Letters

摘要

Sir - Your article on education described how some industrialised countries are finding it difficult to improve standards despite substantial increases in spending on schools ("The race is not always to the richest", December 8th). One factor often overlooked when trying to raise standards is the spelling systems of languages, which can make it very hard for some children to learn to read and write. Finland and South Korea perform consistently well in education tests. It helps that their languages have spelling systems that make learning to read and write exceptionally easy.