Chapter 1 - Introduction: A. Background of The Study

Republic of the Philippines
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Region V-(Bicol)
SHOOLS DIVISION OFFICE
City Of Iriga
RINCONADA NATIONAL TECHNICAL VOCATIONAL SCHOOL
Sto, Domingo, Iriga City
CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION
A. Background Of The Study
One of the problems of the students especially the Junior High School
students are experiencing difficulties in spelling words. Many of the students are
getting confused when they see unfamiliar words. These students may also suffering
reading disability or commonly known as dyslexia. It is a learning disorder that
involves difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning
how they relate to letters and words (decoding). Estimates suggest one in ten people
struggles with some form of dyslexia, which also affects reading ability. Dyslexic
children may be able to spell a word one day and not the next and can find high
frequency service words, such as prepositions, articles and conjunctions, particularly
difficult to learn. When a child’s spelling ability falls below that of same-age peers, it
can undermine his or her confidence and result in poor performance at school. It may
affect both the amount a student writes and the complexity of their written work. Poor
spellers sometimes avoid using words that are part of their spoken vocabulary out of
a fear of making spelling mistakes. They can be reluctant to participate in group
activities, especially those which involve writing on the board, and are less likely to
take notes during lessons. Based on our observation, there are very simple words
that are still misspelled by several students. We are wondering, what are the possible
reasons why there plenty of students cannot effectively write even simple words.
In order to spell, a child needs to be able to hear the sounds in a word, which
is an important pre-literacy skill for young children to develop. When a word is not
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spelled in the way that it is pronounced, short-term memory is required to memorize
the word’s written form. This is also the case for homophones, words which sound
the same but are written in a different way, such as there and their. The more a word
is encountered in reading, the easier it is to remember its spelling. Because encoding
requires you to hear the sounds in language, individuals who struggle with hearing
impairment may have a less developed sense of phonemic awareness, particularly if
the hearing loss was not caught early. In a language like Spanish or German there is
a 1:1 correspondence of sounds to letters which means that if you can say a word,
you can usually spell it. Unfortunately, this is not the case for English, which has
plenty of exceptions to its spelling rules and multiple ways of spelling the same
sound. This poses a problem for second language learners as spelling is not intuitive.
CMC has been described as a language completely different from Standard
English: “a language all of its own” (Thurlow, 2006). However, non-standard versions
of the English language produced online or through a cellphone are not much
different from other language varieties, e.g. slang or dialects (Baron, 2000; Horobin,
2013). The language used in CMC is commonly referred to as textisms, netspeak,
text speak and textese (e.g. Farina & Lyddy, 2011) and shortenings (bro, sis, wed),
clippings (goin, comin), letter homophones (gr8) and plausible versions of either
accented or standard pronunciation are examples of characteristic features of CMC
(Plester et al, 2009; Powell & Dixon, 2011; Thurlow, 2003). Misspellings (were [for
we’re], comming [for coming]) are features not exclusive for CMC but often found in
text messages and online communication (Plester et al, 2009).
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To further clarify why misspellings are relevant for this review we turn to a
study conducted back in 1997 (Dixon & Kaminska). In this study it was revealed that
adults who were exposed to misspellings tended to misspell themselves. Even
though the participants in the study were divided into groups of ‘good spellers’ as well
as ‘poor spellers’ (due to a pretest), a connection between exposure to misspellings
and worse spelling accuracy was evident in both groups.
Some students are fond of using their smartphones to play games and some
of it are educational games. Due to boredom several students chose to play with their
gadgets rather than browsing the books. It is more convenient and easy for them to
find the meaning of the word in just one click through the internet.
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B. Statement of the Problem
This study aims to guide Researchers in conducting a Research regarding
the factors affecting the Grade 7, 8, and 9 students of Rinconada National
Technical Vocational School s/y 2019-2020. In the end of the Research the following
must be attained:
1. To know the profile of the respondents ( Age, Grade level, Section, Gender and
Dialect used at home).
2. To know the positive and negative effects of technology to the spelling skills of
the students.
3. To find out whether the millennial terms affect the spelling skills of students.
4. To give some ideas on how to enhance spelling skills.
5. To know whether pronunciation and intonation has a big impact to the students’
spelling capability.
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C. Significance of the Study
This study aims to help the following personnel:
 STUDENTS It will serves as a guide to the students on
how to effectively spell words.
 TEACHERS It will serves as an instructional material for
the teachers on how to deal with the
students’ needs in order to have efficient
learning when it comes to the spelling.
 ADULTS It will serves as reading material for some
adult who wants to get some tips on how
they can improve spelling skills.
 RESEARCHERS It will serves as a guide to the other
researchers who will conduct research
about difficulties in spelling
 PARENTS It will help them to guide their children to be
knowledgeable when it comes to spelling
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A.
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B. Review Related Literature
The aim of all language teaching including English language is to teach how
to read and effectively write words with knowing its meaning. Learning how to write is
underpinned by different written forms. For any mastery in the area of English it is
very important to build a strong foundation in spelling words. In fact, poor spellers
perform significantly worse than spelling-level matched (and hence younger) normal
spellers on tests on test of segmentation ability (Rohl & Tummer 1988). Ability to
represent the internal consonant of an initial consonant cluster is a good predictor of
overall spelling in the early grades (Shankweiler 1992). Since English spelling is a
hybrid system, partly phonemic and partly morphemic (Chomsky & Halle 1968;
DeFrancis 1989; Venezky 1970), one could expect that awareness of morphological
relationship would aid the learner in surmounting some of the seeming irregularities
in the English spelling system.
Progression of Spelling Ability
Spelling instruction has a long history in the United States dating back to the
1700’s. However the preferred methodology for spelling instruction remained
stagnant for nearly two hundred and fifty years. The traditional methodology, also
called the textbook-based model or memorization model, required students to rely his
or her short-term memory to memorize weekly spelling lists (Wilde, 1991, P.276-
277). Students would often get a pre-test at the start of the week, they might have
engaged in activities dealing with their word lists, and they would have a post- test at
the end of the week. This exercise rarely resulted in an understanding of how
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language worked, and often, students quickly forgot the spelling of the words they
memorized (Bloodgood, 1991, p.203-204). Students do not learn spelling through
rote memorization; rather it requires them to understand the principles that govern
how English words are spelled. If students understand these principles, they can
internalize spellings of known words and be able to figure out the spellings of new
words. Another deficit of this traditional approach is that it lacked differentiation for
individual students. Often, every student was assigned the same word list. This
caused some students to struggle and others not to be challenged enough. This
traditional methodology is still prevalent in many schools today (Schlagel & Schlagel,
1992, p.420).
In the 1970s, these apparent deficits in the traditional approach led to
empirical research about its effectiveness. One study conducted by Donald Hammill,
Stephen Larsen, and Gaye McNutt (1977) involved administering the Test of Written
Spelling to 2,956 third to eighth grade students. The teachers indicated whether
spelling instruction was taught with a basal, another method, or if there was no formal
instruction. The results of this study found that “after Grade 4 no spelling instruction
is almost as effective as special instruction” (p. 70).
The results of the Hammill, Larsen, & McNutt (1977) study helped make
spelling seem like a superfluous exercise. However, other researchers found strong
correlations between it and other parts of literacy. Researchers found a positive
correlation between spelling development and accuracy and fluency, between
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spelling and success in reading, and between spelling and comprehension (Schlagel
& Schlagel, 1992, p.419).
While some researchers were discounting the effectiveness of spelling instruction,
Charles Read and Carol Chomsky were independently conducting research on
students’ invented spellings. The conclusions of their studies found that it was
important to understand why children produced particular spellings.
By understanding students’ thinking towards spelling, you could assess the
students understanding of English’s phonetic and orthographic systems (Wilde, 1991,
p.278). Edmund Henderson and James Beers (1977) analyzed first grade students’
creative writings. They tracked different errors that students made in their writings
and categorized them by error types. They found that students’ invented spellings
progressed in a hierarchical and predictable fashion. This information along with
other developmental-spelling research helped lead the way for a new approach –
word study.
A Review of Recent Research on Spelling
Alan S. Brown
Research on spelling ability has witnessed a vigorous but fragmented growth
in the last decade. A theory on the cognitive mechanisms of spelling remains elusive,
as does a unified approach to spelling instruction. The idea that spelling competence
unfolds in a series of developmental stages has gained popularity. Despite a lack of
clear empirical support for the model, its impact on spelling instruction in the schools
is growing. Research on traditional issues in teaching spelling continues unabated
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(size of word list, time between practice and test, immediacy of feedback) as well as
investigation on innovative approaches (computers, group instruction). A creative
technique applied in the early grades is invented in spelling. Although popular and
widely applied, its effectiveness remains unclear. Research is beginning to indicate
that reading and spelling may be separable but related cognitive processes and that
spelling ability involves to processing systems---phonological and lexical. Finally,
experiencing incorrect spellings may be detrimental to spelling performance, and
more research is needed on this issue.
The Classification of Error
The nature of error includes: definition of error, the difference between error
and mistake, the definition of error analysis, the benefit of analyzing error, the causes
of error, and the classification of error. While, the nature of writing includes: the
definition, scope, and function of writing, writing as a skill, and the characteristic of
written language. A. Concept of Spelling is noun form from spell. Spell is spell the
letter in a word one by one. In the American Heritage dictionary ‘spelling’ is explain
as (1) the manner in which words are spelled: orthography; (2) a group of letters
representing a word. In written English an error in spelling is appear whether in oral
language. May be when they make an error in their speech or pronunciation it
caused by the slip of the tongue. It can be apologized since the hearer can accepted
the meaning of the speaker speech. In written language may be the error in spelling
makes a different meaning in the word. It can be a crucial effect. B. The Nature of
Error 1. Definition of Error is the flawed side of learner speech or writing. They are
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those parts of conversation or composition that deviate from some selected norm of
mature language performance, Dulay et al (1982:138). 11 Dulay et al (1982:138)
states “People cannot learn language without first systematically committing errors”.
So, error is very natural in learning language. Don’t be worry make an error when the
learners learn, because an error will be the learner experience in the future learning
process. 2. The Differences between Error and Mistakes Between error and mistakes
have some meaning that is make a failure of something. Whether word ‘error’ is
usually used in the system of computer or program, while word ‘mistakes’ used in
conversation in the society. In an article under the title ‘Difference between Error and
Mistakes’ accessed in 15th June 2014, term of ‘error’ is highly acceptable in formal or
technical context. In scientific or highly technical terms, the word ‘error’ is more
suitable. In the world of computing and programming, ‘error’ is the more fitting term to
indicate a mistake, or fault, particularly in coding and processes. ‘System Error’
sounds better than ‘System Mistake’. ‘Mistake’, on the other hand, is used more in
casual English conversation. Though ‘error’ may still be used in exchange, it will
often sound unnatural, or technicalese. It would be awkward to say something like: “It
was all an error. I am sorry!”, to your friend. The more natural sounding statement
would be: “It was all a mistake. I am sorry!”. Brown (2000:217) states that mistakes
and errors are technically different phenomena. A mistake refers to a performance
error that is either a random guess or a ‘slip’ in that it is failure to utilize a known
system correctly. Mistake must be carefully differentiated from error. Mistake can be
selfcorrected while error cannot be self-corrected. 3. The Definition of Error Analysis
Every teacher is aware that students might make some errors in learning process.
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Committing errors is human, since it is human characteristic. As errors are part of
learning process, it might be assumed that we do not learn without producing some
errors. Therefore, it is important for the teacher to help the students in finding their
errors and correcting these by using error analysis. Ellis (1987:296) states “error
analysis is a work procedure used by researcher and language teacher, which
involves collecting the sample, identifying the errors in the sample, describing the
errors, classifying the errors according to cause of the errors and also evaluating the
errors.” In learning process, human may have mistaken and errors such as writing
skill. Brown (2000:217) states that learning language is like the other learning. It
cannot be separated from making errors because they actually have significance for
both teacher and students. Researchers and teachers of second language needs to
analyze carefully what mistakes made by students in the process of constructing new
language system.
There are many causes of error experienced by students as follows: a.
Interlingual Error Interlingual error is the error happened because of the interference
of mother language. It happens because the features of the two languages are
different. Brown (2000:224) states that the beginning stages of learning second
language are especially easy to be interferred by interlanguage errors. In this early
stage, before the learner know exactly the system of second language, the native
language is only the previous linguistic system that he/she can draw. It is therefore,
to apply the rule or the system of the second language, he/she is often interferred by
the system or the rule of mother tongue. To solve this error, usually the researcher
translate the grammar of target language into the grammar of mother language. b.
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Intralingual Error Intralingual error is the error that is happened because of the
features of target language itself. Richard (1984:174) states that intralingual transfer
error can be divided into four types, these are: 1) Over-generalization It means the
learner like to simplify the formation or the rules of target language. The learners
seem to simplify the use of such rules and apply again in the other uses. Just for
example, the learners may be asked to add ed/d in constructing simple past tense.
They may write ‘did you opened the window?’. The sentence is consider false. It
means that not all the form of simple past tense can be added ed/d. It depends on
what form the verb is placed. According to Richard as stated in Johnson (2001:67)
over generalization includes where the learner creates adevient structure on the
basis of his experience of other structure in the target language.
CHAPTER II- Body of Research Report
A. Research Method
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Republic of the Philippines

A. Background Of The Study

reading disability or commonly known as dyslexia. It is a learning disorder that

frequency service words, such as prepositions, articles and conjunctions, particularly

a fear of making spelling mistakes. They can be reluctant to participate in group

is an important pre-literacy skill for young children to develop. When a word is not

spelled in the way that it is pronounced, short-term memory is required to memorize

is encountered in reading, the easier it is to remember its spelling. Because encoding

impairment may have a less developed sense of phonemic awareness, particularly if

CMC has been described as a language completely different from Standard

2013). The language used in CMC is commonly referred to as textisms, netspeak,

accented or standard pronunciation are examples of characteristic features of CMC

text messages and online communication (Plester et al, 2009).

adults who were exposed to misspellings tended to misspell themselves. Even

as ‘poor spellers’ (due to a pretest), a connection between exposure to misspellings

and worse spelling accuracy was evident in both groups.

B. Statement of the Problem

This study aims to guide Researchers in conducting a Research regarding

the factors affecting the Grade 7, 8, and 9 students of Rinconada National

Dialect used at home).

4. To give some ideas on how to enhance spelling skills.

C. Significance of the Study

This study aims to help the following personnel:

 STUDENTS It will serves as a guide to the students on

how to effectively spell words.

 TEACHERS It will serves as an instructional material for

the teachers on how to deal with the

students’ needs in order to have efficient

learning when it comes to the spelling.

 ADULTS It will serves as reading material for some

adult who wants to get some tips on how

they can improve spelling skills.

 RESEARCHERS It will serves as a guide to the other

researchers who will conduct research

about difficulties in spelling

 PARENTS It will help them to guide their children to be

knowledgeable when it comes to spelling

B. Review Related Literature

represent the internal consonant of an initial consonant cluster is a good predictor of

in the English spelling system.

Progression of Spelling Ability

1700’s. However the preferred methodology for spelling instruction remained

memorized (Bloodgood, 1991, p.203-204). Students do not learn spelling through

In the 1970s, these apparent deficits in the traditional approach led to

is almost as effective as special instruction” (p. 70).

correlations between it and other parts of literacy. Researchers found a positive

correlation between spelling development and accuracy and fluency, between

& Schlagel, 1992, p.419).

While some researchers were discounting the effectiveness of spelling instruction,

Charles Read and Carol Chomsky were independently conducting research on

important to understand why children produced particular spellings.

By understanding students’ thinking towards spelling, you could assess the

students understanding of English’s phonetic and orthographic systems (Wilde, 1991,

progressed in a hierarchical and predictable fashion. This information along with

A Review of Recent Research on Spelling

Research on spelling ability has witnessed a vigorous but fragmented growth

unfolds in a series of developmental stages has gained popularity. Despite a lack of

is growing. Research on traditional issues in teaching spelling continues unabated

investigation on innovative approaches (computers, group instruction). A creative

widely applied, its effectiveness remains unclear. Research is beginning to indicate

spelling ability involves to processing systems---phonological and lexical. Finally,

experiencing incorrect spellings may be detrimental to spelling performance, and

more research is needed on this issue.