This dissertation reports research into the problem of how to teach mastery of the English writing system (MEWS) to students of English as a second language (ESL). The problem involves the relatedness of English orthography and phonology. The research had two purposes. First was development of classroom instructional materials for improving reading proficiency in ESL students by application of generative phonological principles. Second was use of the instructional materials in a pilot study of fifty-three ESL college freshmen. A major finding was that subjects' reading proficiency was far below that of native speakers at the college level. Another was that the subjects had more difficulty with English vowels than with consonants. The subjects' scores on nonsense-word tests correlated significantly with five other criteria, including measures of ability to use ESL. A uniform disparity between ESL-student and native-speaker scores on tests of nonsense words was identified. Native-speakers generally had perfect scores, and ESL students had low scores. A chief implication is the importance of understanding orthography in reading English. Recommendations are that ESL proficiency be determined by nonsense-word tests and that the MEWS program be used by students of English as a second dialect.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc500364 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Sims, Diana Mae |
| Contributors | Cross, Charles Jack, Martin, Charles B., 1930-, Clarke, Ray Varnado, DuChemin, Roderic C. |
| Publisher | North Texas State University |
| Source Sets | University of North Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | xi, 264 leaves : ill., Text |
| Rights | Public, Sims, Diana Mae, Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. |
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