At Baytree there is a huge demand for literacy classes for women who, through no fault of their own, cannot read or write a word of English. Others can read with confidence but have problems with spelling. This is true of ESOL learners as well as those whose first language is English.

Here at Baytree we are convinced that for native English speakers of all ages as well as ESOL learners, this is a great tool to help those lacking confidence in reading or spelling in English to get over their problems. It is simple enough for Entry 1 learners yet complex enough for those hoping to achieve Levels 1 and 2.

Although its original target group in 1950s America was dyslexic children, it soon became clear to the author, Romalda Spalding, that whole classes of children could be taught to read through her method. It is suitable for adult learners whether they are dyslexic or not, and we find that ESOL and native English speakers can be taught together, so long as the ESOL learners have good speaking and listening skills. ESOL learners who need to develop their speaking and listening skills as well as learning to read and write are taught separately.

Those attending the Baytree Jobskills courses can take up our offer of a ‘crash course’ in the spelling rules detailed in ‘The Writing Road To Reading’. In this way they can improve their spelling skills as well as developing confidence in reading complicated, unfamiliar words. They can also pass on their knowledge to their children as they help them with their schoolwork.

The teaching is systematic and clear, and includes tuition in handwriting for those who need it. Our learners find this particularly useful as it enables them to help their young children to develop an attractive, legible and clear style of handwriting from an early age. It goes without saying that the learners themselves take pride in their work when they know how to produce attractive script. Two styles are taught: manuscript and cursive. Cursive is favoured over other styles because it helps prevent the b/d reversal. As the Portuguese and South American learners tend to be familiar with the cursive style, this suits them.

Once learners have mastered the basic sounds of English (referred to as phonograms), and developed an accurate style of handwriting, instruction in spelling begins. Over the course of spelling, they learn by example 29 second-order rules, such as the five reasons why a silent e is attached to the end of a word. Given 70 phonograms and 29 rules, they can spell 80% of English words, and a higher percentage of the most frequent ones.

Download our Spalding Method report by Greg Brooks and Dr Maxine Burton here (.pdf 196kb)