The Effects of Syllable-awareness Based Phonics on Spelling Multi-syllable Words for 7th Grade Junior High School Students

• Main Authors: Chang, Chen Ping, 張陳平
• Other Authors: Yin, Yuen Mei
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/47189967804904742118

碩士 === 國立政治大學 === 英語教學碩士在職專班 === 97 === The purpose of this action research was to explore the effects of syllable-awareness based phonics instruction in Taiwanese 7th EFL graders on spelling multi-syllable words. The present study involved two stages: a one-group design pilot study and a formal study. The purpose of the pilot study was to evaluate the feasibility of the syllable-awareness based phonics instruction designed by the researcher. According to the result of the pilot study, the formal research was modified in changing the multi-syllable test words, lengthening the instruction time, and the usage of a quiz. Moreover, in the formal study, two groups will be implemented with different instructions to explore the effects in spelling multi-syllable words and learning attitude. In the formal research, sixty-six 7th graders in two intact classes were chosen as potential subjects. After they filled out a background questionnaire, took three tests: a syllable counting test, a mono-syllable word spelling test, and a multi-syllable word spelling test, forty-four homogeneous subjects were selected. The researcher randomly assigned these 44 subjects into two groups: an experimental group and a control group, each comprised of 22 subjects. The experimental group received syllable-awareness based phonics instruction while the control group received phonics instruction only. All subjects were instructed for 11 weeks, two 15-minute classes per week (thirty minutes per week). After the instruction, the researcher carried out a multi-syllable spelling word posttest and a learning attitude questionnaire to estimate the effects of the instruction and their attitude changes. The result of the multi-syllable word spelling tests revealed that there was no significant difference between the two groups. However, the experimental group showed more positive attitude change than the control group toward vocabulary and English learning. The findings from this study indicate that syllable-awareness based phonics instruction can not only ease the anxiety of spelling multi-syllable words for 7th graders, but also reinforce a more positive attitude toward spelling vocabulary and learning English. According to the results, pedagogical implications and suggestions for further studies are offered.