English spelling and the computer

The first half of the book is about spelling, the second about computers. Chapter Two describes how English spelling came to be in the state that it’s in today. In Chapter Three I summarize the debate between those who propose radical change to the system and those who favour keeping it as it is, and I show how computerized correction can be seen as providing at least some of the benefits that have been claimed for spelling reform. Too much of the literature on computerized spellcheckers describes tests based on collections of artificially created errors; Chapter Four looks at the sorts of misspellings that people actually make, to see more clearly the problems that a spellchecker has to face. Chapter Five looks more closely at the errors that people make when they don’t know how to spell a word, and Chapter Six at the errors that people make when they know perfectly well how to spell a word but for some reason write or type something else. Chapter Seven begins the second part of the book with a description of the methods that have been devised over the last thirty years for getting computers to detect and correct spelling errors. Its conclusion is that spellcheckers have some way to go before they can do the job we would like them to do. Chapters Eight to Ten describe a spellchecker that I have designed which attempts to address some of the remaining problems, especially those presented by badly spelt text. In 1982, when I began this research, there were no spellcheckers that would do anything useful with a sentence such as, ‘You shud try to rember all ways to youz a lifejacket when yotting.’ That my spellchecker corrects this perfectly (which it does) is less impressive now, I have to admit, than it would have been then, simply because there are now a few spellcheckers on the market which do make a reasonable attempt at errors of that kind. My spellchecker does, however, handle some classes of errors that other spellcheckers do not perform well on, and Chapter Eleven concludes the book with the results of some comparative tests, a few reflections on my spellchecker’s shortcomings and some speculations on possible developments

AN INVESTIGATION OF EFL LEARNERS ATTITUDES TOWARD COMPUTER-ASSISTED WRITING (CAW)

This dissertation studies attitudes of the Saudi university learners studying English as a Foreign Language (EFL) toward using the Computer-assisted Writing (CAW) applications, e.g., up-to-date versions of word processing programs, for doing English writing assignments. Research has confirmed that CAW applications, e.g., up-to-date versions of word processing program, have been utilized in and out of the class to supplement, but not to replace, the methods of learning and teaching writing. Previous studies have revealed that students attitude towards writing improves when they use the word processor. The current study aims at examining the hypotheses that the EFL learners have effective attitudes towards CAW for writing assignments in EFL, and that they have perspectives about the effects of their attitudes on their writing accuracy and fluency. While the dissertation discusses EFL learners attitude, it also highlights the significance of employing computer technology, e.g., Learning Management Systems (LMSs), Computer-mediated Communications (CMCs) in EFL and in English as a Second Language (ESL) writing instructions. The researcher selected participants pursuing undergraduate English courses in the English Department at three different Saudi university campuses. The sample of the subjects was selected after they were surveyed in the first place for determining their prior knowledge and previous experiences of CAW applications and their ability to write at least a paragraph in English. A 5-point Likert-scale questionnaire, adapted from K. Cunninghams (2002) article, was responded by a total 150 subjects, and open-ended questions were answered by 50 of them to gather and analyze data about their attitudes and their attitude influences on their learning EFL writing. Key findings of the study, concluded after quantitative and qualitative analysis, revealed that the majority of students had positive attitudes toward CAW on their general English writing and on their EFL writing assignments and practice in particular. Key findings of the study included, but are not limited to, the fact that the students positive attitudes lead to raising significant awareness of their writing accuracy (i.e., mainly correcting grammar and spelling errors), writing fluency (i.e., vocabulary selection), and improving their writing ability and revision. The study concluded with several suggestions for future research studies