IMPACTS OF SPELLING PROBLEMS ON EFL STUDENTS’ WRITING SKILL AT KANDAHAR UNIVERSITY, KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN

Ajab Noor Sultani, Abdul Nafi Himat

Abstract


In English language, spelling is one of the sub-skills and components of writing. In addition, writing is from the productive skills of English language that is very essential for EFL leaners. This study investigated the causes of spelling problems and its impacts on EFL students’ writing skill. Moreover, a quantitative approach used for this study, and the instrument was questionnaire. In this study, the target population was from two faculties of Kandahar University. The data collected from one hundred and eighty-five learners, and they elected through a random sampling method. Besides, the data analyzed by using IBM 22 version of SPSS, and the results reported in the tables. The findings of this current study revealed that English language has more sounds than letters, the spelling system of English is complex and has many rules, students’ carelessness when they write a paragraph or text are the causes of spelling errors. As well, the lack of suitable manual regarding the spelling of words, and the interference of students’ native language with English language were the major reasons of spelling problems for the learners. Furthermore, the study further asserted that spelling errors made the students to spend more than the necessary time when they write and poor structure of sentences were the factors, which had negative impacts on the writing skill of the learners.

Article visualizations:

Hit counter


Keywords


writing, spelling, spelling problems, causes, impacts, EFL students

Full Text:

PDF

References


Aajami, R. F. (2018). Applying Cognitive Linguistics to Enhance the Semantics of English at: An Experimental Study (Baghdad University). International Journal of English Linguistics, 8(6), 185-192. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v8n6p185

Abdulkareem, M. N. (2013). An investigation study of academic writing problems faced by Arab postgraduate students at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). Theory & Practice in Language Studies, 3(9).

Ahmed, D. A. I. (2017). Investigating English Spelling Difficulties in Basic Level Pupils (Doctoral dissertation, Sudan University of Science and Technology).

Albalawi, F. S. (2016a). Analytical study of the most common spelling errors among Saudi female learners of English: Causes and remedies. Asian Journal of Educational Research, 4(3), 48-62.

Albalawi, M. J. (2016b). The Academic Writing Performance and Spelling Errors of English as Foreign Language Students at Tabuk University: A Case of the Introductory Year Students. Asian Journal of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities, 4(1), 1-8.

Al-Bereiki, S. A., & Al-Mekhlafi, A. M. (2016). Spelling errors of Omani EFL students: Causes and remedies. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research, 3(7), 20-46.

Albesher, K. B. (2018). Saudi EFL adult learners’ spelling errors: Reasons and remedial strategies to raise their writing proficiency level. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 7(7), 131-141. http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.7n.7p.131

Al-Busaidi, S., & Al-Saqqaf, A. H. (2015). English Spelling Errors Made by Arabic-Speaking Students. English Language Teaching, 8(7), 181-199. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1075457

Alenazi, O. S. (2018). Spelling difficulties faced by Arab learners of English as a foreign language. Arab World Journal, 9(2), 118-126. https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol9no2.8

Alhaisoni, E. M., Al-Zuoud, K. M., & Gaudel, D. R. (2015). Analysis of spelling errors of beginner learners of English in the English foreign language context in Saudi Arabia. English Language Teaching, 8(3), 185-192.

Al-Jarf, R. (2010). Spelling error corpora in EFL. Sino-US English Teaching. 7(1), 6-15.

Al-Sobhi, B. M. S., Rashid, S. M., Abdullah, A. N., & Darmi, R. (2017). Arab ESL Secondary School Students' Spelling Errors. International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies, 5(3), 16-23.

AlTameemy, F., & Daradkeh, A. (2019). Common paragraph writing errors made by Saudi EFL students: Error analysis. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 9(2), 178-187.

Altamimi, D., & Ab Rashid, R. (2019). Spelling problems and causes among Saudi English language undergraduates. Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) 10(3), 178-191. https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3465999

Althobaiti, S., & Elyas, T. (2019). Comparing Different Pedagogical Techniques to Teach Spelling at a Saudi High School: A Case Study. Studies in English Language Teaching, 7(1), 36-50.

Al-Zuoud, K. M., & Kabilan, M. K. (2013). Investigating Jordanian EFL Students' spelling errors at tertiary level. International Journal of Linguistics, 5(3), 164.

Asif, M., Zhiyong, D., Azhar, A., & Malik, S. (2019). Spelling Errors among Online Learners in the Moderated Discussion Board: A Case Study of Virtual University of Pakistan. European Online Journal of Natural and Social Sciences, 8(2), pp-212.

Atatsi, E. A., & Amoakohene, B. (2019). An Analysis of Students’ Knowledge in Spelling: A Case of a Technical University in Ghana. Language, Discourse & Society, 7(1), 239-257.

Bancha, W. (2013). What causes spelling errors of Thai EFL students. ARECLS, 10, 107-129.

Benyo, A. A. F. (2014). English spelling problems among students at the University of Dongola, Sudan. International Research Journal. Educational Research, 5(9), 361-367.

Brown, D. H. (2000). Principles of language learning & teaching. (4th Ed.). New York: Longman.

Burt, J. S. (2002). Why do non-color words interfere with color naming?. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 28(5), 1019.

Dar, M. F., & Khan, I. (2015). Writing anxiety among public and private sectors Pakistani undergraduate university students. Pakistan Journal of Gender Studies, 10(1), 157-172. https://doi.org/10.46568/pjgs.v10i1.232

Ehri, L. C., & Rosenthal, J. (2007). Spellings of words: A neglected facilitator of vocabulary learning. Journal of Literacy Research, 39(4), 389-409. https://doi.org/10.1080%2F10862960701675341

Esther, M. (2018). Spelling Errors: Causes, Influence on Students’ Performance in English Language Essay Writing and Strategies for Correcting Them. Case Studies Journal ISSN (2305-509X)–Volume, 4.

Fareed, M., Ashraf, A., & Bilal, M. (2016). ESL learners’ writing skills: Problems, factors and suggestions. Journal of Education and Social Sciences, 4(2), 81-92.

Fragman, A. (2013). Spelling accuracy of consonants in Arabic among Negev Bedouin students. Open Journal of Modern Linguistics, 3(4), 330-336. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ojml.2013.34042

Gyabeng, A. (2019). Analysis of spelling errors in the writing of Proso DA JHS Two pupils (Doctoral dissertation, University of Education, Winneba).

Hameed, P. F. M. (2016). A study of the spelling errors committed by students of English in Saudi Arabia: Exploration and remedial measures. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 7(1), 203-207.

Heale, R., & Twycross, A. (2015). Validity and reliability in quantitative studies. Evidence-based nursing, 18(3), 66-67. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/eb-2015-102129

Hikmah, S. (2017). Spelling error analysis in students’ writing at tenth grade in MAN 1 Boyolali in the academic year of 2016/2017. Unpublished undergraduate thesis. IAIN Surakarta, Surakarta, Indonesia.

Holmes, V. M., & Carruthers, J. (1998). The relation between reading and spelling in skilled adult readers. Journal of memory and language, 39(2), 264-289.

Holmes, V. M., & Quinn, L. (2009). Unexpectedly poor spelling and phonological-processing skill. Scientific Studies of Reading, 13(4), 295-317.

Jayousi, A., & Thaher, M. (2011). Spelling errors of Arab students: Types, causes and teachers' responses (Doctoral dissertation).

Kanyepi, S. (2016). An assessment of the causes of spelling errors: a case study of ZJC pupils at SOS Hermann Gmeiner High School, Bindura (Doctoral dissertation).

Kreiner, D. S., Schnakenberg, S. D., Green, A. G., Costello, M. J., & McClin, A. F. (2002). Effects of spelling errors on the perception of writers. The Journal of general psychology, 129(1), 5-17.

Krejcie, R. V., & Morgan, D. W. (1970). Determining sample size for research activities. Educational and psychological measurement, 30(3), 607-610.

Mahboob, A. (2014). Epilogue: Understanding language variation: Implications for eil pedagogy. The pedagogy of English as an international language: Perspectives from scholars, teachers, and students, 257-265.

Muhassin, M., Hidayah, R., Hidayati, D. A., & Pradana, S. A. (2020). Investigating Spelling Errors Among Indonesian EFL Secondary School Students. English Education: Jurnal Tadris Bahasa Inggris, 13(2), 1-24.

Muslim, I. M. (2014). Helping EFL students improve their writing. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 4(2), 105-112.

Naruemon, D. A. R. E. T. T. (2012). Causes of English spelling errors made by Thai foreign language learners. ARECLS, 10, 22-43.

Nasser, S. M. (2018). Iraqi EFL students’ difficulties in writing composition: An experimental study (University of Baghdad). International Journal of English Linguistics, 9(1), 178-184. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v9n1p178

Nazari, H. R., Himat, A. N. (2020). The Usage of Peer Feedback and its Influence on Afghan EFL Learners’ Academic Achievement at Kandahar University, Afghanistan. London Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences, 20(1), 35-46.

Nguyen, H. T. N., Pham, T. U., Phan, T. M. U. (2020). Difficulties in Writing Essays of English Majored Sophomores at Tay Do University, Vietnam. European Journal of English Language and Teaching.

O'Brien, J. (2015). Consciousness-raising, error correction and proofreading. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 85-103. https://doi.org/10.14434/josotl.v15i3.13284

Othman, A. K. (2018). An investigation of the most common spelling errors in English writing committed by English-major male students at the University of Tabuk. Journal of Education and Practice, 9(1), 17-22.

Perveen, U. Z. M. A., & Akram, F. A. I. Z. A. (2014). A comparative study to know the causes of spelling errors committed by learners of English at elementary level in distract Kasur and Lahore in Pakistan. European Academic Research, 2(2), 2601-2622.

Peters, M. L. (1985). Spelling: Caught or Taught? London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

Puspandari, K. (2017). An Analysis on Spelling of Inflectional Nouns Made by the Seventh Grade Students of SMPN 1 Loa Kulu.

Qasem, F. A. A. (2020). Exploring Spelling Errors with Relation to the Phonological Syllable Structure in the Writings of Saudi ESL Learners. International Journal of English Linguistics, 10(6).

Rao, Z. (2007). Training in brainstorming and developing writing skills. ELT journal, 61(2), 100-106.

Umera-Okeke, N. (2008). Spelling and phonetic inconsistencies in English: A problem for learners of English as a foreign/second language. African Research Review, 2(1), 64-83. https://doi.org/10.4314/afrrev.v2i1.41025.

Yen, Y. C., Hou, H. T., & Chang, K. E. (2015). Applying role-playing strategy to enhance learners’ writing and speaking skills in EFL courses using Facebook and Skype as learning tools: A case study in Taiwan. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 28(5), 383-406. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2013.839568.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v8i4.3668

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2021 Ajab Noor Sultani, Abdul Nafi Himat

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Copyright © 2015-2023. European Journal of Education Studies (ISSN 2501 - 1111) is a registered trademark of Open Access Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

This journal is a serial publication uniquely identified by an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) serial number certificate issued by Romanian National Library (Biblioteca Nationala a Romaniei). All the research works are uniquely identified by a CrossRef DOI digital object identifier supplied by indexing and repository platforms. All authors who send their manuscripts to this journal and whose articles are published on this journal retain full copyright of their articles. All the research works published on this journal are meeting the Open Access Publishing requirements and can be freely accessed, shared, modified, distributed and used in educational, commercial and non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).