Tightening the Grip over an Elusive System: Innovative Practices

The present study examines the need for a specific approach to spelling instruction in ELT curriculum for ESL/EFL learners as it is an area where the L2 learners encounter a lot of learning difficulties or experience both inter/intra linguistic transfer. The study further explores the rationale for combating the spelling difficulties of ESL/EFL learners and the possibilities of integrating innovative practices that the writer successfully experimented with while trying to help his English students gain a grip and grasp of the elusive English orthography. The real plus of these practices is that they can be applied across learner levels and background and it expects the teacher to take a back seat in spelling instruction. These improvised tactics, though more for the sake of an abbreviation than a terminology are called the Learner Forefront Approach (LFA). LFA is a creative blend of the traditional as well as multisensory approaches to spelling because it makes use of the students’ digital literacy, schematic knowledge, first language (L1), analytical thinking and certain strikingly improvised memory tactics to enable them to associate the problems areas (PAs) of words with their prior knowledge. The salient feature of this method lies in making the whole learning process edutaining as well as learner-centered.