Spelling errors of Omani grade ten EFL students : types, causes and remedies.
مؤلف
Al-Breikiyah, Sheikha Ali Salim.
الملخص الإنجليزي
The aims of the present study were to identify the most common types of spelling errors made by Omani grade ten students and to explore perceptions of grade ten teachers regarding the causes of the spelling errors and the possible remedies for the treatn the misspellings. The population of this study consisted of all grade ten students in North Batinah and all grade ten teachers in North and South Batinah. The study sample included 90 students (41 males and 49 females) and 91 teachers.
In order to answer the research questions, two main instruments were used: an English language test for the students and a survey questionnaire for the teachers. The English language test included an oral spelling test of 70 words and a free writing task. The survey questionnaire included 5-point scale items exploring the causes and remedies.
The major findings of the present study were:
1. The most common types of misspellings made by grade ten students were firstly
vowel substitution, secondly vowel omission and thirdly consonant substitution. 2. There were significant differences between males and females with respect to vowel omission and true word errors. Males made more vowel omission misspellings and females made more true word misspellings. 3. The highly rated causes of the misspellings as perceived by the teachers were:
• the complexity of the English spelling system;
• letter(s)' combinations in English; poor reading proficiency; students' carelessness; sounds that exist in English but not in Arabic; and
sound-letter correspondence in English is not regular. 4. The most frequent suggestions for remedy of the spelling errors as perceived by
grade ten teachers were: breaking long words into smaller parts; drawing students' attention to silent letters; keeping personal dictionaries of challenging words; including tasks that stimulate both sound-to-letter phonic spelling and spelling of irregular words; noting down the most common spelling errors; and praising the students for spelling difficult words correctly. In light of the findings, recommendations and suggestions for classroom practices and for further research were provided.
