Spelling Mistakes Made by Korean Students on the Elementary Level of Learning Ukrainian as a Foreign Language
<p>Spelling is a basic literacy skill in any language as it is in communication. This research attempted to investigate the academic performance and spelling mistakes of the first-year students at the Department of Ukrainian Studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in the Republic of Korea. The study included 20 students in the first semester and 18 – in the second. The finding of the study indicated that the students committed a number of spelling mistakes that affect the coherence of their academic written text. Also, the finding showed that these spelling errors may be attributed to mother tongue interferences in which they relate to the difference between the systems of both native language and foreign language. Data were collected through a battery of test on Beginning Ukrainian Grammar and Composition, which is taken by the students after their first and second semester. This study is aimed at singling out types of spelling mistakes and determining their reasons. Furthermore, this data allowed the author to come up with possible ways of avoiding or reducing the number of such errors. This research recommends that future investigations be conducted in the area to confirm the results of the current research in order to examine from other perspectives such as ages and grade. Due attention is paid to defining the term “spelling mistakes” in the process of learning Ukrainian as a foreign language on the elementary level. In addition, the effect of such mistakes on acquiring written communicative competence by the Korean students is examined. Types of mistakes that are referred to as “spelling mistakes” are defined in the article as well.</p>