People's Democratic Republic of Algeria

Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research

Mentouri University Constantine

Faculty of Letters and Languages

Department of Foreign Languages

The Case of Third Year L.M.D. Students at Mentouri University Constantine

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a Master degree in

Applied Language Studies

Board of Examiners

Dr. BEGHOUL Youcef Mentouri University Constantine

Dr. LAKEHAL AYAT Karima Mentouri University Constantine

Candidate: Supervisor:

BENZITOUNI Amina Ouafa Dr. LAKEHAL AYAT Karima

2009-2010
 Dedication

To my parents,

To my brothers and sister,

To all those who contributed to the elaboration of this modest work.

I
 Acknowledgements

The debts owed for help in producing this work are more than I

can pay.

The greatest debt is for my supervisor Dr. Lakehal-Ayat

Karima, who directed me in the world of research with generosity and

patience.

Gratitude is also due to a succession of teachers at Mentouri

University Constantine, in particular Pr. Harouni Zahri and Dr.

Beghoul Youcef. Likewise gratitude is due to the chief of the department

of foreign languages Dr. Laraba Samir.

I am also grateful for all my friends who supported and encouraged

me during the preparation of this work.

II
 Abstract

The present research is intended to investigate the reasons that lie behind the

problem of confusion in the English spelling. It takes the specific case of third year

L.M.D. students at Mentouri University Constantine. To achieve the aforementioned

aim a test, where twenty students participated, was carried out. The hypothesis we

tested came to be validated for our analysis of students' erroneous spellings revealed

that the confusion students face while spelling in English is due to many causes. The

major causes are students' lack of knowledge of the spelling rules and strategies in

addition to their unawareness of words origins. The current study has also

demonstrated that spelling is an important skill to be taught since spelling mistakes

can have serious consequences that affect communication and intelligibility. That is

why, teachers need consider the teaching of the spelling rules and strategies with great

care.

III
 List of Abbreviations

S.S.S.: The Simplified Spelling Society

I.T.A.: Initial Teaching Alphabet

T.O.: Traditional Orthography

S.L.V.: The Short and Long Vowel Rule

IV
 List of Tables

Table 01: The Spelling Choices in Sentence One……………………………………29

Table 02: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Two…………………………………...30

Table 03: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Three………………………………… 31

Table 04: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Four………………………………….. 32

Table 05: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Five ……………………………….......33

Table 06: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Six ………………………………...…34

Table 07: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Seven………………………………… 35

Table 08: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Eight ……………………………….…36

Table 09: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Nine……………………………..…… 37

Table 10: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Ten ……………………………………38

Table 11: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Eleven……………………………...… 39

Table 12: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Twelve …………………………..……40

Table 13: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Thirteen……………………………… 41

Table 14: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Fourteen……………………………… 42

Table 15: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Fifteen………………………….……. 43

Table 16: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Sixteen…………………………..…… 44

Table 17: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Seventeen………………………….… 45

Table 18: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Eighteen…………………………...… 46

Table 19: The Spelling Choices in Sentence the Nineteen ……………………….…47

Table20: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Twenty…………………………...…… 48

V
 List of Figures

Figure 01: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence One…………………………….29

Figure 02: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Two…………………………….30

Figure 03: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Three…………………………...31

Figure 04: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Four……………………………32

Figure 05: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Five…………………………….33

Figure 06: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Six…………………..………….34

Figure 07: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Seven……………………..……35

Figure 08: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Eight………………………...…36

Figure 09: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Nine……………………………37

Figure 10: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Ten……………………….…….38

Figure 11: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Eleven………………………… 39

Figure 12: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Twelve…………………………40

Figure 13: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Thirteen………………………..41

Figure 15: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Fourteen………………………..42

Figure 15: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Fifteen…………………………43

Figure 16: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Sixteen…………………………44

Figure 17: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Seventeen………...……………45

Figure 18: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Eighteen………………………..46

Figure 19: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Nineteen……………………….47

Figure 20: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Twenty…………………………48

VI
 Contents

Introduction

1. Aims of the Study.....................................................................................................01

2. Statement of the Problem.........................................................................................01

3. Research Questions..................................................................................................03

4. Research Hypothesis................................................................................................03

5. Means of Research...................................................................................................03

6. Structure of the Study………………………………………………………...……04

Chapter One: The English Spelling

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………06

1. The English Spelling………………………………………………………………07

2. The Emergence of Spelling Errors in the English Language……………………...08

3. The Problem of Confusion in the English Spelling………………………………..10

4. The Main Areas of Confusion in the English Spelling……………………………13

4. 1. Confusion with Words………………………………………………………….13

4. 1. 1. Close, Open, or Hyphenated…………………………………………………14

4. 1. 2. Homophones………………………………………………………………….16

VII
4. 2. Confusion with Letters………………………………………………………….17

4. 2. 1. Silent Letters…………………………………………………………………17

4. 2. 2. The Choice between Single and Double Consonants………………………...18

4. 2. 3. Word Endings………………………………………………………………...20

4. 3.Confusion with Numbers, and Symbols…………………………………………21

4. 3.1.Numbers……………………………………………………………………….21

4. 3.2.Apostrophes……………………………………………………………………22

4. 3.3.Accents and Diacritics…………………………………………………………22

4.3.4. Other Symbols…………………………………………………………………23

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………23

Chapter Two: The causes of Confusion in the English Spelling

Introduction………………………………………………………………………26

1. Population and Sampling………………………………………………………...26

2. Description of the test……………………………………………………………27

3. Design and Implementation……………………………………………………...27

4. Results and Analysis……………………………………………………………..28

5. Discussion of the results………………………………………………………….49

Conclusion………………………………………………………………………..52

General Conclusion………………………………………………………….….53

Bibliography………………………………………………………………….....58

VIII
 Introduction

1. Aims of the Study

Among all the necessary skills in learning English as a foreign language, the

writing skill is considered to be the most important one. In the case of the Algerian

educational system, it is the skill mostly used to examine students' performances.

Despite the considerable time learners take to write and revise their texts before they

put them in the final form, students writings come to be full of mistakes, particularly

those concerning spelling. The main concern of this research is to know as much as

possible about learners' competence in the most problematic areas in English spelling

and gain understanding of the chief reasons underling this problem. It also aims to

tackle the basic questions about spelling and shed light on the importance of spelling

as one of the most significant skills in writing. If our hypothesis is substantiated, the

current study would provide suggestions and find teaching procedures that would cure

this problematic situation and achieve a correct and self-assured spelling.

2. Statement of the Problem

Undeniably, the way we talk and write largely determines our success in life.

A successful student always presents grammatically correct, well punctuated, well

spelt, and well organized pieces of writing. But in this era of online dictionaries and

other ultra-modern writing aids, most students do not concern themselves with the

detail of spelling. For some, the advantage of the word processor has downgraded the

typewriter practically to the status of the pen, and the very bad speller can look good

simply by running a spell-check on the final production before printing. However, this

is not always the case. The significance of electronic dictionaries is indisputable but a

1
much dependence on them is risky since the English language just has too many

twists. For instance, most spell check programs lack the ability to detect the misuse of

homophones. In addition, the spell-checker is not accessible all time. In examinations,

for instance, countless students find themselves in a difficult situation; they get

confused with many words' spellings. Confusion does not occur only at words and

letters level but also at other significant spelling characters and leads to many

mistakes that can have serious consequences.

At the word level, among the spelling errors many students make is to write

what should be a single word as two separate words (e.g. every body, any thing and

all mighty), or write what should be two words as a single or a hyphenated word. (e.g.

percent, awhile and note-pad). Students also get confused with homophones; words

that are pronounced the same way but spelt differently and mean different things (e.g.

brake and break, affect and effect, or see and sea). At letters level, the choice between

single or double consonants and the spelling of words endings or words with silent

letters seem perplexing for most learners (e.g. funy or funny and permanent or

permanant). For many students, however, it is not merely words and letters that cause

problems and confusion but also other marks that are so important in spelling as

numbers and symbols. Although these marks are employed much less frequently,

students almost always get confused about how, where and when to use them, and see

them as the blemish to be avoided whenever possible without considering that anyone

who wants to spell correctly must understand the rules governing the various uses of

these symbols.Seen in this light, the following questions arise.

2
3. Research Questions
This research is concerned with the investigation of the main areas of

confusion in the English spelling and the reasons that lie behind this problem. Hence

our study raises three questions:

• Why do students get confused as to which way some words and symbols are spelt

in English?

• Is the English spelling unsystematic and unpredictable, or is it students' ignorance

of the spelling rules and strategies that leads to confusion?

• How can this confusion in the English spelling be overcome?

4. Research Hypothesis
Our research is directed by one main hypothesis.

If students were aware of the spellings rules, strategies, and words origins,

they would not get confused.

5. Means of Research
To gather data about learner's proficiency in the most bewildering spellings in

the English language and the causes of this problem, a test was carried out. The test

consists of twenty simple sentences where students have to decide on the right

spelling between two spelling propositions. It was administered to a random sample

of twenty students of third year L.M.D. students of English as a foreign language at

Mentouri University Constantine after they were asked whether they would agree to

participate to our study and were given instructions on how to answer.

3
6. Structure of the Study

The dissertation is divided into two chapters. The first chapter deals with a

synthesized historical background of the English spelling and the emergence of the

idea of misspelling. We also reviewed researchers' views about the problem of

confusion and the most mystifying areas in the English spelling. Chapter two involves

the field investigation. It opens on a brief account of the motives behind the selection

of the population of our study. Then follows the description of our test and the

analysis of its results. The dissertation ends with some pedagogical implications that

provide some easy ways to drive out this big blunder from students writings, so that

they will quickly improve their spelling and be able to point out the mistakes in

difficult words.

4
5
Introduction

If there is a topic of really universal concern and significance, it is the ability

to write and speak one's own language effectively. It is not only the basis of cultures

and civilisations but also and substantially the basis of modern life. Recent studies

into the nature of teaching and writing in an E.F.L. context stress the fact that teaching

writing is a knotty job. The difficulty essentially stems from the teacher being in

charge of dealing with countless problems students of English as a foreign language

come across and which are more noticeable in their writing productions than oral ones

as spelling mistakes that are considered among the commonest writing problems. In

dealing with such writing problems, a good number of researchers emphasized on the

need for ensuring a firm and correct spelling. They alleged that for language to be

effective, one must look upon the bad spelling nuisance exactly as we look upon the

smoke nuisance, the sewer-gas nuisance, the stock-yards' smell nuisance since purity

is something more than an aesthetic fashion but a necessity to our health and comfort,

and for that reason, it becomes a issue of common public concern, in language as well

as in air. This chapter covers the basic broad lines of the English spelling as well as it

looks in more details at the problem of confusion and the most confusing areas of the

English spelling. In addition, it provides some useful principles that build a good

knowledge about the English spelling. For a more comprehensible and clear

understanding of the English spelling traps and snares, the most problematic areas

were divided into three parts, each of which deals with the spelling problems at one

level (words ,letters, then symbols).

6
1. The English Spelling

The origin of the word spelling is not well established. It can come from Old

French ‘espeller’ ,modern ‘épeler’ , or from Germanic ‘spellôn’, and probably from

the Old English ‘spel’, meaning a magical incantation which reflects the origin of the

word ‘gospel’. The term spelling was used to denote reading books and casting spells

in earlier times, before it bears its current significance meaning to name or write the

letters in a particular order (Mc Arthur, 1992).

The terms spelling and its synonym orthography generally entail that the

letters are used in accordance with conventional principles. Alphabetic writing is

principally phonetic, but no alphabet has constantly perfectly represented a language

and the relationship between sounds and alphabetic writing is often indirect and far

from ideal as the case of the English spelling (Microsoft Encarta, 2009).

The course of modern English started 1500 years ago with Old English which

had a sound system of about 40 different speech sounds, but an alphabet of 27 letters

only. The Old English spelling was a quite precise representation of pronunciation.

Things did not change to a great extent as the Vikings set up their split province, the

“Dane-law” in the North and East of England since the language of the Vikings, Old

Norse, was strictly related to Old English. Then, with the arrival of Norman French,

which was very different from Old English in vocabulary, pronunciation, and spelling,

to Britain after the Norman Conquest the spelling problems really began. Many new

words of French origin had been introduced into English, and even many Anglo-

Saxon words had been replaced by French words, or had been respelled according to

the French spelling rules. The development of printing in the 15th and 16th centuries

added further complications for many printers were foreign, mainly Dutch, and made

7
a lot of mistakes since they depended on their native spelling when printing English.

In addition to these foreign historical causes, there were other purely English ones.

For instance, the language variety of London had a strong influence on the

development of English which gave rise to some mismatches between pronunciation

and spelling. Another factor is the fact that the English writing system has not

changed to keep pace with the enormous changes in pronunciation. Moreover, in the

16th century, some scholars argued that the spelling of Latin and Greek words should

reflect their origins; to achieve this, many silent letters were added to English words

(Davidson, 2005).

2. The Emergence of Spelling Errors in the English Language

Mc Arthur (1992) claimed that the idea of bad spelling in English is rather a

new one that has appeared with the idea of reforming the English spelling. He

affirmed that there were no spelling rules at all in Shakespeare's time, a situation that

disturbed some reformers. The wish of these early reformers was to establish a more

phonetic system of spelling to remove or reduce elements taken to be sources of

confusion and difficulty in learning and save time and effort when learning to write.

Bullokar, who was a teacher, is considered the first to complain that it was tough to

teach learners to read with that time method of spelling. The reform started with the

Simplified Spelling Society ‘S.S.S.’, an organization founded in Britain in1908 for the

sake of setting off a reform of the English spelling in the profit of the easiness of

learning spelling and issued very successful reading books in a phonetic orthography

for learners in schools such as ‘Nerseri Rymz and Simpel Poëmz: A Ferst Reederin

Simplifyd Speling ’. Then, after the refuse of many reform proposals as ‘New

Spelling’ and ‘Initial Teaching Alphabet’(I.T.A.), the S.S.S. started to adopt the ideas

8
of Harry Lindgren in Australia and regarded limited or staged reforms of (T.O.) as

more useful. Three types of staged reform were estimated like the regularization of

the spelling of single phonemes and graphemes besides the removal of “redundant

letters” but without success.

Lovinger (2002) stated that the idea of reforming the English spelling to

ensure a regular spelling system and get rid of spelling problems was impossible and

unsuccessful for changing a whole spelling system exclusively might swiftly render

centuries of literature and considerable knowledge. Besides, homophones would be

more confusing. And if speech determined spelling, speakers of English from

different places would find it hard to read each other’s writings. He avowed that the

rules of spelling and their exceptions are far-reaching, but there is no way but to be

learned and this is what Brown's quotation illustrates.

Had we a perfect alphabet, consisting of one symbol, and only

one, for each elementary sound; and precisely adjusted to the
most correct pronunciation of words; the process of learning
to read would doubtless be greatly facilitated. We must
therefore content ourselves to learn languages as they are,
and to make the best use we can of our present imperfect
system of alphabetic characters; and we may be the better
satisfied to do this, because the deficiencies and redundancies
of this alphabet are not yet so well ascertained, as to make it
certain what a perfect one would be. (Brown, 2004:155)

Alternatively, Webster (1993) stated that printers and dictionaries were two

powerful factors in the coming out of the idea of spelling errors. He claimed that it is

till the advent of printing in the 15c, that people became aware, concerned and

interested in spelling. The idea of 'correct writing' became known mainly due to

printers' desire to regularity and consistency since European spelling conventions

were not firm and reflected writers' accents and preferences (they varied the spelling

of words even to justify their lines). So, they followed an inclination toward a regular

9
spelling based on King James Bible. When dictionaries became available, the

tendency toward regularity and interest in word forms increased which led individuals

‘to strive’ to identify the conventions of spelling.

3. The Problem of Confusion in the English Spelling

At the present time, it does not appear out of the ordinary to speak about

someone's misspellings. Errors come out in books, periodicals, newspapers, and

students essays. Mistakes vary from the bad joining of words and confusion with

homophones, to the substitution, omission, addition, and transposition of letters and

symbols.

According to Wilson (1990), spelling is mostly a neuromuscular skill in the

development of which certain innate equipment is the main requirement. In this

respect, spelling is merely considered as an aptitude that one has to make his ability to

improve especially practice. He added that most misspellings in English are only a

matter of lack of practice and in spelling as in many other skills practice makes it

perfect.

However, writings about this problem represented two conflicting views on

the English spelling system as being the main source of confusion. The first view

suggests that there is undeniably a highly conventional spelling system, with just a

few irregular structures causing some troubles (Order theorists). In opposition, the

second view suggests that most English misspellings are due to the unpredictability

and irregularity of the English spelling rules and principles (Chaos theorists).

Baugh (1993) declared that learner's confusion with the English spelling is due

to learner's belief that the English language is ‘riddled’ with exceptions to the spelling

10
rules despite the fact that most words are conventional to precise rules and still the

exceptions might be categorized ‘for easy reference’. This was supported by Crystal

(1989), who stated that there is not a straightforward way to fix on when the regularity

of the rule starts, but it has been anticipated that only about three per cent of the

mostly used English words are ‘so irregular’, and about 80 per cent are spelled in

accordance with regular prototypes.

But, Crystal (op.cit.) turned to ask if the spelling system contains such

regularity, why is there a problem. Crystal avowed that the answer is intricate and

complicated and considered the fact that learners are seldom taught to spell but made

to learn spellings by rote, then meticulously tested on them without the explanation of

what they have learned, and why spellings are as they are. Crystal also emphasized

that learning the predictable and probable relations between spelling and

pronunciation is the way out for understanding the English spelling system as the

quotation explains:

An integrated approach can then act as a frame work for the

task of mastering the exceptions that history has imposed on
the language –but this task seems less formidable once it is
accompanied by understanding .If there is a daily battle being
fought over spelling in our classrooms, as some suggest, it
will be won only if children learn (as wartime generals did) to
know their enemy. (Crystal,1989:272)

Among the Chaos theorists, Cody (2006) maintained that the problem of

confusion with the English spelling is due to the nature of the English spelling that is

considered as irregular for many learners and looks totally confused, if compared with

the Spanish spelling which has approximately a regular phonetic spelling with one

primary sound for each letter, that a Dutch observer of English, Dr. Gerard Nolst

Trenité (1870-1946), wrote a poem on English spelling, entitled ‘The Chaos’. He

11
stated that the English language is replete with one to three thousand words which are

spelled in irregular ways, organized in lists of exceptions that are often ‘so

formidable’ that the learner get discouraged, neglect the other rules and principles and

exclaim: If nine tenths of the words I use every day are exceptions to the rules, what is

the use of the rules anyway!

Crystal ( 1989 ) alleged that the truth is somewhere in between and it cannot

be expected to come to an exact figure for the amount of regularity in the English

spelling since this varies from one area to the other. He illustrated this by the fact that

the English spelling looks very regular if we see it from its technical terms, whereas,

it looks ‘dramatically’ irregular, if one takes into account foreign loan words.

Other researcher claimed that being regular or not is not the only reason of

perplexity. Devine (2002) argued that learners often neglect the employment of many

helpful, easy and effortless strategies that can be extremely sufficient to ensure a

confident and accurate spelling and surmount the quandary of misspelling as making

use of mnemonics that can be oral as breaking words into their components, make use

of rhymes or humorous and odd sayings that stick in the mind (e.g. learners can

remind themselves that there are two Rs in ‘embarrass’ if they remember that they get

really red with embarrassment), or visual as pictures(e.g. learners can remember that

‘aggressive’ is written with two Gs if they could have a picture of two gorillas

fighting.). Likewise, Davidson (2005) found that learners do not take advantage of

word families that are very beneficial as a spelling strategy in particular with words

with silent letters and words' endings. For instance, the silent ’n’ in government and

the ‘ant’ ending in ‘vigilant’ would make no problem if learners use the verb ‘govern’

and the noun ‘vigilance’ as a reminder.

12
 Then again, Webster (1993) acknowledged that these difficulties learners

come upon today are the result of the major linguistic and social events which took

place in the earlier periods. The starting point of the problem lounged with the attempt

of Christian missionaries to make use of their 23-letter alphabet for more than 35

phonemes of Old English. The Norman Conquest, the introduction of printing the

instability of pronunciation, and loan words added further complications to the

spelling situation as quoted from P 865

Our present-day spelling, then, is a mishmash of archaism,

reform, error, and accident, and it is unsurprising that not
everyone who is heir to the tradition can handle it perfectly.
Even so, with all the aids available to poor spellers, including
electronic spelling-checkers, you; might think there would be
very few misspellings found in print.

That is why Davidson (2005) emphasized on the necessity of having some

knowledge about the history and development of the English spelling and claimed that

learners ignorance and disregard of the origins and etymologies of words in

dictionaries while checking their spelling is a significant cause of many spelling

mistakes since these origins often make it clear why they are spelt the way they are.

4. The Main Areas of Confusion in the English Spelling

4. 1. Confusion with Words

During the natural learning process, the principal features of the English

writing system become familiar and readily identifiable in a way that the

fundamentals of the sound system are by no means expected to be. When they start

learning English, many foreign learners begin to receive some instructions in letter

shapes and sounds. Letters create a center of attention in the early educational weeks.

13
By time, learners begin to notice that it is far more to the spelling system than

learning to recognize individual letter shapes and their associated sounds and start to

recognize that spelling in English is difficult and that spelling errors can also be due

to bad joining of words and confusion with homophones.

4. 1. 1. Close, Open, or Hyphenated

…I wrote that I took her hand and found it "stone cold."

Shawn and I were going over the proof. The time was around
10 P.M. He became agitated." 'Stone cold, ' "he said,
"requires a hyphen."I became agitated. "Put a hyphen there
and you spoil the ending" I said. "That hyphen would be
ruinous." …From time to time, he would stick his head out
and say, "Have you changed your mind?" "No hyphen" I
replied. "Absolutely no hyphen." I was quite worked up over
the hyphen. Sometime around two-thirty in the morning,
Shawn said, wearily, "All right. No hyphen. But you are
wrong. "We remained dear friends, hyphen or no hyphen, to
the end.(Hamburger in Stilman,1997:23 )

According to Stilman (1997), spelling a word correctly involves more than just

getting the right letters in the right order and place. Often, a word that is thought to be

written in two words is written as one, or that is to be written as one, is written as two.

A word is also considered to be misspelled if it has to contain a hyphen and doesn't, or

if it has not to contain one and does. Stilman (1997) found that confusion at that level

occurs particularly when linking words that make up a compound, when linking a

prefix or suffix to the main word, and when linking words that make up a number.

Compounds, two or more successive words, denoting a single referent rather

than a subclass of a larger class of referents, and fused by a very cohesive semantic

relation (Rozakis, 2003) are considered one of the repeatedly misspelled words in the

English language. Learners get confused with the spelling all the types of compounds

and mistakes principally vary from mistakenly omitting, misplacing, and inserting

14
hyphens. Stilman (1997) argued that this is mainly due to the fact that compounds are

found in three different spelling forms. Some compounds, called open compounds, are

written as two separate words with a space between them (e.g. Tennis club), some run

the words together and are called closed compounds (e.g. Notebook), and others are

hyphenated that is linked by a hyphen (e.g. One-half). McCaskill (1998) provided

another classification and argued that it is often contemporary compounds that result

in spelling mistakes, whereas permanent compound words, those determined by

practice or usage and found in dictionaries, make a few problems.

Linking a prefix or a suffix to the main word is also one of the most

problematic areas in the English spelling. Sometimes they are fused with the main

word, and sometimes a hyphen is added. Learners are often inconsistent, and

randomly use hyphens with some prefixes and suffixes and not with some others.

The majority of cases fall into the first class, that is the prefix or suffix, is

linked to the word it modifies (e.g. unclear, illegal, pleasing, worked or countable).

The hyphen may sometimes be optional in some cases where both versions are

accurate. It is also worth noting that in the modern scientific, technical, medical and

government publications, hyphens are omitted (Stillman, 1997). Stilman stated that

these facts make most learners pass over the use of hyphens where they are necessary.

Serious mistakes, for example, include the omission of a hyphen that results in a

different meaning ( e.g. ‘co-’in correspondent ‘someone who writes letters’ or co-

respondent ‘cited in divorce proceedings’, and the confusion between ‘-ful’ in

‘spoonful of sugar’, indicating the amount held, and ‘full’ in ‘cups full of coffee’,

referring to the container rather than the quantity.

15
 It is also found that spelling numbers is a further confusing area. Deciding

whether to spell compound numbers fused, separated, or hyphenated is very confusing

for many learners. For the most part, errors appear mostly when neglecting the use of

hyphens while spelling out any two-word number ( that is, from twenty-one to ninety-

nine ) ,or fraction ( e.g. twenty-two ,one hundred fifty-three ,one-fifth ,five and six-

quarters ) ( Stilman , 1997 ).

4. 1. 2. Homophones

According to Algeo (1985) homophones, from Greek-derived homo-same and

phone-sound are considered the primary source of puns. English is replete with tricky

homophones that result in a lot of spelling errors though a great number of these pairs

vary just in the vowel or vowel combination. This is true particularly, if learners rely

on a spell-checker to correct their errors since it will not alert the misuse of

homophones because both words are spelled correctly (e.g. too & two).

Cody (2006) stated that the majority of homophones are seen as baffling for

learners. He stated that main cause is that one of the homophones is less common than

the other, and without realizing it has a different meaning from the word that s/he

intended, the learner puts down quickly the more familiar spelling. He also assumed

that the tendency for writers to place the two forms side by side in bold or italic type,

so that the learner may always see the two forms together before his eyes whenever

s/he has the occasion to use one of them is another reason of this confusion.

Galko (2006) argued that spelling homophones appropriately is crucial since

people will have a difficult moment understanding what one is trying to communicate

to them. He announced that there are no regulations for spelling these words and that

16
learners have to go far beyond the mere automatic organization of letters and try to

memorize them even there are huge troublesome word pairs. Galko added that the

context is probably the best way to differentiate between homophones since the

meanings of these homophones are different. Sometimes, it helps to learn each word

in terms of its function in a sentence as noticed in the quoted examples below.

• In the middle Ages, many people used to shear (verb) sheep for a living.

• Since my curtains are sheer (adjective), I get a lot of light in the morning.

• We had to alter (verb) our plans because of the bad weather

• The couple stood at the altar (noun) while they said their vows.

• I had to use coarse (adjective) sandpaper to strip the paint off of the wooden desk.

• When I was in college, drama was my favorite course (noun).

4. 2. Confusion with Letters

To spell letters correctly and appropriately is not an easy task for many

learners. The frequency of silent letters, the choice between single and double

consonants, and the spelling of word endings make things very confusing.

4. 2. 1. Silent Letters

One of the most problematic issues in the English spelling is the fact that there

is a big disguise between the sound and its spelling. And since pronunciation is often

the reliable guide to spelling, the learner usually gets confused, and makes many

spelling errors. Many English words include silent letters, letters that are written but

not pronounced (Roach, 1997). Stilman (1997) found that a letter whose omission

would not alter a word's pronunciation is often wrongly left out by many learners.

17
Likewise, Galko (2006) stated that perplexity over silent letters can be due to the

negligence of memory tricks as sound or sight cues, depending on which works better,

by most learner. For example, the learner may pronounce the silent consonants in

his/her mind as s/he writes them, or may write the words and highlight the missing

consonant sounds. He also found that learners' unawareness of word families is

another reason behind this confusion. For instance, the silent ‘g’ of ‘sign’ is

predictable, if the student remembers that it is related to ‘signature‘ in which the ‘g’ is

pronounced.

According to Devine (2002), the English language is also full with silent

vowels which cause various problems for learners. This holds true mainly when

spelling words with a two-vowel combination (e.g. abstain, niece, foe, and median).

In such words, it is only the first vowel that is pronounced, whereas the second one is

silent. For example, in the word ‘cheap’, we hear only the long /e/ but not the /a/ and

similarly in all the other words and that is why it is said when two vowels go walking,

the first one does the talking. The final ‘e’ is also silent in almost all words and for

this reason; it is consistently left by many learners (e.g. breez instead breeze).

4. 2. 2. The Choice between Single and Double Consonants

As said by Stilman (1997), words with double consonants tend to be

troublesome for learners. Errors take in doubling the wrong letter, faultily doubling

more than one and doubling only one instead of two. The common areas of

uncertainty with double consonants arise mainly in words with added prefixes,

suffixes, or words from Greek and Latin origins.

18
 Davidson (2005) found that most learners get confused whether to spell a

word with a single or double consonant, when the process of adding a prefix results in

the juxtaposition of two identical letters. He argued that quite a few learners spell the

words dissimilar, dissatisfied, or illegal as disimilar, disatisfied, and ilegal. Davidson

maintained that students make such errors because they disregard the meaning of the

word without its prefix and that is why they find it difficult to decide whether to

double the consonant or not. For example, if the prefix ‘dis-’ is taken from the word

dissimilar, it becomes meaningless unless the omitted letter is added.

The spelling of a word also changes to some extent when a suffix is added.

The last consonant in a word may be doubled, if a suffix beginning with a vowel is

added to the word (e.g. stop- stopped- stopping). In other words, the final consonant is

not doubled (e.g. clean-.cleaned-cleaning). Parrot (2000) noticed that the process of

doubling consonants in these words causes various problems for many learners,

though it is governed by fair rules. Moreover, Leech (2006) found that the problem of

doubling consonants in words with added suffixes is mainly due to the mix up with

“e” dropping (e.g. hop- hopped- hopping vs. hope- hoped- hoping).

According to Davidson (2005), words from Greek and Latin origins also cause

several problems concerning single and double consonants. Unlike many English

words which have a predictable structure and meaning , words from Greek and Latin

origins have less obvious word-formations and meaning unless one knows their

origins. For example, if the learner knows that the root of the adjective immense is

from the Latin word mense meaning ‘to measure’, there would be no difficulty in

guessing its meaning as immeasurable. He avowed that misspelling these words is

19
mainly owing to the unawareness of the spelling rules that help the learner overcome

this problem.

The 1-2/2-1 rule implies that when the vowel sound is written in one letter, the

consonant is doubled; whereas when it is written in two letters, the consonant is not

doubled ( e.g. battle Vs beetle ).This rule applies even in short words as ( pull, pool,

and fill, fool ) .

The short and long vowel rule (SLV rule) implies that the consonant is

doubled if preceded by a short vowel, and not if preceded by a long one (e.g. ruffle

and rifle).

Another rule is the three-syllable from-the-end rule which implies that the

consonant cannot be doubled when the third from the end syllable is stressed, and

contains a short vowel (e.g. moderate and definite).

4. 2. 3. Word Endings

Cody (2006) stated that spelling word' endings is often mystifying. Choosing

between ABLE or IBLE, ENCE or ANCE, ANT or ENT, ER, AR, or OR, CE or SE,

CH or TCH, SION, or TION and EOUS or IOUS is baffling for most learners. Cody

argued that this hesitancy in choosing between these pairs is due to the lack of

learners' knowledge of the clues that can help make the right decision besides their

unawareness of word families.

20
4. 3.Confusion with Numbers, and Symbols

It is not only words and letters that cause problems and confusion but also

other marks that are so important in spelling as numbers and symbols. Although

numbers and symbols are less frequently employed, they are seen as problematic by

many learners. Numbers, apostrophes, accents, diacritics, and symbols are almost

always randomly used, or avoided, as George Bernard Shaw said There is not the

faintest reason for persisting in the ugly and silly trick of peppering pages with these

uncouth bacilli.

4. 3.1.Numbers

The difficulty with numbers arises mainly when learners get baffled whether

to write numbers in letters or figures, or when one find himself unable to choose one

of the many alternatives for writing the same number.

Davidson (2005) found that beginning sentences with numbers spelled in

figures, spelling small numbers and fractions in figures, or larger numbers, from

twenty upwards, in words are considered some of the repeatedly misspelled words

and confusing situations. Baugh (1993) argued that such spelling errors arise

principally because of learner's negligence to the size of the figure and the type of

texts in which it occurs.

Eastwood (2002) added that facing many alternatives of spelling the same

numbers can also cause confusion for many learners. For instance, taking into account

the correctness of the three spellings of thousand which might be written 1,000, 1 000,

or 1000, some learners see it correct to spell it 1.000* too.

21
4. 3.2.Apostrophes

The apostrophe is considered by some authorities as punctuation mark, but a

part of the inherent spelling of a word by many others. Apostrophes are often misused

and knowing when and when not to use them can be confusing. Peoples'

misunderstanding of their function differ from skipping them when they are required,

to inserting them in the inexact place, to adding them where they do not fit in

(Galko, 2001).

According to Burt (2002), using the apostrophe to show possession is

considered one of the most difficult areas for most learners. Burt claimed that though

there are only few simple rules to follow, learners usually misspell words with

apostrophes.

Devine (2002) acknowledged that the apostrophe can also be used in

contractions that may derive from two words that are combined into one, from single

words or from numerical dates. When two words are run together and one or more

letters get dropped in the process, the apostrophe replaces the missing letters as a

"stand-in" for missing letters, signaling that something has been cut out. Devine

argued that apostrophes are consistently placed inaccurately in that process (e.g.

could' nt instead couldn't). He added that another main problem at that level is the

confusion with some contractions and their homophones (e.g. it's and its).

4. 3.3.Accents and Diacritics

Because they make an impact that an English word simply cannot make,

foreign words have found their way into English. Devine (2002) stated that many

22
learners may recoil from using these words in their writing because they fear spelling

them incorrectly especially those containing accents and diacritics. Accents and

diacritics are seen by most learners as the blemish to be avoided though these symbols

are necessarily used when a foreign word is used in English writings, except the

foreign words that are now established as English and need no accents and diacritics

(e.g. naive or naïve), since their absence result in inaccurate pronunciation of words

(e.g. bête, mädchen, and façade) (Davidson, 2005).

4. 3.4.Other Symbols

Davidson (2005) claimed that the confusion over the use of some symbols as

&, %, #, and @ arises mainly due to the unawareness of learners of the various uses

of these symbols and the context in which they are used. For example, the hash mark

is used usually to mean number, but only in informal writing. It is also rarely used in

British English, but found frequently in American English. The “at” is habitually used

in E-mail addresses and can also be used to give prices but only in informal writing.

Conclusion

Through this chapter, we have reviewed the central broad lines of the English

spelling and the way spelling problems and errors emerged. In addition, we looked in

more details at the problem of confusion and the most confusing areas in the English

spelling. Mistakes vary from the bad joining of words and confusion with

homophones, to the substitution, omission, addition, and transposition of letters and

symbols. Spelling a word correctly is not only a matter of putting the letters in their

appropriate places, but also a requirement of a precise linking and hyphenation of

words. Furthermore, homophones are very confusing for most learners. Their

23
misspelling can result in serious mistakes as the grammatical distortion of the

massage and the misunderstanding of writers' intentions. Still, the frequency of silent

letters, the dilemma of doubling consonants or not, the spelling of word endings, and

the mismatch between pronunciation and spelling result in various spelling mistakes

and make the English spelling very hard and problematic. To ensure a correct

spelling, learners must also take a particular care of the spelling of numbers and

symbols and make sure they are in the correct position, context, and have the correct

shape.

24
25
Introduction

The present study is designed to investigate the main reasons that lie behind

the problem of confusion in the English spelling. This chapter is devoted to the

practical part of our dissertation. It aims at testing our hypothesis stating that the

problem of confusion in the English spelling in third year L.M.D. students of English

as a foreign language at Mentouri University Constantine would be due to several

reasons such as the unawareness of the spelling rules and strategies in addition to the

lack of knowledge of words origins. This will be achieved through a test. The section

begins by the description of our population and sample and the explanation of the

design and implementation of our test, and then the presentation of our results in the

form of frequencies of errors and their discussion. In addition, it attempts to attract the

teachers' attention to the importance of the spelling skill in improving the students

writing and to make them aware of this hindering situation by giving suggestions that

can bring better results.

1. Population and Sampling

The entire population of the study consists of third year L.M.D. students of

English as a foreign language at Mentouri University Constantine, during the

academic year 2009-2010.The choice of this population is due to several reasons.

First, these students have normally enough experience with English as a foreign

language in terms of language abilities and skills to practice writing in and outside the

classroom. Second, these students have taken a course in writing skills for three years.

In the first and second year, the course is scheduled for three hours per week whereas

in the third year the time allocated for this course is four hours and half. This

opportunity to practice writing for three years have normally helped these learners

26
attain a certain level of expertise in the English language, and acquire all the skills

needed to write competently and proficiently.

The number of students who participated in this investigation was twenty

students coming from different geographical areas in Algeria, and diverse socio-

economic backgrounds. These test–takers were randomly selected by Doctor Lakehal-

Ayat Karima (our supervisor and the socio-linguistics lecturer of the participants)

from a list of students at the beginning of the course. The number of male students

was three, while the number of female students was seventeen. Sex variable is not

considered in our study because the overwhelming majority consists of girls.

2. Description of the Test

To collect data about learner's competency in the most bewildering spellings

in English language and the causes that bring about this intricacy, a test was used as

an instrument to collect the data. The test had a multi choice format and was

composed of twenty sentences where students had to select between two spelling

options.

3. Design and Implementation

Our investigation consists of a test including twenty sentences (Appendix).

These sentences are formulated in the form of simple sentences in which students

have to choose the correct spelling from two different spelling propositions in an

attempt to know as much as possible about students' focal spelling setbacks. The

sentences can be divided into six categories. The first category (from one to five)

concerns the appropriate way of spelling compounds, of linking a prefix or suffix to

the main word, and of linking words that make up a number (closed, open, or

hyphenated). The second category concerns the proper way of spelling homophones

and deals with sentences from six to nine. Sentences from ten to fifteen deal with the

27
problem of silent letters, double consonants, and word endings. The last category

consists of five sentences that concern the correct position, context, and shape of

some important symbols in the English spelling.

The participants had been asked first if they were willing to take part in the

study and assured of the confidentiality of the answers, as no name or distinctive

number or code were required, before handing out the test. The contributors were

informed about the proper way of replying our test and notified that they can ask any

question at whatever time in case any problem of comprehension arises. Test-takers

were also notified that the papers will not be marked and that we want them to work

seriously on the questions as if they were sitting for an exam. It was also emphasized

that the students should answer all the questions and can take as much time as

necessary to answer the test. Though they were not subject to time limits, most

students finished the test in a short time. It all took place in a vivid and friendly

atmosphere with the researcher's main focus on drawing the student's attention to the

fact of answering objectively and honestly. Students showed a good comprehension

and co-operation to the point that we really sensed the efforts they have strived to

avoid biased results. In view of this fact, many of them insisted many times on having

more explanation.

4 .Results and Analysis

After administering the test and having the latter answered by the participants,

the researcher gathered data for analysis and discussion. The analysis of the test was

carried out in the form of frequencies of spelling errors in student's answers. We also

considered the correct and wrong spelling choices in the twenty sentences. In

addition, we provided explanations as to why these errors occurred.

28
 1. I liked the old Indian teapot /tea-pot we saw in the museum too much.

teapot tea-pot No answer Total

Number 05 15 - 20
Percentage 25٪ 75٪ 00٪ 100٪

Table 01: The Spelling Choices in Sentence One

Correct
Spelling
%25

Wrong
Spelling
%75

Figure 01: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence One

The first sentence requires the choice of the proposition teapot in view of the

fact that the two nouns that build the compound are short, which necessitates joining

them together as one word. Nevertheless, only 5 students opted for the right spelling.

The erroneous spelling was selected by 15 students. Thus, this seems to be

problematic for students who appear to lack knowledge of the appropriate use of the

hyphens. It also appears that the fact that the way in which compound words are

spelled in English do not seem to be built according to any neat system and that

students would have encountered different words which are made up of the same type

of parts as teapot written with a hyphen (e.g. bus-stop) and generalized from them

without taking into consideration the stress pattern in the compound, the number of

29
syllables in each element, and the nature of the letters at the boundaries between

elements which is the main reason of hyphenation in our example “bus-stop”.

2. Everyone/ Every one of his records has been successful.

Everyone Every No Total

one answer
Number 15 05 - 20
Percentage 75٪ 25٪ 00٪ 100٪

Table 02: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Two

Correct
Spelling
25%

Wrong
Spelling
75%

Figure 02: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Two

One fourth of the answers was correct, while three fourths were wrong

answers. Almost all students went for the proposition everyone representing the

closed compound spelling without taking into account the context in which the word

occurs. This high percentage of the use of Everyone would be for the reason that

students seem to over use the spelling Everyone when it is appropriate as well as

when it is every one which is presumed to be used, i.e., there is a confusion between

the use of both spelling choices when it comes to such a case where the meaning is

not the same as everyone that is spelt closed and used only for people to refer to “all”

30
the members of a group at the same time (e.g. Everyone believed I was joking.), and

every one that is spelt open and generally followed by the preposition of to mean each

thing, (e.g. Every one of the cups broke when she fell.)

3. I simply asked a passer by/ passer-by to guide me.

passer by passer-by No answer Total

Number 17 03 - 20
Percentage 85٪ 15٪ 00٪ 100٪

Table 03: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Three

Correct
Spelling
7%

Wrong
Spelling
93%

Figure 03: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Three

Three students out of 20 answered correctly i.e., picked the spelling passer-by.

A considerable proportion of 85٪ choose the wrong spelling passer by. This huge

percentage of false answers is due to students' reliance on the spelling of the phrasal

verb pass by from which the noun is derived and which can never be hyphenated. The

fact that most learners erroneously left out the hyphen while spelling this type of

compound nouns can also be due to student's unawareness or inattention of the

existence of the word ending ‘er’ that is added to the verb part and necessitates the

insertion of the hyphen. Another explanation would be that students have not taken

31
the word as denoting one single referent and creating one idea but as a noun and a

preposition independently.

4. He pulled a lorry that weighed more than twentyone/twenty-one tons.

twentyone twenty- No Total

one answer
Number 14 06 - 20
Percentage 70٪ 30٪ 00٪ 100٪

Table 04: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Four

Correct
Spelling
30%

Wrong
Spelling
70%

Figure 04: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Four

The correct spelling choices in the fourth sentence did not go beyond 30٪,

whereas, more than half (70٪) of the answers were wrong. The percentage of wrong

answers is higher than the one of right ones because of learners' lack of knowledge of

the rules of spelling compound numbers, that is, from twenty-one to ninety-nine

which are supposed to be hyphenated. This big proportion of wrong answers may also

be due to uncommonness and rarity of using numbers in student's daily writing which

can result in student's negligence of the rules governing the spelling of this type of

numbers.

32
 5. She is threatening to resign/re-sign if she does not get a pay increase.

resign re-sign No answer Total

Number 11 09 - 20
Percentage 55٪ 45٪ 00٪ 100٪

Table 05: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Five

Wrong
Spelling
45%
Correct
Spelling
55%

Figure 05: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Five

Correct answers in this sentence exceeded half (55٪), while the wrong answers

represent 45٪ only. It would appear that the context in which the word appears helped

most students arrive to this decision that is resigned denoting ‘to leave a job or a

position’ instead of re-signed, denoting ‘to write your name on a document to show

that you agree with what it says for a more additional time’, whose selection would

result in a paradox and ironic sentence. This percentage can also be due to the fact

that students have mistakenly taken into account the detail that in the majority of

cases, the prefix is linked to the word it modifies and over generalized this without

being attentive that in this case the ‘re’ in the first proposition in inherited in the root

of the verb and not an added prefix.

33
 6. The council/ counsel for the defendant insists that his client is not guilty.

council counsel No answer Total

Number 15 05 - 20
Percentage 75٪ 25٪ 00٪ 100٪

Table 06: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Six

Correct
Spelling
25%

Wrong
Spelling
75%

Figure 06: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Six

Only few students (five) got the right answer that is the proposition counsel,

while the majority fail to find the correct one. A considerable number of instruction

books warn that council and counsel are never interchangeable even if their meanings

are somehow related and warn against the confusion of these homophones which were

utterly cluttered in medieval times; and it is only till the sixteenth century that the

present division began to establish itself (Webster, 1993). It appears then that students

have difficulties in the distinction between council that generally stands for some sort

of deliberative or administrative body and counsel that is used to mean a lawyer or

group of lawyers giving legal advice and especially conducting a case in court which

is the appropriate choice in our context. This is a good proof that the scarcity of the

use of dictionaries by students can also be a key source of some spelling mistakes.

34
Our evidence also shows that this encountered confusion is for the most part due to

the substitution of council, the more common and widespread word for the foremost

use of counsel.

7. The new curtains complimented/ complemented the furnishings very well.

Complimented Complemented No Total

answer
Number 08 12 - 20
Percentage 40٪ 60٪ 00٪ 100٪

Table 07: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Seven

Wrong
Spelling
40%

Correct
Spelling
60%

Figure 07: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Seven

The correct answer should be complemented i.e. go well with, set off to

advantage, and enhance to have a full complement of cutlery. The word complement

derives from complete, and it appears that a good number of students took into

advantage the use of mnemonics; that is they remembered the connection between the

words ‘complete and complement’ with the help of the linguistic context in which the

word appeared to arrive to that decision. This is reflected in their answers since 60٪

(12 students) chose the appropriate spelling complemented while only 08 students

35
opted for the wrong spelling complimented meaning to say a courteous, admiring or

flattering comment that is illogical in this context.

8. The last part of a book to be written is the forward/foreword.

Forward foreword No Total

answer
Number 19 01 - 20
Percentage 95٪ 05٪ 00٪ 100٪

Table 08: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Eight

Correct
Spelling
5%

Wrong
Spelling
95%

Figure 08: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Eight

Out of 20 students, only one chose the correct spelling foreword. The other 19

students went for the wrong proposition forward with a percentage of 95 ٪. It is

foreword which should be selected referring to the preface or introductory note that

appears at the front of a book particularly by a person other than the author, and

nothing to do with the direction of movement or with being uppity. In addition to the

context which has not been taken into account at this instance, it is worth noting that

students also had not paid attention to the function of the word in the sentence where

it is a noun functioning as an object which has to complete the sentence, and it is odd

36
and ungrammatical to add an adverb or adjective in that context. Moreover, it may be

the tiny relation in the meaning of the two words denoting the idea of being ahead or

in advance that result in this huge percentage of wrong answers.

9. Betty's diamond weighed a full sixtieth of a caret/carat.

Caret Carat No answer Total

Number 16 04 - 20
Percentage 80٪ 20٪ 00٪ 100٪

Table 09: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Nine

Correct
Spelling
20%

Wrong
Spelling
80%

Figure 09: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Nine

The correct choice of suggestions in the ninth sentence did not go beyond 20٪,

more than the half (80٪) of the answers were wrong. Despite the fact that the word

carat referring to a unit of weight for precious stones and jewels is the familiar and

commonly used homophone, a sizable number of 16 students out of twenty opted for

caret meaning a small wedge-shaped proofreading symbol used by editors to indicate

where something should be inserted in a line of printed or written matter. This would

be justified either by the students ignorance of the context, or students daily life in the

37
university dealing with research and methodology where the word caret can be used

constantly and recurrently.

It is worth noting at this point that a further reason of this confusion is the

tendency of writers to place the two forms of a homophone side by side in bold or

italic type, so that the learner may always see the two forms together in front of his

eyes whenever s/he has the occasion to use one of them.

10. Flocks / Floks of tourists visit London every year.

Flocks Floks No answer Total

Number 07 13 - 20
Percentage 35٪ 65٪ 00٪ 100٪

Table 10: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Ten

Correct
Spelling
35%
Wrong
Spelling
65%

Figure 10: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Ten

The tenth sentence requires the choice of the suggestion flocks to mean a large

number of people. Nevertheless, only 07 students selected the right proposition. The

other proposition, which does not exist and has no meaning, was opted by 65 ٪ of

students. This seems to be chiefly due the fact that the omission of the letter ‘c’ in this

word would not change its pronunciation for it is a silent letter. Another explanation

38
of this error can be hanged on the different ways in which the sound/k/ is spelt in

modern English (e.g. Comb, make, sack, box, ache, squeeze., architect, saccharine,

accident, oblique, mosquito, alcohol and so many other examples.) which give a good

indication of the complexity of spelling this sound. A further account of this type of

mistakes can give good evidence for student's non-use of spelling strategies as sight

and sound strategies (e.g. spelling pronunciation which is a way of pronouncing a

word relying on its spelling) that can be very beneficial in such cases.

11. I perceived/ percieved his comments as a criticism.

perceived percieved No Total

answer
Number 10 10 - 20
Percentage 50٪ 50 00٪ 100٪

Table 11: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Eleven

Wrong
Spelling
50%
Correct
Spelling
50%

Figure 11: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Eleven

What characterizes the results of the eleventh sentence is the equality in the

number of students in both cases. This seems to be one of the trickiest spelling areas

for students who appear to lack awareness of the spelling rules in such error instances.

39
It seems that, I before E except after C, the rule that applies to words that are

pronounced /ee/ after any consonant except C where the spelling is EI, is not known

for most students. Crystal (1989) stated that this rule is famous for its exceptions for it

is far outnumbered by words where ‘c’ is followed by ‘ie’, and words where a letter

other than ‘c’ is followed by ‘ei‘(over 100 exceptions) and that is why most students

recoil from taking advantage of it. It also comes into view that even those who

choose the correct answer have not made use of the spelling rule, but answered either

following the word's pronunciation, or haphazardly and randomly.

12. I do not believe that you still misspell/ mispell your name.

misspell mispell No answer Total

Number 09 11 - 20
Percentage 45٪ 55٪ 00٪ 100٪

Table 12: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Twelve

Wrong
Spelling
55% Correct
Spelling
45%

Figure 12: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Twelve

The spelling choices in the twelfth sentence were as follows: only 09 students.

(45٪) opted the correct proposition misspell whereas a proportion of 11 students

representing a percentage of (55٪) selected the wrong spelling. It appears that coming

40
about two identical letters ‘s’, put side by side when the prefix was added made many

students get mystified to which way the word is spelled. It also comes into view that

students came across such errors for they did not pay attention to the formation of the

word and considered its meaning without the linked prefix which is of much

assistance in deciding easily whether they double the consonant or not. Another

account for such error can be students fall back on the common rapid speech'

pronunciation where the verb is uttered as /mΙspel/.

13. London has a high imigrant/ immigrant population.

imigrant immigrant No Total

answer
Number 12 08 - 20
Percentage 60٪ 40٪ 00٪ 100٪

Table 13: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Thirteen

Correct
Wrong
Spelling
Spelling
40%
60%

Figure 13: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Thirteen

Out of 20 answers in the thirteenth sentence 12 answers (60 %) picked the

inappropriate spelling imigrant and 08 other students (40%) opted for the exact the

proposition immigrant. Here, it seems that uncertainty does not exist at the level of

41
doubling the consonant because of their inattention to the way the word is formed

merely, but it seems that students tend to get perplexed between emigrant and

immigrant as well. This leads us to say that student's lack of knowledge of the origin

of the word is the key point in this example. In Latin, ’e‘ means ‘out of, away from‘.

So just as an immigrant is an in –migrant (a prefix + a root), and became immigrant

due to assimilation, whereas an emigrant is an e-migrant, someone who migrates ‘out

of ’his country; and that is why there are two m's in immigrant but only one ‘m’ in

emigrant.

14. If you are agreeable/ agreable I would like to visit your office this week.

agreeable agreable No Total

answer
Number 04 16 - 20
Percentage 20٪ 80٪ 00٪ 100٪

Table 14: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Fourteen

Correct
Spelling
20%

Wrong
Spelling
80%

Figure 14: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Fourteen

Except for 04 students who represent a ratio of 20٪ got the right spelling

proposition agreeable. The great majority of answers 16 (80٪) were incorrect. A good

42
reason for these results would be students' belief that spelling a word with three

succeeding vowels is peculiar. In addition, it would seem that the spelling agreable

looked more ordinary and regular for most of them, taking into consideration the

frequency of omitting the ‘e’ in the process of adding a suffix starting with a vowel

(overgeneralization) and thus students guess wrong as to which way it should go since

it is assumed that nouns and verbs ending in ‘ee’ ‘oe’ or ‘ye’ generally keep the final

‘e’ before any letter except ‘e’. A further explanation for this error may be transfer

from the French word ‘agréable’ meaning ‘pleasant’.

15. The industry is heavily dependent/ dependant on government funding.

dependent dependant No Total

answer
Number 09 11 - 20
Percentage 45٪ 55٪ 00٪ 100٪

Table 15: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Fifteen

Wrong
Spelling
55% Correct
Spelling
45%

Figure 15: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Fifteen

43
 Nine students out of 20 answered correctly i.e., picked the spelling dependant.

A considerable proportion of 55٪ choose the wrong spelling dependent. Besides the

context which has not been taken into account in the sentence which could be of much

aid, it is important to note down that students have not also taken notice to the

meaning and function of the word in the sentence. This is so factual when one looks

to the meaning of dependant as a noun ending in ANT ‘a person who depends on

somebody else’ that can in no way be a complement is this sentence but a subject

which is already occupied by industry, and the adjective dependent ending ENT

needing something to support that is the suitable response.

16. Two/2 thieves were caught red- handed.

2 Two No answer Total

Number 00 11 09 20
Percentage 00٪ 55٪ 45٪ 100٪

Table 16: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Sixteen

No Answer
45%

Correct
Spelling
55%

Figure 16: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in Sentence Sixteen

The sixteenth sentence requires the word spelling proposition two since it is a

small number that comes out at the beginning of the sentence and in a non-statistical

44
context. Yet, a large proportion of nine students have not replied in this sentence. In

the light of these results, this seems to be one of the most problematic propositions for

students who appear to lack awareness of the fact that writing out numbers as words

or as numerals is not a random selection but is a systematic choice governed by some

spelling rules that take into account the size of the figures and the type of context and

texts in which they occur.

17. He worked a kid's shoe/ kids' shoe repair for ten years.

kid's kids' No answer Total

Number 13 07 - 20
Percentage 65٪ 35٪ 00٪ 100٪

Table 17: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Seventeen

Correct
Spelling
35%
Wrong
Spelling
65%

Figure 17: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling Sentence Seventeen

The use of the apostrophe in the seventeenth sentence is submitted to fair

regulations. It is the second proposition which is appropriate since the apostrophe is

added to a plural word ending with an ‘s’. Nevertheless, the correct answers in this

sentence did not even reach the half (35٪ only) while the wrong answers represented

45
65٪. These results confirm that those students are really oblivious of the rules

governing the use of apostrophes.

18. Aren't /Are 'nt you happy with the results?

Aren't Are 'nt No answer Total

Number 07 13 - 20
Percentage 35٪ 65٪ 00٪ 100٪

Table 18: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Eighteen

Correct
Spelling
35%
Wrong
Spelling
65%

Figure 18: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in the Sentence Eighteen

The use of apostrophes in the eighteenth sentence is also governed by evident

convention. The apostrophe has to be inserted in the place of the dropped letter, that is

the ‘o’ of not, to show that it has been left out in the contraction. Nonetheless, the

correct answers in these two sentences represent 35٪ of the whole responses only,

while the wrong answers stood for 65 of the spelling choices. Students' non-

recognition when and where to place apostrophes besides the disregard of their

significance and function look to be the focal reason of this puzzlement.

46
 19. She lives next to the “à la mode” /“a la mode” boutique.

à a No answer Total
Number 05 15 - 20
Percentage 25٪ 75٪ 00٪ 100٪

Table 19: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Nineteen

Correct
Spelling
25%

Wrong
Spelling
75%

Figure 19: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in the Sentence Nineteen

One fourth of the answers were correct, while three fourths were wrong

answers. This leads us to say students are really reluctant to use accents when spelling

foreign words. It would appear that many students see accents as intruders. It seems

that students are unaware of the role that these symbols have too. The fact that many

foreign words are now recognized as English and necessitate no accents may well

make many students recoil from bringing them into play.

47
20. The team was sponsored by Marks & Spencer/ Marks and Spencer.

Marks & Marks and x Total

Spencer Spencer.

Number 06 14 - 20
Percentage 30٪ 70٪ 00٪ 100٪

Table20: The Spelling Choices in Sentence Twenty

Correct
Spelling
30%

Wrong
Spelling
70%

Figure 20: Correct vs. Wrong Spelling in the Sentence Twenty

Six students out of 20 answered correctly i.e., opted the suggestion Marks &

Spencer. A considerable proportion of 14 students decided on the wrong propositions

Marks and Spencer with percentages of 70٪. This huge percentage of false answers is

due to student's belief that it is incorrect to use the ampersand as a substitute to ‘and’

in official formal writing. In this example, students did not pay attention to the fact

that the symbol is used in a business context (a company name), where the name

should be spelled as it is.

48
5. Discussion of the Results

On the basis of these results, the hypothesis we tested came to be validated, in

that the problem of confusion in the English spelling in third year L.M.D. students of

English as a foreign language at Mentouri University Constantine would be the result

of several causes as the unawareness of the spelling rules and strategies in addition to

the lack of knowledge of words origins.

In the first five sentences concerning the appropriate way of spelling

compound words, of linking a prefix to the main word, and of linking words that

make up a number, the majority of the spelling choices were wrong. This

bewilderment, whether to spell these words open, closed, or hyphenated, students

faced appeared to be due to a number of reasons like learners' lack of knowledge of

the rules governing the spelling of such words principally those concerning the right

use of hyphens. Another account for such confusion would be the fact that students

did not make the difference between two words as making a compound denoting one

single referent and creating one idea and two words as standing independently. The

big proportion of wrong spellings of this type of words also proved to be due to

students negligence of the context in which the words appeared that would be of much

assistance in spelling these words especially in the process of adding suffixes that

result in different meanings. The paucity and infrequency of certain words as

compound numbers in student's writings can also result in the carelessness of the rules

prevailing the spelling of this type of numbers and thus misspelling them. Another

important justification to this confusion is student's overgeneralization of some

special rules of hyphenation to other words from and out of the same word family

which proved to be one of the chief reasons that result in various spelling mistakes.

49
 Answers in sentences from six to nine revealed that homophones are also seen

as baffling for learners. The results showed that students perplexity with homophones

is due to three principal reasons that are students carelessness of the function of the

word in the sentence and the context in which it appears besides the substitution of

the more familiar and prevalent word for the intended homophone.

The spelling choices in the third category of sentences made known that silent

letters, the choice between single and double consonants, and word endings tend to be

frequently misspelled by students. The attained results gave good evidence for

student's unawareness of the spelling rules and their ignorance of the spelling

strategies as sight and sound cues that can be very valuable in spelling words with

these convoluted problems. The disguise between the English pronunciation and

spelling seems to be the central reasons of perplexity at that point too. Students

appeared to rely heavily on pronunciation and to consider spelling a shadow cast of

pronunciation when spelling words that is why they omitted silent letters, neglected

consonant doubling, and misspelled words endings. The results demonstrated that

students got bewildered whether to spell words with single and double consonants

because they did not look closely enough at the structure of the word (especially

words with added prefixes and suffixes). For many learners consonant doubling did

not look to be governed by rules in so many words which can be explained by learners

lack knowledge of the origins of some loan word that would be so cooperative in

understanding the way many words are spelt. The results also revealed that transfer

from other language especially French can be a source of a lot of spelling mistakes as

well, especially in word endings similar to the French ones.

50
 Students responds in the five final sentences pertaining to the correct position,

context, and shape of some important symbols in the English spelling as the

appropriate way of spelling numbers (words or figures), apostrophes (their position),

Accents and symbols (necessary and formal or not) demonstrated that students do

really have problems in spelling these symbols. confusion seems to be originated from

several reasons as learners' unawareness of the aspects determining the way numbers

are spelt as the size of the figures and the nature of the texts in which they occur.

Apostrophes, accents and symbols, and many other symbols were misused, misplaced,

or passed over. Students' non-recognition when and where to place in these characters

besides the delusion of their effectiveness and function come out to be the focal

reason of this problem.

Thus, our results revealed that all the previously stated explanations could be

regarded as an account of the factors underlying the problem of confusion in the

English spelling. The unawareness of the spelling rules is considered to be the main

cause of this problem in the light that most the spelling choices in our test were

governed by fair regular spelling rules. Student's neglect of the spelling strategies in

the absence of the spelling rules was also inclined to be a big predicament in the

spelling process. Additionally, some irregularities and difficulties learners came upon

were the result of the major linguistic and social events which took place in the earlier

periods. Students lack of knowledge of the origins and development of some spellings

also resulted in various misspellings since if one does not know the grounds and

springs of the problem, one cannot cure it.

51
Conclusion

Chapter two was devoted to the presentation of the results obtained from the

analysis of our test after introducing it, how it was administered and in what

circumstances. The results of the test witness, to various degrees, that students of

EFL1 do really get bewildered with some English spellings and reveal that the

problem of confusion in the English spelling is multifaceted. Student's errors were

mainly owing to students ignorance of the spelling rules, spelling strategies and words

origins. In addition to these focal reasons, other causes as overgeneralizations, and

transfer also emerged. These reasons of confusion in the English spelling have all

proved to be present in accordance to the results of our investigation that answered

our research questions stated at the beginning of this research paper, and which are in

the direction of our hypothesis stating that the problem of confusion in the English

spelling in third year L.M.D. students of English as a foreign language at Mentouri

University Constantine would be due to several reasons as the unawareness of the

spelling rules and strategies in addition to the lack of knowledge of the word origins.

52
 General Conclusion

The present study aimed at casting light on the importance of the spelling skill.

It has been concerned with investigating the reasons that lie behind the problem of

indecision while spelling in English with special reference to Algerian students. The

field investigation, carried out by means of a test administered to twenty third year

L.M.D. students of English as a foreign language at Mentouri University Constantine,

allowed us to provide conclusive observations in relation to the three research

questions and helped us to know as much as possible about students competence in

the English spelling. The results came to confirm our hypothesis and revealed that

students really lack knowledge of the spelling rules and strategies and do not take

interest in words origins. We have equally observed students' tendency to generalize

some spelling conventions to other similar words. We also detected cases of transfer

especially from French in students' misspellings. The negligence of context has been

found to be a significant hamper in coming to a decision about the accurate spelling of

various words too especially homophones.

To achieve competence and proficiency to write a language, learners should

master the various fundamentals constituting the writing skill that are content, form,

grammar, style, and spelling (Harris,1969).Bell and Burnaby (1984) cited in

Nunan,1989:36) put in plain words that:

Writing is an extremely complex cognitive activity in which

the writer is required to demonstrate control of a number of
variables simultaneously…These include control of content,
format, sentence structure, vocabulary, punctuation, spelling
and letter formation.

Thus writing proficiency is complex and difficult to teach requiring a mastery

of all these skills. The mastery of English spelling is one of these serious

53
responsibilities. In the first place, the learner should essentially remember thousand

words which are spelled in more or less irregular ways. The top that might be done

with these words is to categorize them as much as feasible and put forward ways of

organization that help the memory. Once more, homophones, which are pronounced

similarly but spelled in a different way, can be studied just in association with their

meaning, and grammatical use in the sentence. Besides these words, the learner also

gets confronted with other confusing marks that are so important in spelling as

numbers and symbols. It would evidently be of great benefit to learners if they could

come across a key to the spelling of these many hard- to -spell words. The first task of

the teacher in spelling should be to provide such a key. The only possible way to

make learners master spelling is by making them acquire principles, analogies, and

classifications deliberately since some learners have the gift of intuitively devising the

spelling code from their everyday observations; whereas others never acquire them

unless they are taught to them. The administrator of the Evanston schools has reported

that many common regular words which he gave to his grammar classes as a spelling

assessment, many were misspelled by all but sixteen percent of the learners (Cody,

2006). It is recommended that the learner should be trained to commit to memory the

regular and frequently used words as well as the rules governing these spelling first,

and then engage in those used seldom and have irregular spellings. Teachers are even

expected to provide drills on these words. Students may also be asked to make a

spelling book or open a spelling file where they keep a list the commonly misspelled

words along with the spelling rules.

Teachers should make the major aim of a course of study in spelling to train

students acquire two habits, the inclination of detecting articulate sounds, and the

inclination of examining word-forms in reading. In everyday discourse, countless

54
vowels and consonants are indistinct and obscured and thus can introduce many

spelling mistakes if the ear is not qualified to precision. Learners may be trained by

requiring careful and distinct pronunciation in reading, or reading poetry aloud

constantly opposing the ‘sing-song style’, but attempting to complement nicely the

sense and the rhythm. Undoubtedly training the eye to examine the shape of the words

is also a successful way of learning spelling. If this tradition is fashioned, and the

practice of general reading escorts it, it is sufficient to make a practically ideal speller.

The ‘visualization’ method of teaching spelling at the moment is good but there is a

limit to the powers of the learner's memory, especially in the observation of arbitrary

combinations of letters.

Teachers are also assumed to make learners check their writings carefully and

to not rely heavily on the spellchecker on the computer. Learners have to be trained to

use the dictionary to check the spelling of words because this gives them notes on

word families, origins and parts that are very advantageous in improving their spelling

skill as well.

Student's unawareness of the spelling standards and ignorance of the grounds

and springs of the irregularities are pronounced unlawful in a teacher. Teachers are

supposed to make students stiff bored upon them till they become as recognizable as

the multiplication table. This requires a full practice in relation to other expertise as

acknowledged by River (1968:244) :

Only by hearing and reading a great deal of language as it is

spoken and written by native speakers can the foreigner
acquire that feeling for the appropriate use of language forms
and combinations which is the basic to expressive writing.

55
 Feedback to learner's writings is considered a crucial part of any language

writing course. The coding technique in which each mistake is marked by a code (e.g.

S for spelling mistakes) makes the correction of spelling mistakes efficient, less

intimidating, and considerably more helpful than mixed marks and comments since it

makes errors salient. It also gives information on what is right or wrong. If the correct

form is made available, learners may have chance to compare their spellings with the

accurate ones. The corrections the learners receive help them abandon their wrong

hypothesis, immediately formulating a new one. Thus, teachers should give more

importance to the correction of the spelling mistakes in students writings for they are

very helpful to make learners develop a spelling skill that helps them improve their

spelling proficiency to the point where they are able to write with minimal spelling

errors.

Like any other research work, the current study inevitably contains some

limitations. The most noteworthy limitation is time. Because of time limits, it was

only feasible to deal with twenty students. Longer time for study would have

permitted us broaden the investigation to prove the improvement of students spelling

skills if the rules and strategies are acquired. Another curb is the number of

participants in this inquiry. The amount of respondents represent only a small

proportion of third year L.M.D. students. Thus, the outcome may well be generalized

to all students. Better settings would have incorporated a great number of students

even from different levels.

The many aspects of this problem necessitate nonstop systematic researches

that can provide other useful and more effective instructional materials that would

56
help students develop their spelling skill and it is our expectation that this study will

pave the way for those interested in studying students spelling mistakes.

57
 Bibliography

Algeo, J. (1985).The English Language Today. Cambridge: C.U.P.

Baugh. S. (1993).Essentials of English Grammar. Chicago. Passport Books.

Brown, G. (2004).The Grammar of English Grammar. Chicago: The Old Greek Press.

Burt, A. (2002).The A to Z of Correct English. (Second edition). Oxford: How to

books.

Crystal, D. (1989).The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language.

Cambridge: C.U. P.

Cody, S. (2006).The Art of Writing and Speaking the English Language. Chicago:

The Old Greek Press.

Galko, D. F. (2001).Better Writing Right Now. New York: Learning Express.

Galko, D. F. (2006).Vocabulary and Spelling Success. New York: Learning Express.

Davidson, G. (2005).Improve your spelling. London: Penguin.

Devine, F. P. (2002).Goof-Proof Spelling. New York: Learning Express.

Downing, A. and Philip Locke. (2006).English Grammar. London: Rout ledge.

Eastwood, J. (2002). Oxford Guide to English Grammar. Oxford: O. U. P.

Harris, D.P. (1969).Testing English as a Second Language.MC Grawhill.

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Leech, G., Cruickshank, B.,& Roz, I. (2006).A-Z English Grammar and Usage.

Edinburgh: Longman.

Lovinger. P. (2002).The Penguin Dictionary of American Style and Usage. New

York: Penguin.

Mc Arthur, T. (1992).The Oxford Companion to the English Language. Oxford:

O.U.P.

Mc Caskill, M.K. (1998).Grammar, Punctuation, and Capitalization. Virginia:

Langley research Centre.

Nunan, D. (1989).Designing Tasks for the Communicative Classroom. Cambridge:

C. U. P.

Parrot, M. (2004). Grammar for English Language Teachers. Cambridge: C. U P.

River, W. (1968).Teaching Foreign Language Skills. Chicago: Chicago University

Press.

Roach, P. (1997).English Phonetics and Phonology. (Second edition). Cambridge:

C.U.P.

Rozakis, L. (2003). English Grammar for the Utterly Confused. New York: McGraw-

Hill.

"Spelling." Microsoft® Encarta® 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft

Corporation, 2008.

Stillman, A. (1997). Grammatically Correct. Ohio. Writer's Digest books.

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Vince, M. (2008).McMillan English Grammar in Context. Thailand: McMillan

Webster, M. (1993).Webster s Dictionary of English Usage. Massachusetts: Inc

Publishing.

Wilson. J. (1990).Politically Speaking. Oxford: Blackwell.

60
 Appendix

Dear students, this test serves as a data collection tool for a research project.

I will be very thankful if you answer seriously and individually since your input is

very important and of much help in conducting this research. Thank you in advance.

Underline the correct spelling in the following sentences (words in bold).

1.I liked the old Indian teapot/tea-pot we saw in the museum too much.

2. Everyone/Every one of his records has been successful.

3.I simply asked a passer by/ passer-by to guide me.

4.He pulled a lorry that weighed more than twentyone/twenty-one tons.

5.She is threatening to resign/re-sign if she does not get a pay increase.

6.The council/ counsel for the defendant insists that his client is not guilty.

7.The new curtains complimented/complemented the furnishings very well.

8.The last part of a book to be written is the forward/foreword.

9.Betty's diamond weighed a full sixtieth of a caret/carat.

10.Flocks /Floks of tourists visit London every year.

11.I do not believe that you still misspell/mispell your name.

12.London has a high imigrant/immigrant population.

13.I perceived/percieved his comments as a criticism.

14.If you are agreeable/agreable we would like to visit your office this week.

15.The industry is heavily dependent/ dependant on government funding.

16.Two/2 thieves were caught red- handed.

17.He worked a kids' shoe/ kid' s shoe repair for ten years.

18.Aren't /Are 'nt you happy with the results?

19. She lives next to the “à la mode” /“a la mode” boutique.

20.The team was sponsored by Marks and Spencer/ Marks & Spencer.
 ‫
‬

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 Résumé

Le but de cette étude est la recherche concernant les causes essentielles liées

aux contraintes que rencontrent les étudiants de la langue Anglaise en matière

d'orthographe de certain mots, lettres et symboles. Pour atteindre ce but, nous avons

soumis vingt étudiants de troisième année L.M.D.de l'université Mentouri Constantine

à un test. Après l'analyse de ce test, il s'est avéré que les résultats confirment notre

hypothèse dans laquelle nous avions supposé que les fautes d'orthographe commises

par les étudiants sont dues au manque de connaissance des règles et stratégies

d'orthographe ainsi que de l'origine des mots. Donc, les enseignants doivent remédier

à cette situation en donnant plus d'importance à l'enseignement des règles et stratégies

d'orthographe pour mettre un terme à ces résultats négatifs.