Invented Spelling in Arabic: What Do United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) Sixth Grade Students Know about Arabic Spelling
Name:
azu_etd_1551_sip1_m.pdf
Size:
1.787Mb
Format:
PDF
Description:
azu_etd_1551_sip1_m.pdf
Issue Date
2006Advisor
Goodman, Yetta M.Committee Chair
Goodman, Yetta M.Metadata
Show full item recordPublisher
The University of Arizona.Rights
Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.Abstract
This study explores invented spelling in Arabic. Since spelling in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is taught through dictation and composition, this study explores and compares spelling inventions that occur in students' writing in each context. Samples of dictation and composition were collected from three sixth grade classrooms taught by UAE teachers. In addition, this study aimed to investigate what sixth grade students in the (UAE) know about Arabic spelling. A number of features were examined to explore the participants' knowledge and use of certain Arabic spelling rules. Spelling inventions were categorized into three linguistic levels for analysis: 1) phonological level, 2) grammatical level, and 3) orthographic level to answer three of the research question. The findings of student's spelling inventions in their compositions were compared to those found in dictation. Interviews were also conducted to supplement written samples, and to study what sixth grade students report that they do when Arabic standard spelling in unknown. In practice, this study will serve Arabic teachers in the Arabic world as a resource in teaching, evaluating, and understanding invented spelling. Students' invented spellings must be seen as opportunities to contribute actively to their own learning. By combining an understanding of invented spelling with formal spelling instruction, teachers will develop more effective spelling instructions. Findings included: sixth grade students' spelling inventions that occurred in dictations reflected the phonological level primarily; writing compositions drew students' attention to meaning making rather than writing every word accurately; students wrote spontaneously and used their knowledge of information, poems, Koran and Hadith in their compositions. When standard spelling in unknown, students reported that they have many strategies to overcome spelling difficulties such as sounding out, asking for help, visualization, etc. However, they do not advise other students who have spelling difficulties to use the same techniques they use in the same order.Type
textElectronic Dissertation
Degree Name
PhDDegree Level
doctoralDegree Program
Language, Reading & CultureGraduate College
Degree Grantor
University of ArizonaCollections
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Tree Establishment During Dry Spells At An Oak Savanna In MinnesotaRecent research has challenged the long-standing hypothesis that forests in the Upper Midwest of the United States developed during wetter periods and retreated during dry periods. We explored this debate by examining patterns of tree establishment on an oak savanna in east-central Minnesota within the context of variable moisture availability and fire suppression. We used superposed epoch analyses (SEA) to evaluate the mean moisture conditions for a 21-year window surrounding tree establishment dates. Before effective fire suppression (1809–1939), 24 of 42 trees with pith dates (62%) grew to 30-cm height during dry years (Palmer Drought Severity Index < -1), versus only 5 of 42 (12%) that established in wet years (PDSI > 1). Significantly more trees established during dry periods (negative PDSI values) than would be expected with the proportion of wet-to-dry years (x²= 10.738, df = 1, p-value = 0.001). Twenty of the complete sample of 74 trees with pith dates (27%) established during drought in the 1930s. We hypothesize that dry conditions limited plant productivity, which in turn decreased competition between grasses and tree seedlings and reduced rates of accumulation of fine fuels, enabling seedlings to grow tall enough to resist subsequent fires. We recommend SEA as a methodological approach to compare historical climate conditions with the timing of regeneration success in other regions of forest expansion.
-
A PSYCHOLINGUISTIC DESCRIPTION OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF WRITING IN SELECTED FIRST GRADE STUDENTS (ETHNOGRAPHY, COMPOSITION, SPELLING).The purpose of this study is to examine the development of writing in first grade children. It provides information about the changes that take place in the children's writing over an eight-month period. The writings of the entire classroom were collected; from these six children's writings were chosen for cross-sectional analysis. Two children from this group were further selected for in-depth case studies. Interviews, parent surveys, and observations were employed to monitor the children's writing development. The data are categorized according to (1) the child's general background, (2) the child as a writer, (3) the child's use of conventions of the writing and spelling systems, and (4) an overview of the child's construction of meaning. The subjects already had a rich, though varied, background of experience with writing when they entered first grade. Many invitations to write were given during the year, which resulted in three major types of writing: journals, notes, and stories. The children were eager to communicate in writing. They grew and developed during the year in a way similar to the way they once learned to speak, learning how to write through their interactions and experiences with others. They became aware of the needs of an audience, could determine the type of writing appropriate to a particular setting, used syntactic features that other writers use, and wrote to fulfill personal needs. As the children wrote, they discovered that certain conventions, such as spelling and punctuation, are used by writers to allow their message to be understood. The rate of development varied according to how critical these conventions were to the ability to communicate. The study demonstrated that children who have a message to communicate construct meaning as their first priority. As they use writing, they gain knowledge of the writing system and change occurs in their understanding of the syntactic, semantic and orthographic systems, allowing them to create more complex meanings for their readers.
-
Exploring a Common Neural Substrate of Reading and SpellingWhether reading and spelling rely on the same orthographic representations has been a controversial issue in the neuropsychology literature. In general, associations between patterns of alexia and agraphia in neurological patients have been interpreted to support the view that reading and spelling share the same orthographic lexicon. By contrast, dissociations between reading and spelling profiles are considered as evidence for the existence of separate orthographic input and output lexicons subserving written word recognition and production. Neuroimaging research relevant to the neural substrates of orthographic processing has shown consistent association between reading and activation in the mid-lateral portions of the left fusiform gyrus (BA 37), a region that has come to be known as the "visual word form area" (VWFA). Critically, it has been shown that spelling words also activates the VWFA. These findings seem to confirm the central role of the VWFA in orthographic processing and support the view that the same orthographic representations mediate reading and spelling. Unfortunately, the available neuroimaging evidence on the relationship between reading and spelling is limited in that the relevant studies typically have involved different subject groups. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the cortical region responsible for orthographic processing during reading is also activated during spelling in the same individuals using fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging). Fifteen native English speakers participated in the study and were administered reading and writing tasks designed to isolate cortical regions involved in orthographic processing during reading and writing. Results showed that the left mid fusiform gyrus corresponding to the VWFA is associated not only with orthographic processing in reading but is also recruited during the retrieval of orthographic information in spelling, suggesting that this cortical region is the common neural substrate of orthographic processing for both written language tasks. These findings are consistent with shared components cognitive models that postulate a single orthographic lexicon mediating both reading and spelling.
