How to turn off the spell checker in Android 4.4.2?

I have a Nexus 4 with Android 4.4.2 and I can't switch off the spell checker. I write messages in several different languages and it insists on changing foreign words to the closest English. Writing a message can take me several minutes to sort out all the errors Android itself introduces. Assessing *Settings* > *Language & input* the *Spell checker* field is turned off, but this doesn't stop Android from messing up my messages. Thank you.