I believe the fact that many native speakers have difficulty in spelling words correctly should not be a reason why we should neglect teaching good spelling. While teaching English, it is our duties as teachers to show students the correct rules as well as the exceptions made in informal English. 

Carla D'Elia - English Teacher

It is true that spelling is a common problem both for native and non-native speakers. This, as a rule, becomes a widely spread reason why people dislike writing. However, it does not and can't mean that we need to take it for granted and do nothing with language learners to improve the situation. I strongly believe that spelling, as any other language 'skill' has to be given our thorough attention to.

Otherwise, if learners realise that spelling is not important, the fact itself that there are things in language which you may skip or which aren't worth spending time on, may result to wrong perception of the language learning process generally.

A definite Yes and I would extend it to both native and non-native English speakers alike.

If I understand it correctly, the implication is that native speakers use English "naturally" or effortlessly and thus live in a sort of 'blissful ignorance' of the intricacies of spelling and/or grammar in general, and perhaps feel weird forcing their students to spell correctly, if they themselves don't get it 100% right all the time.

In any case, I feel a teacher should be at least aware of the importance of spelling, setting an example in any given class situation, perhaps using self-deprecating, ironic remarks on their own uselessness with spelling at the whiteboard, etc., to raise students' awareness of the importance of spelling - to at least double-check the correct spelling, to take their time and use any form of checking, whether it be electronic or with a dictionary.

After all, we're bound to make mistakes, especially in spelling, especially while using the board, where I seem to be under the effect of the "spelling curse,"making terrible, terrible spelling slips, omitting letters, skipping whole parts of words, and so on. I don't know what I did, or what I should do to please the spelling gods and make them lift this curse from me.

So, spelling is important and even if there are obvious differences between native and non-native English teachers, we're in the same boat on this.

sn

I think to be able to discuss the importance of spelling we should first ask ourselves, 'Is correct spelling important when writing in your own L1?' I venture to say that at least 80% of people wouldn't think twice before answering 'Yes'.

So, why should it be different with English? English is not the only language in the world that has a complex written system, just think of languages which are based on ideograms and you will see it. Failing to draw lines and dots correctly can in many cases simply change completely the meaning of a word. The same thing happens with some words in English. A spelling mistake at the wrong moment, in the wrong place, can sometimes impede communication and damage relationships (!) This does not mean that there should be just one standard spelling - different varieties of English may have different spellings for the same word, but should always make a distinction between acceptable local varieties and spelling mistakes.

Cheers - Chris

Hello - first time poster on these forums.

Spelling is as much part of learning a language as other skills. Bad spelling makes the reader have to work harder, in much the same way that bad pronunciation makes it harder for the listener.