How to do Spelling Tests for EFL and ESL Learners:

Spelling tests are a familiar part of primary classrooms. Yet many teachers notice the same pattern: students memorise a list of words for Friday’s test, score well, and then misspell those same words in their writing the following week.

Research suggests the problem is not spelling tests themselves, but how they are used. When spelling tests focus only on memorising isolated words, the learning is short-lived. When they are connected to spelling patterns, meaningful vocabulary, and repeated practice, they can support reading, writing, and vocabulary development (Graham and Santangelo, 2014; EEF, 2021).

For teachers working with EFL learners, there is another important factor: spelling is strongly influenced by spoken English.

Why EFL Learners Often Spell The Way They Say:

Many teachers quickly notice that EFL students often spell words exactly as they pronounce them, with examples such as these being very common:

• No instead of Know
• Nite instead of Night
• Brekfast instead of Breakfast
• Halo instead of Hello

These are not random mistakes. Research on spelling development shows that spelling draws on three types of knowledge:

• Phonology (sounds)
• Orthography (spelling patterns)
• Morphology (word parts and endings)

At first, developing writers often rely heavily on phonology. In other words, they spell words according to how words sound when they say them. (Treiman and Kessler, 2014; Bahr et al., 2012).

For EFL learners, this effect can be even stronger. Pronunciation differences, first-language sound systems, and vocabulary knowledge influence how learners hear and produce English words. As a result, spelling errors frequently reflect spoken language patterns rather than simple memory mistakes (Martin et al., 2020; Altakhaineh, 2024).

Understanding this helps teachers interpret spelling errors more accurately. When a child writes "too" instead of "two", they are applying a logical sound-based spelling rule. Therefore, the goal of instruction is to help learners move from sound-based spelling to recognising spelling patterns and word structures.

What a Good Spelling Test Should Actually Check:

Research on literacy instruction emphasises that assessment should guide teaching and provide feedback opportunities, rather than simply measure performance (EEF, 2021; ILA, 2019). So a useful spelling test should do more than produce a score. It should help teachers understand:

• whether students can recall spellings from memory
• whether they recognise spelling patterns
• whether they can spell words correctly in sentences
• which spelling skills need further teaching

Choosing the Right Words for a Spelling Test:

Spelling tests work best when word lists are carefully selected rather than picked at random. A balanced list should include several types of words that support different aspects of spelling development.

First, include high-frequency words that appear often in everyday reading and writing, such as because, could, there, and people. Repeated exposure helps these words become stored in long-term memory and recognised automatically (Ehri, 2014).

Secondly, you can include vocabulary from current teaching units. Words like habitat, community, desert, and ocean allow spelling practice to reinforce classroom learning. However, students should understand the meaning and pronunciation before being asked to spell them (IES/WWC, 2014).

Third, include spelling pattern words. For example, practising Station, Nation, and Action helps students recognise the shared –tion pattern, allowing them to apply the pattern to other words.

Finally, include words that highlight common endings and morphology, such as skipped, skipping, helpful, and careless. These patterns help students see how spelling connects with grammar and meaning.

High-frequency words:

These appear frequently in reading and writing, so learning them has a strong impact. Repeated exposure helps these words become stored in long-term memory (Ehri, 2014). Examples of high frequency words to inlcude in EFL and ESL spelling tests are words such as:

1. because
2. could
3. there
4. people
5. friend

Vocabulary from teaching units:

Obviously, the choice of words you include here depends on what you are teaching. But it's important to note that with words like this, students should be taught and understand both the meaning and pronunciation of the words before being asked to spell them (IES/WWC, 2014).

Including curriculum vocabulary can boost your students' unit and end of year test scores, and help them to connect spelling with classroom learning. Examples of words like this that I've used in my spelling tests, while teaching about habitats and adaptations with Unit 2 of The National Geographic's Reach Higher Book 2A , include the following:

1. habitat
2. arctic
3. desert
4. ocean
5. survive

Spelling pattern words:

English words and spelling inlcude a lot of predictable patterns. And teaching words in pattern groups helps students recognise these patterns and apply them to new words (Bear et al., 2020; Treiman and Kessler, 2014).

For example, practicing words that share the –ip pattern helps learners see and understand how the same pattern works across a multitude of words. This works because instead of memorising four separate spellings, students recognise the shared –ip pattern. Example pattern words:

1. ship
2. chip
3. clip
4. slip
5. flip
   

Word endings and morphology:

English spelling uses a wide variety of suffixes and other meaningful grammatical endings to words. Practising these in your spelling tests can help students connect spelling with grammar and word meaning. Some examples of words that highlight common word endings which you can use include:

• station
• skipping
• helpful
• careless

How to Run a Spelling Test in an EFL Classroom:

A small adjustment can make spelling dictation clearer for language learners. Instead of saying the word only once, use this structure:

word → example sentence → word again

For example, when teaching the word "Community", the teacher might say: "Community... I live in a small community... community". This supports both pronunciation and meaning without giving away the spelling. Teaching guidance for English learners recommends integrating vocabulary knowledge with literacy tasks (IES/WWC, 2014).

Putting It All Together. A Simple Spelling Test Format:

A spelling test does not need to be long or complicated. A short test that includes a few different tasks can check whether students can recall spellings, use them in context, and recognise errors. For example:

• Word dictation - Students write the word they hear
• Sentence dictation - Students write one or two sentences containing spelling words.
• Proofreading - Students find and correct a spelling mistake in a sentence
• Correction - Students choose three or four mistakes to correct

This structure reflects several of the principles discussed earlier in this article: retrieval practice, spaced review, and feedback after mistakes, all of which help strengthen long-term learning (Dunlosky et al., 2013; Graham and Santangelo, 2014). Here's how a weekly spelling test might be delivered in class:

Step 1 – Word Dictation:

The teacher explains to students that they will hear each word twice, and that you will use the word in a short sentence to provide context. So let's imagine the spelling test words are: Because, People, Friend, There, Ship, Chip, Clip, and Slip. A teacher script example for this part of the test might be as follows, with the students writing each word on their spelling test papers as they hear it:

1. Because... I stayed home because it was raining... Because.
2. People... The people are waiting outside... People.
3. Friend... My friend is in my class... Friend.
4. There... The book is over there... There.
5. Ship... The ship is sailing on the ocean... Ship.
6. Chip... The chip fell on the floor... Chip.
7. Clip... Use a clip to hold the papers... Clip.
8. Slip... Be careful not to slip on the floor... Slip.

Step 2 – Sentence Dictation:

For the next section, the teacher should dictate one or two sentences containing some of the spelling words from the first part of the test. They should read each sentence once naturally, and then again once slowly. Below are two examples using words 3, 4, 5, and 8 from our list above. This step helps make sure students can spell the words correctly in context, and not just in isolation.

Example Sentence 1:
The people on the ship are my friends (Normally)... The people on the ship are my friends (Slowly).

Sentence 2:
Be careful not to slip there (Normally)... Be careful not to slip there (Slowly).

Step 3 – Proofreading:

A proofreading section in a spelling test gives students two or three sentences that contains examples of spelling mistakes. Students read the sentences carefully, looking for spelling mistakes. They then circle the incorrect word and write the correct spelling next to or under it. This checks whether students can recognise incorrect spelling while reading, an important skill for real writing tasks (International Literacy Association, 2019).

Example sentence: My freind is on the ship.

(Students circle the incorrect word and write the correct spelling: friend.)

Step 4 – Correcting Mistakes:

Finally, after taking the spelling test and marking it, students should immediately take the time to correct their mistakes rather than simply recording their score. Because feedback and correction helps reinforce spelling patterns and improve spelling accuracy over time (Graham and Santangelo, 2014). While research on feedback and learning shows that correction is most effective when it is given immediately after a task, while the error and correct answer are still fresh in the learner’s memory (Hattie and Timperley, 2007; Dunlosky et al., 2013).

Use Test Results to Guide Teaching:

This final stage is important. Because while memorising words and practicing at home is helpful, the most useful learning often happens after the test. Instead of simply recording scores, teachers should make sure students should correct their mistakes immediately.

Research shows that feedback and opportunity to correct errors improve spelling accuracy and writing (Graham and Santangelo, 2014; Bahr et al., 2012). And cognitive research tells us learning is strengthened when students retrieve information, receive feedback, and then practice the correct response immediately - a process that supports long-term retention (Dunlosky et al., 2013).

Therefore, after completing their spelling tests, have them:

1. Circle incorrect words.
2. Rewrite the correct spelling.
3. Underline the difficult part.
4. Practise spelling the word again from memory.
5. Feedback and correction help reinforce spelling patterns and strengthen learning (EEF, 2021).

A Final Thought. Recycle Words So Students Remember Them:

A common weakness of spelling tests is that words disappear after Friday. However, research on learning and memory shows that revisiting information over time improves retention (Dunlosky et al., 2013). A simple improvement is to include review words in later tests, as spaced practice helps move spelling knowledge into long-term memory. An example of a monthly spelling test cycle might be:

• Week 1 – new words
• Week 2 – new words + two review words from Week 1
• Week 3 – new words + two review words from Week 2
• Week 4 – new words + several review words from previous weeks/months

This simple four-week spelling test structure utilises continuous learning plus cumulative review, which is the key component to spaced retrieval (Dunlosky et al., 2013; Cepeda et al., 2006).

Key Takeaways for Teachers:

If you want spelling tests to genuinely improve spelling, keep these principles in mind:

• Recognise that EFL learners often spell words according to how they sound.
• Mix high-frequency words, vocabulary words, and spelling patterns.
• Include sentence writing, not only isolated word lists.
• Provide immediate correction and feedback after tests.
• Recycle words over time so learning is not forgotten.

With these adjustments, spelling tests become more than a weekly routine. They become part of a system that strengthens spelling, vocabulary, and writing skills.

References:

1. Altakhaineh, A.R.M. (2024) 'Pronunciation and spelling accuracy in English words with consonant clusters by Arabic-speaking EFL learners', Languages, 9(12), p. 356.
2. Bahr, R.H., Silliman, E.R., Danzak, R.L. and Wilkinson, L.C. (2012) 'Linguistic pattern analysis of misspellings of typically developing writers', Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 55(6), pp. 1587-1599.
3. Bear, D.R., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S. and Johnston, F. (2020) Words Their Way: Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling Instruction. 7th edn. Boston: Pearson.
4. Cepeda, N.J., Pashler, H., Vul, E., Wixted, J.T. and Rohrer, D. (2006) ‘Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks: A review and quantitative synthesis’, Psychological Bulletin, 132(3), pp. 354–380.
5. Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K.A., Marsh, E.J., Nathan, M.J. and Willingham, D.T. (2013) 'Improving students’ learning with effective learning techniques: Promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology', Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), pp. 4-58.
6. Education Endowment Foundation (2017) Improving Literacy in Key Stage 2. London: Education Endowment Foundation.
7. Education Endowment Foundation (2021) Improving Literacy in Key Stage 2. 2nd edn. London: Education Endowment Foundation.
8. Ehri, L.C. (2014) 'Orthographic mapping in the acquisition of sight word reading, spelling memory, and vocabulary learning', Scientific Studies of Reading, 18(1), pp. 5-21.
9. Graham, S. and Santangelo, T. (2014) 'Does spelling instruction make students better spellers, readers, and writers? A meta-analytic review', Reading and Writing, 27(9), pp. 1703-1743.
10. Hattie, J. and Timperley, H. (2007) ‘The power of feedback’, Review of Educational Research, 77(1), pp. 81–112.
11. Institute of Education Sciences (2014) Teaching Academic Content and Literacy to English Learners in Elementary and Middle School. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance.
12. International Literacy Association (2019) Teaching and Assessing Spelling. Newark, DE: International Literacy Association.
13. Martin, K.I., Arciuli, J., Colenbrander, D. and Nickels, L. (2020) 'English word and pseudoword spellings and phonological awareness in first and second language learners', Frontiers in Psychology, 11, p. 1495.
14. Treiman, R. and Kessler, B. (2014) How Children Learn to Write Words. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
15. Van de Ven, M., Sercu, L. and Van Steendam, E. (2022) 'The influence of native and foreign language cues in EFL learners’ spelling in a digital learning environment', Journal of Writing Research, 14(1), pp. 1-33.