Iranian English Teachers Insufficient Spelling Knowledge, An Action Research at an Institute Level

A relatively common problem with which many language teachers face is lack of sufficient spelling knowledge. This common problem happens when students ask the English equivalent of a word in their mother tongue and the teacher is not sure of its spelling when writing it on the board. Finding this situation threatening to their authority, many teachers express sentences such as: I’m not your dictionary, a good teacher lets students check themselves to learn more or I give you the meaning you give me the spelling. Therefore, the present study seeks to find out the reasons of Iranian EFL teachers insufficient spelling knowledge. Eleven English teachers were selected through purposive sampling. Semi structured interviews and open ended questioners, were employed to triangulate data on reasons of teachers’ insufficient spelling knowledge. The results revealed that reasons such as lack of practice, lack of distinct exercises for spelling in many course books, lack of determinate rules for English spelling, reliance of spell checkers, the changing medium of communication, the alteration in vocabulary teaching and not being assessed for spelling separately in formal English exams lead to teachers insufficient spelling knowledge. The findings can be beneficial to teachers who are at the beginning of their profession so as to eliminate such barriers in their way and to overcome spelling difficulties in their job. The findings contribute to a better understanding of spelling significance, providing teachers with an insight to consider enough spelling exercise for learners in the lesson plans. The findings are useful for curriculum developers in order to consider sufficient spelling exercises in text books and curriculums as well.

کلیدواژه ها:

Spelling ، teacher education ، EFL teachers.