12.0

75 Undergraduates. 8 perfect scores. Average score- 12.0

100 Secondary school students, mean age 15, No perfect scores. Average score- 6.9

25 Students of English as a foreign language undertaking tertiary courses in an Australian University.
No perfect scores. Average score- 4.3

SPELLING ERRORS AND SPELLING REFORM

The spellers cannot work out what the omitted letters are or where to replace them, even tho they imediatly identify the words.

Some spelling errors of students and ordinary citizens result from muddles. Lerners of English and school students may be uncertain about the real form of the word itself, or not know the vocabulary.

However, all the common spelling errors of the subjects from the most literat professions in the population arose from the problems of traditional spelling (TO) rather than of the spellers
except for the very common mispellings unparalled and mischievious. Spellers have only visual memory to guide them with what or where to replace 'surplus' letters. They could not use reasoning or phonology to guide them in replacement of the surplus letters, except for a few subjects who used the analogy of reign to spell sovereign.

Spelling ability in traditional spelling and preference for it do not necessarily match.
People who have expressd strong dislike of spelling reform and great love of English spelling as it is, rarely score in this test any better than 14 correct.