A homeschooling parent has written asking for help teaching complex subject words including ‘entrepreneur’ and ‘entrepreneurial’ with her dyslexic teens. Here’s the answer based on the strategies in That Spelling Thing which is available from Amazon in your country.
First, I want to stress how much I had to slow down and say each syllable as I typed those words. I suspect most good spellers would do the same. en-tre-pren-eur-i-al
For a real struggler, I would put a whole week of spelling time aside to look at these two words and perhaps a few others with similar spellings.
Let’s start with the shorter word, ‘entrepreneur’.
Step 1: Make up the puzzle but keep it in a pile away from your student. Here are the pieces in order. Don’t forget to mix them up.
Step 2: Make sure you’re confident saying the word accurately as many people leave out the /r/ of the /pren/ syllable. Use a talking dictionary like Collins online if you’re not sure. Explain that it’s a French word so it might feel a bit unfamiliar. Also, the /tr/ and /pr/ can make it feel like a bit of a tongue twister.
Step 3: Count the syllables together, saying each syllable very clearly. Make sure your student is saying the syllables too:
en (on)
tre (truh)
pren (pruhn)
eur (er)
You might also say pruh-neur. I’ve nudged those syllables to expose the <eur> ending but don’t worry too much if your student insists on the other way.
Note: If your student can’t say the word with confidence, pause and start with using it in speech instead. Talk about entrepreneurs, using the word frequently with accurate pronunciation. A puzzle won’t lead to accurate spelling if the student can’t get past the first step of saying the syllables clearly.
Step 4: If clear pronunciation is secure, put down the puzzle pieces out of order.
Step 5: Work through the TST script
What’s the first syllable? ‘en’ (on)
What’s the first sound in ‘en’?
Can you see how to spell it?
Say the sound as you move the puzzle piece.
Etc.
The puzzle works so well with this word because the only choice for the vowels is <e>. Point that out.
- The /o/ in the ‘en’ syllable is spelt with an e
- The schwas in ‘tre’ and ‘pren’ are both spelt with e’s.
Step 6: Once the puzzle is built, write the word out in syllables saying the sounds. Then write it out as a whole word saying the sounds.
Step 7: What’s your tricky bit and how are you going to remember it?
- If they have several tricky bits you might repeat this puzzle every day for a week, going through all the steps.
- If the only tricky bit is the <eur> ending, look for other words that end that way: restauranteur, saboteur. Others?
- If they become confident with that ending, look for <eur> in other words.
- At the beginning of a word it sounds like /yer/ as in Europe and Euro.
- In the middle of a word, depending on your accent, it will sound like /yer/ or /er/ as in neurology or neuron.
Once they’re confident with ‘entrepreneur’, add <i> and <al> for ‘entrepreneurial’.
Hard? Maybe. But a great deal easier than trying to remember a string of letter names and very satisfying to finally crack it. The huge bonus is that your student will be able to use the word confidently in conversation as well as in writing.