Does the MS Spell Checker Effectively Correct Non-Native English Writers’ Errors? A Case Study of Saudi University Students

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Nasser Alasmari
Nasser Alasmari
2
Nourah Alamri
Nourah Alamri
1 University of Jeddah

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Does the MS Spell Checker Effectively Correct Non-Native English Writers’ Errors? A Case Study of Saudi University Students Banner
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Those learning English as a second or foreign language use spell checkers to correct the mistakes and errors they may have made while typing texts on a computer. However, scholars have debated the effectiveness of such checkers, which were originally designed to fix the spelling mistakes of native speakers. An example of these checkers is the Microsoft (MS) Word program, which constitutes the focus of the current study. This study examined how MS Word treats misspellings made by Saudi learners of English as a foreign language. It specifically addressed three research questions: (1) which L2 spelling errors were successfully fixed by MS Word; (2) which L2 spelling errors were unsuccessfully fixed by MS Word; and (3) how did intermediate L2 learners respond to alternative corrections provided by MS Word. A screentracking software, Screencast-O-Matic, was used to monitor the MS Word spell checker’s treatment of misspelled words. It was also used to track learners’ reactions to alternative corrections provided by MS Word in real time. The study analysed 401 errors made by25 female intermediate-level English learners at a Saudi university.

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Funding

No external funding was declared for this work.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Not applicable for this article.

Nasser Alasmari. 2019. \u201cDoes the MS Spell Checker Effectively Correct Non-Native English Writers’ Errors? A Case Study of Saudi University Students\u201d. Global Journal of Human-Social Science - G: Linguistics & Education GJHSS-G Volume 19 (GJHSS Volume 19 Issue G10): .

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GJHSS Volume 19 Issue G10
Pg. 33- 52
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Crossref Journal DOI 10.17406/GJHSS

Print ISSN 0975-587X

e-ISSN 2249-460X

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December 26, 2019

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Those learning English as a second or foreign language use spell checkers to correct the mistakes and errors they may have made while typing texts on a computer. However, scholars have debated the effectiveness of such checkers, which were originally designed to fix the spelling mistakes of native speakers. An example of these checkers is the Microsoft (MS) Word program, which constitutes the focus of the current study. This study examined how MS Word treats misspellings made by Saudi learners of English as a foreign language. It specifically addressed three research questions: (1) which L2 spelling errors were successfully fixed by MS Word; (2) which L2 spelling errors were unsuccessfully fixed by MS Word; and (3) how did intermediate L2 learners respond to alternative corrections provided by MS Word. A screentracking software, Screencast-O-Matic, was used to monitor the MS Word spell checker’s treatment of misspelled words. It was also used to track learners’ reactions to alternative corrections provided by MS Word in real time. The study analysed 401 errors made by25 female intermediate-level English learners at a Saudi university.

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Does the MS Spell Checker Effectively Correct Non-Native English Writers’ Errors? A Case Study of Saudi University Students

Nasser Alasmari
Nasser Alasmari University of Jeddah
Nourah Alamri
Nourah Alamri

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