Difficulties Faced by Ninth Grade EFL Students When Practicing Writing Skills: Spelling and Punctuation Marks

سعید, انتصار صالح (2018) Difficulties Faced by Ninth Grade EFL Students When Practicing Writing Skills: Spelling and Punctuation Marks. Masters thesis, جامعة الشرق الاوسط.

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Abstract

This research mainly aims to investigate the difficulties faced by ninth grade EFL students while handling their writing skills (in terms of spelling as well as punctuation marks). This study additionally aims to reveal the causes of writing skills issues and support English Language teachers to solve these issues. The study implemented a mixed design of Qualitative and quantitative approaches (a test and interviews), which were both used to find the conclusions of the study. The sample of this study entails all ninth-grade students in Madaba schools, Jordan. A sample size of (60) ninth-grade female students was selected in order to achieve the main objective of this study, and the students were aged between 14-15 years old. The results of this study revealed that errors in spelling were characterised in accordance with specific types of difficulties, which are as the following: omission difficulties, insertion difficulties, disordering difficulties, and substitution difficulties. Moreover, the results of the study indicated that the total number of punctuation mark percentages errors were (60%) and the mean was (0.2); comma percentages errors were (33%) and the mean was (0.33). Full stop percentages errors were (20%) and the mean was (0.20), while apostrophe percentages errors were (18%), and the mean was (0.18), question mark percentages errors were (17%) and the mean was (0.17), and exclamation point percentages errors were (12%) and the mean was (0.12). Furthermore, there’s a poor practice for spelling and punctuation in the classroom and also outside. The outcomes indicated that there are no additional strategies, which could enhance the learners’ skills and knowledge in spelling and punctuation marks, or help the instructors in order to avoid as well as minimalise the learners’ error in their learning. Keywords: EFL Students, Writing Skills, Spelling, Punctuation Marks.

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