Using Digital Games For Developing English Spelling Skills of Primary Students

Abstract
The present study investigated the effect of using digital games on developing English spelling skills of primary students. The participants consisted of 35 students who were enrolled in the third year at Mojamaa El Maris Primary School in Luxor. To assess the participants’ English spelling skills, an English spelling test was designed. Eleven digital games have been designed to develop English spelling skills of the students. To analyze the collected data, descriptive statistics were used such as Paired samples t- test, Standard deviations, Means, and Spearman rank order coefficient of correlation. Eta squared was obtained using the t-value for the differences between the means of scores to calculate the effect size of incorporating digital games (independent variable) on the participants’ spelling skills (dependent variable). Findings of the study showed a remarkable improvement in the post English spelling test scores of the participants. The findings also revealed a considerable increase in the test scores on each of English spelling sub-skills favoring the post administration. Results of the present study confirmed that digital games could develop the primary students’ English spelling skills. It was recommended that digital games should be used in English classrooms, especially in teaching spelling. In addition, training courses should be presented to teachers on designing and using digital games in teaching and learning English spelling.
Key -Words: Digital games, Spelling skills, Primary Students