The present study was undertaken as a comparison of two, methods of learning the spelling and meanings of words. It was specifically concerned with the incidental learning of the spelling and meanings of words as a result of seeing and writing them in context. The central problem as finally established was: Do pupils, learning by a method designed to develop spelling ability, also learn the meanings of the words so studied? Do students, learning by a method designated to develop vocabulary ability, also -learn the spelling of the words so studied? To attempt a study of this problem, eighty words, selected from among a list of words most needed to be taught to the experimental group, were chosen as the subject matter of the experiment. Two groups worked with the same eighty words. The material was presented to the pupils in the form of worksheet type lessons. These work-sheets served not only to control the time factor and to practically eliminate the teacher variable, but also as a means of introducing the experimental variable in the learning situation. Group A, learning by a method designed primarily to develop spelling ability, utilized a good standard spelling method based on the practice recommended by Arthur I. Gates and used by him and his co-authors in 'The Canadian Pupils' Own Vocabulary Speller'. Group B, learning by a method designed primarily to develop vocabulary ability, used a method wherein they read numerous paragraphs and sentences containing the eighty words comprising the experimental material. The eighty words were presented in such a manner that the pupil met each of them five times at regular intervals throughout the course of the experiment. Each time a word was met the pupil was required to look at it and write it in a contextual situation. At no time were the pupils of Group B informed that they were learning spelling or vocabulary—they were merely "working and playing with words". Eight grade seven classes in the junior high schools of New Westminster, B.C. acted as experimental subjects. Data concerning chronological age, I.Q., and scores on author-constructed tests in spelling and word meaning were collected for each pupil. No significant difference appeared between the two groups in any of these measures. The reliability of the spelling test (r = .94) and the word meaning test (r = .88) was established by using a control group composed of six grade seven classes ( 170 pupils in all) from the adjoining municipality of Burnaby, B.C. The control group was given the tests on the opening day of the experiment and again on the closing day of the experiment, but received no instruction. At the close of the experiment the spelling and word meaning tests were again administered to the experimental groups as a basis for comparison of gains. Complete data in spelling and word meaning were available for 100 members of Group A and 107 members of Group B. The experiment, including pre-tests and post-tests in the subject matter, required two forty-minute periods per week for six weeks, while the experiment proper required eight forty-minute periods. [Rest of abstract omitted] / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

No description available.

published_or_final_version / English Studies / Master / Master of Arts

The study is concerned with improving the spelling performance of below average spellers in an upper primary mainstream classroom setting. The main target group is children who do not qualify for learning support resources yet have difficulty thriving in the literacy area of spelling. It was expected that lessons designed to expand students’ knowledge about words and the English language system would generate a greater student facility with learning spellings. A quasi-experimental methodological approach was taken which also has features of a controlled trials study. Four spelling intervention lesson programs were designed and each has a different pedagogic emphasis: 1) Metacognitive and multisensory learning strategies 2) Teacher-Best-Practice 3) Teacher designed inquiry-based group work 4) Learning with a computer-based Team Learning System. The study design is both practical and pragmatic in that only resources already available to the schools were utilised; lesson formats and teaching practices can be easily replicated; and the spelling programs are compatible with NSW curriculum directives. The intervention lesson program took place for one hour per week over a two-term period and involved four schools situated in the outer areas of Sydney, Australia. Students and teachers in nine upper primary classrooms took part in the study, five of which were intervention classes and four were non-intervention classes. The classroom teachers were an important factor in the program presentation and lessons with an explicit focus on words were conducted from a constructivist perspective. Results indicate that when spelling becomes an instructional focus, substantial progress in performance levels can be made in both intervention and non-intervention classrooms. Discussion of the findings examines how pedagogic factors influenced learning outcomes for all ability groups in the literacy area of spelling. Particular attention is given to the progress in spelling age made by below average performers, as determined on pre-testing, and students with lower than normal cognitive ability. It is considered that the more interactive approach to teaching spelling, plus a high level of congruence with the Quality Teaching model (NSW DET, 2003) elements of Engagement, High-order Thinking, and Substantive Communication, assisted these target groups of students in the intervention classes. The principal conclusion that can be drawn from the findings of the study is that minimal modifications to teaching practices can bring about improvement in students’ spelling performance levels. It illustrates the capacity of children to advance their learning outcomes when lessons are designed and delivered in a manner that encourages engagement and interactive support. Such a conclusion directs the responsibility for students’ learning outcomes to their classroom teachers. The study identifies that there are implications for the providers of in-service and pre-service professional development of teachers situated in upper primary mainstream classrooms, and the pedagogic aspirations of the primary school community. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

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No description available.

Current literature on spelling strategies has indicated that successful spellers use phonological and morphological information as well as graphemic memory in their spelling. Research into spelling disorders has uncovered two broad categories of poor spellers: Phonetically Inaccurate spellers, whose spelling errors are phonetically unrelated to the target and who also exhibit a generalized language impairment and Phonetically Accurate spellers, whose errors are phonetically plausible and who have no obvious neurological impairment. This study intended to investigate some of the organizational and language abilities of those children known as Phonetically Accurate or Atrocious spellers. The hypothesis was that Atrocious spellers have inadequate knowledge of the phonological and morphological rules necessary for correct spelling. Three phonological processes were under examinations Palatalization, Velar Softening and Stress Shift, Test items incorporated one or more of these processes. Subjects performed three spelling tasks two written spelling tasks with oral presentation of the item and one spelling task without auditory model and three language tasks. The first, Suffixation, required subjects to pronounce real and nonsense words derived from a root word and affix. Subjects also judged relatedness of word pairs and learned nonsense words which either did or did not employ the target processes correctly. Because of the "partial cue" reading method employed by the subjects, it was impossible to determine their knowledge of phonology through the Suffixation task. However, the data gave rise to some interesting considerations. Review of the historical development of spelling suggested possible parallels between synchronic and diachronic development of spelling. Poor handwriting was linked to poor spelling and a rationale was proposed. Several instances of motor perseveration of writing were noted, suggesting that for these cases, the stimulus of the motor pattern was stronger than an auditory model. Some evidence for word recall problems appeared; a confrontation naming task would determine whether the incidence of word finding difficulties is higher in Atrocious spellers than in proficient spellers, Errors in affixation led to further questioning of subjects' morphological competence. Atrocious and good spellers employed a spelling strategy known as "sounding out" with varying degrees of proficiency. The question was then raised of how strongly spelling errors were influenced by the speller's dialect of spoken language. Most notably, nearly all test subjects favoured an auditory over a visual strategy when they were unsure of spelling. This translation from morpheme to phoneme string and then to grapheme string was felt to be developmentally an earlier stage than a direct translation from morpheme to grapheme. / Medicine, Faculty of / Audiology and Speech Sciences, School of / Graduate

The parlous state in which the English language finds itself in South Africa, both in its written and speech forms, is the cause ot grave concern to most English-speaking citizens, and to many Afrikaans-speaking people as well. This is the case not only in the commercial world and the civll service, but also in the schools and universities, and in fact in most walks of life. Although we are conscious of this state of affairs, and can quote many examples of the poor quality of English used, we have no measuring device through which we can assess exactly how bad the language used by any given group of people is. It is not possible to compare the performance in English of a certain school with standard English and to express the result as a percentage score. The aim of this investigation was to find out how well, or how badly, South African school children spell, and to compare the performances of English- and Afrikaansspeaking pupils. It was felt that the results would provide some concrete evidence and fairly accurate data which could be used to assess the standard of English spelling in our schools, and to pinpoint some of the major weaknesses. The writer hoped, thus, that the investigation might be of some practical usefulness to teachers of English spelling, and as spelling is basic to the written word and to some extent to the spoken word, it might make some small contribution to the drive towards better English in South African schools.