Dysorthographia exercise: complex sounds

Complex sounds are written with several letters: ‘ou’, ‘on’, ‘an’, ‘oi’, ‘ill’ or ‘gn’. A dysorthographic child often forgets a letter, writes ‘o’ instead of ‘ou’, or mixes up similar sounds. Here are some exercises to help them learn to write these correctly, starting with listening and progressing step by step.

Why complex sounds are hard to write

A complex sound does not correspond to a single letter, but to a group of letters that forms a whole. To write it, the child must remember each of the letters and their order. If one is forgotten, the sound changes: ‘mouton’ becomes ‘moton’.

Some complex sounds sound very alike, such as ‘on’ and ‘an’, or ‘in’ and ‘un’. Others are written in several ways, such as ‘an’ and ‘en’. These features make writing very demanding for a dysorthographic child. The page dysorthographia and complex sounds explains these difficulties.

Start with a single sound

The golden rule is to work on one complex sound at a time, for about a week. Start with the most frequent sounds, such as ‘ou’ and ‘on’. The child makes a card with the sound written in large letters, a reference word and a drawing.

During the week, they look for this sound everywhere: in their books, on packaging, in classroom words. They say it, write it and colour it in. When the sound is well established, you move on to the next one. The cards build up into their own collection of sounds.

Listening for the sound in the word

Before writing, the child needs to pick out the sound by ear. You say a series of words and they raise their thumb when they hear the sound of the week. You can then ask them where the sound is: at the beginning, in the middle or at the end.

An effective game is to find as many words as possible containing this sound in two minutes. The adult notes them down, then the child copies them out, colouring in the sound. They see that the sound is always written the same way in these words. This exercise directly links listening and writing.

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Writing the sound from dictation

Dictate syllables, then short words containing the sound being studied, speaking clearly. The child writes on a small whiteboard, then checks against their reference card. If they have forgotten a letter, they correct it themselves by comparing.

Gradually increase the difficulty, using longer words or words containing two complex sounds. You can also dictate short sentences, emphasising the words that contain the sound. The child rereads each word while pointing to the sound. The page on writing syllables prepares for this work.

Telling similar sounds apart

Once several sounds are established, it is time to put them side by side. The pairs ‘on’ and ‘an’, ‘oi’ and ‘ou’, ‘in’ and ‘an’ are often confused. Offer words that the child must sort into two columns, according to the sound they hear.

Pairs of words such as ‘pont’ and ‘paon’, or ‘vent’ and ‘vin’, make good practice. The child writes the dictated word and checks that it matches the meaning. They understand that a mistake in the sound changes the word. The page on similar sounds covers consonants that sound alike.

Sounds that are spelt in several ways

Some sounds have several spellings: ‘an’ and ‘en’, ‘in’, ‘ain’ and ‘ein’, or ‘o’, ‘au’ and ‘eau’. It is not possible to work out the correct spelling by ear. The spelling of words has to be memorised, often one word at a time.

Words can be grouped by spelling, with a different colour for each. Word families sometimes help: ‘pain’ and ‘panier’, or ‘main’ and ‘manuel’, remind the child of the letter a. Start with the most frequent spelling. The sound o, au, eau is covered in detail on a separate page.

Speech and language therapy support if needed

If complex sounds remain very difficult to write despite practice, a speech and language therapist can work on this difficulty in a targeted way. They also know the order in which to tackle sounds according to the child’s profile. These exercises complement their work without replacing it.

Speech and language therapists in your area are listed in the ProfessionnelsDys directory, which can be searched by disorder. It is helpful to show them the sound cards you use at home. The page on phonological dysorthographia describes this profile.