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“It’s difficult since there is no rhyme or reason”: Spelling relevance in an EFL context

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Abstract

This study examines the knowledge of language components in 44 teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL). These components include phonology, orthography, and morphology, for reading and spelling instruction. The study also examines teacher attitudes towards and perceptions of these language components in the context of their self-reported practice. Mixed methods analyses showed that teacher knowledge was not at ceiling level but was greater than reported comparative studies in the Israeli EFL context. Similar to previous studies, this study found that teacher knowledge of phonological awareness was weak. The teachers in this study were keen to learn more; however, their self-reported practice demonstrated a discrepancy between their perceptions of the importance of language components such as orthography and their implementation in the field, with the least number of teachers reporting teaching the orthographic conventions. The teachers’ responses provide some insights into their thinking about the relevance of language components to their teaching in an EFL context where they are often the only guiding source in the path towards literacy. For EFL teachers to impact their students’ progress in literacy, there is a need for them to acquire a more in-depth understanding of language components such as phonology, orthography, and morphology to become professionally adept.

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Acknowledgements

The data for this study was collected by the first author in the framework of the M.Ed. Language Teaching Program, Oranim College of Education. We have no conflict of interest to disclose.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Language Teaching Program, Oranim College of Education, Kiryat Tivon, 3600600, Israel

    Marlene Saban & Janina Kahn-Horwitz

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  1. Marlene Saban
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  2. Janina Kahn-Horwitz
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Correspondence to Marlene Saban.

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Appendices

Appendix

Questionnaire

  1. (1)

    Which word contains a long vowel sound? orthographic convention

    a) story b) send c) hall d) cream

  2. (2)

    Which word contains a short vowel sound? orthographic convention

    a) great b) cart c) clip d) saw

  3. (3)

    Count the number of speech sounds that you perceive in each of the following words. Remember, the speech sounds may not be equivalent to the letters. For example, the word “spoke” has four speech sounds: /s/, /p/, /o-e/, /k/. phonemic awareness

    a) drill __ b) sing__ c) says __ d) shook e) shrimp __ f) know __ g) quack h) sawed i) mix __ j) eight __

  4. (4)

    A soft c is in the word: orthographic convention

    a) cone b) cape c) chide d) center

  5. (5)

    Which word is an example of the spelling rule: double the last letter consonant after CVC in a stressed syllable when adding the suffix –ing. grammatical/morphemic related convention

    a) visit b) begin c) reach d) walk

  6. (6)

    Which word is an example of the spelling rule: drop the letter y and replace it with the letters ie when adding the letter s. grammatical/morphemic related convention

    a) play b) buy c) cry d) enjoy e) make

  7. (7)

    A nonsense word that does not follow the English spelling pattern is: orthographic convention

    a) shease b) toyn c) squive d) clow

  8. (8)

    Which letters are never doubled in English spelling (give 2 examples)? orthographic convention

  9. (9)

    Which letters are always doubled at the end of a stressed syllable with a short vowel (give 2 examples)? orthographic convention

  10. (10)

    How many syllables are in the following words? For example, the word higher has two syllables, the word threat has 1, and the word physician has three syllables: syllabic awareness

    a) lighten b) international c) talked d) banana

  11. (11)

    The smallest unit of sound that changes the meaning of a word is called a: linguistic terminology

    a) grapheme b) phoneme c) morpheme d) schwa

  12. (12)

    A voiced consonant digraph is in: linguistic terminology

    a) these b) ship c) boy d) think

  13. (13)

    The name for an unstressed vowel sound is: linguistic terminology

    a) morpheme b) phoneme c) schwa d) blend

  14. (14)

    The name for two vowel sounds that glide into each other is: linguistic terminology

    a) vowel pair b) diphthong c) blend d) apostrophe

  15. (15)

    The name for a part of a word that contains at least one vowel and can have a consonant on either side is: linguistic terminology

    a) morpheme b) syllable c) affix d) schwa

  16. (16)

    The name for sounds created in speech when the vocal tract is open: linguistic terminology

    a) consonant b) blend c) vowel d) digraph

  17. (17)

    The smallest unit of print for a single speech sound is called a: linguistic terminology

    a) grapheme b) phoneme c) morpheme d) syllable

  18. (18)

    The name describing a minimal unit of meaning in a word: linguistic terminology

    a) consonant b) grapheme c) phoneme d) morpheme

  19. (19)

    How many years have you been teaching EFL? ___ background information

  20. (20)

    What grades do you teach? ___ background information

  21. (21)

    How many years do you think it takes English L1 learners to read accurately? perceptions

  22. (22)

    How many years do you think it takes English L1 learners to read texts for comprehension purposes? perceptions

  23. (23)

    How many years do you think it takes to acquire English L1 learners to acquire accurate spelling? perceptions

  24. (24)

    How many years do you think it takes EFL learners to read accurately? perceptions

  25. (25)

    How many years do you think it takes EFL learners to read texts for comprehension purposes? perceptions

  26. (26)

    How many years do you think it takes EFL learners to acquire spelling? perceptions

  27. (27)

    How often do you teach spelling? practice

    a) every lesson b) once when teaching grammar c) when you notice a common error d) once a month e) other ___________________________

  28. (28)

    How do you teach spelling? Please explain in as much detail as possible – pretending that I am not an English teacher! practice

  29. (29)

    In what way do you think English spelling contributes to learning English? attitudes

  30. (30)

    What is personally challenging for you regarding EFL spelling? perceptions

  31. (31)

    What successful experiences have you had regarding teaching EFL spelling? practice

  32. (32)

    How do you overcome the challenges you face regarding teaching EFL spelling? practice

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Saban, M., Kahn-Horwitz, J. “It’s difficult since there is no rhyme or reason”: Spelling relevance in an EFL context. Read Writ 35, 245–272 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-021-10178-x

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