Body-coda vs. Onset-rhyme: Based on English L2 Spelling Performance

Abstract

This study examined English L2 spelling competence among Korean EFL undergraduates (n=63), focusing on phonology and subsyllabic structure differences between English and Korean. Two main research questions were posed: 1) whether or not the participants, seemingly phonologically fully developed, would have difficulty spelling phonemes absent in L1, and 2) whether or not they would retain their L1 linguistic properties in L2 spelling. The participants were given a spelling task with non-words of English, in which they were requested to listen to and write down the recorded non-words in English. The results showed that 1) Korean EFL learners had more difficulty in spelling English only phonemes than the phonemes common for English and Korean and 2) they had more difficulty spelling phonemes absent in the initial syllable rather than the final syllable. The results imply that even adult L2 learners have difficulty in recognizing phonemes absent in their L1, and they still hold their L1 linguistic properties in the performance of L2 spelling. Pedagogical implications and further suggestions regarding English L2 spelling are discussed.