Johnny in Topeka can’t read, but Janne in Helsinki is effortlessly finishing his storybooks. Such a disparity may be expected by now, but the reason might come as a surprise: It probably has much less ...

The Elementary School Journal, Vol. 92, No. 2 (Nov., 1991), pp. 185-201 (17 pages) This article discusses the need for formal, systematic instruction in spelling or word structure. Such instruction ...

Many people were spellbound as they watched the newest Scripps National Spelling Bee champions — Gokul Venkatachalam and Vanya Shivashankar — correctly sound out scherenschnitte and nunatak in order ...

Today Sam will plow through the city’s rough boroughs in search of artisanal cookie dough, even though he ought to stay home to nurse his cough. What’s wrong with that picture? Seven words containing ...

English, whatever its merits as a language, is a bitch to spell. There are so many rules, and so many exceptions, and yet in the end you have to learn a lot of words on a case-by-case basis. If future ...

In a world dominated by autocorrect and communication by emoji, a sacred annual gathering of linguistic student phenoms persists. These word whizzes have advanced from regional competitions to ...

The English language is no exception. With roots in many other world languages, English includes a number of spelling, ...

Why is Christian Science in our name? Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The Christian Science Church, and we’ve always been transparent about that. The Church publishes the Monitor ...

Tear in eye your dress you’ll tear. So shall I! Oh, hear my prayer, Pray, console your loving poet, Make my coat look new, dear, sew it? Just compare heart, beard and heard, Dies and diet, lord and ...

English has plenty of confusing aspects that annoy people learning the language. Non-native speakers have trouble with English spelling, the amount of synonyms in the language, and differences between ...