Pricing options

The Audit option is available only to previous participants wanting to retake this course.


Bundle and save

Pay just $185 per course when purchasing all four Core courses at one time:
Sound Awareness, Color Vowel® Yoga, Spelling Exploration, Rhythm & Chants

About this course

Learn how taking a sound-based approach to spelling empowers learners to notice patterns and engage in life-long language discovery.

  • Workshop Overview

    Ask a speaker of English about spelling, and they will likely bemoan the 'craziness' of a language that features 'so many rules and so many exceptions'. Such characterizations of English are neither accurate nor helpful. We are better off recognizing that English orthography is complex (not crazy) and rich in spelling patterns (not rules) that are used in various ways (not exceptions) to convey the spoken word.

    The Color Vowel® Approach supports a sound-based exploration of spelling patterns that will spark your learners' curiosity about words in their spoken versus written forms.

    Participants should have access to a Color Vowel® Chart poster. and a set of image cards. (Visit our Shop to order materials.)

  • Prerequisites

    This Level 2 course is open to Color Vowel® Level 1 Trained Teachers or teachers taking a Color Vowel® Level 1 Practicum course currently or synchronously.

  • Auditing Option

    Anyone who has previously taken a Color Vowel® Spelling Exploration class with ELTS may audit this course. Auditors may attend live or asynchronously. Auditors do not receive feedback on completed assignments.

    Spaces are limited.

Meeting dates and times
(Fall Session)

  • Saturday, October 8, 9:00 - 10:30 am EDT (Eastern U.S.)

  • Saturday, October 15, 9:00 - 10:30 am EDT

  • Saturday, October 22, 9:00 - 10:30 am EDT

  • Saturday, October 29, 9:00 - 10:30 am EDT

Course activities

This course meets online with the following weekly themes:

  • Spelling Exploration set up and procedures

  • Making comparisons across Color Vowels

  • Tricky words and what to do with them

  • Spelling roundup

Course objectives

Through your participation in this course, you will:

  • Build

    Build on your understanding of ‘the problem of English’ as it relates to teaching spelling in ESL and EFL contexts.

  • Gain

    Gain a deeper understanding of the Color Vowel Organizer for the purpose of connecting the spoken and written word.

  • Learn

    Learn how to lead learners in sound-based "spelling exploration" through use of the Spelling Exploration Worksheet, a simple but powerful graphic organizer.

  • Explore

    Conduct your own spelling explorations as a means of gaining practical insight into the way English works.

Meet your instructor

Karen Taylor

Director, ELTS

Karen Taylor co-founded ELTS in 2011 in response to a popular demand for the Color Vowel® Chart, a teaching tool she created in 1999. She holds an MA in TESOL from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey and a BA in English Literature from Georgetown University, as well as an International Baccalaureate from the United World College (US campus). A former Fulbright TEFL Specialist, Karen was the Practitioner in Residence at American University for nine years. She received Ed Tech’s 2020 Visionary Leader award for her work as Head of Education at Blue Canoe Learning Inc.

Course curriculum

    1. Syllabus

      FREE PREVIEW

    2. Zoom and YouTube Playlist Links

    3. How to Join Our Group in the Flip App

    4. How to Complete Video Assignments

    5. How to Record Your Video Responses

    6. Video Response Submission Document

    1. It's time for Wordle!

    2. Readings and Resources

    3. Week 1 Exit Ticket / Asynchronous Attendance Reflection

    4. Task 1A: Explore your Color with a CVO

    5. Task 1B: Explore your Color with a SEW

    6. Task 2: Present your findings

    1. Week 2 Exit Ticket / Asynchronous Attendance Reflection

    2. Task 3: Transfer your individual SEW to our Group 7 SEW

    3. Task 4: Listen, organize, and explore some more!

    1. Week 3 Exit Ticket / Asynchronous Attendance Reflection

    2. Week 3 follow-up notes for Group 7 (October 2022) -- read me! :)

    3. Task 5: Word Mark-ups

    1. Week 4 Exit Ticket / Asynchronous Attendance Reflection

    2. Task 6: Teacher Talk Analysis

About this course

  • $205.00

Continue your Color Vowel® journey

Language learning through noticing, data, and patterns--not rules.

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