UNESCO NOTICES N.Z. INNOVATION
New Zealand's new method of teaching spelling has achieved "honourable mention" in a bulletin of the United Nations 'Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation, which has world-wide distribution. This is what it says:—
Children today are more likely to be interested in learning to write “I saw an aeroplane” than “Let the cat get wet.” That is the assumption in a new spelling system being introduced this year in New Zealand primary schools. The system is based not on the ease or hardness of words but on the frequency with which a child needs to use them.
Supporters of the scheme argue that no matter how long a word is, if a child wants to use it in a composition he will learn it more quickly than a short word which he may never want to use. Young New Zealanders consequently will probably learn to spell "aeroplane” before “hay.” The scheme is then described.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19600728.2.104.2
Bibliographic details
Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29268, 28 July 1960, Page 13
Word Count
157UNESCO NOTICES N.Z. INNOVATION Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29268, 28 July 1960, Page 13
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Acknowledgements
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