Compare Categories Transposition Beutifual

Action Research- Proposed Intervention - The effects of using consciousness-raising
activities to improve the spellings of Arab learners.
Introduction
According to Harris, Graham, Aitken, Barkel, Houston, & Ray (2017), the major
benefit of correct orthography for the target language is that it allows students to appreciate
the link between letters and their sounds. Also, when the proper spelling is observed it can
help an individual to better both their writing and reading. However, there are common
difficulties that a huge number of EFL teachers encounter which largely is misspelling by
learners. Besides, Cordewener, Verhoeven and Bosman (2016), insist that as students learn to
spell words, they should be capable of segmenting words into phonemes as well link
phonemes to their corresponding graphemes (p.48). Notably, Arab language deems diglossic
which implies literary form (graphemes) is dissimilar from the spoken one (phonemes). This
is on the grounds that the literary form is only confined to faculties and book instructions
(Abu-Rabia, 2000). The consequence of that is that it poses challenges to Arab readers when
learning the English language. There are some studies such as that of Bowen (2011) that
glaringly point out the nearly all Arab orthographic errors arise from their L1 and absence of
precise teaching of spelling. Apparently, in Arabic short vowels are not spelt, but pronounced
in oral dialogue posing challenging to learners striving to improve their spelling skills.
This action research aims to measue the possibility of employing consciousness-
raising activities in the classroom to help Arab students improve their spelling skills. The
action research would also allow learners to advance their writing skills to qualify to study in
the UK universities. Hence, the outcome of this research would offer possible solutions to the
spelling problem as well as enable learners to spell words in English correctly.
Context

My project will be conducted in EFL (English as a foreign language) private college
in Syria. This is a college that I instructed for two academic years. The course takes six
months and each lesson goes for 1hr 15 minutes, and the students attend classes twice in a
week. The class consists of 20 students mixing in gender with ages ranging between 18-19
years.
Regarding the abilities of the pupils, following the CEFR (Common European
Framework of Reference for Languages) a majority of students were at the A1 level with a
small number of A2 and a couple of student B1 (The Council of Europe, 2001). Through the
lesson schedule, I was given some amount of liberty to implement various activities and tasks
from outside the textbook provided since it addresses the same aims of the language objective
and outcome. This supports me with complete reliability to apply proposed intervention
easily through what I see as weak points of the learners. For the assistance with my teaching,
I had the use of college resources freely where I need to, such as a computer and a printer.
Problems
In the entire first month where I was tutored writing skills in the EFL, I was able to notice
resistance to improve orthographic errors. Hence, I discovered orthographic error resistance
to be a problematic area. I believe their failure to create correctness in the spelling of English
writings even with correction could help predict students’ failure in exams. This is on
grounds that spelling of words is one of the major approaches to grade and measure students’
abilities. Therefore, developing students ability to spelling accurately allows them to excel in
the exams and qualify for scholarships to study in the UK. A student with superior spelling
ability is likely to score highly in English writing exams and that would guarantee them a
scholarship to the UK.
Abdulkareem (2013) stated that most Arab learners’ problems in spelling the words
come out from the interference of their mother tongue. Writing words in Arabic starts from

right to left whilst in English its from left to right. I still have a feeling that some issues in the
classroom like students’ behaviours lead to some common errors which are associated with
their spelling within the writing system in writing check. Also, their errors have been
alienated from gaffes which are linked to the random and inadvertent language creation
(Songxaba, & Sincuba, 2019). Allwright's (1975) state that any error that occurs in linguistic
production repeatedly is out of character for native speakers who usually speak fluently and
competently. Also, Altamimi, & Ab (2019) insist on the need to reform the education system
of Arab nations so that learners can put more attention to learn spellings to improve their
English proficiency. When the education system is reformed, more emphasis will be put on
spelling and the result is that errors shall be minimized.
Another issue I faced with these learners is fossilization. Corder (1971) underscores
that the leading illustrated descriptions of fossilizations of errors occurred in a foreign
language. It is pointed out that learners’ errors occur due to their first language interfering
with the linguistic system of their second language. Furthermore, students’ lack of
consciousness to know the English spelling rules. I think learners’ errors become fossilized
because they are not aware of it; they have not noticed the common errors they are producing.
I felt the need to conduct action intervention research on de-fossilizing students’ constant
errors which is tested to be invaluable in treating fossilized errors in order to develop their
awareness of common errors in writing.
My tool for gathering suitable data to diagnose aspects of students’ orthographic
errors is writing a composition in the class. For composition writing, I would choose a topic
like the benefits and challenges of studying abroad. I touched the needs to apply qualitative
research to aid me in identifying the writing styles of learners. The data for students’ common
errors has to be collected every four weeks from their simple tasks written in English. This
practice would provide me with insight to understand the student’s development and needs.

The next phase would be coding data by making a list that would highlight major errors made
by students. This systematic collection of data will then guide me on establishing the right
intervention to undertake after data analysis (Burns, 2005). In essence, this method of
collecting data is helpful because it provides reliable data on orthography errors. Also, the
strategy used here guides me to look critically at areas of weakness as far as spelling is
concerned.
After investigation and analyse my students writing errors, I categorise my learners’
spelling errors based on Cook's clarification for errors. The clarification involves
omission )removals of some letters), insertion (adding additional letters),
transposition(reversing the location of letters), and substitution( changing one letter with
another) (Cook, 1999). It is also important to example to learners to classification of errors
because it would provide them with insights on why they write English words wrongly. The
findings from the research would both show that substitution and omission contribute
immensily on learners’ spelling errors. Alhaisoni et al.,(2015) similarly used this
classification during their research at the University of Ha’il in Saudi Arabia to identify
learner’s spellings errors. Figure (1) will show the most errors that the learners committed
after an analysis of their writings and Table (1) in the appendix A will show examples of their
spelling errors.
Figure 1 shows the most common errors

43%
39%
10%
7%
students'errors types
Substitution Omission Insertion Transposition
Proposed intervention
Based on my view about the spelling problem, I concluded that Consciousness-raising
activity is the best approach to improve the learners' orthographic errors. During the
Consciousness-raising tasks, learners are enthused to pay attention to the patterns and the
goal behind doing this is to draw learners awareness to the gaps in their inter-language. Also,
learns should pay attention to features associated with certain words and vigorously explore
the target input. Schmidt (1990) considers this to ‘noticing the gaps’ in the learning process;
when learners notice the differences between their current way in writing words with where it
should be, this will facilitate the process of language development. Leaners are required to
compare and contrast their spelling errors and modify them, that will help them develop a
certain word structure (Bowers, & Bowers, 2017). This is because all the words to meet
individuals' needs can be de-fossilized by errors.
For learners to improve their spelling skills, they could be introduced to some
pedagogic activities that will allow learners to construct some sentences to help them identify

original patterns. Ellis (1997:160) as cited in Mohamed (2004) defines a CR task as: ‘A
pedagogic activity where the learners are given L2 data in some form and required to perform
some operation on or with it, with a purpose of arriving at an explicit understanding of some
linguistic property or properties of the TL’. In this case, my project will require learners to
write frequent errors on flashcards to allow them to decode errors. This helps to draw
learners’ attention to the correct form which in essence is the endeavour of the intervention.
The endeavour which is to attempt to separate a selected linguistic feature for targeted
consideration. From the wide range of language data to which learners are exposed, we
determine particular features and draw the learner's attention accurately (Willis and Willis,
1996). The result is to amplify the awareness of my students to spelling as well as language.
Furthermore, providing spelling instruction imperatives and formal spelling instruction is
essential (Cordewener, Verhoeven and Bosman, 2016).
Methodology
In order to wholly examine my hypothesis, The intervention process will last for four
weeks by doing simple writing of a composition to determine the progress of the students.
After assessing the students' needs, I have proposed new activity to better their spelling based
on the gathered data on their errors as shown in ( figure 1). The activity requires providing
students some time for the realisation of errors, self-correction and noticing their errors and
the reason why they are constant and their progress in correcting the spelling errors shown on
(Table 1). The intervention will depend on four main stages which include:
· Stage one :
When the class starts, I will ask learners to identify the words they commonly
misspelt based on the classification in (figure 1). In addition, I will prepare flashcards to
show the words students regularly misspell by sampling their writings. Each flashcard

contains one misspelt word based on the list generated after the investigation. And each word
has written according to Cook’s categorised errors.
· Stage two :
In the last 15 mins, I should divide the students into groups that compose 4 to 5
learners. In the period in-between, I will distribute the flashcards to these groups. Each group
has dealt with one kind of categorised errors (e.g. substitution) every lesson to draw their
awareness to one single module of errors to notice it and master that specific kind.
Stage three:
In this stage, students will be given 5 minutes to decode and identify some of the
mistakes in the flashcards and afterwards allow learners to explain them to their group by
highlighting reasons that lead to spelling errors. In this way, students inside their groups
discuss the same category and interact with different ideas for that particular kind of spelling
error that will let them master the rule beyond correctly writing the word. Long( 1983)
pointed out to the importance of negotiation, and students are negotiating the meaning and
reasons behind their errors with each other which in its role will deepen and grow their
understanding of the second language and answers to correct themselves.
· Stage four :
A representative(s) from each group will have to share the reason that account
spelling errors in the flashcard. They will also be required to share their knowledge rules of
spelling errors identified to their class members. Sharing their productions with the class is
adherence to how their affective filters come into play. This also adapts to the notion of
presentational talk as put forward by Barnes (2008) and reinforced by Edwards-Groves,
Anstey and Bull (2014). Presentational and exploratory talks are two sorts of classroom talk
founded learning mechanisms that allow the learners to comprehend a topic better by
communicating about the topic. Here, before presenting their productions with the class, the

learners are involved in a conversation regarding their production amid their peers. This
allows for the exploratory talk (Barnes 2008) to occur, and this would aid students to achieve
two specific objectives. The first objective would be that their gaps in knowledge could be
met. Also, the learners will prepare themselves for presentation with the increased confidence
and commitment.
Encouraging spelling pronunciation has been confirmed by research to improve
students’ spelling skills. Ocal, & Ehri (2017), reiterate that studies are showing spelling
pronunciation strategy as a critical way of teaching correct spelling. When learners are able to
understand morpheme or remember the spelling of a word by pronouncing it they can
improve their spelling. Understanding the right pronunciation of the word helps both adults
and young learners to improve their spelling abilities (Waugh, Warner, & Waugh, 2019).
Therefore, it is the sole responsibility of a teacher to commit their efforts to the learners so
that they can improve their spellings.
A week after, learners will be required to prepare themselves jot down other
categories of words as indicated in figure 1.
I will evaluate the progress of learners in spelling by observing their activities and
instructing them to write several pieces of articles in my presence. I will be employing
observation in my evaluation to gain a deeper understanding of challenges learners face in
spelling. Any essay or simple paragraphs they write will be evaluated adequately and this will
help me understand the progress of learners in spelling. As indicated earlier the first
composition that I would offer learners to write about would be benefits and challenges of
studying abroad. Now the second composition would be about life in the United Kingdom for
a foreign student. Analyzing this second writing or composition would show further progress
among students in orthographic errors. Notably, the learners would be able to notice their
errors while writing and correct them. Hence, the hypotheses are as follows:

Stage 1: Due to the consistent practice of words that are problematic, learners progress in
writing and reading some words. According to DeKeyser (2010), practice allows learners to
understand a topic by providing them with opportunities to practice the language
meaningfully and engaging different features of the language.
Stage 2: the new knowledge of the word rules and words provide learners with insights into
words regulations and recognition differences to their L1.
Stage 3: learners perform better in reading once they expand their vocabulary bank.
The instructor will study the progress in students’ accuracy in orthography in one month.
After that, the teacher will decide whether to carry out with four levels of action plan or
design a new projected intervention primarily based on the feedback received.
Possible issues of intervention
Several potential shortcomings arise from the intervention. First, the process may
require a significant commitment from the teacher. The process will be time-consuming
because the instructor will be required to prepare and get resources to better learners spelling’
abilities. According to Herrington, & Macken-Horarik (2015) spelling is one critical feature
of the primary classroom that requires adequate resources and understanding of English.
Hence, being a critical feature of central classroom learning, it indicates that time and efforts
need to be committed indefatigably to teach correct spelling. Getting desirable results from
spelling will demand that a teacher spends time with learners in order to guide them on
correct spelling (Van & Purcell, 2016). Some educators who are not tolerant will find it
difficult to commit themselves to teach students correct spelling. Thus, for educators to be
motivated to direct their efforts at teaching students spelling they must be supported
adequately. They must have adequate resources and administrative support for learners to
improve their spelling abilities. Secondly, the printing materials and papers also play a role in
consuming institution resources. As Herrington, & Macken-Horarik (2015), affirm that

spelling is one crucial aspect of literacy instructions that are usually forgotten despite it
demanding resources and in-depth comprehension of the morpho-phonological language
system for them to teach spelling effectively. In essence, the fundamental point is that
institutions are under-resourced and this makes it hard for educators to teach effectively
spelling.
Another drawback with the intervention is that my collection data only depends on the
written texts. The study does not deal with the listening, diction and any other methods of
data collection. Students’ participation in the study will be limited by factors like negative
attitude, behaviour problems, inadequate cooperation, and time wastage. For this study to
succeed, learners must cooperate, behave well and dedicate adequate time to the research.
However, in the event of unwillingness to participate in the research, lack of cooperation,
negative attitude and time wastage, it would be difficult to achieve the desired participation,
results and engagement in the study.
Conclusion
It is important that learners prepare themselves adequately in order to master the
English language which will give them an opportunity to advance their studies in the UK.
The success of Arab learners in the United Kingdom is dependent on how they master
spelling, the word structure and other critical aspects of the English language. The
intervention aims to improve their spelling through consciousness-raising activities. In
essence, the research to be conducted will underscore that Arab learners should strive to
improve their spelling in order to have better chances of success.
There are certain problems to the methodology being used, but I feel that they do not
outweigh the importance of the intervention. One future intervention could be related to

different levels of Arab learners to compare their errors through various methods which
might yield a different result in order to reach a good amount of accuracy in English spelling.

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Appendices.
Appendix A
Table 1: simple common words’spelling errors
Category of errors Instances Genuine word
Insertion Amaizing
missunderstanding
Spaicy
Amazing
misunderstanding
Spicy
Omission contaning
duble
speling
containing
double
spelling
Substitution Inrol
Compere
Gatecories
enrol
Compare
Categories
Transposition Beutifual
traeuser
Chinees
Beautiful
treasure
Chinese
Appendix B – Flashcard Example
Word: Beutifual
Is this spelt correctly? Please explain?

This is an example of a flashcard which would be handed to students. They will be given a
misspelt word and ask if it spelt correctly and if not, to provide the correct spelling and the
reason why and where the mistake is in the given word. For example, Beutifual is a
transposition, i.e. two letters (or more) have been placed incorrectly in the word. The student
will be given several of these flashcards to work with.