Table Of ContentTWO METHODS OP TEACHING ENGLISH
TO MENTALLY SUB-NORMAL MEXICAN CHILDREN
A Thesis
Presented to
the Faculty of the School of Education
University of Southern California
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Science in Education
by
Joseph Kent Higley
June 1942
UMI Number: EP54227
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UMI EP54227
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This thesis, written under the direction of the
Chairman of the candidate’s Guidance Committee
and approved by all members of the Committee,
has been presented to and accepted by the Faculty
of the School of Education of The University of
Southern California in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of Master of Science
in Education.
Date ........
Dean
Guidance Committee
/
L-ouls P. Thorpe
Chairman
D. Welty Lefever
M. M. Thompson
TABLE OP CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. THE PROBLEM AND DEFINITIONS OP TERMS USED . . . . 1
The problem • 1
Statement of the problem . • . . • • • • • • 1
Importance of the study • • . • • • • • • • • 1
Definition of terms • • • • • • • • • • • • • . 4
Grammar method . '.......................... 4
Usage drill method • • • • • • • • • . • • • 5
Mentally sub-normal ............ . . . . . . 5
Limitations of the investigation • « • « • • . 5
Scope 5
Weaknesses............... 6
Organization of the remainder of the thesis • • 7
Organization into chapters • • • • . • • • * 7
II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE . .................... 9
Social and economic background . . . . . . . 9
Language handicap • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 11
Teaching methods............... 13
Summary of the literature ......... 16
III. PRELIMINARY ANj^YSIS OP ERRORS IN WRITING . . . . 18
Materials analyzed . . . . . . .............. 18
Compositions......... 18
Technique of analysis 20
iii
CHAPTER PAGE
Error types . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Classification of errors • • • • • • • • • • • 20
Results of the analysis................. . 23
Relative importance of error types . . • • • • 23
Errors involving spelling and confused words • 24
Phonics errors . ........... 24
Confused words » . • • • • • • • . . • • . • • 26
Errors of transposition • • • • ..............26
Errors in spelling of plurals..................30
Errors in spelling of possessives . . . . . . . 30
Errors in spelling of contractions ......... 33
Idioms and difficult words ................ 33
Errors in punctuation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Errors in the use of periods ..............34
Compounding and unnecessary use of connectives 34
Errors in the use of capitals • • • • • • • • * 37
Verb tense ................................37
Use of the present tense when the past was
intended • . • • • • • • • • • • 37
Use of the present tense when the progressive
was intended ............ . . . . . . . . . 37
Use of the wrong tense with an auxiliary
verb ............................... 40
Sentence sense ..............................40
Words left out of the sentence .......... 42
iv
CHAPTER PAGE
Vagueness in meaning of sentence ............ 42
Improper sequence of parts of the sentence . . 42
Fragments used as sentences................ 43
Errors involving pronouns * ........... . . . 43
Errors in case of pronouns.................. 43
Redundancy................................. 45
Errors in gender of pronouns ........ 45
Errors involving prepositions, verb agreement,
double negatives, and adverbs ............ 45
Errors in the use of prepositions • • • • • • 46
Errors in verb agreement . . ♦ .............. 46
Double negative . . . . . .............. . ♦ 46
Errors in the use of adverbs . . . .......... 48
Summary of writing analysis.................. 48
IV, MATERIALS AND PROCEDURES USED IN THE EXPERIMENT . 50
Principles of the plan u s e d ..................* 50
Experimental period . . . . ................ 50
Experimental steps .................. 51
Groups studied ........................... 51
Differences in the groups studied . . . . . . 52
Teaching methods ................. 58
Usage drill method.......................... 58
Subject matter.............................. 58
Teaching procedure . . . . .................. 59
V
CHAPTER PAGE
Usage drill plan ............. 61
Grammar method • 77
Subject matter . . . ................... . . . 77
Teaching procedure ............ . . . . . . . 77
Teaching spelling . . . . . . 78
Teaching reading • • * • • .................. 78
Grammar plan................................. BO
The testing program .................. 83
Classroom usage test » . . . * . • • • • • • • 83
Progressive Language T e s t ......... . . . . 84
Summary of materials and procedures • • * • • • 84
V. RESULTS ................................ 86
Achievement on the skills measured by the tests 86
Skills measured by the classroom usage test . 93
Skills measured by the Progressive Language
Test • • • • • ......................... .. 93
Conclusions as to skills measured by the tests 94
Measuring the improvement of the groups . • • • 95
Results of the classroom usage t e s t ... 95
Results of the Progressive LanguageT est . . . 101
Summary of test results........................ 110
VI. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. . . . . 117
Summary........................................117
vi
CHAPTER PAGE
Conclusions . . ......... . . . * ......... 119
Recommendations . ♦ ........................... 120
BIBLIOGRAPHY............................ 121
APPENDIX ........................ 128
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE PAGE
I. Total Occurrence of Each Error Type Hanked
According to Frequency...... * ............. 21
II. Percentage of Pupils Who Made Errors Involving
Spelling • • • • « . • • • • • • • • • • • • . 25
III. Number of Times Certain Letters and Letter
Combinations Were Confused With Each Other
in Spelling Errors (Apparently Because of
Phonics Difficulty)............. 27
IV. Examples of YYords Which Were Frequently
Misspelled (Apparently Because of Phonics
Difficulty) .............................. 28
V. Number of Times Certain Words Ytere Apparently
Confused with Each Other Because of Similarity
in Spelling, Meaning or Sound• • • . . . • • 29
VI. Number of Times Certain Letter Combinations were
Involved in Errors of Transposition or
Interposition • • . • • • • • • .......... • 51
VII. Examples of Words Which Were Frequently
Misspelled Because of Transposition or
Interposition of Letters ............. 32
VIII. Percentage of Pupils Who Made Errors Involving
Punctuation and Periods............. 35
viii
TABLE PAGE
IX# Percentage of Pupils Who Made Errors in
Compounding and Unnecessary use of Connect
ives 36
X# Percentage of Pupils Who Made Errors in
the Use of Capitals................. 38
XI* Percentage of Pupils Who Made Errors in
the Use of Verbs............. 39
XII. Percentage of Pupils Who Made Errors
Involving Sentence Sense •« .............. 41
XIII# Percentage of Pupils Who Made Errors
Involving Pronouns........................ 44
XIV. Percentage of Pupils Who Made Errors
Involving Preposition, Verb Agreement,
Double Negatives, and Adverbs .......... # 47
XV. Chronological Ages (Months) of Usage Drill
Group and Grammar G r o u p .................. 53
XVI. Intelligence Quotients of Usage Drill Group
and Grammar Group # # • « • • ............ 55
XVII.- Percentage of Achievement and Gain Made by the
Usage Drill Group on the Error Types of the
Class Room Usage T e s t .................... 87
XVIII. Percentage of Achievement and Gain Made by the
Grammar Group on the Error Types of the
Class Room Usage T e s t ........... 89
