Good line of thinking - I don't have anything at the ready to really refute that reasoning other than some intuition about seeing some things before about short

Good line of thinking - I don't have anything at the ready to really refute that reasoning other than some intuition about seeing some things before about short term vs. long term retention. Quick fixes that don't explain the mechanics can mask a lack of fundamental skills. Or, in more casual terms, it's like giving an angry Chimp a razor blade. As you note, and I completely agree with, it's practice that helps keep the "their, there, and they're" type issues from becoming normal pitfalls. English is tough in that regard, and often confuses people trying to learn either as natives or ESL. I guess that's why I stress all the more knowing the rules is important, because many make sense until they get broken in dialect haha.