Help for kids who read at a high level, but mispronounce words?

[HollyBee]

Both my kids read extremely fast, and at a pretty high level. They've both read Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, and others that are similar. They both read constantly--I have books all over the house. They also have no issues with comprehension that I can tell.

 

BUT here's the thing that's bugging me. When they read out loud, they constantly mispronounce words. It has me baffled. They look at a word really quickly, then just pronounce it wrong. I'm thinking it happens with unfamiliar words. It seems like they don't take the time to sound the words out, but rather make a snap judgment based on other similar words? I'm not sure.

 

I didn't teach them to read; they were in a private classical Christian school from K-3 (for dd11) and K-1 (for ds9). They used Sing Spell Read & Write in K, then shifted to Writing Road to Thinking and Reading starting in 1st.

 

We've been using AAS for a while for spelling, which is similar to the WRTR that they used in the private school. However, I'm starting to wonder if this method isn't the best for them, based on this issue. So what do I do here? Stick with AAS (we're almost at the end of level 3)? Or switch to something else? or ??? I do have Megawords, but I haven't done anything with it yet.

 

Help!

[Guest]

Even as an adult I will often know how to spell words, know perfectly well what they mean, from what older words they derive, etc. -- everything but how to pronounce them; and I had very strict and lengthy phonics training in Catholic school. It's just something I'm not very good at, while my daughter can pronounce nearly every word she sees in print but can't spell them. So I suppose it depends on how many words they do this with. Reading at sophisticated levels for their age, they may come upon a fair number of words they can intuitively figure out the meaning of through context (this is how my daughter prefers to learn vocabulary), but have never heard spoken or do not know where to place the stress, or even flip syllable order as i sometimes do.

[Barb_]

Both my kids read extremely fast, and at a pretty high level. They've both read Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, and others that are similar. They both read constantly--I have books all over the house. They also have no issues with comprehension that I can tell.

 

BUT here's the thing that's bugging me. When they read out loud, they constantly mispronounce words. It has me baffled. They look at a word really quickly, then just pronounce it wrong. I'm thinking it happens with unfamiliar words. It seems like they don't take the time to sound the words out, but rather make a snap judgment based on other similar words? I'm not sure.

 

I didn't teach them to read; they were in a private classical Christian school from K-3 (for dd11) and K-1 (for ds9). They used Sing Spell Read & Write in K, then shifted to Writing Road to Thinking and Reading starting in 1st.

 

We've been using AAS for a while for spelling, which is similar to the WRTR that they used in the private school. However, I'm starting to wonder if this method isn't the best for them, based on this issue. So what do I do here? Stick with AAS (we're almost at the end of level 3)? Or switch to something else? or ??? I do have Megawords, but I haven't done anything with it yet.

 

Help!

 

That's pretty common in kids who read at a high level. The speech they see on paper doesn't match what they hear in everyday life so tease out the words as well as they can and then hurry on so as not to miss the narrative. I occasionally do this to this day with words I've hurried over as a child. A couple of my kids do this too.

 

Barb

[LunaLee]

dd had this problem as well, so in 7th grade we did phonics review as she had been taught sight words at school. It was brought to my attention, that she was not actually able to decode the longer, new words so she would take parts of the word and guess the rest.

 

What helped alot was books on tape. Whenever I had her read a book, like say, Johnny Tremain or Little Women I checked it out at the library and she had to read along. That way she could see the word and hear it being pronounced correctly at the same time.

[Barb_]

Even as an adult I will often know how to spell words, know perfectly well what they mean, from what older words they derive, etc. -- everything but how to pronounce them; and I had very strict and lengthy phonics training in Catholic school. It's just something I'm not very good at, while my daughter can pronounce nearly every word she sees in print but can't spell them. So I suppose it depends on how many words they do this with. Reading at sophisticated levels for their age, they may come upon a fair number of words they can intuitively figure out the meaning of through context (this is how my daughter prefers to learn vocabulary), but have never heard spoken or do not know where to place the stress, or even flip syllable order as i sometimes do.

 

It can be embarrassing to flub a word you are intimately familiar with, can't it?

 

Barb

[Guest]

It can be embarrassing to flub a word you are intimately familiar with, can't it?

 

Barb

 

Oh, my, yes. Particularly when my daughter corrects me.

[Renaissance Mom]

Yes, this happens here, too. We've been working through AAS (on level 4 with 12 yo dd now) and will start Megawords soon to apply the phonics review to bigger words.

 

It is funny sometimes when she reads or says a word that I don't immediately recognize because of her creative pronunciation! We have some real giggles when we both figure out what she was saying.

[rafiki]

.

[johnandtinagilbert]

Do you have them stop and correct when this occurs? Perhaps simply correcting each time and connecting the related phonics rule might help. Dictionary.com (and others) offers pronunciation to words. It can be helpful.

[SamanthaBea]

I have heard that this is fairly common with kids who read really well. They know the word and what it means from reading it, but just haven't heard it spoken out loud or haven't associated the written word with what they have heard.

 

My ds is notorious for this. Most of the time I just have to give him the correct pronunciation and he gets it. Other times he stubbornly holds onto his version since he already knows everything. :glare:

[JennyD]

My husband, who is a university professor, still does this. I tease him mercilessly, of course. :001_smile:

[*Jessica*]

If they are doing it with a large number of words, perhaps a phonics review is in order? If they are reminded of the rules the pronunciation may come easier.

[creekmom]

My ds 11 does this a lot! Whenever he tells someone the book he's reading, (Mysterious Benedict Society) he always mispronounces society, and it never fails to send my blood pressure soaring! Isn't it funny how little mistakes like this can really stress us (hs moms) out!! I still have him read outloud to me, and this helps me catch a lot of the mistakes. Also, I own a lot of the study guides for the classics, so I photocopied the vocab words from them and have him read just the words to me. I reward him with a little treat when he can read them all correctly in a minute. -It's amazing how much motivation a bite sized candy bar provides! I've found that once he can read the difficult words well, the others are much easier and follow a lot of the same patterns. MCT has a list of 100 words from the classics which would be a good starting point.

http://www.rfwp.com/samples/100-classic-words.pdf HTH!

[Harriet Vane]

I have heard that this is fairly common with kids who read really well. They know the word and what it means from reading it, but just haven't heard it spoken out loud or haven't associated the written word with what they have heard.

 

My ds is notorious for this. Most of the time I just have to give him the correct pronunciation and he gets it. Other times he stubbornly holds onto his version since he already knows everything. :glare:

 

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

 

Totally normal for advanced readers.

 

I spent years pronouncing the word "awry" as "awww-ree."

 

My dd made me laugh out loud when I heard her say the word "concerning" as "kon-kern-ing" (hard k sound rather than soft c).

 

Just supply the correct pronunciation and move on.

[HollyBee]

Okay, after reading all the responses, I'm feeling much better. I kept thinking, "What is wrong with these kids?" because I was always an advanced reader, and I always sound words out that I don't know. It's interesting that both kids do this, since ds9 is a pretty good speller, whereas dd11 is spelling-challenged. I guess there's not really a connection between those two?

 

I do correct them when I hear it. A lot of times, they'll say something and I have to ask them to show me the word in print because I have NO IDEA what it is they're saying! I think another thing that has been frustrating to me is that I'm having to correct the same words multiple times before they finally start pronouncing it correctly. I guess it's asking too much for instant results! :tongue_smilie: I imagine it has something to do with the "knowing everything" mentioned by a pp. DS is definitely like this.

 

My favorite mispronounciation (is that a word?) of his, though, was gra-FAH-ti for graffiti. I still say it like that, because it makes me smile. :D So, I guess it's not all bad! LOL

 

Thanks again!

[cjshima]

My 7th grade son works at an advanced level does this and also his spelling is awful (yet he easily gets 100% on all his spelling tests!). It drives me crazy!

My dyslexic 5th grade daughter is working on the Barton spelling system and I think I'm going to have my son go through the spelling rules on that (my daughter would have been able to figure out the correct way to pronounce "concerning" since in the Barton system they are taught that "c" makes the "k" sound except when followed by "e, i, y" in which case it makes the "s" sound)

[Guest]

 

I spent years pronouncing the word "awry" as "awww-ree."

 

 

Oh my, I thought I was the only person in the universe who had done that!!

 

It occurs to me that one main difference between my husband and my daughter, who both have little to no difficulties with mispronunciation, and myself on the other hand (the mispronouncer) is that they are both auditory learners and listen to oodles of audiobooks; both also enjoy read-alouds far more than I do. My husband learned to read phonetically; my daughter taught herself and did not. But they've both heard many of the more sophisticated words pronounced before, whereas I haven't. And although I was taught the rules about when "c" makes a soft sound vs. a "k" sound and chanted them and wrote them and all that jazz, I don't slow down enough when I'm reading to think about that. I suspect many people who read quickly and fluently do not; they're carried along for content and rarely slow down to look at a single word.

 

I still vividly remember one time hearing a news anchor mispronounce the word "frigate" -- she said "frijjet."

Edited August 21, 2010 by Guest

[siloam]

Okay, after reading all the responses, I'm feeling much better. I kept thinking, "What is wrong with these kids?" because I was always an advanced reader, and I always sound words out that I don't know. It's interesting that both kids do this, since ds9 is a pretty good speller, whereas dd11 is spelling-challenged. I guess there's not really a connection between those two?

 

I do correct them when I hear it. A lot of times, they'll say something and I have to ask them to show me the word in print because I have NO IDEA what it is they're saying! I think another thing that has been frustrating to me is that I'm having to correct the same words multiple times before they finally start pronouncing it correctly. I guess it's asking too much for instant results! :tongue_smilie: I imagine it has something to do with the "knowing everything" mentioned by a pp. DS is definitely like this.

 

My favorite mispronounciation (is that a word?) of his, though, was gra-FAH-ti for graffiti. I still say it like that, because it makes me smile. :D So, I guess it's not all bad! LOL

 

Thanks again!

 

Holly,

 

My kids do it too. My oldest's favorite trick is to pronounce gender with the /g/ sound. She knows better, has had the rule memorized for years, and has been correct for years and still does it. She spells on an 8.8 grade level. It seems all my kids have a couple pet words they do this with. :rolleyes:

 

My plan is to finish AAS then do Megawords after that. Beyond that it is up to her to start slowing down and sound them out instead of speed reading.

 

Heather

[nmoira]

I spent years pronouncing the word "awry" as "awww-ree."

Until I was in my early 30's, I read "misled" as mizled (long i). DH still won't let me live that one down. :tongue_smilie:

 

DD the Elder hasn't had as many pronunciation issues as I did, probably because she steals glances at the pages I'm reading (drives me nuts, 'cause she's always ahead of me) and notices any discrepancies. Megawords has been very helpful to her developing an intuition for placing correct emphasis in new words, which has been her biggest issue.

[nmoira]

I still vividly remember one time hearing a news anchor mispronounce the word "frigate" -- she said "frijjet."

I was watching a parade a number of years ago on PBS, and the commentator related a history of the cal'-lee-ope as a beautiful calliope went by.

[MerryAtHope]

Okay, after reading all the responses, I'm feeling much better. I kept thinking, "What is wrong with these kids?" because I was always an advanced reader, and I always sound words out that I don't know. It's interesting that both kids do this, since ds9 is a pretty good speller, whereas dd11 is spelling-challenged. I guess there's not really a connection between those two?

 

I do correct them when I hear it. A lot of times, they'll say something and I have to ask them to show me the word in print because I have NO IDEA what it is they're saying! I think another thing that has been frustrating to me is that I'm having to correct the same words multiple times before they finally start pronouncing it correctly. I guess it's asking too much for instant results! :tongue_smilie: I imagine it has something to do with the "knowing everything" mentioned by a pp. DS is definitely like this.

 

My favorite mispronounciation (is that a word?) of his, though, was gra-FAH-ti for graffiti. I still say it like that, because it makes me smile. :D So, I guess it's not all bad! LOL

 

Thanks again!

 

LOL, cute on gra-FAH-ti!

 

When they make mistakes, do you just give them the right pronunciation, or do you walk them through the rules they know from AAS? While AAS addresses things from a spelling view, you can use it for reading too. Teach your kids to expand their use of the rules and pronunciations taught in there. for graffiti, you could ask them what sounds I can stand for, and ask them to try using one of those sounds. They'll actually get to words where I stands for the long E sound later on in AAS--so you might also remember that if they mispronounce a word that is beyond the specific phonics lessons they have learned, not to be too concerned.

 

For words that come up several times--ask yourself if there is a rule they've already learned that they are not applying. Pull that rule back into their daily review tab.

 

You could also consider making up some word cards just for reading practice, and write those words that they mis-read multiple times. Here's a blank word card form you can use.

 

HTH, and I agree, no need to be too concerned. I remember reading a Three Investigators Book when I was in late elem/early jr. high, and saw the word "Socrates." I pronounced it as "So-crates" (long O, long A, think crate!), only to find out the real pronunciation later, LOL! :lol: It's pretty normal.

 

Merry :-)

[cjshima]

HTH, and I agree, no need to be too concerned. I remember reading a Three Investigators Book when I was in late elem/early jr. high, and saw the word "Socrates." I pronounced it as "So-crates" (long O, long A, think crate!), only to find out the real pronunciation later, LOL! :lol: It's pretty normal.

 

Merry :-)

 

 

Ha, Ha - my son pronounced Socrates that way this year! And he had to do an oral report on Archimedes (he really struggled through that, even though I repeatedly told him how it was pronounced!)

[lauracolumbus]

Ok, glad to see that this is not uncommon. I have the problem as does my oldest. It's become somewhat of a joke in our house b/c we both have it. I agree with it possibly being related to being an advanced reader. Or because I never took the time to look up the pronunciation of the word in question in the dictionary. We do listen to books on tape, but unless we were reading alongside them, I'm not sure if they would help all that much. But it's a start.

 

I wondered if there was a program to help w/this and it sounds like Megawords might.

 

Thanks for asking this.

Laura

[apmom]

Same problems here in our house. DS (3rd grade) does the same thing. And I remember reading the first Harry Potter book and had not one clue how to pronounce Hermione. Think Her mee own and laugh away. I had never heard of it as a name before, nor read it, so I just made up my own... I think it's totally normal...I just correct when I hear them from ds and move on.

[HollyBee]

And I remember reading the first Harry Potter book and had not one clue how to pronounce Hermione. Think Her mee own and laugh away. I had never heard of it as a name before, nor read it, so I just made up my own...

 

Yeah, I did the same thing. It wasn't until the first movie came out that I realized I was pronouncing it wrong. Although, I think I avoided saying it out loud b/c I knew I probably had it wrong! :blushing:

 

Thanks again for all the responses here. I'm reassured, and there are also some good ideas about reinforcing the rules we've learned about in AAS. I'm definitely going to do that more!

[RootAnn]

Gosh, I figured I messed up my oldest dd for good because she does this. :blush:

 

In trying to correct this (and keep it from happening as much with dd#2), they are reading out loud to me every day.

 

My oldest reads very quickly (now) and she doesn't take the time to figure out the word pronouncement because she knows what it means from context. She does this REALLY often to people's names.

 

I used to call the "Wii" a "WE." Caused no end to giggles from my techno-savvy friends. My DH & I are neo-Luddites. :D

[Barb_]

Yeah, I did the same thing. It wasn't until the first movie came out that I realized I was pronouncing it wrong. Although, I think I avoided saying it out loud b/c I knew I probably had it wrong! :blushing:

 

Thanks again for all the responses here. I'm reassured, and there are also some good ideas about reinforcing the rules we've learned about in AAS. I'm definitely going to do that more!

 

I think I said, "Her-Me-Own"...:tongue_smilie:

[Penelope]

 

I used to call the "Wii" a "WE." Caused no end to giggles from my techno-savvy friends. My DH & I are neo-Luddites. :D

 

That is how everyone I know pronounces it, like the word "we". Maybe it's your friends who are confused. :glare:

 

And I, too, said "Her-me-own" before I saw the movies. :)

[mrs.m]

I used to call the "Wii" a "WE." Caused no end to giggles from my techno-savvy friends. My DH & I are neo-Luddites. :D

 

I'm pretty sure that's how it is pronounced. :confused: My DH works in the tech industry. He works for a company that competes with the Wii so surely he would know how the competition is pronounced.

 

I can't pronounce names in books (unless it's easy)! So I either make it up or ask my kids to look at it and tell me what they think. I'm so embarassed when I read aloud to them. I prefer books on tape. :D

[Rivka]

I did this into adulthood, and so did my DH. It's just a function of reading at a higher vocabulary level than the people around you speak.

 

So many people in my life have made fun of me for mispronouncing words. One of the things that proved my DH and I were right for each other is the low-key way we handled each other's mispronunciations. "Oh, I always thought that was pronounced 'X'." "I don't know, let's check the dictionary." Both of us were so tired of people thinking it was funny or making a big deal out of it, so we were really gentle with each other.

[LibraryLover]

It's not phonics study, but audio books can be a huge help. I like to read books about southeast Asia, so will often get the CD as well. If I come to a city or personal name I don't know, I'll pop in the CD. Eureka! :D

[tarana]

Thnaks for posting this thread.

 

One of my twins (8yrs) has this same problem - Reading at 6th grade level, excellent vocabulary, terrible speller, mispronoucing unfamiliar words.

We were using AAS last 2 years. With AAS lessons she did great but did not apply the rules in her general spelling. I found out she was not sounding out the words at all. This week onwards we will start Spalding Phonics & see if that makes a difference.

As someone posted here, I will get the Audio books for her.

 

By the way, there are 2 Wiis

the game console - Wii (WE)

the Wireless Wii-Fi (Y-Fi).

Edited August 24, 2010 by tarana

[MamaAkins]

I could have written this post myself after working with my 9 year old son this morning! Your post actually made me feel better because I was starting to doubt my ability to teach him! LOL! We are going to increase our time spent reading aloud so that I can help him pronounce them correctly!

[thowell]

Thnaks for posting this thread.

 

One of my twins (8yrs) has this same problem - Reading at 6th grade level, excellent vocabulary, terrible speller, mispronoucing unfamiliar words.

 

We also have this problem and yesterday was our first day with Spalding WRTR and I was amazed. I was amazed at how many of the phonogram sounds my kids did not know!!!!! Here is hoping this program will make the difference that nothing else seems to have done.

[MommaofBoys]

I do this all the time myself. My eldest son does, too.

I might have missed this, but does your child 'hear' words in his head when he reads? I don't. I read really fast because for whatever reason I don't link reading to auditory processes. I also retain very well, which has always been nice for college coursework.

I do screw up pronunciations, but it doesn't bother me that much. I identify unfamiliar words by roots and context, and then look them up. I never try saying them or think about how they would be said. I don't use phonics in my reading, only remember the rules because I had to relearn them to teach my kids. I'd rather have my 150 novel-size pages an hour speed of reading than get pronunciations correct! (And a headache--if I try to 'hear' words when I read, I get a pounding headache. Oddly, I can 'hear' notes just fine when reading music.)

[HollyBee]

Wow, I'm glad this has helped so many people! I had no idea that we weren't the only one with this issue.

 

We cranked AAS back up yesterday after taking the summer off. I was able to use one of the rules to show them why their mispronounciation of one of the words in the online game that they play was incorrect. They both actually got it. Hopefully they'll learn soon to apply the rules more and more to what they're reading.

 

But yes, I'd rather have the advanced, quick reading (with comprehension) than perfect pronounciation. If I had to choose, that is. Actually, I'd really rather have both! :tongue_smilie: But that's okay. I'm not going to let it get under my skin anymore.

[angela in ohio]

That's pretty common in kids who read at a high level. The speech they see on paper doesn't match what they hear in everyday life so tease out the words as well as they can and then hurry on so as not to miss the narrative. I occasionally do this to this day with words I've hurried over as a child. A couple of my kids do this too.

 

Barb

 

:iagree:

 

My dc have all done this. For example, it took us a long time to get oldest dd to stop pronouncing the f in calf, as she had read it that way in the Little House books to herself for so long before she ever said it out loud and we caught her error. :001_smile:

[ElizabethB]

I've found Webster's Speller to be really helpful for this. With the siblings of my remedial students who read fairly well but still mispronounce a few words when reading higher level material, I take them quickly through my program on this page (just doing a few words from each unit and focusing on spelling) and then move to the Syllabary and then the 2+ words in Webster's Speller.

 

I didn't realize how many long words in English schwa until I started using Webster's Speller. Since the words are arranged by accent pattern, it is very easy to see and hear the pattern and start to understand the patterns of how words schwa. I've found it especially helpful for ESL students and young students who haven't heard many long words.