Understanding English Spelling

by Masha Bell

Excellent Book

280 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2003

About the author

Masha became intrigued by English spelling when she first encountered it at fourteen, after learning the more regular writing systems of Lithuanian and Russian. When she later became a teacher of English in England, she was amazed by how long most native speakers needed to learn to read and write. The main impetus for her analysis of English spelling, and for her study of its origins, was when poor literacy standards became increasingly blamed on bad teaching. She suspected that English spelling played a big part and wanted to establish how and why.

Reviews

[Gregory Diehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a foreign English teacher who is constantly disappointed by the poor quality of English spelling and grammar books available in mainstream curriculum. Discovering a relatively unknown author who does a better job explaining a complex and important topic than all the popular guides put together feels like discovering an underground indie band that no one's ever heard of.

The cover design here leaves a lot to be desired and does not do justice to the quality of the instruction and unique perspective inside. The content and style are excellent. Masha Bell explains the English language like only someone who mastered it as a highly intelligent foreign learner could.

I've already ordered her other books about learning English because I am confident they will be just as thorough.