DIFFERENTIATED SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS TO ENHANCE THE ENGLISH

SPELLING SKILLS OF GRADE 7 STUDENTS OF DOMINADOR NARIDO HIGH

SCHOOL S.Y. 2017-2018

An Action Research

Presented to the Faculty of the School of the Graduate Studies

University of Nueva Caceres

Naga City

In Partial Fulfilment

Of the Requirement for the Degree of

Master of Arts in English

Eric A. Porcincula
 CHAPTER I

Rationale

Orthography or the study correct spelling is a skill one

has acquired ever since he has started learning to read. This is

a set of patterns we incorporate with sounds to form a word.

Though often neglected by most of us, one could not master

reading and the rest of the macro skills without the knowledge

of identifying these patterns. It is the starting point of

learning the basic competencies.

This is the reason, educators pay much importance in

teaching proper spelling of vocabulary for it is one way of

becoming skilled not only to the reading but also to the writing

system of any language. Spelling does not only deal with the

proper arrangement of alphabet letters in a word, instead, it

also deals with the correlation of sounds and series of symbols.

We convey the right meaning of a written discourse with correct

pronunciation. Moreover, improper spelling sometimes leads to

vagueness of ideas and misconception. Therefore, it is important

for all of us to spell words properly to communicate our

thoughts effectively.

A child should learn ways on how to decode the phonological

and morphological structure of printed words in his/her primary

years in school. It is expected that after much practice of

decoding patterns in elementary, a child should manifest fluency

of word recognition and the ability to read.

However, in spite all of these, many of the graduates of

elementary have great problems in spelling particularly in

English words, and this continues in high school. Even just a

simple word, most of the students find difficulties in arranging

the letters whenever they are asked to spell a word. This is due

to so many barriers in teaching children to read. One of these

major barriers is the assumption underlying to the concept

goodness-of-fitthe mind is processing the connection of sound

to its counterpart symbols. But, because of the irregularities

and inconsistencies of English orthography and speech, students

cant figure out the connection. This could cause the

deterioration of interest to attempt to read new words, thus,

affect their reading habits; in the same sense, lose the chance

in enhancing their spelling skills.

This calls for especial attention primarily of the

educators of basic curriculumthe primary and secondary

teachersto solve this difficulty and help students build a

strong foundation of learning.

Introduction

Learning the English language requires learning and

enhancing the spelling skills an individual. However due to so

many complex barriersfrom the nature of the language up to the

reading processstudents are discouraged to enhance their

spelling skill, particularly in English.

For this reason, many studies and actions were conducted to

address this major problem of the learners. Some tried to have

spelling reform movements (Hart, 1570; Johnson, 1755; Webster,

1789; Pitman, 1905); some proposed transitional pedagogical

alphabets (Downing, 1965; Gleitman & Rozin, 1973; Rozin &

Gleitman, in press)these are used to teach initial literacy

before transiting to the acknowledged English orthography.

Though some of these claims are being followed nowadays in

teaching reading and word spelling, still many students and even

adults have poor performance in English spelling. In fact,

according to the survey conducted by Mencap in UK (2012); where

children and adults are asked to test their spelling. 65% of the

surveyants failed to spell 'necessary' correctly, while 33%

struggled with the words 'definitely' and 'separate'. Only one

in five adults who took part the short spelling test was able to

answer all five questions correctly. Moreover, Students were

found to be the worst spellers, with only 13% getting all five
questions right against 21% overall. It was also discovered that

women are generally better at spelling than men, with women aged

65 and over scoring the highest marks.

This means, that there is really a need for further

practice and activities just intended to cater learners

spelling problems and enhance this skill.

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to proposed differentiated

supplemental materials to enhance English spelling skills of

Grade 7 students of Dominador Narido High School.

Specifically, it will answer the following questions:

1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of age, gender

and language/dialect used?

2. What is the level of the students English spelling skills?

3. What are the common causes of the students poor English

spelling skills?

4. What suitable learning activities could help the students

improve their skills in spelling?

5. What differentiated supplemental materials may be proposed to

enhance the English spelling skills of the students?

6. How effective are these materials in enhancing the spelling

skills of the students?

Scope and Delimitation

This study will focus on knowing the varied reasons upon

the poor English spelling skills of Grade 7 students of

Dominador Narido High School, thus suggesting ways and

activities to improve the said competency. It determines the

profile of the respondents, the concept of orthography, the

correlation of spelling skill to reading skill, the importance

of enhancing the skill and the implication of it in terms of

students and teachers interaction and students comprehension

on the subject matter.

24 selected Grade 7 students through total enumeration of

Dominador Narido High School A.Y. 2017 2018 will be taken as

respondents of this study.

Significance of the Study

This study aims to proposed suitable materials to use

enhancing the English spelling skill of Grade 7 students of

Dominador Narido High School, Academic Year 2017 2018.

Administrators. The result of the study will be of great

help for the administrator to formulate new policy and improve

educational system in teaching particularly in curriculum

design.

Community. The students will be able to convey properly

their thoughts and express themselves appropriately to promote

social solidarity.

Faculty. The result of the study will be beneficial to the

teachers in a way that, it will help them to appraise their

course design and make the teaching-learning process more

effective.

Students. The result of the study will definitely help the

students in expressing themselves confidently and enhancing

other related skills. It will lead for a better understanding of

what is being taught and will also help them build good

foundation in learning the English language.

Future Researchers. This will help the future researcher to

gather information about supplemental materials in enhancing

English spelling skills of high school students.

Definition of Terms

For clarification the following terms used are hereby

defined operationally.

Barrier. This term refers to anything which could block the

development of English reading/spelling kill of students.

 Goodness of Fit. This term refers to the concept of

connection between the printed word and its oral counterpart.

Orthography. This term refers to the study of correct

spelling also the way letters and diacritic symbols represent

the sounds of a language in spelling.

Problem. This term refers to the poor English spelling

performance of students.

Student. This term refers to the Grade 7 students of

Dominador Narido High School.

 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED STUDIES

This chapter presents the literature and studies of the

present study. The researcher made extensive readings from

different books and other references that gives broader concepts

and deeper insights. Hence, these showed the similarities and

differences in some aspects of past studies with the present

study.

Related Literature

As stated by Brown (1993), the idea that spelling

competence unfolds in a series of developmental stages has

gained popularity. Despite a lack of clear empirical support for

the model, its impact on spelling instruction in the schools is

growing. Research on traditional issues in teaching spelling

continues unabated (size of word list, time between practice and

test, immediacy of feedback), as well as investigation on

innovative approaches (computers, group instruction). A creative

technique applied in the early grades is invented spelling.

Although popular and widely applied, its effectiveness remains

unclear. Research is beginning to indicate that reading and

spelling may be separable but related cognitive processes and

that spelling ability involves two processing systems-

phonological and lexical. Finally, experiencing incorrect

spellings may be detrimental to spelling performance, and more

research is needed on this issue.

Kemmer (2009) said in her Spelling and Standardization in

English: Historical Overview, the spread of electronic

communication in the form of computers and phone texting have

provided a large number of abbreviatory conventions. The

enforcers of spelling norms, schools and publishers, have so far

maintained the current orthographic standards in printed

documents. But because spelling norms are hard to acquire given

all the spelling-pronunciation mismatches, and writing has

become so democratized through these technologies, the use of

non-standard spellings (not just abbreviations) is increasingly

widespread. Such changes in usage patterns are bound to have

some effect on the written language ultimately, just as

speaker's usage of words eventually affects what are considered

conventional norms. It is still too early to tell how these

effects on the written language will play out. Publishing itself

as an industry feels endangered by the tidal wave of un-edited

electronic publication on the internet. What happens to

publishing as an industry will probably affect how quickly new

orthographic norms are adopted, since publishing is one of the

major conservative forces of orthographic standardization in the

modern world. The others, schools, government, and church, seem

less powerful in determining the form of the documents that are

actually produced on paper.

Cahill and Karan (2008) stated the major factors which must

be considered when planning an orthography. Issues of

acceptability and usability must be balanced with the obvious

prerequisite of linguistic soundness. The linguistic issues

include the choice of graphemes (letters of the alphabet),

decisions on word breaks, level of phonological representation,

representation of suprasegmentals such as tone, etc. However,

sociolinguistic and other political factors (e.g. government

policies, varied dialects, language attitudes, and the influence

of other orthographies) often take precedence over a

linguistically ideal orthography. Finally, the practical issue

of local font availability must be addressed. The development of

an effective orthography is thus of greater complexity than

commonly conceived.

Wheeler (1906) stated in his speech entitled Orthography

nine points to combat barriers of language acquisition: 1)

Uniformity in the written language throughout its entire

territory in any given period, as the present, is a prime demand

of civilized intercourse; 2) The establishment for the United

States of a standard of written English different from that

recognized else- where in the English-speaking territory; 3) The

English language is not the property of the people of the United

States, still less of its government. It is precious possession

of the English-speaking world, and the moral authority to

interfere in its regulation must arise out of the entire body,

and not from a segment thereof; 4) "Every person who is born to

the use of the language inherits thereby a definite advantage,

in the world for intellectual gain, for influence and

effectiveness; 5) The bond uniting all the products of the

language from the Elizabethan period to the present day creates

a very precious heritage for every speaker of the English

tongue; 6) The adoption of a phonetic writing, it should

furthermore be remembered; 7) Print is addressed to the eye, and

the reader's eve taking in whole words or even the composite

form of whole phrases in rapid glance is disturbed and hindered

by abnormal forms of spelling; 8) The proposal gradually to

introduce through the cooperation of volunteers a certain number

of new spellings, and then, when these are well under way

presumably certain others, seems to promise an era of ghastly

confusion in printing offices and in private orthography and

heterography, as well as of much irritation to readers' eyes and

spirits; 9) The list of three hundred words proposed by the

Simplified Spel1ing Board is a somewhat haphazard collection

following no very clear principle of selection

Related Studies

Cahill and Karan (2008) in their study Factors in

Designing Effective Orthographies for Unwritten Languages said

that it would be a mistake to say that a good orthography is all

that is needed for effective reading. Even if a good orthography

is in place, adequate pedagogical extensions, that is, good

teaching materials and instruction, are also needed, for all but

the most self-motivated potential readers. There are many

factors involved in devising or adapting an orthography.

Linguistic factors are basic, but many other issues make

conflicting demands as well. All these must be considered and

balanced for an orthography to be effective. The whole process

is more complex than is commonly realized.

Shankweiler, Lundquis, Dreyer and Dickinson (2009) in their

research Reading and spelling difficulties in high school

students: Causes and consequences. They said that decoding was

the major component, predicting about half of the variance in

spelling. The effect of phonological awareness was largely

hidden by its high correlation with decoding, but was a

significant predictor of spelling in its own right.

Morphological awareness predicted spelling skill when the words

to be spelled were morpho- logically complex. An additional

study showed that differences in decoding and spelling ability

were associated with differences in comprehension after

controlling for reading experience and vocabulary. Even among

experienced readers individual differences in comprehension of

text reflect efficiency of phonological processing at the word

level.

Similar study was conducted by Venezky (1967) English

Orthography: Its Graphical Structure and its Relation to Sound,

he noted that learning to read one's native language differs

radically from learning to read a foreign language. For learning

to read a foreign language, the individual most frequently does

not have any knowledge of the language he is to read and, in the

majority of the cases, he desires to translate directly from

writing to meaning. In learning to read one's native language,

however, the individual brings a reasonably adequate set of

language habits, as evidenced by his ability to speak. Learning

to read in this situation requires primarily the translation

from written symbols to sound, a procedure which is the basis of

the reading process and is probably the only language skill

unique to reading. (Comprehension, for example, while a

necessary criterion for reading, is a function of both speech

and writing.) The primary concern of this paper is the teaching

of this translation process; references hereafter to the

teaching of reading, unless qualified otherwise, refer to

spelling- to-sound translation only.

According to Barnitz (1978), on his studies

Interrelationship of Orthography and Phonological Structure in

Learning to Read, he concluded that adult reading is not a

simple decoding process between written symbols and spoken

language, for writing system characteristics play a minimal role

in fluent reading (Smith, 1971; Gillooly, 1973). However, a

child learning to read must learn to associate printed language

with spoken language, the only meaningful form of communication

known by the child. While it is very important for initial

reading instruction to emphasize meaning (Goodman, 1967), the

relationship between orthography and phonological structure

should not be ignored. This report has demonstrated that the

degree of consistency between a writing system and phonological

structure affects the ease of learning to read. A higher degree

of "goodness of fit" between sound systems and writing systems

promotes learning to read. A lower degree of "goodness of fit"

or larger degree of abstractness makes initial learning to read

more difficult.
 Kaefer (2016) found out in her studies entitled

Integrating Orthographic and Phonological Knowledge in Early

Readers: Implicit and Explicit Knowledge that for salient

violations of orthography, children have explicit awareness and

can successfully choose the legal option over the illegal one,

in either scenario. For subtler violations of orthographic

rules, however, we find that children did not show explicit

knowledge in either scenario but did show some implicit

knowledge when phonology did not additionally have to be

considered. She as well stated that the early orthographic

knowledge of the children may be fragile. In particular, as

children are learning to integrate their orthographic and

phonological knowledge early in their reading development,

focusing on the phonological component of written words may

actually mask childrens preexisting orthographic knowledge.

This work supports an overall understanding of orthographic

development in which generalized knowledge develops early and in

parallel with phonological knowledge and then becomes integrated

during the early years of independent reading in elementary

school.
Synthesis of the State of the Art

All the mentioned studies have similarities and differences

to the present study. They provide great assistance particularly

in terms of ideas and insights on the study which aims to

propose differentiated supplemental materials to enhance the

English spelling skill of Grade 7 students of Dominador Narido

High School.

Cahill and Karan (2008) is found to have similarities to

the present study since this study focuses on correlation of

orthography to reading. It differs in a way that the present

study just focuses on the development English spelling skills of

students.

Shankweiler, Lundquis, Dreyer and Dickinson (2009) have

similarities to the present study since both studies talk about

high school students problem in spelling English vocabulary.

They differ because the present study focuses only on English

spelling skills of students.

Venezky (1967) is found to have similarities to the

present study since such studies also tackle the connection of

phonemes to its graphemes. However, it differs on the point that

the present study focuses only on the English spelling skill of

Grade 7 students.
 Barnitzs study (1978), also has similarities to the

present study since such study discusses the interrelationship

of orthography and phonological structure. But the two differ

because the present study just focuses on English spelling skill

while Barnitzs study also deals with reading skill.

Theoretical Framework

This study is anchored on Connectionist Theory of Effective

Spelling, Schema Theory, Code Switching, Behaviorist Theory, and

Dual Route Theory of Efficient Spelling.

These theories also suggest that children learn best from a

familiar starting point. Learning should begin with what a child

knows and understands. Thus, children learn best when using a

language they speak and understand well. Learning to read and

write starts from knowing how to recognize symbols and sounds.

Thus, these abilities could be enhanced by constant exposure to

the language through various activities, in the same way, skills

in spelling is enhanced too.

According to Gordon, Brown and Chater (2004), Connectionist

Theory suggests that literacy development could in principle be

constrained by various distinct factors, including at least (a)

the small or unrepresentative nature of the fragment of the

spelling-to-sound mapping system early learners are exposed to;

(b) the length of time a learning mechanism requires to develop

a good model of the statistical structure of the language; (c)

the slow development of the representations that allow the

relevant generalisations to be learned, and (d) more general

limitations in the representational capacity of the learning

system throughout development. Computational modelling allows a

clear and explicit distinction between, and exploration of, each

of these factors.

Schema Theory states that all knowledge is organized into

units. Within these units of knowledge, or schemata, is stored

information. A schema, then, is a generalized description or a

conceptual system for understanding knowledge-how knowledge is

represented and how it is used.

According to this theory, schemata represent knowledge

about concepts: objects and the relationships they have with

other objects, situations, events, sequences of events, actions,

and sequences of actions.

Ramanayaranan (2017) defined Code-switching in his

studies entitled Elicitation of a Code-Switched Corpus of

HindiEnglish and SpanishEnglish HumanMachine Dialog as

multilingual speakers' alternating use of two or more languages

or language varieties within the context of a single

conversation or discourse in a manner consistent with the syntax

and phonology of each variety.

Behaviorism (or behaviourism) is a systematic approach

to the understanding of human and animal behavior. It assumes

that all behaviors are either reflexes produced by a response to

certain stimuli in the environment, or a consequence of that

individual's history, including especially reinforcement and

punishment, together with the individual's current motivational

state and controlling stimuli. Although behaviorists generally

accept the important role of inheritance in determining

behavior, they focus primarily on environmental factors.

The dual-route theory of reading aloud suggests that two

separate mental mechanisms, or cognitive routes, are involved in

reading aloud, with output of both mechanisms contributing to

the pronunciation of a written stimulus.

One mechanism, termed the lexical route, is the process

whereby skilled readers can recognize known words by sight

alone, through a "dictionary" lookup procedure. According to

this model, every word a reader has learned is represented in a

mental database of words and their pronunciations that resembles

a dictionary, or internal lexicon. When a skilled reader sees

and visually recognizes a written word, he or she is then able

to access the dictionary entry for the word and retrieve the

information about its pronunciation.

The nonlexical or sublexical route, on the other hand, is

the process whereby the reader can "sound out" a written word.

This is done by identifying the word's constituent parts

(letters, phonemes, graphemes) and, applying knowledge of how

these parts are associated with each other, for example how a

string of neighboring letters sound together. This mechanism can

be thought of as a letter-sound rule system that allows the

reader to actively build a phonological representation and read

the word aloud. The nonlexical route allows the correct reading

of nonwords as well as regular words that follow spelling-sound

rules, but not exception words. The dual-route hypothesis of

reading has helped researchers explain and understand various

facts about normal and abnormal reading.

 Code
Switching

Schema Behaviorist
Theory Theory

Dual
Connection Route
ist Theory Theory of
of Supplemental Efficient
Effective
Spelling Materials for Spelling
Enhancing English
Spelling Skills

Improved
English
Spelling
Skills of
Students

Figure 1 Theoretical Paradigm of the Study

Conceptual Framework

The conceptual framework of this research is based on the

system concept.

The conceptual paradigm of this study includes English as

the desired language that the students wanted to be proficient

of. Moreover, this can only be attained by undergoing and

passing the following exercises/activities: 1) Flash Cards Word

Recognition; 2) Anagram Spelling Exercises; 3) Fill in the

Blanks Spelling Exercises; 4) Four Pics One Word Exercises; 5)

Spelling Bee.

As a product of this study students will enhanced their

English Spelling Skills.

 DIFFERENTIATED SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS TO
ENHANCE THE ENGLISH SPELLING SKILL OF GRADE
7 STUDENTS OF DOMINADOR NARIDO HIGH SCHOOL
S/Y 2017-2018

Supplemental Materials

Pre-test on 1. Flash Cards Word Post-test

spelling Recognition
1. Literal
1. Literal 2. Anagram Spelling
Exercises 2. Interpretative
2. Interpretative
3. Fill in the Blanks 3. Applied
3. Applied
Spelling Exercises

4. Four Pics One Word

Exercises

5. Spelling Bee

Instructional Materials

Supplemental Materials for Spelling Skills

Figure 2. Conceptual Paradigm of the Study

 CHAPTER III

Methodology

This chapter presents the method and procedures used in the

present study. This includes the research location, respondents

of the study, research design and data collection, research

instrument, data analysis and major activities.

Research Design

The descriptive survey method of research was used in this

study, utilizing particularly the questionnaire. It was used in

gathering the necessary data and information needed to complete

the study.

Data Sources

The study used questionnaires as the main data sources. The

survey questionnaire primarily assesses the level of English

Spelling Skills of the students, while the purpose of interview

is mainly to have additional information.

Population and Sample

The respondents of this study were selected Grade 7

Students of Dominador Narido High School S/Y 2017-18. The total

population of Grade 7 Students is 98 and 45 were selected

through total enumeration.

Statistical Tool

This study used percentage technique and ranking with the

formula below.

In analyzing and interpreting data, the researchers used

percentage and weighted mean techniques.

A. Frequency Distribution

This was used to set up the bracket or interval for the

data. While the percentage was used to get the distribution of

respondents in terms of age and the learning improvement of the

students.

The Formula:

P = (fx)/n 100

Where,

P -Percentage

n -number of responses

f - Number of respondents

100 constant
 c. Weighted Mean

This tool was used to get the distribution of learning

improvement of the students using mother tongue.

The Formula:

P = ( fw)/n

Where,

- summation sign

f - number of responses

w - category of responses

n - total number of responses

Gathering of Instrument

The questionnaire was the main instrument used in this

study which contains three parts. The first part includes the

profile of the respondents. Part two is the pre-test and part

three is the post-test.

 CHAPTER IV

Analysis

This chapter presents the analysis, presentation and

interpretation of data gathered by the researchers about

differentiated supplemental materials to enhance English

spelling skills of Grade 7 students of Dominador Narido High

School. The data was presented in tabular form supported by the

interpretation. The respondents of this study were the selected

Grade 7 students of Dominador Narido High School.

Profile of the Respondents

The following table shows the profile of the respondents in

terms of age, gender and usual language/dialect use by the

respondents.

Age

This part reflects the age of the respondents, Grade 7

students of Dominador Narido High School.

As shown in table 1.0, the following age obtained their

respective frequency, percentage and rank. Age 13 obtained the

highest frequency 31 or 69%, age 14 obtained 6 or 13%, age 12

obtained 5 or 11%. Age 15 obtained the lowest frequency which is

only 3 or 7%.

The implication of the age of the respondents is vital in a

sense that most of them are 12 years of age.

Table 1.0

Age of the Respondents

Age Frequency Percentage (%) Rank

12 5 11 3
13 31 69 1
14 6 13 2
15 3 7 4
Total 45 100

Gender

The table reveals the gender of the respondents.

As reflected on table 1.1 the following gender obtained

their respective frequency percentage and rank, majority of the

respondents were females which are 24 or 53%, while males were

21 or 47% were the third year social science major.

The implication in this table is that there is almost the

same number respondents in terms of gender.

 Table 1.1

Gender

Gender Frequency Percentage (%) Rank

Male 21 47 2
Female 24 53 1
Total 45 100

Usual Language/Dialect Used

The table shows the language/dialect used by the

respondents.

As shown in table 1.2 the following dialects attained

frequency, percentage and rank. These are used by the

respondents whereas; the Bicol has the highest frequency which

is 39 or 87%, Tagalog has 6 or 13% and 0 for English language.

The table shows that majority of the respondents use Bicol

as their medium of communication in usual conversation. And it

has a great implication because exposure to English language is

one of the factors to enhance their English spelling skills.

Table 1.2

Usual Language/Dialect Used

 Dialect Used Frequency Percentage Rank
Tagalog 6 13% 2
Bicol 39 87% 1
English 0 0% 3
Total 45 100
Spelling Quiz Result
Pre-Test

The test was administered individually, in which the

respondents were given one answer sheet each with numbered lines

for writing the words. The examiner read aloud a list of 20

spelling words successively after a predetermined number of

seconds. Students answered and spelled the words on their answer

sheets in the time allotted which was 10 seconds per item.

The table shows the respondents number and the raw score

they got in the test. Out of 45 respondents who took the test, a

female got the highest score of 15 correct answers while

majority of the lowest, who got 5 correct answers were from the

males. This test obtained 382 total correct answers with the

range of 10, 8.49 mean and 0.42 mean performance level.

Table 1.3

Pre-Test

RESPONDENTS RAW SCORE

MALE
1 STUDENT 1 5
2 STUDENT 2 10
3 STUDENT 3 11
4 STUDENT 4 13
5 STUDENT 5 9
6 STUDENT 6 6
7 STUDENT 7 5
8 STUDENT 8 7
9 STUDENT 9 6
10 STUDENT 10 6
11 STUDENT 11 10
12 STUDENT 12 9
13 STUDENT 13 5
14 STUDENT 14 8
15 STUDENT 15 10
16 STUDENT 16 5
17 STUDENT 17 9
18 STUDENT 18 7
19 STUDENT 19 8
20 STUDENT 20 9
21 STUDENT 21 5
FEMALE
22 STUDENT 22 6
23 STUDENT 23 8
24 STUDENT 24 7
25 STUDENT 25 13
26 STUDENT 26 15
27 STUDENT 27 9
28 STUDENT 28 5
29 STUDENT 29 10
30 STUDENT 30 8
31 STUDENT 31 7
32 STUDENT 32 12
33 STUDENT 33 11
34 STUDENT 34 10
35 STUDENT 35 9
36 STUDENT 36 8
37 STUDENT 37 6
38 STUDENT 38 11
39 STUDENT 39 10
40 STUDENT 40 8
41 STUDENT 41 7
42 STUDENT 42 6
43 STUDENT 43 8
44 STUDENT 44 13
 45 STUDENT 45 12
46
47
48
49
50
TOTAL SCORE 382

Number of Examinees: 45
Number of Test Items: 20
Highest Score 15
Lowest Score 5
Range 10
Mean: 8.49
Mean Performance Level: 0.42

Summary Result of the Pre-Test

The table presents the item placement, number of correct

answer in each item and its rank; in which out of 20 items given

to the 45 respondents, they scored 382 total correct answers.

Moreover, 34 respondents got a correct response on item

number 16(inhabit), 22 was correct on item 11(oriental), and 20

students got it correctly on items 1(myth), 7(sturdy),

12(persona), and 13(genesis).

On the way around, the top six wrong answers were on items:

17(phlegm) with only 15 respondents out of 45 got it correctly;

3(colleague) with 16 respondents who answered correctly;

5(unique) with 17 respondents; 8(nymphs) with 17 respondents;

9(archipelago) with 17 respondents; and 19(mannequin) with 17

respondents as well.

Table 1.4

Summary Result of Pre-Test

ITEM
TOTAL RANK
PLACEMENT NO. OF CORRECT
ANSWERS
1 20 20 5
2 19 19 8
3 16 16 19
4 19 19 8
5 17 17 17
6 18 18 12
7 20 20 5
8 17 17 17
9 17 17 17
10 18 18 12
11 22 22 2
12 20 20 5
13 20 20 5
14 19 19 8
15 18 18 12
16 34 34 1
17 15 15 20
18 18 18 12
19 17 17 17
20 18 18 12
TOTAL NO. OF 382
EXAMINEES 45
TOP 6 CORRECT ANSWERS TOP 6 WRONG ANSWERS
1. item 16 (INHABIT) 1. item 17 (PHLEGM)
2. item 11 (ORIENTAL) 2. item 3 (COLLEAGUE)
3. item 1 (MYTH) 3. item 5 (UNIQUE)
4. item 7(STURDY) 4. item 8 ( NYMPHS)
5. item 12 (PERSONA) 5. item 9 ( ARCHIPELAGO)
item 13 ( GENESIS) item 19 ( MANNEQUIN)
 Post-Test

The same items were given to the respondents after

undergoing to the series of activities answering the

differentiated supplemental materials mainly to enhance their

English spelling skills. Moreover the same process in

administering the test was followed.

The table below shows the name of the students and the

raw score they got in the test. Out of 45 respondents who took

the test, a female got the highest score of 17 correct answers

and still the lowest score of 5 was form the males.

However, there was an evident change in the total result of

the test. It obtained 534 total correct answers with the range

of 13, 11.87 mean and 0.59 mean performance level. The result

increased for more than 8 percent.

Table 1.5

Post-Test
 REPONDENTS RAW SCORE
MALE
1 STUDENT 1 10
2 STUDENT 2 16
3 STUDENT 3 15
4 STUDENT 4 16
5 STUDENT 5 12
6 STUDENT 6 8
7 STUDENT 7 5
8 STUDENT 8 10
9 STUDENT 9 8
10 STUDENT 10 6
11 STUDENT 11 15
12 STUDENT 12 12
13 STUDENT 13 10
14 STUDENT 14 10
15 STUDENT 15 16
16 STUDENT 16 8
17 STUDENT 17 15
18 STUDENT 18 9
19 STUDENT 19 10
20 STUDENT 20 10
21 STUDENT 21 15
FEMALE
22 STUDENT 22 12
23 STUDENT 23 12
24 STUDENT 24 14
25 STUDENT 25 15
26 STUDENT 26 18
27 STUDENT 27 17
28 STUDENT 28 10
29 STUDENT 29 16
30 STUDENT 30 8
31 STUDENT 31 9
32 STUDENT 32 15
33 STUDENT 33 12
34 STUDENT 34 11
35 STUDENT 35 11
36 STUDENT 36 10
37 STUDENT 37 10
38 STUDENT 38 14
39 STUDENT 39 13
40 STUDENT 40 9
41 STUDENT 41 10
 42 STUDENT 42 12
43 STUDENT 43 10
44 STUDENT 44 15
45 STUDENT 45 15
TOTAL SCORE 534

Number of Examinees: 45
Number of Test Items: 20
Highest Score 18
Lowest Score 5
Range 13
Mean: 11.87
Mean Performance Level: 0.59

Summary Result of the Post-Test

The table presents the item placement, number of correct

answer in each item and its rank; in which out of 20 items given

to the 45 respondents, they scored 534 total correct answers.

Moreover, 38 respondents got a correct response on item

number 16(inhabit), 35 was correct on item 11(oriental), and 34

students got it correctly on items 6(diversity), 7(sturdy),

while 32 respondents were correct on item 1(persona), and 30

respondents for item 13(genesis).

On the way around, the top six wrong answers were on items:

17(phlegm) with only 20 respondents out of 45 got it correctly;

3(colleague) with 21 respondents who answered correctly;

18(abscissa) with 22 respondents; 4(alliance) with 23

respondents; 5(petiole) with 23 respondents; and 19(mannequin)

with 23 respondents as well.

Table 1.6

Summary Result of Post-Test

ITEM
TOTAL RANK
PLACEMENT NO. OF CORRECT
ANSWERS
1 32 32 5
2 24 24 12
3 21 21 20
4 23 23 16
5 23 23 16
6 34 34 4
7 34 34 4
8 23 23 16
9 24 24 12
10 25 25 9
11 35 35 2
12 28 28 7
13 30 30 6
14 25 25 9
15 24 24 12
16 38 38 1
17 21 21 20
18 22 22 18
19 23 23 16
20 25 25 9
TOTAL NO. OF 534
EXAMINEES 45
TOP 6 CORRECT ANSWERS TOP 6 WRONG ANSWERS
1. item 16 (INHABIT) 1. item 17 (PHLEGM)
2. item 11 (ORIENTAL) 2. item 3 (COLLEAGUE)
3. item 6 (DIVERSITY) 3. item 18 (ABSCISSA)
4. item 7(STURDY) 4. item 4 ( ALLIANCE)
5. item 1 (PERSONA) 5. item 5 (PETIOLE)
6. item 13 ( GENESIS) 6. item 19 ( MANNEQUIN)
 CHAPTER V

Summary, Findings, Conclusions and Recommendation

This chapter briefly presents the summary, findings,

conclusions and recommendations of the study.

Summary

This study was conducted to assess and enhance the English

spelling skills of the Grade 7 students of Dominador Narido High

School. Thus, suggest differentiated supplemental materials

suited to the needs of the students.

Specially, this study answers the following questions:

1)What are the levels of the students English spelling skills;

2)What are the common causes of the students poor English

spelling skills; 3)What suitable learning activities could help

the students improve their skills in spelling; 4)What

differentiated supplemental materials may be proposed to enhance

the English spelling skills of the students; 5) How effective

are these materials in enhancing the spelling skills of the

students.
 The theories used in this research were Connectionist Theory

of Effective Spelling, Schema Theory, Code Switching, Behaviorist

Theory, and Dual Route Theory of Efficient Spelling which

suggest that children learn best from a familiar starting point.

Learning should begin with what a child knows and understands.

Thus, children learn best when using a language they speak and

understand well. Learning to read and write starts from knowing

how to recognize symbols and sounds. Thus, these abilities could

be enhanced by constant exposure to the language through various

activities, in the same way, skills in spelling is enhanced too.

Findings

Based on the analysis of the data gathered, the following

were the findings.

1. Out of the 45 respondents 69% of them are 13 years of age.

Majority of them are females who use Bicol dialect in their

usual way of communicating.

2. One factor of the students poor English spelling prowess

is the lack of exposure to the language and reading

activities.

3. Through undergoing series of drills and activities that

will ought them to read and exercise their ability in word

recognition, they will enhance their English spelling

 skills. Examples of these are Flash Cards Word Recognition,

Anagram Spelling Exercises, Fill in the Blanks Spelling

Exercises, Four Pics One Word Exercises, and Spelling Bee.

4. The suggested materials and activities are effective for

they are engaging and provide a new interesting way of

learning English spelling.

5. An evident change in the total result of the test, after

undergoing the process of the study obtained 534 total

correct answers with the range of 13, 11.87 mean and 0.59

mean performance levels. The result increased for more than

8 percent.

Conclusions

Based from the findings of the study the researcher

concluded the following:

1. The respondents agreed that exposing themselves to the

English language will help them enhance their spelling

prowess. At the same time it will also develop other macro

skills;

2. Out of 45 respondents who took the test, a female got the

highest score of 15 correct answers while majority of the

lowest, who got 5 correct answers were from the males. This
 test obtained 382 total correct answers with the range of

10, 8.49 mean and 0.42 mean performance level.

3. There are many factors affecting the poor performance of

students in spelling, some of them are lack of exposure to

the English language, failure of symbol and sound

recognition, poor foundation of learning, and hobbies.

Thus;

4. Drills and exercises to enhance the ability of the students

to recognize symbols and sounds and make reading as a hobby

will help them a lot to improve.

Recommendation

Based on the cited finding and conclusions the following

recommendations were proposed by the researchers.

1. Student should know how to recognize symbols and its sound

counterparts properly.

2. They value that constant exposure to the language in

speaking, writing and reading will help them enhance their

spelling skills.
3. Teachers of the subjects with English as medium of

instructions should implement the usage of the language in

during class discussion.

4. Integration of English spelling activities in the classroom

or any school activity is one way of elevating their

knowledge about the importance of proper spelling of words.

5. Future researchers must conduct a similar study along with

English spelling skills.

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