Pei-Chun Yu｜Doctoral Candidate, Department of Education, University of Taipei｜peichunterri@gmail.com
Download PDF▌Abstract
This study focused on English sight words learning of non-native English language learners and aimed to examine the critical factors distinguishing superior sight words learners from those who are inferior. We identified three possible critical factors to test the differences among English language learners, including spelling, word recognition, and literal comprehension abilities. A quasi-experiment was conducted that included 96 students from an elementary school in New Taipei City of Taiwan. Students were taught under the framework of the Look and Say Method and a Sight Words Buddy Learning System for 16 weeks. The results showed that superior sight words learners were significantly different from those who are inferior in spelling, word recognition, and literal comprehension abilities. For superior sight words learners, spelling is the best predictor for English reading ability, while for inferior sight words learners, the best predictor is word recognition ability. These results highlight the various factors restricting students’ sight words learning and the importance of spelling and word recognition abilities as contributors to superior- and inferior-ability students’ performance in English sight words learning. The findings suggest that different instructional emphasis should be made for superior- and inferior-ability students when teaching English, and better learning performance will thus be sufficiently improved.
Keywords: Spelling, Word Recognition, Literal Comprehension Skill, Sight Words, SWBLS