Phonics, Acronyms, and Miscues

The reading on page 157 was somewhat interesting, especially the spelling-to-sound correspondences of phonics. This may be related to the auditory learning type, but I can almost "hear" the syllables as I write and read. For the house example, the third sentence is sort of spoken differently, more "like" a verb, maybe the word progress explains this. As a noun, I think and hear it differently then say, "to progress." Even the words house and House have slight variation in sound, yet this may only be since I've learned the difference of the words, whereas an elementary student may not know. Maybe phonics is on to something here.

D.W. Sipes raises important questions about the invented spelling. Speaking is done without regard to spelling. Also, some of my classes have words translated from other languages and two or more spellings may be acceptable. However, spelling in writing is practically necessary because a misspelling can change the point of word, the meaning of a phrase, and the context of a sentence. In reference to acronyms and internet lingo they have some significance, mainly when time or space is short (g2g--got to go, cya--see you later, etc.). The problem that arises is acronyms often fit more then one combination of words. Take LOL, meaning Lots Of Laughs, which I coincidently was discussing with different peer review classmates quite recently. The point is someone, who is usually familiar with these acronyms, thought LOL meant Lots Of Love, and justifiably so. There is a big difference in meaning between love and laughs, and context may not be there with these acronyms.

I also found the ideas about different error types, miscues (page 160), intriguing--errors of substitution, omission, insertion, and scramble. Substitution almost sound reasonable as the meaning and understanding is still preserved. Omission gives the impression of resulting from trying to process too much at once. Insertion and scrambling also probably result from not being able to process, but seem different, almost a lack of capability or perhaps serious distractions. Knowing these errors and having a plan for correcting them is a valuable asset to any learning experience. I actually know a teacher that almost seems to change pace when omission seems to happen because students cannot keep up. Most teachers will usually move on if the general idea is grasped, etc.