Secondary school students' English writing aided by spelling and grammar checkers

Abstract

This paper presents phase one of a study aimed at investigating how and why secondary school students use computer tools, such as spelling and grammar checkers, to aid them in their English writing and how their patterns of use relate to their English literacy. The study was prompted through close observations over many years, on how students use computers to support their writing. The observation indicated that while some students make a lot of use of computers, they still struggle to read and write in English. The research involved testing and surveying sixty-five Year 8 students. The test results obtained are compared with students' responses to the survey. The survey questionnaire contained open ended questions for the students to respond reflectively and to evaluate their uses of computer tools. © IFIP International Federation for Information Processing 2009.