Different types of spelling errors made by Kurdish EFL learners and their potential causes

The purpose of this study is to investigate various types of spelling errors and the causes of spelling inaccuracy of first year Kurdish college students found in their compositions. Participants are 40 Kurdish learners of English at two different universities, Koya University and Saladin University, who were studying English language and literature. The present study first displays general background about English writing system and definitions of related terms followed by an overview of Kurdish writing system and its orthography. In addition, differences between both languages’ writing systems have been shown as is likely to be the cause of Kurdish learners’ spelling mistakes. Spelling mistakes made by Kurdish college students are then classified into eight main categories and analysed statistically. The eight categories of English spelling mistakes incorporate Insertion, omission, substitutions, transposition, grapheme substitution, space inaccuracy, capitalisation and others. Despite lack of sufficient phonological and morphological knowledge in English the dissimilarity between English and Kurdish writing systems tends to be the main cause of spelling errors by first year Kurdish college students. It is significant for both students and instructors to be aware of the causes and types of English spelling mistakes so as to try to minimise them. It can be thought that knowing these causes would probably help not only English language learners but also its instructors to solve erroneous spellings to a large extent.