ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES: A STUDY ON ENGLISH SPELLING PROFICIENCY OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS – LEARNERS OF ENGLISH FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY
Abstract
Spelling is more than just a process or activity of writing or naming the letters of a word, or a correct way of writing by combining words and minding rules of writing and reading in a foreign language. It encompasses acquiring profound phonological knowledge, morphological awareness, and sound knowledge of orthographic rules. Therefore, in order to be able to spell correctly learners need to have a proper control of the structure and sound system of a language and its spelling rules. The current study aims to present the current level of spelling proficiency among 54 B1-B2 level undergraduate students – learners of ESP – English for Biotechnology. The survey was conducted via an online anonymous questionnaire consisting of terms such as nouns, adverbs, adjectives and verbs that were previously analyzed and practiced in class. According to the obtained results from the survey the students’ spelling competence has been categorized as not extremely poor, especially regarding the novel words. It was rather apparent that they failed in the spelling competence regarding the well-known words.
Keywords: Spelling acquisition; orthography; ESP; English for Biotechnology.
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References
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