Spelling word lists have a few distinct disadvantages that will be familiar to any teacher, student or parent. LearnThatWord was designed to provide a quicker and more effective solution to commit words to long-term memory.
Regardless of your current learning method - text books, tapes, computer programs, or live tutoring - you'll see that LearnThatWord provides superior support and results.
LearnThatWord Learning
- Wide-ranging word lists: With its 150,000-word database, LearnThatWord offers real variety - and real learning - to students in each session.
Students can study the words provided for their skill level and personal goal, or actively upload priority words.
- Words that are spelled correctly from the start will not be repeated in subsequent sessions.
Instead LearnThatWord will simply register which words do need work. In other words, LearnThatWord replaces the typical study-test approach with a more dynamic test-study approach.
- Misspelled words are repeated in subsequent quizzes in carefully planned intervals.
This provides a reliable measure of long-term retention than traditional testing.
- Appropriate for multiple learning styles: Students can listen to the related audio files (i.e., word pronunciation, samples sentences) as often as needed in order to fully absorb a word's spelling and meaning. LearnThatWord will never grow impatient or make the student feel bad!
- Advanced-level students can proceed to a quiz level that is appropriate for them, and that addresses their particular goals - maybe winning the Spelling Bee or mastering the most commonly misspelled words.
- No cramming for tests, and no final exam:
Since LearnThatWord adapts to and keeps track of the individual's progress, learning is a continuous and ever-intriguing experience - genuine learning for life.
- Providing unlimited access, LearnThatWord is an ideal tool for students that want to improve but don’t have live tutors available to them. It is accessible from home, school, or library, anywhere an Internet connection is available. No commuting, no geographic limitations.
- At any time, parents and teachers can log onto the LearnThatWord site to review a student's progress, see which words have been mastered and which need more work. These performance reports can effectively replace time-consuming tests.
- Just a few minutes of efficient LearnThatWord tutoring per week produce reliable results, and free teachers, parents and students from laborious, boring and frustrating spelling list chores.
Old-style Spelling word lists
- Limited word lists: Most students will already know as many as 75% of the list, but will still be obliged to spend their time and attention "studying" them.
- Top students will possibly know all the words already, receiving neither the benefit of an enlarged vocabulary nor the mental stimulation derived from a challenge.
- Less proficient spellers, including those not fluent in English, or those with a learning disability, may lag behind their peers and be in need of more tutoring - a need that, due to issues of school time and financial resources, might go unmet.
- The "cramming" effect: Students will typically study their word lists on the morning of a test, so their test scores will reflect only the power of their short-term memories, instead of actual comprehension and retention.
Administer a "surprise test" on the same list a few days or weeks later, and the scores will probably show that many of the words' spellings and meanings have indeed faded from students' memories.
- Students need live interaction/audio feedback to memorize the words, which may not be available to them if their parents don’t have time or are not proficient in English.
- In sum, a minimal level of new learning is the return on the investment of considerable time, money, and other resources on the part of students and teachers/parents.
- Teachers report that spelling word lists and related tasks take up on average 2,5 hours per week of their precious classroom time.