A STUDY OF SOME FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR SPELLING MISTAKES AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1         BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Spelling is a very complex skill; it is more complex especially in languages like English and French where their autography is different from the way words are spelt. Beginners (children) in the learning task suffer seriously from learning disabilities. This researcher therefore aims at finding some factors that are responsible for spelling mistakes in some selected secondary schools in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area in Benin City.

1.2         PURPOSE OF STUDY

The communication of human society is both oral and written ones. These days many people are very conscious of their spoken English as well as the written ones especially in some parts of the world where English language is used as their means of communication. With the use of some modern media like telephone, tapes, phonograms (record player) and films for the transition of information, there is a great improvement in oral communication. This modern trend which can withstand the written forms plays an important role in social life today. Some of the good examples of these transitions of information are everyday news/network in the radio and television, the minutes of world conference, government announcement in the radio and television and examination answers depend greatly on oral and written communication. It is very important that words used for communication be correctly spelt, because correct spelling motivates the readers, and poor spelling also irritates the reader as well.

This researcher therefore, attempt to investigate some of the factors that are responsible for spelling mistakes made by some senior secondary schools students with a view to recommending ways to correct these mistakes that are over powering these students. Due to the fact that we were colonized by the British, English is now our secondary language (L2) of communication and with the fact some Nigerian students who are learning English are often faced with the problems of harmonizing or producing the elements of her mother tongue language which is her first language because every language has its own number of units of sound (phonemics), and in two languages have equal number of phonemics.

This then portrays that in learning a new language, the student are bound to come across some phonemics that are different from the one she has already known. Obviously, this will result to spelling problems, and it is this type of spelling problems and some similar other ones that the researcher wants to look into a to save the situation because too much work has not been done by people to find out this nature of spelling mistakes are to be corrected.

Moreover, there has been the belief that mother tongue language is the best for the indigene of each tribe and because of this; the learning of the indigenous language begins very early in the life of a child. Secondary adult from time to time communicate with children in their own dialect, which makes them master their first language. As a result of this, there is the problem of the effect of the mother tongue on the pronunciation, spelling of English words, sentence structure and the usage of words. An analysis of these spelling mistakes made by students on a good function for this subject and the analysis of this spelling mistakes that are made by the students and the remedy suggested are way of helping English teacher to eliminate the spelling problem of their students

1.3         RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1.            Does lack of competent personnel and facilities contribute to poor reading habits among secondary school students?

2.            Is poor background a result of insufficient motivation for good reading habits?

3.            Does mass failure in various examinations, examination effect of poor reading habits?

4.            Does lack of experience and play materials contribute to poor reading habits?

5.            Does spelling problem/mistakes arise from phonetics shape of words?

1.4         DELIMITATION OF STUDY

This researcher is a report in some factors that are responsible for spelling mistakes which were discovered in the dictation exercise given to senior secondary school students from eight selected secondary schools in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area in Benin City, Edo State of Nigeria.

This research work does not aim at looking into some mistakes like pidgin English, things responsible for poor up bringing of a child or the socio-economic background’s effect on the students. But the emphasis is directly on the on words that are commonly spelt wrongly and the reasons for such mistakes.

1.5         DEFINITION OF TERMS

Oral English: Spoken English this extends to language communication skills, the organs of speech and hearing also are involved.

Phoneme: This is the unit of sound work.

Phonetic: This is the an English transcription symbol.

Spelling: This is the ways in which the spoken words are presented and are also pronounced.

Spelling: The presentation of sound by letters that approximate, symbolize the sound.

L1: Students mother tongue

L2: Students first foreign language

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