Publication ｜Sophia Linguistica
Hikaru Ishiyama
The purpose of this research was to investigate the feasibility of the training on English as
a Foreign Language (EFL) students’ phonological awareness (PA) and its effects on their
spelling skills. Over the six months, the researcher/ instructor conducted an experimental
training on 80 students of the second grade junior high school in Japan. In every class,
they were asked to discern 10 English vocabulary items phonologically and then spell
them out on their notebooks. The participant students gradually attained the ability to
discern confusing English sounds and to spell them out correctly. As little attention has
been paid to the reciprocal relationship between the EFL learners’ phonological awareness
and their spelling skills, this quasi-experimental study shall contribute to effective spelling
instruction.
