WELCOME TO KENTERPRO:
EFFECTS OF WRONG PRONUNCIATION ON SPELLING OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN PANKSHIN LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• Background to the Study

One of the greatest challenges confronting speakers of English as a second language is inability to pronounce most English sounds appropriately. Pronunciation is a vital aspect of language learning, as poor pronunciation distorts communication process. Senam and Ukut (2010) assert that language is conceived primarily as spoken and heard, writing and reading come later; writing and reading are what makes a literate person. Effective communication involves speech delivery which demands speaking intelligently and intelligibly. Every speaker of a language requires good pronunciation skills. Akeredalu- Ale (2005) observes the appalling situation of spoken English in Nigeria and Ofulue (2007) says correct pronunciation skills are essential for intelligibility in a second Language context, noting further the need for “a renewed emphasis on effective oral communication skills as a major requirement in the workplace, regardless of the discipline. For oral communication skills to be achieved, it must be enhanced through good pronunciation. In other words, good speaking requires good pronunciation, especially when one is communicating with people outside one`s immediate linguistic environment or speech community. Indeed, every speaker is expected to produce correct forms of sounds in the language to ensure effective communication. Senam (2017) states that communication is the transmission of an idea, message or information from the source to the receiver.

The concept of spelling has been defined differently by various researchers over the years. Puspandari (2017) defines spelling as a process of representing the spoken language in a written form that consists of a sequence of letters composed to form words in their generally accepted usage. On the other hand, Mpiti (2012) defines spelling as a process that encompasses a number of skills: phonological, morphological, syntax and semantic knowledge, as well as the ability to formulate words on the basis of visual memory along with applying the orthographic rules. Moreover, Perveen and Akram (2014) define spelling as the method for writing words in their correct and acceptable forms. In other words, it is a process of assembling the letters of a given language in accordance with their correct sequence according to the official orthographical rules of that language otherwise; it would be viewed as a spelling error.

English Pronunciation and Spelling are two important elements in learning English language. Without them, learning English language is not possible. Pronunciation is the way that people speak words while spelling is the way in which people write words. English pronunciation and spelling are characterised by their difficulties since students continuously mispronounce words and thereby end up spelling it wrongly. Students do not have the capability to spell and pronounce simple English words despite the years of learning, students‟ errors are continuous and noticeable, it affects speaking and writing intelligibility. This work underlines the problems and errors committed by the learners. So, the work is based on the English spelling more than English pronunciation, simply because English spelling is hard task.

Spelling errors can be the result of omission, substitution, insertion, or the misplacement of a letter when writing a particular word. Omission errors are where the student does not complete a word something is left out. Derivation errors occur when student does not apply a basic rule or follow the basic instructions for spelling a particular word, for instance, they write snobish for snobbish. Inflection errors occur when the student ignores or does not make the necessary changes when adding the inflection. For instance, students forget to drop or remove “e” when adding “ing” to some words, producing timeing for timing or reduceing for reducing. Residue error is when students forget to drop letters in a particular context like bite when the past form bit is required. Phonetic errors are produced when students spell words as they are spoken, like yot for yacht or wacht for watched.

The relationship between spelling and pronunciation of selected words in English language has been an object of concern to researchers and educational bodies (Al Jayousi, 2011). The inability to spell and pronounce selected words correctly remains a reason for this investigation. Ellis (2008) notes that an error in the technical sense takes place when the deviation arises as a result of lack of knowledge. It represents lack of competence. A mistake occurs when learners fail to perform their competence.

Brown (2007) states that the fact that learners do make errors, and that these errors can be observed, analyzed, and classified to reveal something of the system operating within the learner, led to a surge of study of learner`s errors, called error analysis. According to Gass and Selinker (2008), Error analysis is a type of linguistics analysis that focuses on the errors learners make.

Error Analysis, a branch of Applied Linguistics emerged in the sixties to reveal that learners errors were not only because of the learner`s native language but also they reflected some universal strategies. To Senam (2004) Errors can be taken as red flags; they provide windows onto a system that is evidence of the state of a learner`s knowledge of the L2. They are not to be viewed solely as a product of imperfect learning; hence, they are not something for teachers to throw their hands up in the air about.

Jowitt (1999) maintains that Error Analysis may be carried out in order to:

1. Find out how someone learns a language.
2. Find out how someone knows a language, and

• Obtain information on common difficulties in language learning.

Thus, error analysis is the study and the analysis of error made by language learners which function is to give the information on how they learn a language, how well they know the language and what difficulties are faced by them in achieving the objective.

According to the causes of error, Harmer (2001) explains that it is widely accepted that there are two distinct causes of error that most if not all students make at various stages.

1. L1 interference:

Students who learn English as Second Language (L2) already have a deep knowledge of at least one other language, and where L1 and English come into contact with one another there are often confusions which provoke errors in learner`s use of English. This can be at the level of sounds: Arabic, for example, does not have a phonemic distinction between /f/ and /v/, and Arabic speaker may say ferry when he means very. It can also be at the level of grammar and at the level of word usage.

1. Developmental errors:

For a long time, no researcher in child Language development has been aware of the phenomenon of “over-generalization.” This is best described in a situation where a child who starts talking by saying “Daddy went, they come” etc. perfectly correctly suddenly starts saying “Daddy goed and they comed.” What seems to happen is that the child starts to over-generalize a new rule that has been subconsciously learnt, and as a result makes mistakes with things that he or she knew before.

            Fauziati (2000) Identifies types of pronunciation error:

1. Substitution:

Substitution is a type of error which is characterized by the replacement of an item (Crystal, 1985). A performance in which the performer uses the wrong form of pronunciation, Substitution of a word such as heart /ha:t/ is pronounced as /hət /  or /hɜ:t/ by generalizing the spelling combination e.g. in a word such as learn /lɜ:n/ and earn /ɜ:n /.

1. Insertion:

Insertion or addition is a type of errors which are characterized by the presence of an item, which should otherwise not appear in a well-formed utterance (Fauziati, 2000). In this context, one or more extra sounds are added or inserted to a word. For example inserting vowel /ə/ in words such as, studied /stʌdid / and is pronounced as

 /stʌdiəd /.

• Omission:

An omission is a type of errors which are characterized by the absence of an item that must appear in a well-formed utterance (Fauziati 2000). Certain sounds are not produced, entire syllable or classes of sounds may be deleted. Omission vowel /e/ in a word such as, develop /div’loped / is pronounced /diveləpt/.

            Other sources which have contributed to error making include ignorance of the rule of restriction and incomplete application of rules (Richards, 2002).

Therefore, the teaching of pronunciation is crucial in the social system because it is a filter through which others see them and often discriminate against them. A teacher should help the student in other to acquire the acceptable accent of the target language. In many situations, the non-native teacher can be an adequate model provided he or she is a competent speaker of the English language. Arising from the foregoing, the researcher is interested in conducting research on effects of wrong pronunciation on spelling of secondary school students in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State.

• Statement of the Problem

Correct pronunciation is a fundamental factor to effective oral communication. Therefore, the correct pronunciation of English speech sounds is a bridge to correct pronunciation of English words. A cursory observation of speech communication situation in Nigeria reveals that wrong pronunciation is a major problem in human communication. The problem of articulation of English speech sounds in an environment where English is spoken as a second language (ESL) is a fact that there will be an adverse effect of mother tongue (MT) of the learner on the learners’ second language learning process. Moreover, English vowels are speech sounds that are less problematic to learners of the language as a second language. However, some vowel sounds constitute a serious problem to L2 student perhaps, as a result of learner’s linguistic and ethnic background.

Most second language learners rely on what they pronounce in order to spell words. The implication of this is that wrong pronunciation of sounds will automatically mean wrong spelling of those words. This is why a lot of students misspell words or make errors in spellings in the course of writing. It is in the light of this that this researcher’s interest has been ignited to examine effects of wrong pronunciation on spelling of Secondary School Students in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State.

• Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of this study is to carry out a study on effects of wrong pronunciation on spelling of Senior Secondary School students in Mangu Local Government Area. Other specific objectives are to:

1. find out the relationship between spelling and pronunciation of the selected English words.
2. discover the irregularities in spelling and pronunciation of the selected English words.

• determine the types of spelling errors found in students’ scripts in Senior Secondary schools in Mangu.

1. examine the most common type of spelling errors in students’ scripts in Senior Secondary schools in Mangu.
   • Research Questions

The following research questions guided the study:

1. what is the relationship between spelling and pronunciation of the selected English words?
2. What is are the irregularities in spelling and pronunciation of the selected English words?

• What are the types of spelling errors found in students’ scripts in Senior Secondary schools in Mangu?
• What are the most common type of spelling errors in students’ scripts in Senior Secondary schools in Mangu?
  • Significance of the Study

The study will be of importance as the finding will help teachers, students and also curriculum planners remedy to pronunciation and oral communication deficiencies.

Spelling and pronunciation are complex problem for second language learners (non-native speakers of English). More than that, this study deals with the main reasons that are responsible for the poor achievement of second language learners in using English pronunciation and spelling.

To the teachers, they will come to understand the types of errors made by students in spelling as a result of wrong pronunciation; they will employ teaching methods and adequate instructional materials for the proper teaching and learning of pronunciation at the Senior Secondary School level.

The curriculum planners will also benefit from this study due to the fact that they are saddled with the responsibility of structuring learning experiences, suggesting instructional materials and teaching methods. Therefore, this work shall serve as an evaluative tool for them to know that there is more work to be done in the aspect of teaching and learning of pronunciation of sounds so as to enhance the performance of students spelling.

To the government who are the purse strings of education, they will provide adequate equipment for the teaching and learning of pronunciation, as the serious need for this will be brought to limelight.

Students will also benefit from the study as recommendations made in this study will be for their benefits.

Finally, the study will be a source of reference for future researchers who wish to carry out research in this same field. This study can be a guide for the researchers in the field of English pronunciation and spelling. The findings of the study can be considered as a reference to students who want to study phonetics. The work may be helpful for the learners, because it simply reminds them of the common errors and mistakes as well as the reasons behind them, so that they can avoid them in the future.

• Scope and Delimitation of the Study

This study covers effects of wrong pronunciation on spelling of secondary school students. The study is restricted to selected Senior Secondary Schools in Mangu Local Government Area; however, the findings of this study can be generalized to other parts of the state.

• Operational Definition of Terms

Pronunciation: Pronunciation is the way in which a word or a language is spoken. This may refer to generally agreed-upon sequences of sounds used in speaking a given word or language in a specific dialect or simply the way a particular individual speaks a word or language.

Spelling: This is a morphological combination of sounds to create meaningful words and sentences.

Errors: It is a deviation from the norm. in the context of this research, error is a deviation from the normal morphological or arrangement of a word.

Spelling Error: This is a deviation from the morphological rules of word formation. It could come as a result of ignorance of the rules of grammar of a particular language.

Rules: In this study, rules are guidelines governing the formation of sentences, phrases and words of a language e.g. English. They must be understood in context, using some sense and discretion.