CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
English language is an Indo European Language belonging to the West Germanic
Branch. The term English is derived from Anglisc (Angles), the speech of the angles – one of the
three Germanic tribes that invaded England during the fifth century. “The vocabulary of English
is currently 70 to 80 percent composed of words of Greek and Latin origin, but it is certainly not
a Romance language, it is a Germanic one. Evidence of this may be found in the fact that it is
quite easy to create a sentence without words of Latin origin, but pretty much impossible to
make one that has no words old English”. (Ammon Shea, Bad English; A history of Linguistic
Aggravation. (Pergee, 2014).
English language is a formal language adopted from Europeans who colonized Ghana.
The increasingly importance of English language cannot be over emphasized. It is a formal
medium of communication in Ghana as a second language (L2) and as far as formal education is
concerned, there is a need for one to understand and use the English language correctly.
Also, it is widely recognized as the official language of the government of Ghana,
administration of any institution in the country. In Ghana any leaned profession such as teaching,
engineering, medicine etc and the media that spreads information in this noble country. Every
subject taught in Ghanaian schools is done in English language except Ghanaian language, hence
the statement, “English is the mother of all subjects”.
English language is also imperative and a pre-requisite to gaining admission into any
higher institution of learning. English as a subject plays a major role in the development of an
individual since it is the medium of communication in this enlightened era of education. It is due
to these reasons that prompted the researcher to embark on an Action Research on this project to
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help pupil’s in Ghana, Volta Region, Hohoe Municipality and St. Francis College of Education
Demonstration primary in particular to lay a strong foundation for speaking the English language
that foot is the correct spelling of words which forms the basis for speaking sound English
Language.
The St. Francis College of Education Demonstration School is located a bit close to the
St. Francis College of Education where teachers are trained to handle this up-coming generation.
The main occupation of the people in the Franco community is teaching and farming. Since the
land is fertile. The pupils of St. Francis Demonstration Primary six (6A) taught that words could
be spelt anyhow not knowing that spelling follow a certain ordering.
It is the researcher’s ultimate aim that at the end of this project work, it will go a long
way to improve the spelling of pupils of St. Francis Demonstration primary School and finally
upbringing a very high academic performance for the school of my attachment.
Statement of the Problem
The problem of improving the spelling ability of pupils through the use of phobic and
syllabic methods was identified by the researcher during his out programme segment of the
college of education at St. Francis Demonstration Primary School. The researcher in his first two
weeks of attachment, he encountered a peculiar problem when the teacher finished teaching an
English Language lesson on composition as an aspect of the subject. I realized that St. Francis
Demonstration Primary Six (6A) pupils are of no exemption to the spelling difficulty. Spelling of
simple words like coaches, luggage, address, snow, accumulation etc. so I took it upon myself
that at the end of my attachment, he must improve in spelling before he gets promoted to J.H.S 1
next academic year.
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Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the researcher’s investigation is to over-come spelling difficulties and
identifies causes of wrong spelling among St. Francis Demonstration Primary Six (6) pupils.
Finally, to adopt a pragmatic activities such as using syllabic and phonic techniques to
overcome spelling difficulties of pupils in St. Francis Demonstration Primary Six.
Research Questions
The researcher seeks to address the following areas of concern that are in a question form
as follows:
1. What are the causes of wrong spelling among pupils of St. Francis Demonstration
primary school?
2. What practical activities should overcome the spelling difficulty among pupils of St.
Francis Demonstration primary school?
3. What are the effects of phonic and syllabic methods on pupils spelling ability?
Significance of the Study
It is the ultimate hope of the researcher that the success of this project will help
overcomes the ability of pupils of St. Francis Demonstration primary school to spell words
correctly. Also, to make available to the library, the teachers, parents and the curriculum
developers at cord of the Ghana Education Service (GES).
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Limitations
Inadequate reading materials, non-existence of a library in the school and the inability of
parents to provide wards with reading materials, inadequacy of research materials were some of
the factors which made the researcher’s objective for the study not fully realized.
Delimitations
Although the researcher had the desire to conduct the study in all basic schools in the
Hohoe Municipality due to circumstances beyond the control of the researcher such as time
constraints and financial inadequacy, the researcher decided to confine the research to St. Francis
Demonstration Primary School.
Organization of the study
The study is organized into five main chapters. The introductory chapter discusses the
nature of the problem and the scope of the research.
In chapter two, some identified literature books related to the projects are reviewed.
Chapter three deals with the methodology of the project. Chapter four also deals with the data
presentation and analysis. Here the findings of the project are discussed.
Chapter five comprises the summary, conclusion and recommendation for the entire
action project conducted.
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CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter deals with the review of related literature on the problem area outlined in the
purpose of the study. It provides room for conceptual framework and empirical study. The
review takes into account the extent and factors related with the problem under study.
This chapter also brings to light the views expressed by school of thoughts on some of the
causes of pupils’ inability to spell words. The literature focuses on the following areas:
Concept of spelling
According to Wikipedia, spelling is the combination of alphabetic letters to form a
written word. Also, with refer to Microsoft Encarta, 2008, spelling is the use of letters to form
words. Its synonym orthography usually implies that the letters are used according to the
accepted conventions. Alphabetic writing is phonetic but no alphabet has ever perfectly
represented a language.
Learner (1971) in her work entitled as “Children with learning disabilities” stipulates
that, a person produce a written or oral form of the correct sequence of letters that form a
particular word. She further explains that, spelling may be produce by naming the letters in the
correct order. Learner (1971) summaries on spelling by saying that inability to spell may be
termed as dyslexia.
According to Cook, (2001) “Language teaching practice often assumes that, most of the
study of English is a consequence of the degree to which their native language differs from
English. A native speaker of Chinese, for example may face much difficulties than a native
speaker of German, because German is closely related to English.
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According to Wiktionary, spelling is the process of forming words with letters according
to the principles underlying accepted usage. Also, Merriam Webstar dictionary defines spelling
as the process of writing words by using the letters conventionally accepted for their formation.
Light Brown and Spada (2006) observes that language learner often produce mistakes of syntax
and pronunciation thought to result from the influence of their mother tongue (L1) such as
mapping it’s grammatical patterns inappropriately onto the target language (L2), pronouncing
certain sounds incorrectly or with difficulty and confusing items of vocabulary known as false
friends. This is known as language interference or language barrier.
However, these transfer effects are typically stronger beginners’ language production and
second language. Acquisition (SLA). Research has highlighted many backgrounds for example:
failure to apply 3rd person singular to verbs (-s + verbs, as in “he make”).
The problem of St. Francis demonstration R.C Primary six (6) seems to be similar to the
observation of Light brown and Spada, (2006). But this one may be more complex. SebastianGalle’s, Echeverria and Bosch (2005) also studied bilinguals and the importance of early
language exposure. They look at vocabulary processing and representation in Spanish-Catalan
bilingual exposed to both languages simultaneously from birth in comparison to those who had
learned L2 language were later either Spanish- or Catalan dominated.
Findings showed from birth bilinguals had significantly more difficulty distinguishing
Catalan words from non Catalan words differing in speech vowels than Catalan dominates
(measured by reaction time). One of the issues with problem in pronunciation of some English
words.
Mitchell and Myless (2006) pointed out that English does not have more individual
consonant sounds than most language. However, the interdentally /o/and/d/, [A] and [x] the
sounds written with TH which are common in English (i.e. thin, thing, and the, this, that, those
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etc) are relatively rare in other languages, even others in the Germanic family (e.g. English =
thousand, German = tausend), and these sounds are missing even in some English dialects. Some
learners substitute a /t/ or /d/ sound while others shift to /s/ or /z/, /f/ or /v/, even /ts/ or /dz/.
Speakers of Japanese, Chinese and Korean varieties have difficulty for native speakers. This
pronunciation problem is not peculiar to the Spanish, Koreans and Japanese (i.e. difficulty in
distinguishing /r/ and /t/, /b/ and /v/ alone, it is also true of many Ghanaian languages especially
Asante, where the pronunciation of /r/ and /l/ poses a problem to many schools including St.
Francis demonstration R.C. primary six is the use of /t/ for /th/. Moreover, some of the
personalities concluded that, other words have challenged the biological approach. Krashan
(1975) reanalyzed clinical data used a evidence and came out that, cerebral specialization occurs
much earlier than Lenneberg calculated. Therefore, if a critical period (C.P) exists, it does not
coincide with lateralization.
Effects of poor spelling
Pedagogical effects
The study of the effects of teaching on second language acquisition seeks to
systematically measure or evaluate the effectiveness of language teaching practices. Such studies
have undertaken for every level of language from phonetics to pragmatics and for almost every
level of current teaching methodology. It is therefore impossible to summarize their findings
here, however, some more general issues have been addressed.
Research has indicated that many traditional teaching techniques are extremely
inefficient. Moreover, today abroad consensus at Second Language (S.L.A) scholars
acknowledges that official formal instruction can help in language learning. Another important
issue is the effectiveness of explicit teaching and language teaching has a constructive effect
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beyond providing learners with enhance input. Because explicit instruction must usually take
place in the learners first language, many have argued that it is simple starves learners of input
and opportunities for practice. Research on this at different levels of language has produced quite
different results. Traditional areas of explicit teaching such as grammar, phonology and
vocabulary have decidedly mixed results. The positive effect of explicit instructions at this level
seems to be limited to helping students notice important aspects of input. Interestingly, the higher
level-aspects of language such as discourse competences and sacropragmatic have shown the
most consistently strong effects from explicit instructions. Research has also shown a distinct
effect of age on the effectiveness of explicit instructions. The younger learner is the less benefit
they shown. However, research has again shown that the early exposure to a second language
increases a child’s capacity to learn language, even their first language.
Social Effects
The process of language study can be stressful and the impact of positive or negative
attitudes from the environment / society can be decisive. One aspect that has received particular
attention is the relationship of gender roles to language achievement. Studies along numerous
acculturations (cultures) have shown that, women on the purpose enjoy an advantage over men.
Some have suggested that this is linked to gender roles. Doman (2006) noted in a journal devoted
to issues of cultural effects on Second Language Acquisition (S.L.A). Questions about what
defines SLA, how far its borders extend and what the attributions and contributions of its
research are. Thus, there is a great amount of heterogeneity in the entire conceptualization of
some researchers tend to ignore certain aspect of the fields while others structurize these same
aspect piece by piece community attitudes towards the language impact on SLA. Where the
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community has a broadly negative view of its relation, to them, learning is difficult this finding
has been confined by researchers in numerous context.
.
A widely cited example is the difficult face by children in learning English as a second
language other common social factors includes the attitude of parents towards language study
and the nature of group dynamics in language classroom. Early attitudes may strengthen
motivation and facility within language in particularly with early exposure to the language.
Another factor is how the English Language is taught as a second language. In such cases, the
accent of the teachers will affect the accent/induction of the students. In some places that were
formally under British rule such as, Malaysia, India and Hong Kong, the English language
remains a mandatory subject in most schools. Students study the English language at school
while using their native language in daily life. Thus, there may be distinctive characters of
pronunciation in these speakers spelling. Because of the many changes of pronunciation which
have occurred since a written standard developed and the retention of many historical
idiosyncrasies (Mannerism) in spelling, English spelling is more difficult even for native
speakers to masters. This difficulty is shown in activities like spelling bee that generally require
the memorization of words. English speakers may also rely on computer tools such as spell
checkers more than speakers of other languages such as the users of the utility may have
forgotten or never learned the correct spelling of a word. The generalization that exist are quite
complex and there are many exceptions leading to a considerable amount of role learning, the
spelling system cause problem in both directions – a learner may know a word by sound but not
be able to write it correctly (or indeed find it in a dictionary), or they may see a word written
but won’t know how to pronounce or mislearn the pronunciation. There are thriving countries
or communities of English nature speakers in countries all over the world, and this historical
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diasporas has led to some noticeable difference in pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar in
different countries, as well as those variations which exist between different regions and across
the social state within the same country even written the British Isles.
Causes of misspelling
Misspelling among pupils is caused by several factors, among them are: according to
Janet W. Learner, one major factor that causes misspelling is the fact that some words have
similar sounds but are spelt differently. Such words usually confuse pupils leading to misspelling
among pupils. Janet W. learner supported her argument with this example words like “here and
hear, sounds similar but differ in spelling. Such words usually contribute to misspelling among
beginners.
Again, differences in spelling of the same words among different people. Janet W.
Learner explained that, some words have “British” and “American” spelling among pupils. For
instance, the British have a word like “Behaviour” among the British and the American have a
word like “Behavior” among the American. American and British words pose many many
difficulties to pupils.
Furthermore, according to Hull (1976), one outstanding factor that causes misspelling
among pupils is the problem encounter with the number of phoneme (sounds) as with graphemes
(written letters) as found in the English language. Hull explains that spelling would be much
easier if each phoneme of our language had only one grapheme. Hull further explains that there
are two hundred and fifty-one (251) different spelling for the forty-four (44) sounds of English.
In a nutshell, causes of misspelling can be attributed to the fact that the English Language
contains many irregularly spelled words.
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Adopting practical activities to overcome spelling difficulty
Historically, the teaching of spelling comes with various methods aimed at assisting
pupils to be proficient in writing. The teaching of spelling basically, can be grouped into two (2),
thus the traditional and modern techniques respectively. The traditional technique of teaching
spelling according to Eddie Fianu (20005) is the process where a teacher puts a list of words or
passage on the chalkboard which pupils copy and send home.
The pupils are made to memorize. This method is perceived by most scholars to be
teacher-centered and yield little improvement ion pupils’ performance. It is against this
background that scholars advocates for integrated with activities since children learn through
playing. Wrong spelling can be corrected through the use of the following:
A) Phonic Technique
According to Wikipedia, phonics is a method of teaching reading and writing of the
English language by developing learners’ ability to hear, identify and manipulate the smallest
units of sound that can differentiate. Simply, in order tot teach the correspondence between these
sounds and the spelling patterns that represent words. According to Merian Webster dictionary,
phonics is a method of teaching beginners to read and pronounce words by learning the phonetic
value of letters group especially syllabus.
According to vocabulary.com, phonic is the science sounds. Phonic is a way of teaching
beginning readers to match letters and sounds. By associating letters with sounds, phonic helps
peoples hear and say the words they are seeing on the page it is also a way of teaching reading by
focusing on letters and group of letters. Also, it is the branch of acoustic concerned with speech
processes including its production and perception and acoustic analysis is also breaking of words
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into simpler pronunciation. Phonics instruction teaches the connection between words, sounds
and written letters, it’s a key part of learning to read. But phonics instruction also teaches
spelling patterns. For success in spelling using phonics, here are some rules.
1. Short and long vowels. When a vowel is followed by one consonant, that vowel is usually
short. A vowel is usually short when there is only one vowel in a word as in on, red, and
fantastic. A vowel is long when it says its own name when a single vowel is at the end of
a word, it usually makes the long vowel sound, as in go and paper.
2. Silent ‘e’ when e is the last letter in a word and there is only one other vowel in that
word, the first vowel usually says its own name and the e is silent as in cake.
3. Consonant diagraphs and blends. In a consonant diagraph, two consonants work together
to form one sound that isn’t like either of the letters it is made from. Examples include
chap, ship, think and photo. Consonant blends are group of two or three consonants
whose individual sounds can be heard as they blend together. Examples are clam, scrub
and grasp.
4. Soft “c” and hard ‘c’ and soft ‘g’ and hard ‘g’. When the letter ‘c’ is followed by the
vowels e,i, or y, it usually makes its soft sound examples are cent, circus and cytoplasm.
The letter c also makes a hard sound as in cat and cocoa. When the letter ‘g’ is followed
by the vowels e,i or y, it usually makes its soft sound. Examples of that are gel, giant
and gym. The letter g also makes a hard sound, as in gas, gorilla and yogurt.
5. The /j/ and the /ch/ sound: when the /j/ sound follows a short vowel in a one-syllable
word, it’s usually spelled ‘dge’ as in badge, hedge, bridge, dodge and smudge. (The ‘d’
protects the vowel from “magic e”). When the /ch/ sound follows a short vowel in a onesyllable word, it’s usually spelled ‘tch’ as in catch, fetch, stitch, blotch and clutch.
Common exceptions are the words much, such, rich and which.
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B) Syllabic Techniques
According to Longman active study dictionary for intermediate – upper intermediate
learners; syllabic is a part of sound. Example is the word cat, which is having one syllable, and
the word sugar is having two syllables that is /su/-/gar/. Also, syllabic is having lines based on
number of syllabus rather than on rhythmical arrangement of stress of quantities. The term
syllabic was invented in 1821 by George Guess, it was originally called in Latin as syllabicus
which means to syllabify or to divide words into parts, while in Greek, it is called syllabikos.
According to Wikipedia, syllabic began several years before the first letter. The earliest
recorded on tablets was written around 2800 BC in Sumerian and in syllabic, one word (as in cat)
is called a monosyllable and is said to be monosyllabic. Two words like pho nic , mar ket and
ser vice are said to have two syllable and are said to be disyllabic, and the three words like hos pi
tal, na tio nal are said to be trisyllabic words like in ter me diate and co mmi ssio ner are said to
be polysyllabic which means having a word containing more than three syllables. Also, syllabic
is typically made up of a syllable nucleus (most often a vowel with optical initial and final
margins typically consonants).
According to free dictionary, syllabic is a form of verse based on the number of syllables
(words) in a line rather on the arrangement of accents or quantities. Also, (syllabic or poetry
denoting a kind of verse based on specific number of syllabus rather than having regulated
stresses).
Therefore, in improving or overcoming spelling difficulty in English Language among
pupils of St. Francis demonstration basic six, phonic and syllabic methods must be used. A
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careful investigation into the methods of teaching spelling reveals that, they must be given
enough practice to be able to spell well and to meet the maxim “practice makes man perfect”.
Also, scholars advocates for teaching which is child-centered that is integrated with
activities since children learn through playing. Eddie Fianu (2005) in his book stipulates the
following games to help them.
(i)
Word matching: In this technique, pupils are given cards bearing several words, while
some of the words recur several times. The pupils are then asked to match similar
words. Their ability to match word cards shows that, they can recognize the similarity
in the spelling of such words.
(ii)
Filling-in-letters blank: In this method, pupils are given various word cards but with
some missing letters that pupils are to use in filling in the missing letters in the word.
(iii)
Mother and child (word building). It works on the principles of using one word to
build many words. Using this technique, the teacher must give pupils a long word and
ask to form words or morphemes from the word given them. The original word given
to them is called “Mother” and the word formed from the original is called
“Children”. These are some of the games the researcher is using in addition to the
phonic and syllabic methods to acid a pupil overcome his spelling problem.
How Reading Influence Correct spelling of Words.
According to Birk and Birk, Clark M. Margaret (1974), one of the important thing that
some can do to enhance upon his or her spelling is to read many books or even everything
readable posters, bill boards etc. She said that, “someone can improve upon his or her spelling by
reading extensively and learn to pronounce well”. Clark M. Margaret made it vividly clear that,
because people do not read wide, they in turn spell wrongly. People spell words like “athletic” as
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atheletics”, “idea” as “idear” and also “republic” as “republik”. However, according to Dr.
Robert M. Bear, Director of the reading clinic at Dartmouth says, “for five minutes every day for
a month, force yourself tot read a little faster to enhance faster reading and spelling. He made it
clear that, reading a piece of paper or passage for just a short time can have an impact or
influence correct spelling of words.
Summary of literature review
The related literature review on the problem touches on the causes of misspelling among
pupils of St. Francis Demonstration primary six, among some of the causes is words having
similar sounds phonemes but are spelt differently. Also difference in spelling of the same words
among different people. According to Janet W. Learner (1971) and Hull (1976) emphasized
words having the same sounds but are spelt differently.
The chapter also highlighted some strategies that can be employed to improved spelling
among some of the strategies or corrective measures are syllabic and phonic methods, some
games also include: word matching, filling-in-letters, and mother and child. The first two are the
corrective measures or strategies the researcher used to improved or overcome the problem of a
boys spelling problem. The last of the chapter saw how reading can actually emphasized or
enhance spelling of words by Clark M. Margaret (1974) and Dr. Robert M. Bear, Director for the
reading clinic at Dartmouth.
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CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOOGY
This section of the project captioned ‘methodology’ deals with the research designed,
population and sample selection, research instruments and data collection procedures, the chapter
also presents pre-intervention and post-intervention procedures as well as data analysis. It
described briefly the process involve in the actual conduct of the research.
Research Design
Research design is simply a plan which specifies how the data relating to a problem
should be collected, analyzed and reported on the study. There are different kinds of designs
used by many research. Action research may be described as an inquiry conducted into a
particular issue of current concern usually undertaken by those involved with the aim of
implementing a change in specific situations. In other words, action research is aimed at solving
problem. The choice of this design in this educational research was informed by its
appropriateness for solving a perceived problem in an immediate environment with immediate
effects with the help of other people.
Action research generally has the following strengths.
(i)
It helps the classroom teacher to understand what actually goes on during the
teaching and learning process. It deals with identification and solving of problems in
organization. During the teaching and learning process, teachers identify the actual
problems pupils are facing and try to solve them.
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(ii)
It helps the classroom teacher to establish conditions the enables them to achieve
desirable results.
(iii)
It provides knowledge that enables the researcher achieve a particular results.
(iv)
It reviews existing knowledge
(v)
It enables both the participant teacher and learner to develop appropriate intervention
strategies directed at solving the problems identified in teaching and learning process.
Even though there are much strengths, there exist some weaknesses also some of which are:
i)
It is time consuming
ii)
Financial constraints
Action research design only solves problems but does not improve knowledge. It also
demands for immediate change in behavior or situation which is very rare in real life in the
run.
Population
Population refers to a group of people or element that the researcher is interested in doing
his or her research.
The target population for the research works is basic six (6A) of St. Francis
Demonstration Basic School. The school enrolment of basic six (A) is sixty-three (63), it consists
of twenty six (26) males and thirty-seven (37) females.
For the sake of convenience, the researchers want to focus on only Basic Six (A) class of
sixty-three (63) pupils. Taking into limited time available into use, four pupils in primary 6A
upon realizing they have peculiar problems in spelling, becoming the accessible population.
Sample
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The sampling technique used was the simple random approach or the lottery approach. The study
sample thirty(30) pupils with severe spelling difficulty to generalize the target population of the
primary 6A. This approach was used because the researcher wants to get reliable facts to work
on to bring change in spelling among the pupils. The used techniques for selecting the teachers
were also automatic. This was because the problem was in the class of the teacher and the school
for that matter.
Research Instruments
I made use of some imperative tools in collecting data for the project for its success. By
this, the researcher used:
1. Interview
2. Observation
3. Questionnaire
4. Test
Interview Guide
Interview is defined as a face to face conversation between two or more people.
According to Dandieu (2004) interview is a one-on-one dialogue between the interviewer and
interviewee. The interview is the first instrument the researcher used to collect the bulk of his
data for reasons of its high response rate and flexibility. The target population of respondents
includes parents, teachers and the pupils. The pupils were interviewed on after the other.
The researcher then went on interview the teachers and parents to confirm existence of
the problem. Responses confirmed the fact that respondents were aware that, the pupils could not
spell well. The researcher chose these instruments because it is purposeful for collecting factual
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non-emotional information by interacting with the interviewee informally. It is captured in
Appendix A.
Questionnaire
Questionnaire are written sets of questions which are administered to a large number of
people in order to elicit correct information, facts and ideas to solve a problem identified. The
researcher developed sets of ten (10) questions for the teachers, it sought information about the
involvement of pupils in lessons, the methods that can suit pupils in teaching spelling and other.
It is captured in Appendix B. the items or the questions were both open ended and close ended.
Observation
According to Longman dictionary of contemporary English (2001), observation is the
process of watching something or someone carefully for a period of time. The researcher used
the direct observation method. Direct observation is the process of finding out how an individual
behaves in his or her own environment. Under the direct observation, there can be class
interaction between the researcher after marking the pupils first exercise and realized that their
spellings are not good, he requested all the children’s exercise books to find out if the problem
is peculiar or not. He however realized that, the children scored below average in the exercise
they did because of bad spelling.
The method is reliable because the researcher can get information at first hand and
however he is in the same class with the pupils. An observation checklist can be seen at the
Appendix C.
Tests
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In action research, test can be used to diagnose the extent of a problem and gain to
determine the effectiveness of an intervention that has been designed to address the problem.
When used as diagnostic instrument, it is known as a pre-text. On 17th October, 2017, the
researcher conducted a pre-text to ascertain what I observed when I finished marking the first
exercise books of the Basic 6A pupils. The performance of some selected pupils marks can be
seen in Appendix D of the work.
After administering the intervention, the same test was given out to the selected pupils
and there was a great improvement in the performance. The post test marks of the selected pupils
can be seen in Appendix E of the work.
Pre-Intervention
The researcher used observation and tests are some of the devices to identify the problem
of the pupil’s inability to spell words in English Language. After thorough observation and the
administering of the pre-test, and looking at the results, the researcher was convinced that, the
problem really existed and next action was to tackle the problem at the intervention stage.
Intervention
In the intervention stage, phonic, syllabic and guidance method were used to salvage the
problem. Phonic is a kind of sound. It is also a way of teaching reading by focusing on group of
letters. It is where pupils are taught reading, training beginners to associate letters with their
sound values. This is done when a teacher writes a long word on the chalkboard and assist pupils
to separate the words into syllabi for pupils to pronounce. The phonic and syllabic technique is
alone purposely for pupils to be able to read and spell words correctly. Example: when a teacher
writes a word like demonstration, intervention etc. on the board, he tries to assist pupils to
20
pronounce and spell it as well by him/her, thus the teacher separate the words into four
syllabuses for them to be able to pronounce demonstration and intervention as being separated
into four like De/mon/stra/tion and In/ter/ven/tion
Since it is an entertaining way of teaching spellings, the researcher uses this type of
teaching spelling so that the pupils will not feel bored. Syllabic is a part of word that contains a
single vowel sound, example cat has one syllable and butter has two syllable with the two
techniques, the researcher wrote the word “entertainment” on the chalkboard and allowed pupils
to mention and spell the word after his first example and amazingly, some of the pupils could
pronounce and spell the words. They were able to have four syllables and mention the word
accordingly. The researcher then wrote more words for them to practice since practice makes
man perfect. Words like hospital, academy, embark, coaches etc.
According to Fianu (2002), guidance is the process of helping an individual to learn
about his/her educational opportunities, occupation or career. The individual is then assisted to
put the knowledge gained into effective use. The researcher thought it wise to plan a guidance
program for the parents and teachers. This took the researcher and the headmistress three weeks
to organize. During the guidance and counseling sessions. The researcher took his time to
explain the importance of education to both parents and children, the role they should play and
how they could support their wards to acquire skills in reading which will lead to good spelling
of words.
He also made the teachers to appreciate the fact that the combination of variety of
methods would help the pupils. The head teacher also stressed that parents should help teachers
in the education of their children.
Post-Intervention
21
The researcher implemented planned activities like guidance and counseling, and phonic
and syllabic methods of teaching during the intervention process. After the implementation
process, the researcher used observation and test as his monitoring techniques to verify the
effectiveness of the intervention process. The researcher then noticed that, there was a drastic
improvement in the pupils spelling ability. Testifying the method was useful in combating the
spelling problem. The result from the post-test in spelling confirmed the improvement.
Data Analysis
All data were collected through the following instruments questionnaire, interview,
observation and test were coded and analyzed using simple percentages. The detailed data
collected, analysis and discussion are followed in the next chapter.
22
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATIONS, FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS
This chapter deals with the description and data analysis procedure obtained from various
instruments, discussion of major findings and the representation of data analysis on a tabular
form. I adopted this procedure to find answers to the research questions.
Table 1: Reasons for pupils’ inability to spell
Responses
Respondents
Percentages (%)
Pupils background
2
33%
Poor teaching and learning method
3
50%
Pupils poor attitude towards spelling
1
17%
Total
6
100
There is a clear indicated that, responses from teachers sampled in table 1 for the research
work. From the table two respondents which are 33% admitted that pupil’s background have a
lot to do with pupil’s inability to spell. Equipping their wards with school needs such as the
provision of reading materials, spelling books or materials is a major problem. They further
argued that, due to the poor nature of the diet pupils take, they lack most nutrients that will
enrich their brain as much as such pupils take, the lack of most of the nutrients make them to
hardly understand simple concepts. Three (3) respondents representing 50% of the respondent
pointed out that pupil’s inability to spell can be attributed to the teaching and learning method.
23
Some teachers adopted the use of lecture method and not learning materials to make
understanding of the concept of the lesson easy for pupils. They again said some teachers are not
creative enough to design interceptive measures to ease the problem one (1) respondent
representing 17% of the respondents expressed his dissatisfaction with pupils’ attitude towards
spellings. He said that some of the pupils will not make any effort when guided.
Table 2: Views of Teachers about Method they use in teaching to help pupils to keep
spelling
Responses
Respondent
Percentage (%)
Mother and child dictation
1
17%
Phonic
2
33%
Syllabic
3
50%
Total
6
100%
Table 2 discuses the views of the teachers about method they use in teaching to help
pupils to keep spelling. It can be seen clearly that two (2) respondents in answering the question
on the phonic method denoting 33% as an activity of the view that if pupils can be helped to use
sounds relating to the words pertaining to the method of teaching reading and spelling, then they
will be able to identify those words if they appear in the passage text they read.
Again, three (3) respondents denoting 50% of the respondents administered that, teachers
should use the syllabic method of teaching spelling. They point it out that if teachers should use
this method pupils will be able to identify and pronounce words easily and correctly because the
words are been spelt as how it is pronounce. Due to the words been separated before putting
them together, it will help pupils to pronounce them correctly which will make spelling easier.
Also, one (1) respondent representing 17% of the respondents is of the view that mother and
24
child dictation is an activity to solve the problem of spelling. The teacher was of the view that, if
pupils can form minor words out of bigger words, then they will be able to identify those words
later if they were been ask to spell them.
Table 3: What teachers, parents and pupils should do to solve the problem?
Responses
Respondents
Percentage (%)
Teaching and learning materials
3
50%
Good teaching and learning method
2
33%
Using other activities
1
17%
Total
6
100%
Table 3 indicates the responses from teachers on what teachers should do to solve the
problem. Out of six (6) respondents (teacher), three (3) of the respondents denoting 50% of the
respondents were of the view that, if teachers use teaching and learning materials (T.L.M) in
their lesson well, it will help them to understand the lesson well, easily and early which will be
of great significance to them as far as reading and spelling are concerned. They supported it that
with good teaching and learning materials, pupils’ interest will be arouse towards the lesson and
will sustain the attention of the pupils towards the lesson. Two (2) respondents (teachers)
representing 33% of the respondents sited out that teachers should use good teaching and
learning method or techniques in teaching English Language especially reading and spelling
lessons. It will help get rid of the problem. The respondents sited some examples including
discussion, demonstration, dramatization, working in groups and role play among others. The
respondents also explained that if pupils are involved massively by making it child centered, it
means they are learning to it by themselves rather than being told.
25
Again, one (1) respondent denoting 17% of the respondents is of the view that, other
activities such as word puzzle, language games, spelling bee, substitution table etc. just to
mention a few are adopted to teach during spelling lesson, the solution to the problem will not be
farfetched.
Also, before and after the intervention, it has been sub divided into three (3) main sectors
namely:
1. Pupils’ performance before intervention
2. Pupils’ performance after intervention
3. Discussion and conclusion drawn by the researcher.
Performance before intervention
Table 4: Marks obtained by pupils before intervention
Exercise number
Marks obtained
Out of
Percentage (%)
1
2
10
8.4%
2
3
10
25%
3
4
10
66.6%
Total
8
30
100%
From the table, two pupils scored marks within the range of 8-10, denoting 8.4%. Ten
pupils representing 25% scored/obtained the marks 5 to 7. While eighteen pupils representing
66.6% obtained marks ranging from 0 to 4.
Table 5: Marks obtained by pupils after intervention
Exercise number
Marks obtained
Out of
Percentage (%)
1
7
10
20%
2
10
10
55%
26
3
8
10
25%
Total
25
30
100%
Discussion and Conclusion by the researcher.
It can be referred from table 1 that pupil’s performance is as a result of their inability to
spell words given to them. It is not surprising therefore that the best performance out is between
0-4 denoting 66.6%. This is a clear indication that pupils indeed face serious problem concerning
spelling. After a careful analysis of the results presented above, before intervention, shows
clearly poor performance of pupils in spelling out of 30 marks in three exercise, they scored 8
out of 30 marks which is equivalent to 3%, after the intervention, they scored 25 out of 30 marks
of exercises conducted by the researcher as a post intervention test which is equivalent to 88%. It
is clear that after a successful implementation of the phonic and syllabic method in teaching
spelling of English Language words, pupils can now spell with no difficulty. This clearly
indicates that, the intervention adopted by the researcher is highly effective.
27
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION
This chapter deals with the interview of the research problem and methodology. It also
includes and focuses on the summary, conclusion and recommendations and finally suggestions
on areas of future research.
Summary
The investigation in the course of my teaching practice at St. Francis Demonstration
Basic School (Six) realized that most of the pupils have difficulty in spelling. Those who
attempted or tried to spell end up unsuccessful due to a lot of spelling mistakes they committed
which consequently marred their spelling.
The investigator upon thorough investigation into pupils spelling problem realized that
poor methods of teaching did not argue well for pupils. The researcher then conducted an
investigation concerning the problem. That is what various renounced educators and authors
have said or written about spelling faults and how they affect children spelling and appropriate
use of teaching spelling among others. The researcher after the literature review proceeded
further to apply an interview to address pupils’ problem. After the intervention, it came to light
that pupil’s performances have improved tremendously as compared to their performance before
the intervention.
28
Conclusions
Based on the outcome at hand, it can be asserted that, the pupils’ pre-requisite skills in
English Language have been improved. This is evidenced by their performance, not only in
spelling dictation, but in English composition and comprehension as well. Therefore, the
development of pupils require spelling skills should be tactically developed using the efficient
method at the lower primary before they get to the basic level. The outcome of the effect clearly
indicates that the spelling method such as phonic and syllabic method can be used to develop
interest of spelling of English words was not good enough. But after a careful intervention that is
the phonic and syllabic method were introduced by the investigator for some couple of months,
pupils performance in terms of spelling have improved remarkably indicating that the
intervention adopted by the researcher was not only successfully but also aroused the interest and
enhanced understanding.
Recommendations
The researcher having effectively used the instrument for the collecting of data to
investigate into the problem at hand come out with these recommendations
1. The researcher recommends the appropriate use of teaching and learning materials. E.g.
word card, alphabet/word dominoes, phonic and syllabic method, Can You Go game and
Mother and Child game in teaching.
2. Good motivational tool and reinforcement techniques to treat English Composition,
Comprehension and dictational lessons.
29
3. The government in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service should provide
enough English Readers and dictational materials to affected schools to help the teacher
teach more effectively.
4. Finally, parents being the most influential body around the child should ensure the supply
of necessary materials to their wards for effective private use in the house during leisure
times.
5. Also, competition on correct spelling must be organized regularly for our schools with
incentives. This will equip pupils with proficiency in spelling. Pupils who do well in
English dictation and composition should be motivated to serve as yard stick to the low
achievers to maximize their performance.
Areas for further Research
The researcher was able to carry out the research study in one class in his school of
attachment due to the method of Action Research used. He therefore wishes to suggest the
further research should be extended to the whole circuit.
Further researchers should do their best to keep to addressing and communicating with
pupils in the English Language to help the pupils develop vocabulary in no time.
30
REFERENCES
Clark M. Margaret (1974), How to Read Faster: Birk and Birk.
Cambridge Advanced Dictionary (2003), published by press syndicate of the University of
Cambridge.
Fianu E. (2005), Principles and methods of Teaching English Language. Koforidua Saama D.
production.
Cook V. (2001), said that, language teaching Practice often assumes that most of the study off
English is a consequence.
Launie R. (1976) Causes of misspelling among pupils, Washington; Hull.
Learner J.W. (1971), Children with learning Disabilities London.
Manser M.H. (1996), Macmillan Learners Dictionary. London: Macmillan Education Limited
Patrick Gillard (1989), Cambridge Dictionary London MarGrow: Hill Inco.
Microsoft Encarta (2009).
Lightbrown and Spanda (2006), observed that, “Language learners often produce errors of syntax
and pronunciation that to result from the influence of their L1.
Norri and Ortega (2006), realized that “English is no more complex than other languages. It has
several features which may create difficulties for learners.
Flege, Machay and Piske investigated whether the dominance in Italian – English Bilingual.
Sebestian – Gallas, Echeverria and Bosch (2005), also studied bilingual and light the importance
of early language exposure.
Mitchell and Myles (2006), pointed out that, English does not have more individual consonant
sounds than most languages. Simultaneously as long as the principles are still active and they are
exposed to sufficient language samples.
Mewport and Supalla (1987), studied ASL (American Sign Language) acquisition in deaf
children differing in age of exposure, few exposed to ASL from birth.
31
Mayberry and Lock (2003), and Penfield and Roberts (1959), and Lenneberg (1967) said brain
damage and age are the cause problems of acquisition of L1 and L2.
Merriam Website Dictionary.
Longman word wise dictionary for pre-intermediate learner’s edition: 2015.
Free dictionary
www.phonicplay.co.uk
Wikipedia
Pergee and Ammon Shea (2014), Bad English; A history of Linguistic Aggravation.
32
APPENDIX A
INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR PARENTS
The researcher on reaching the parents house greets and asks about their wards. The
researcher then tells the parents his mission and assures them that it is just part of the Diploma
Award Certificate so it will not go against them.
1. What is your relationship with the pupil?……………………….……………..
2. What level of education have you reached?
School certificate
Middle school certificate
Diploma
3. What word do you do for a living?......................................................................
4. Do pupils bring home words or passages?..........................................................
5. Do you know your ward cannot spell well?.........................................................
6. Have you ever bought any reading materials for your ward?.................................
7. If “no”, why?...........................................................................................................
33
APPENDIX B
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE TEACHERS
1. Name of school……………………………………………………………….
2. Sex of the Teacher:
Male
Female
3. What is your level of qualification in education?
S.S.S.C.E/WASSCE
O’ Level
A’ Level
Diploma
Degree
Cert A
4. What do you think are responsible for pupils inability to spell in English Language in
your class?......................................................
5. What method do you use in teaching spelling in English Language……………………….
6. Why do you adopt that method?..........................................................................................
7. How many periods are located for spelling in a week on the time table?.............................
8. Do you organize competition for pupils in spelling very often?
Yes
No
if yes, how often do you organize?.............................................
9. Do you put in place incentives during the competition?
Yes
No
If yes state the incentives you normally use………………………………………………..
10. Have you put any strategy in place to help check poor spelling in English Language
among pupils? Yes
No
if yes state two (2) of the strategies
(a)…………………………………………………………………………………..
34
(b)…………………………………………………………………………………..
APPENDIX C
OBSERVATION CHECKLIST
SCHOOL: ……………………………………….
CLASS: …………………………
NO
NAME OF STUDENT
OBSERVED
DATE: …………………………….
BEHAIVIOR OF PUPILS IN THEIR
ENVIRONMENT
Reading
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
35
Sleeping
Lateness
Learning Chatting
13
14
15
….
61
36