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Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

Introduction

One of the chief reasons why many pupils fail to

become good stenographers is that they are poor spellers.

Many of them can learn both to read and to write shorthand

fairly well, and yet they fail as stenographers because

they cannot produce mailable transcripts. Their

difficulties may involve inability to construct good

sentences, ignorance as to correct punctuation and logical

paragraphing, but of all the pitfalls they encounter, none

is more conspicuous than misspelling. A misspelled word,

spoils a letter--in fact, renders it unmailable.

Spelling instruction is increasingly important in

education today (Graham, Harris, & Chorzempa, 2012). In

previous years, spelling instruction in the classroom did

not emphasize connections to reading and writing (Apel and

Masterson, 2010). This oversight has led to a decreased

awareness that English spelling is a patterned system. In

general, spelling has been taught through rote teaching and

memorization of a weekly spelling list, with little stress

on the importance of teaching patterns. However, a recent

shift towards improving spelling assessment and instruction

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highlights the importance of spelling as the study of word

patterns (Bear et.al. 2014).

The introduction of computer mediated communication

(CMC) and the evolution of instant messaging (IM) and short

message service (SMS) technology – commonly associated with

cell phone text messaging - have provided a range of

conveniences to society. Many people today find it hard to

live without their mobile phones or cannot stay away from

their computers and are constantly viewing their emails.

But with these modern-day advances have come concerns about

the impact of these transformative new technologies on the

standards of communication that have been practiced for so

long. New laws have even been introduced to limit the

negative impact of some of the uses for these new

technologies, such as laws against talking on a cell phone

while driving without the use of a hands-free device and

the outright ban on sending a text message.

Sending messages via text has been practiced for many

years. Instant messaging, a real-time exchange of text

messages between two or more people via computers connected

to the Internet, was introduced in 1996 by a company called

Mirabilis. Instant messaging became more popular after the

company was purchased by America Online in 1997 and used

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the technology in what became the popular America Online

Instant Messaging service (AIM). Today, however, sending

messages via mobile phone technology has surpassed

messaging via the Internet (Gann, Bartoszuk, & Anderson,

2010).

SMS is the younger cousin of CMC-generated instant

messaging and primarily is sent via cell phones. It was

developed as a way for European telecommunication companies

to produce one interoperable message technology that could

be utilized across the continent (Longoria & Stark-Smith,

n.d.). The companies had no grand schemes for the

technology, but decided that through their Group Special

Mobile (GMS), now known as the Global System for Mobile

Communications, they would create a way to send short

alerts to cell phone subscribers. Because SMS messages

must, by technological limitations, be frugal in word use,

they also involve expanded use of word manipulations

carried over from CMC-generated text messaging such as IMs

and chat language. To conserve space, SMS text, also called

textisms, textese and text-speak, utilizes more

abbreviations and otherwise shortening of words, dropping

of letters, combining letters with symbols or numbers to

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make an appropriate sound, and acronyms (Grinter & Eldridge

at.al. 2010).

The use of cell phones in America grows every year and

people are starting to use them at younger ages. In the

United States, young people typically have used cell phones

more for voice oriented communications while youths in

Europe used the technology more for SMS messaging because

of the cheaper cost structures (Faulkner & Culwin et.al.

2012). Students in Israel have perfected the “art” of

shorthand-texting because they are charged by the number of

calls made and characters used, obviously a motivator for

brevity.

American youth were slower to adopt text messaging,

perhaps because low cost was not an incentive and they were

content with using landline phones (Sutherland, 2010). They

also were more familiar with and had a preference for the

full computer keyboard as a result of typing taught in U.S.

schools. Thus, the debate about the impact on spelling and

the incursion of SMS culture into the formal learning

environment has been taking place in Europe and other

countries for a longer period of time than in the United

States. Critics will point out that elements of text

messaging – intentional misspellings, g-clippings (dropping

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the “g” at the end of words), abbreviations, emoticons such

as smiley faces, etc. - are showing up even in formal

writings. For example, one first year college student at

the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Israel, actually

wrote in a hypothetical formal paper: “xs cmpnstn fnds wl b

nvstd 4 srvvng fmly mmbrs” (Berman, 2011). Translated, the

message means “Excess compensation funds will be invested

for surviving family members.” The student explained she

knew the spelling wasn’t traditional English, but thought

it was appropriate because she knew it was to be sent via

email. In another instance, a 15-year-old wrote in a job

application, “I want 2 b a counselor because I love 2 work

with kids,” prompting his father to disconnect an instant

messaging program from the family’s computer. Those

concerns now are beginning to emerge in the United States

due to the rapid growth of text messaging among youths.

Social scientists, scholars and educators are drawing the

line on this topic and are standing in their respective

corners ready to defend their positions as they consider

such questions as: Will a impact of text messaging.

12-year-old texter who drops vowels and word endings

consistently in his text messages develop permanent

spelling deficiencies. Do adolescents find it appropriate

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to use textese in formal writings? Should we care if a

student writes “bcuz” instead of “because” or “@” instead

of “at” in a sentence in a formal paper?

Conceptual Framework

Based on examinations of children’s spellings,

researchers have identified five stages that students move

through on their way to becoming conventional spellers:

emergent spelling, letter name-alphabetic spelling, within-

word pattern spelling, syllables and affixes spelling, and

derivational relations spelling (Bear et.al. 2008). At each

stage, students use different strategies and focus on

particular aspects of spelling.

Stage 1: Emergent Spelling

Children string scribbles, letters, and letterlike

forms together, but they don’t associate the marks they

make with any specific phonemes. Spelling at this stage

represents a natural, early expression of the alphabet and

other written-language concepts. Children may write from

left to right, right to left, top to bottom, or randomly

across the page, but by the end of the stage, they have an

understanding of directionality. Some emergent spellers

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have a large repertoire of letterforms to use in writing,

whereas others repeat a small number of letters over and

over. They use both upper and lowercase letters but show a

distinct preference for uppercase letters. Toward the end

of the stage, children are beginning to discover how

spelling works and that letters represent sounds in words.

This stage is typical of 3- to 5-year-olds. During the

emergent stage, children learn these concepts:

 The distinction between drawing and writing

 How to make letters

 The direction of writing on a page

 Some letter-sound matches

Stage 2: Letter Name-Alphabetic Spelling

Children learn to represent phonemes in words with

letters. They develop an understanding of the alphabetic

principle, that a link exists between letters and sounds.

At first, the spellings are quite abbreviated and represent

only the most prominent features in words. Children use

only several letters of the alphabet to represent an entire

word. Examples of early Stage 2 spelling are D (dog) and KE

(cookie), and children may still be writing mainly with

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capital letters. Children slowly pronounce the word they

want to spell, listening for familiar letter names and

sounds.

In the middle of the letter name-alphabetic stage,

children use most beginning and ending consonants and

include a vowel in most syllables; they spell like as lik

and bed as bad. By the end of the stage, they use consonant

blends and digraphs and short-vowel patterns to spell hat,

get, and win, but some still spell ship as sep. They can

also spell some CVC words such as name correctly. Spellers

at this stage are usually 5- to 7-year-olds. During the

letter-name stage, children learn these concepts:

 The alphabetic principle

 Consonant sounds

 Short vowel sounds

 Consonant blends and digraphs

Stage 3: Within-Word Pattern Spelling

Students begin the within-word pattern stage when they

can spell most one-syllable short-vowel words, and during

this stage, they learn to spell long-vowel patterns and r-

controlled vowels. They experiment with long-vowel patterns

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and learn that words such as come and bread are exceptions

that don’t fit the vowel patterns. Students may confuse

spelling patterns and spellmeet as mete, and they reverse

the order of letters, such as form for from and gril for

girl. They also learn about complex consonant sounds,

including -tch (match) and -dge (judge), and less frequent

vowel patterns, such as oi/oy (boy), au (caught), aw (saw),

ew (sew, few), ou (house), andow (cow). Students also

become aware of homophones and compare long-and short-vowel

combinations (hope–hop) as they experiment with vowel

patterns. Students at this stage are 7- to 9-year-olds, and

they learn these spelling concepts:

 Long-vowel spelling patterns

 r-controlled vowels

 More-complex consonant patterns

 Diphthongs and other less common vowel patterns

Stage 4: Syllables and Affixes Spelling

Students focus on syllables in this stage and apply

what they’ve learned about one-syllable words to longer,

multisyllabic words. They learn about inflectional endings

(-s, -es, -ed, and -ing) and rules about consonant

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doubling, changing the final y to i, or dropping the final

e before adding an inflectional suffix. They also learn

about homophones and compound words and are introduced to

some of the more-common prefixes and suffixes. Spellers in

this stage are generally 9- to 11-year-olds. Students learn

these concepts during the syllables and affixes stage of

spelling development:

 Inflectional endings (-s, -es, -ed, -ing)

 Rules for adding inflectional endings

 Syllabication

 Homophones

Stage 5: Derivational Relations Spelling

Students explore the relationship between spelling and

meaning during the derivational relations stage, and they

learn that words with related meanings are often related in

spelling despite changes in vowel and consonant sounds

(e.g., wise–wisdom, sign–signal, nation–national). The

focus in this stage is on morphemes, and students learn

about Greek and Latin root words and affixes. They also

begin to examine etymologies and the role of history in

shaping how words are spelled. They learn about eponyms

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(words from people’s names), such as maverick and sandwich.

Spellers at this stage are 11- to 14-year-olds. Students

learn these concepts at this stage of spelling development:

 Consonant alternations (e.g., soft–soften, magic–

magician)

 Vowel alternations (e.g., please–pleasant, define–

definition, explain–explanation)

 Greek and Latin affixes and root words

 Etymologies

Children’s spelling provides evidence of their growing

understanding of English orthography. The words they spell

correctly show which phonics concepts, spelling patterns,

and other language features they’ve learned to apply, and

the words they invent and misspell show what they’re still

learning to use and those features of spelling that they

haven’t noticed or learned about. Invented spelling is

sometimes criticized because it appears that students are

learning bad habits by misspelling words, but researchers

have confirmed that students grow more quickly in phonemic

awareness, phonics, and spelling when they use invented

spelling as long as they are also receiving spelling

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instruction (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998). As students

learn more about spelling, their invented spellings become

more sophisticated to reflect their new knowledge, even if

the words are still spelled incorrectly, and increasingly

students spell more and more words correctly as they move

through the stages of spelling development.

Paradigm of the Study

Input Process Output

Profile of the
respondents in terms
of: Determination of
the frequently Improved spelling
a. Sex misspelled words abilities of
b. Educational of Grade 7 students by
background of students of Our spelling all
parents Lady of the words correctly.
c. Occupation of Pillar College –
parents Cauayan by
d. Monthly salary of providing lists
parents of words
e. Educational according to
facilities at level to be
home spelled every
f. How old are they week.
when they started
texting/ using
cell phone
g. How often do they
do text messaging
h. Using
abbreviations in
text messaging
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The paradigm shows the relationship of the three (3)

boxes, namely the input, process, and Output. Input

consists of the profile of the respondents such as gender,

occupation parents, and educational background of parents.

Process includes the determination of the frequently

misspelled words of grade 7 students of Our Lady of the

Pillar College - Cauayan. The expected output of the study

is to improve spelling abilities of students.

Statement of the problem

The study aimed to determine the frequently misspelled

words of Grade 7 students of Our lady of the Pillar College

- Cauayan.

Specifically, the following questions were answered:

1. What is the profile of the respondents relative to:

a. Sex

b. Educational background of parents

c. Educational facilities at home

2. What are the frequently misspelled words by the grade

7 students of the Our Lady of the Pillar College –

Cauayan?
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3. What is the level of frequency of cell phone texting

among grade 7 students?

4. What are the problems usually encountered by the

respondents in spelling?

Assumption of the study

To gather the data for this study, the following

assumptions were used:

1. The spelling abilities provide importance to every

student in the school; proper training and approach

are indeed for them to learn accurately in spelling.

2. The study creates an extensive help towards the

attainment of much effective spelling approach to

students.

Scope and Delimitation

The study is limited and focused in the determination

of the frequently misspelled words of 192 Grade 7 students

of Our Lady of the Pillar College – Cauayan.

All sections of Grade 7 students of OLPC-C Cauayan

Campus comprising one section of science class and four

sections of BEC were the respondents of the study.

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They were given questionnaires to determine the

frequently misspelled words.

Significance of the study

The output of the study is deemed significant to the

following:

OLPC-C Administration. The output of the study will

provide insights about the frequently misspelled words of

Grade 7 students; thus, this will help them in providing

better services and approach to students to delineate the

problem in spelling.

Parents. The result of the manuscript will give them

appropriate information relatively to the frequently

misspelled words of the students. Through this aspect they

will be enlighten to know the different implication behind

the spelling abilities of their children.

Students. The study will give them significant

information relating to the frequently misspelled words

they are encountering. With the result of this they will

alleviate problem in connection to their abilities in

spelling.

To the researcher. This study will give them a broader

knowledge and skill about the frequently misspelled words

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of students. And the fulfilment of this study will help in

accomplishing their academic requirements.

Future researchers. The output of the study will help

them in creating the same line of study. The study will

provide importance to them by being basis in their current

undertaking.

Definition of terms

For the readers to clearly understand the items in the

study, the following terms were operationally and

conceptually defined by the researchers.

Misspelled. From the study, this pertains to spell

incorrectly.

Spelling. As used in the study, this means the manner in

which words are spelled; orthography.

Frequently. In the study, this is often; many times; at

short intervals.

Words. Based on the study, this is a unit of language,

consisting of one or more spoken sounds or their written

representation, that functions as a principal carrier of

meaning. Words are composed of one or more morphemes and

are either the smallest units susceptible of independent

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use or consist of two or three such units combined under

certain linking conditions, as with the loss of primary

accent that distinguishes black·bird· from black· bird·.

Words are usually separated by spaces in writing, and are

distinguished phonologically, as by accent in many

languages.

Grade level. From the study, this pertains to the grade

range of students.

Consonant. In the study, this is a speech sound produced by

occluding with or without releasing (p, b; t, d; k, g),

diverting (m, n, ng), or obstructing (f, v; s, z, etc.) the

flow of air from the lungs (opposed to vowel).

Vowel. Based on the study, this is a speech sound produced

without occluding, diverting, or obstructing the flow of

air from the lungs (opposed to consonant).

Cell phone texting. Based on this study, this is the main

cause why students tend to spell words incorrectly.