ERROR ANALYSIS IN THE WRITTEN ENGLISH

SPELLING OF FORM FOUR STUDENTS IN

SEKOLAH BERASRAMA PENUH INTEGRASI
GOMBAK, KUALA LUMPUR



BY


NOR FARIDA BT AHMAD



A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the
requirements for the degree of Master of Human
Sciences (English Language Studies)


Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge
and Human Sciences
International Islamic University Malaysia

J ULY 2009
ii
ABSTRACT




The title of this thesis is Error analysis in the written English of Form Four students
in Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Integrasi Gombak, Kuala Lumpur. The subject area
being researched was confined to identify and analyze the errors done by Form Four
students in a secondary school in Gombak Kuala Lumpur. The methodology used was,
62 Form Four students were instructed to write essays. Each essay was read
thoroughly. The errors were identified and categorized according to classification
recommended by Adam (1988) who had categorized them according to causes of
misspelling phonological as well as other non-phonological factors. There were
eight classifications: phonemic conflations, homophones, suffixes, other consonantal
omissions and insertions, glides, syllable structure (stressed vowel omissions and
unstressed vowels), double consonant graphemes and silent <e>. 199 misspellings of
were identified in guided essays while in continuous or free writing essays, the
number of misspelled words was 234. In terms of percentage, the frequency of
misspellings in the guided essays was 0.81% while in the continuous essay it was
0.88%. The frequency counts for misspelling identified are phonemic conflations
9.44%, homophones 7.08%, suffixes 13.4%, other consonantal omissions and
insertions 9.71%, glides 9.97%, syllable structure 17.06%, double consonant
consonant grapheme 16.7%, silent <e>2.8%, one-two word confusion 6.8% and
Bahasa Melayu spelling 6.8%. This study shows that misspelling due to suffixes is
due to morphological (grammar) as well as phonological factors. There are also a lot
of examples where pronunciation is the cause of misspelling. This study has found
that misspellings arise because of pronunciation or intra lingual effect. Misspelling
due to morphological reasons in the category of suffixes has been quite substantial.




















iii





"
- ."

62

) 1988 ( : ) ( :
)
( ) ( .
199 )
234 ( 81 % 88 %
9.44 %
7.08 % 13.4 % 9.71 %
9.77 % 17.06 % ) ( 16.7 %
2.8 % ) ( 6.8 %
6.8 .%

.
iv
APPROVAL PAGE




I certify that I have supervised and read this study and that in my opinion it conforms
to acceptable standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and
quality, as a dissertation for the degree of Master of Human Sciences (Language
Studies)


..
Haja Mohideen Mohd Ali
Supervisor


I certify that I have read this study and that in my opinion it conforms to acceptable
standards of scholarly presentation and is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a
dissertation for the degree of Master of Human Sciences (Language Studies).


..
Maskanah Mohammad Lotfie
Examiner


This dissertation was submitted to the Department of English Language and Literature
and is accepted as a partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of
Human Sciences (Language Studies).

..
Mohammad A. Quayum
Head, Department of English
Language and Literature


This dissertation was submitted to the Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and
Human Sciences and is accepted as a partial fulfilment of the requirements for the
degree of Master of Human Sciences (Language Studies).


..
Hazizan bin Md Noon
Dean , Kulliyyah of Islamic
Revealed Knowledge and
Human Sciences



v
DECLARATION




I hereby declare that this dissertation is the result of my own investigation, except
where otherwise stated. I also declare that it has not been previously or concurrently
submitted as a whole for other degrees at IIUM or other institutions.

Nor Farida bt. Ahmad

Signature Date






























vi



INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA


DECLARATION OF COPYRIGHT AND AFFIRMATION
OF FAIR USE OF UNPUBLISHED RESEARCH


Copyright 2000 by Sheema Liza Idris. All rights reserved.


ERROR IDENTIFICATION AND CORRECTION
OF ESL STUDENTS

































INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA


DECLARATION OF COPYRIGHT AND AFFIRMATION
OF FAIR USE OF UNPUBLISHED RESEARCH


Copyright 2009 by Nor Farida bt Ahmad. All rights reserved.


ERROR ANALYSIS IN THE WRITTEN ENGLISH SPELLING OF FORM
FIVE STUDENTS IN SEKOLAH BERASRAMA PENUH INTEGRASI
GOMBAK, KUALA LUMPUR


No part of this unpublished research may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the
copyright holder except as provided below:

1. Any material contained in or derived from this unpublished research may
only be used by others in their writing with due acknowledgement.

2. IIUM or its library will have the right to make and transmit copies (print
or electronic) for institutional and academic purposes.

3. The IIUM library will have the right to make, store in a retrieval system
and supply copies of this unpublished research if requested by other
universities and research libraries.


Affirmed by Nor Farida bt. Ahmad




. ..
Signature Date

vii
















Dedicated to

My beloved husband,
Zulkifli Esmail

and

my beloved mother,
Wan Sapiah Wan Mohamed PJ K.
















viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS




Praise to Allah Almighty, finally I managed to complete this thesis which enable me
to fulfill one of the partial requirements for the degree of Master of human Sciences
(Language Studies).

I would to thank my respected and dedicated supervisor, Associate Professor Dr. Haja
Mohideen and Dr. Maskanah who have been very helpful and have always devoted
their time, guidance, knowledge, suggestions and patience in the process of preparing
and writing this thesis.

My sincere thanks to Sister Suzyyanty Md Said (staff of Deans Office of the Kuliyyah
of Revealed Knowledge), Sister Edah Baharom (staff of the English Language and
Literature), all the teaching staff of the English Language and Literature Department
of IIUM. I would also like to express my gratitude to Dr. Moomala Othman who has
been a very great help in the process of writing my thesis and the Principal of Sekolah
Berasrama Penuh Integrasi Gombak, Madam Hajjah Norlia Bt.Mohd Shuhaili for
allowing me to carry out this research in her school.

Last but not least, I would like to thank my husband, mother, siblings, Madam Sheema
Liza bt. Idris and my friends for their support and love. May Allah reward them all.

























ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS




Abstract............. ii
Abstract (in Arabic)iii
Approval Page iv
Declaration. v
Copyright Page.. vi
Dedication. vii
Acknowledgements... viii
List of Tables. xii
List of Figures xiii


CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Background of Study.. 1
1.2 Malaysian Education System and The teaching of English 2
1.3 Objectives of the English Language Syllabus in Form 4
and Form 5...4
1.4 Aims........ 4
1.5 Objectives........ 5
1.6 Statement of Problem.. 6
1.7 Research Objectives.... 6
1.8 Research Questions............. 7
1.9 Significance of Study.. 7
1.10 Organisation of the Thesis... 8

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW. 9
2.1 The English Language System........ 9
2.1.1 Short vowels...... 9
2.1.2 Long vowels....... 11
2.1.3 Other Long Vowel Sounds........ 14
2.1.4 Consonants........ 15
2.1.5 Consonant Phonemes.... 18
2.1.6 How words are formed ................ 19
2.1.7 Derivational morphemes.20
2.1.8 Inflectional morphemes... 21
2.1.9 Compounding........ 22
2.2 Research on misspelling...... 25
2.3 Quantitative Analysis...... 26
2.4 Qualitative Analysis........ 26
2.5 Phonological factors.... 28
2.5.1 Phonemic conflations.... 29
2.5.2 Homophones.. 29
2.5.3 Suffixes.. 30
2.5.4 Other consonantal omissions and insertions.. 31
2.5.5 Glides.... 31
x
2.5.6 Syllable structure....32
2.5.7 Consonant graphemes........ 35
2.5.8 Silent <e>..... 35
2.6 Non-phonological factors..... 36
2.7 Contrastive Analysis.......... 37
2.8 Error Analysis.... 38
2.9 Significance of error analysis pedagogical approach 40

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 41
3.1 The Sample .... 41
3.2 Research Instrument.. 42
3.3 Data Analysis.. 43
3.3.1 Analysis of types of misspelling.... 43
3.3.2 Analysis of frequency calculation.. 43
3.4 Procedure of Error Analysis.. 44
3.4.1 Data Collection.... 44
3.4.2 Spelling Error Identification.... 45
3.4.3 Spelling Error Classification.... 45
3.4.4 Spelling Error Calculation.... 45
3.4.5 Spelling Error Explanation... 45

CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS . . 46
4.1 Identification and frequency of errors.. ..... 46
4.2 Types of misspelling............................................................................... 47
4.2.1 Phonemic conflation ... 48
4.2.2 Homophone. 49
4.2.3 Suffixes 49
4.2.4 Other consonantal omissions and insertions 50
4.2.5 Glides... 51
4.2.6 Syllable structure. 53
a) Stressed vowel omission.. 53
b) Unstressed vowels 53
4.2.7 Doubled consonant graphemes. 54
4.2.8 Silent <e>. 54
4.2.9 Bahasa Malaysia spelling. 55
4.2.10 One-word-two-words confusion.. 56
4.3 Frequency counts of categories... 57

CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSIONS, SUGGESTIONS AND
PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATION 60
5.1 Conclusion.. 60
5.2 Suggestions and Pedagogical Implications. 61
5.2.1 Suffixes 61
5.2.2 Reading Aloud.. 62
5.2.3 Confusing words... 63
5.2.4 Homophones. 64
5.2.5 Consonant Doubling.. 65
5.2.6 Error Analysis in Spelling. 66
5.2.7 Teacher centred . 66
xi
5.2.8 Student centred.. 67
5.2.9 Bahasa Malaysia influence 67
5.2.10 Group Writing.. 68
5.2.11 Process Writing....... 69
5.2.12 Other Activities.. 69
a) Other words within a word.. 69
b) J ingles or memory reminders, or any other
types of association... 69
c) Hear and say words correctly................ 70
d) Rules for spelling.. 71
5.3. Suggestions for further research.. 72

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 74

APPENDICES.. 77


xii
LIST OF TABLES




Table No. Page No.

2.1 Double consonants 17

2.2 Consonants phonemes 18

2.3 Free and bound morphemes 20

2.4 English inflectional suffixes 21

2.5 Examples of compounds 22

2.6 Example of English inflectional suffixes 30

4.1 Most commonly misspelled words 47

4.2 Main consonant conflations 48

4.3 Examples of misspelling which includes omission and insertion 50

4.4 The velar glide misspelling 52

4.5 Bahasa Malaysia misspelled words 55

4.6 Confused misspellings due to Bahasa Malaysia spelling 56

4.7 Frequency counts of misspelling identified 57

5.1 Comparison between English and Bahasa Malaysia spelling 68

5.2 Rules for spelling 71











xiii
LIST OF FIGURES




Figure No. Page No.

2.1 Dipthong 14

2.2 Tree representative of a CVC syllable 32

2.3 Tree branches 34
















1
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION




1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY
One of the ongoing issues in second language acquisition is the importance of
feedback on errors. Disagreement arises as to the gravity of certain errors and
manner or method of highlighting the errors in students writing (Myles, 2002).
Despite this, experts agree about the significance of creating the awareness of the
errors made as it helps the second language writers improve the accuracy and
overall quality of their writing (Ferris, 1996).
Research on the various types of errors related to subject-verb agreement
and verb tenses committed by second language learners have been studied
sufficiently (Mohideen, 1991; Kannegi, 2005). However, specific research related
to areas in spelling committed by Malaysian students has been rarely analysed
(Brown, 2003) even though spelling errors are often considered as an irritating
factor to teachers.
According to Brown (2003) second language learners who are non-native
speakers have greater difficulties in spelling than native speakers. This, he claims,
is due to under differentiations of the phonological system as the phonological
explanations of misspelling phenomenon are often overlooked. Furthermore, he
believes there are significant differences in the use made of English in non-native
situations. This is because, there are more non-native learners and speakers of the
English Language than native speakers (Crystal, 2001).
2
Thus, Brown (2003) emphasizes the need for research in spelling errors by
natives and non-natives. Hence the focus of this thesis is in the area of spelling
errors by non-native learners.
The study generally identifies and categorises spelling errors in each essay
written by Form Four students in Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Integrasi Gombak, a
secondary school in Gombak, Kuala Lumpur.
Since the subjects of this study are Malaysian students, who are obviously
non-native speakers of the English Language, a review of Malaysian Education
system and its usage of the English Language would be useful background
information.


1.2 MALAYSIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM AND THE TEACHING OF
ENGLISH

The Malaysian Education system begins at the age of six years old where the
Malaysian child will undergo 6 years of primary education. This is followed by
another 3 years in the lower secondary school where at the age of 16 years he or
she will spend another two years of upper secondary education. At the upper
secondary school, the student has the choice to opt for a vocational or a non-
vocational education. In the non-vocational education system the student will
either go for the science stream or arts stream. Upon completion of secondary
education the student can leave school to work or pursue tertiary education by
attending pre-university classes (form sixth classes) at schools or enrolling for
matriculation or diploma courses at colleges, and public or private universities.
There are two types of schools in Malaysia. One is the fully aided
government schools called Sekolah Kebangsaan or abbreviated as SK schools,
while the other is the semi-aided government schools or the vernacular schools
3
called Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan, translated to national-type school and
abbreviated as SJK. The medium of instruction for all the subjects taught in
Sekolah Kebangsaan or schools is in the national language, which is Bahasa
Malaysia or Malay. However, those who are in the Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan are
taught in the vernacular languages in either Mandarin or Tamil (Rosnani, 1994).
In all schools, irrespective of vernacular or fully aided government schools,
Malay Language (Bahasa Malaysia) and English Language (Bahasa Inggeris) are
taught as compulsory language subjects. Students are taught about five periods
each week for each of these subjects. This is because of the status of these two
languages in this country. Malay is the official national language where as English
is the official second language as it is recognized as an important language in
education, trade and commerce (KPM, 2005).
Malaysian students spend 11 years learning English. Despite this, there
exists disparity in the level of English Language proficiency among Malaysian
students and this depends to a certain extent on their background. Generally,
students in urban areas are more exposed to outside school situations where English
Language is used as a second language. This is not so in rural areas where English
is a foreign language as it is rarely used outside school situations. In such
situations, usage of the native language or the language used by the dominant
community is more important. This explains the stark differences in the level of
English proficiency among Malaysians students.
The topics taught in the language lessons are not specified in the syllabus.
However, there is gradation which is from simple to complex topics and in each
lesson, moral and citizenship values are emphasized. Literature is also an
important component in the language lessons. The approach to teaching languages
4
in Malaysia is basically the Communicative approach even though a look at the
syllabus indicates an eccelectic approach where various approaches are adopted to
make the lessons effective. Equal emphasis is given to all the four macro skills
(speaking, writing, reading and listening) as well as spelling, pronunciation and
grammar components to varying degrees. Grammar is not taught in isolation but in
context, relevant to the area or topic taught. However, if a student or a group of
students are weak in a specific area, for example, in subject-verb agreement, then a
remedial class on it can be carried out. Likewise, teaching of spelling per se is
rarely carried out, but it can be done as a remedial lesson. The next section will
look at the Form five and Form 5 syllabus since the subject involved in this study
are upper form students (KPM, 2005).


1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE SYLLABUS IN
FORM 4 AND FORM 5

The syllabus outlines the Aims, Objectives and Learning Outcomes to be achieved.
Also included are descriptions of Language Content. The Language Content
provides the context for the learning outcomes.


1.4 AIMS
The syllabus aims to extend learners English Language proficiency in order to
meet their needs to use English in certain situations in everyday life, for knowledge
acquisition, and for future workplace needs.




5
1.5 OBJECTIVES
By the end of their secondary school education, learners should be able to:
i. form and maintain relationship through conversations and
correspondence; to take part in social interaction; and interact to obtain
goods and services.
ii. obtain, process and use information from various audio-visual and print
sources, and present the information in spoken and written form.
iii. listen to, view, read and respond to different texts, and express ideas,
opinions, thoughts and feelings imaginatively and creatively in spoken
and written form; and
iv. show an awareness and appreciation of moral values and love towards
the nation.
The English language curriculum is developed in line with the way English is
used in society in everyday life, when interacting with people, when accessing
information and when understanding and responding to literary works. This is
reflected in the learning outcomes of the curriculum. The learning outcomes are
based on the four language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing which
in turn incorporate grammar, the English sound system and the appropriate use of
vocabulary. In addition, the curriculum takes into account other educational
emphases such as thinking skills, ICT skills and values and citizenship education.
Spelling is not specified in the syllabus. Despite this, in the teaching of
English, spelling is focused during essay writing as it is one of the constructs in the
SPM essay marking scheme. However, spelling is considered a minor error in the
mark scheme.

6
1.6 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
According to Browb (2003), there are significant differences in the use of English
in non-native situations. Therefore, problems of English spelling faced by non-
native learners ought to be investigated parallel to those of the native English
children learning system. This is especially so as there are nowadays more non-
native speakers of English than native (Crystal, 2001).
Past studies in spelling often overlooked the influence of the mother tongue
phonological system for an explanation of misspelling phenomenon in non-native
learners of English (Brown, 2003). As a result non-native learners have greater
difficulties in spelling than natives.
Thus this study aims to analyse the spelling errors and categorize them
accordingly. It also provides phonological explanations for the misspelling
phenomenon among second language learners of this batch. This would be useful
to those involved in the teaching / learning of English. Awareness of errors would
help in the task of learning and unlearning deviant language behaviour among
students.

1.7 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this study are as follows:
i. To identify the spelling errors made by students in their essay;
ii. To categorize the spelling errors made by students in their essay;
iii. To calculate the frequency count of each category of misspelling:
iv. To provide possible explanations to the spelling errors


7
1.8 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following are the research questions for this study:
i. What are the spelling errors made by the students in their essay?
ii. What category do these spelling errors fall into?
iii. What is the frequency count of each category of the misselling ?
iv. What are the possible causes of the errors?
To answer the above questions students were required to write two essays
during the 2007 Mid-year examination. The students were given two hours to
answer the questions. Hence, the written compositions were the main instrument
used in this study. The methodology of the research is described in detail in
Chapter Three.

1.9 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY
There are not many studies on spelling errors because they are not considered as
serious errors. However, they are irritants to teachers. A written work which has
spelling errors shows signs of lack of mastery of the spelling system of the target
language.
This study will identify the spelling errors committed by non-native
learners. In directly, it will ascertain the assumption made by Brown that the errors
committed by non-native are different from the native speakers. This study will
also determine the extent of the misspelling phenomenon due to phonological
factors of the mother tongue system and their causes. This will be beneficial for
the learners awareness in his or her tasks.



8
1.10 ORGANISATION OF THE THESIS
This thesis comprises six chapters. Chapter One introduces the problem and
purpose of the study. Chapter Two reviews the literature pertaining to misspelling
and research findings pertaining to it. Chapter Three describes the research design,
the sample, the instruments, data collection and data analysis. Chapter Four
presents the results of the analysis of the data and these findings include the
classifications of types of misspellings and the frequency of misspelling. A
discussion of the findings is then reported in Chapter Five. Chapter Five, the
concluding chapter, includes also a recommendation section with some pedagogical
suggestions and implications based on the findings of the study.
The following chapter reviews the literature related to the present research.

9
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW




Since this thesis is on misspelling, it is thus essential that an overview of the
English language system is reviewed first. This entails the English language
spelling and phonology system as well as its morphology.

2.1 THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE SYSTEM
In the English language alphabets there are 26 letters. These letters are called
graphemes. Of the 26 letters five are vowels and the rest consonants. In phonology,
a vowel is defined as voiced speech sound produced relatively free during the
passage of the breath through the larynx and mouth. The five vowels are:
a e i o u
a, o and u are called broad vowels while e and i are called the narrow vowels. In
addition, the letter y is often used as a vowel. It is considered as a narrow vowel
and is sometimes short and sometimes long (Seaton, 2004). Examples of y having
long vowels are in these words: by, cry and fly. Words that have y as short sound
are: baby, story and easy.
There are two types of vowels - short and long. The following will describe
the type of vowels that are produced by the letter or letters in a word.

2.1.1 Short vowels
A - short a /a /
The /a/ is short in words such as: ant, cat, man, pad and tram

10
E - short e /e/
The /e/ is short in words such as: bed, pen, pet, mess and step
The sound /e/ is produced with ea as in these examples: bread, deaf, sweat and
dead.

I - short i/i/
The /i/ is short in words such as: pit, bib, pin, fish and kilt. But the sound /i/ is also
produced with y and ui as in words such as build, hymn, pyramid, guilt and with u,
e, ie and o in these words: busy, English, sieve, women. The sound /i/ is also
produced in many unstressed syllables of the final syllables of words like: foreign,
masculine, message and mountain and the first syllable of these words: enormous,
enough.

O - short o /o/
The /o/ is short in these words: box, cot, dog, knot, pond and lock. The sound /o/ is
also produced with the letter a for example in many words beginning with qu and
w: quantity, quarrel, wan, was, what, wasp, yacht and with ou in: cough.

U - short u / /
The /u/ is short with the sound / / in the following words : cup , bug , sun , duck
and plum but the sound / / is also produced with o, oo and ou in these words :
come, son, does, wonder, blood, flood, rough, trouble and young.


11
U - short u / /
In the following words, the letter u is short with the sound / /: put, pull, push,
bull, pudding, cushion and bush. The sound / / is also produced with oo in the
following words : book, cook, look, foot, good, wood, hood and with ou in these:
could, would and should.

Schwa / /
Schwa is a sound produced when vowels are unstressed and they lose their
distinctive sound and sounds all rather the same. Thus, it is also called an obscure
vowel and it is represented by the sign / /. These are seen in the final syllable of
these words: acre, anger, battle, devil, opera, martyr, nation, tartan and pressure.
Schwa is also seen in the first syllable of these words: above, alive and observe.
The above short vowels produced can be best illustrated with the following
vowel space chart. The vowel chart shows the range of positions in which the
tongue can occupy within the oral cavity thus modifying the air stream (from the
lungs) during the articulation of a specific vowel.


2.1.2 Long Vowels
There are two types of long vowel: monophthong and diphthong. Monophthong is
a kind of vowel in which the quality of vowel produced remains constant. In
transcription, the monopthongs are indicated with a colon, for example, /a: / or /i: /.
In diphthong, the quality of vowel sounds produced changes within syllable.
This is due to changes in position of the articulators (for example the tongue)
during its production of a speech sound (Carr: 1999).