How to use Spellzone as a second-language English speaker
Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve looked at ways to use Spellzone in both classroom and workplace scenarios. Spellzone is also suitable for second-language English speakers. Perhaps you are a student on your way to study in an English-speaking university, or a company looking to expand internationally – today we’ll look at how Spellzone may be able to help you.
- The Spellzone course uses a series of visual prompts to help users remember words. If you do not recognise a word, chances are there will be a picture alongside it which will help you to identify what it means. Take a look at this free unit for some examples.
- If you still can’t work out what a word means, there is also a dictionary on every page of the Spellzone course, which can be found to the left-hand side of the screen. If there is a word used in the course that you don’t understand, you can copy and paste it into the dictionary bar and click on search. You will then be provided with a definition of the word, an example of the word used in a sentence, some synonyms for the word, and links to any Spellzone word lists that the word appears in. You will also be given the option to click back to the last page of the course you were on. In addition to this, you may also add the Spellzone dictionary to your own website for convenience. Click here to find the necessary code.
- If you have been following our ‘How to Use Spellzone’ series, you will already be familiar with the concept of word lists. The Spellzone course is based around word lists, which means that our users are able to tailor the course so that it includes the words they need to learn how to spell. The word lists provide a platform for learning how to spell technical terms that are relevant to a very specific field, anything from economics to geology to law – perfect for both university students and businesses.
- At Spellzone, we believe in using as many senses as possible whilst learning how to spell words. Because of this, it is possible to hear how each word on a word list is pronounced, which can be especially useful for second-language English speakers. Often, hearing how a word sounds when spoken is helpful when trying to remember how it is spelt (unless it is spelt in a completely different way to how it sounds!). It is also possible to hear the whole course read aloud by the text-to-speech tool in our accessibility options, which you can find in the top right-hand corner of the page
- Finally, Spellzone covers both British English and American English spelling, and you can change the site settings to fit your needs. For more information, click here.
So what do you think? Is Spellzone the right course to help you strengthen your English skills? If you are a student, it is worth checking to see if your university already has a subscription to Spellzone as this may allow you to use our resources for free as part of your institution. If not, you can sign up for a single user subscription here. We look forward to hearing from you!
07 Oct 2013
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