An-Najah National University Faculty of Graduate Studies THE IMPACT OF THE BEE SPELLING STRATEGY ON THE 7THGRADERS ACHIEVEMENT IN THE WRITING SKILLS AT JENIN DISTRICT By Manal Mohammed Hamarsha Supervisor Dr. Nedal Jayousi This Thesis is Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of Master Methods of Teaching English Language, Faculty Graduate of Studies, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine. 2022 ii THE IMPACT OF THE BEE SPELLING STRATEGY ON THE 7THGRADERS ACHIEVEMENT IN THE WRITING SKILLS AT JENIN DISTRICT By Manal Mohammed Hamarsha This Thesis was Defended Successfully on 23/01/2022 and approved by Dr. Nedal Jayousi Supervisor Signature Dr. Usama Abo-Baha External Examiner Signature Dr. Suzanne Arafat Internal Examiner Signature iii Dedication This thesis is dedicated with all my appreciation and thankfulness To everyone who support me during my educational journal My deepest gratitude to: Allah (SWT) for helping me to proceed on,for guiding and supporting me with faith and patience to success With wholeheartedly, I’d like to thank: My superb parents; my father and my mother, for your endless and unconditional love and support, for believing in me To my amazing brother Yousef, and sister Mona, you are my sunshine in my life thanks for everything For my source of inspiration Dr. Nedal Jayousi, Dr. Soheil Salha, Dr.Saida Affouneh, Dr. Ahmed Awad,Dr. Fawaz Aqel, Dr. Suzanne Arafat, Dr. Ayman Nazzal, Dr. Mohammed Hamdan, Dr. Yaman Slayeh, thanks for your extreme supportive through my educational journey For my friends and colleagues, Thanks for your loyalty, thanks for being my friends iv Acknowledgement With all appreciation and respect, I would like to express my thanks and gratitude to my esteemed supervisor, Dr. Nidal Al-Jayousi, for all the facilities and directions he provided me throughout the period of preparing my thesis, until this effort proudly ended.I will forever be indebted to him for his humanity, morals, and wonderful human values that have inspired and influenced me in a positive way throughout my educational career.I would also like to thank the College of Graduate Studies in general and its high-level teaching staff in particular in the Department of English for the knowledge and knowledge they provided me, and I would like to thank everyone who helped me complete this scientific research. v Declaration I, the undersigned, declare that I submitted the thesis entitled: THE IMPACT OF THE BEE SPELLING STRATEGY ON THE 7THGRADERS ACHIEVEMENT IN THE WRITING SKILLS AT JENIN DISTRICT I declare that the work provided in this thesis, unless otherwise referenced, is the researcher’s own work, and has not been submitted elsewhere for any other degree or qualification. vi Table of Contents Dedication ........................................................................................................................ iii Acknowledgement ........................................................................................................... iv Declaration ........................................................................................................................ v Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. vi List of Tables ................................................................................................................... vi List of Appendices ........................................................................................................... ix Abstract ............................................................................................................................. x Chapter One Introduction & Theoretical Background .............................................. 1 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Aim and Objectives of the Study ................................................................................ 4 1.3 Questions of the Study ................................................................................................ 5 1.4 Null Hypotheses of the Study ..................................................................................... 5 1.5 Statement of the Problem ............................................................................................ 6 1.6 The Significance of the Study ..................................................................................... 7 1.7 The Limitations of the study ....................................................................................... 7 1.8 The Operational definitions ........................................................................................ 8 1.9 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 9 Chapter Two Theoretical Background and Related Literature ............................... 10 2.1 Theories and the Bee spelling ................................................................................... 10 2.1.1 What is English writing? ........................................................................................ 14 2.1.2 What is the importance of writing in English language? ....................................... 14 2.1.3 What are the weaknesses that the students struggled with in their writing? .......... 15 2.1.4 How can teacher improve students writing skills? ................................................ 16 2.1.5 What is the Bee Spelling and what are its benefits? .............................................. 16 2.1.6 What are the procedures that the teacher can use to apply the Bee spelling in her classroom? ...................................................................................................................... 17 2.2 Review of the related studies .................................................................................... 18 2.2.1 Local Studies .......................................................................................................... 18 2.2.2 Arab Studies ........................................................................................................... 19 2.2.3 Foreign Studies ...................................................................................................... 19 2.3 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 24 Chapter Three Methodology and Procedures ............................................................ 26 3.1 Methodology and Procedures ................................................................................... 26 3.2 Population of the Study ............................................................................................. 26 3.3 Tools of the Study ..................................................................................................... 27 3.4 Validity of the tools .................................................................................................. 27 3.5 Reliability of the tools ............................................................................................... 28 3.6 Procedures of the study ............................................................................................. 28 3.6.1 Data Collection ...................................................................................................... 28 3.6.2 Procedure ............................................................................................................... 28 3.7 Variables of the Study ............................................................................................... 29 3.7.1 Independent Variables ........................................................................................... 29 3.7.2 Dependent Variables .............................................................................................. 29 3.8 Statistical Analysis .................................................................................................... 30 3.9 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................ 30 3.10 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 31 Chapter Four Results ................................................................................................... 32 4.1 Results of the Questionnaire ..................................................................................... 32 vii 4.1.1 Results related to the First Question which is ........................................................ 32 4.1.2 Results related to Second question which is .......................................................... 34 4.2 Results related to Study Hypotheses ......................................................................... 34 4.2.1 Results related to First hypotheses which is .......................................................... 34 4.2.2 Results related to Second hypotheses which is ...................................................... 35 4.2.3 Results related to Third hypotheses which is ......................................................... 36 4.3 Results of the interviews ........................................................................................... 37 4.4 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 40 Chapter Five Discussion of the Results and Recommendations ............................... 41 5.1 The Discussion of the Results of the First Research Question ................................. 41 5.2 The Discussion of the Results of the Second Research Question............................. 42 5.3 The Overall Analysis of the Structured Interviews .................................................. 43 5.4 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 44 5.5 Recommendation ...................................................................................................... 44 References ...................................................................................................................... 46 Appendices ..................................................................................................................... 54 =>?@Aب ................................................................................................................................ ا viii List of Tables Table (1): Distribution of Sample According to Study Independent Variables ............. 26 Table (2): Cornbach Alpha test for the study tools ......................................................... 28 Table (3): Cronbach alpha Internal Consistency ............................................................ 28 Table (4): Scale for representing the estimation level of sample responses ................... 30 Table (5):Means, Standard Deviations and estimated level of English language teachers in Jenin district towards the impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7th graders achievement in writing skills in descending order. ............................................ 33 Table (6) Independent two sample t test result of the attitudes of English language teachers in Jenin district towards the impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7th graders achievement in writing skills attributed to the variable ofgender ...................... 34 Table(7): Frequencies,Means and Standards Deviations of the attitudes of English language teachers in Jenin district towards the impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7th graders achievement in writing skills attributed to the variable ofqualification........ 35 Table (8): Results of One-Way ANOVA of the attitudes of English language teachers in Jenin district towards the impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7th graders achievement in writing skills attributed to the variable ofqualification ......................... 35 Table(9): Frequencies,Means and Standards Deviations of the attitudes of English language teachers in Jenin district towards the impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7th graders achievement in writing skills attributed to the variable ofexperience .......... 36 Table (10) Results of One-Way ANOVA of the attitudes of English language teachers in Jenin district towards the impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7th graders achievement in writing skills attributed to the variable ofexperiance ............................ 36 Table (11) Summary of teachers’ responses on the interview ........................................ 37 ix List of Appendices Appendix (A):Questionnaire ........................................................................................... 54 Appendix (B) Semi-Structured Interview ....................................................................... 57 Appendix (C): The Validation Committee for the Questionnaire and the Semi- Structured Interview Questions ...................................................................................... 60 Appendix (D): Permission of the Faculty of Graduate Studies’ Dean An-Rajah National University ........................................................................................................................ 61 x THE IMPACT OF THE BEE SPELLING STRATEGY ON THE 7THGRADERS ACHIEVEMENT IN THE WRITING SKILLS AT JENIN DISTRICT By Manal Mohammed Hamarsha Supervisor Dr. Nedal Jayousi Abstract This study aimed to investigate the effect of The Bee Spelling strategy on the seventh graders achievement in writing skills in Jenin district. Moreover, the study examined the effect of gender, academic qualifications and years of experience in teaching English as a foreign language, and sector on English writing proficiency among Palestinian seventh graders in Jenin governorate.A purposive sample consisting of 80 seventh grade English language teachersin Jenin governorate in the West Bank was selected. Telephone interviews were also conducted on arandom sample of 20 seventh grade English language teachers, they answered questions related to the main research objectives. The researcher used SPSS to analyze the data. The results showed that the seventh grade English language teachers had positive attitudes towards using the Bee Spelling Strategyon seventh grade students' achievement in the writing skills due to gender, qualifications and years of experience variables. The researcher recommended that teachers are encouraged to use The Bee Spelling strategy in teaching writing skills in order to develop and improve the students' ability in writing skills. It also proposed for further researchers should be conducted on the new teaching strategies. 1 Chapter One Introduction & Theoretical Background Preview This chapter presents a brief introduction and a theoretical background of this study entitled “The Impact of the Bee Spelling Strategy on The 7thGraders Achievement in Writing Skills in Jenin District”. Moreover, it covers the problem and the significance of the study to investigate the aim of the study. Furthermore, it includes the main questions and hypotheses which are tested later. Finally, the limitations and the operational definitions of the study are manifested for more clarifications. 1.1 Introduction The development and progress of any country in the world are linked to the level of education in it, as the education sector is a strong and essential element in the urbanization and prosperity of countries. And to have an important educational system, some basic and main elements must be taken into consideration for the success of education, such as teacher and learner, teaching methodology, educational content, surrounding classroom environment, school administration, and organization.The most important elements of the educational circuit are the teacher and the learner, as the first establishes generations. The second reflects a civilized and cultural image of his environment and his society to the world (Wu & Liu,2021). As mentionedabove, the success of the educational process is related to the extent of the teacher's effectiveness in managing the educational process in all respects, starting from the methodology used in the delivery of information based on his knowledge of the needs of his students through the amount of knowledge she possesses. The successful teacher is constantly evolving so that she can keep pace with the approach of scientific development and what coincides with it in terms of new educational methods and curricula. Here, the role of the Ministry of Education in training teachers and integrating them into training courses that support them in their educational path fruitful educational products for more success and more understanding in the new leadership characteristics and the development of their new teaching skills(Williams, 2008). English has got the opportunity to be one of the most commonly spoken languages around the world, due to the growth of globalization, people became more open to each 2 other, and different people from different nationality need to share a universal language to communicate, therefore, English has taken the place to become a lingua franca among various nations (Zuparova, Shegay and Orazova, 2020). English is considered an international language of communication worldwide, and it is spoken by millions of people from various backgrounds. It is known as the language of medicine, engineering, and modern technology. Most people who study the language and use it to communicate are interested in how they can do things with the language – how they can express their feelings and wishes, get attention, influence people, and learn about the world. Many researchers have confirmed that people who are fluent in more than one language are getting better chances in their lives than those who know one language (Huo,2021). Palestine was one of the countries that sensed the importance of learning the English language, so it focused on establishing learning English language, starting from the elementary lower stage. Moreover, the Ministry of Education realized the importance of English language in creating an advanced country, since 2000 it has required schools to teach English from grade one instead of starting from the fifth grade (Eshonkulova, 2020). Teachers believe in the idea of diversification, where the student is the center of the educational process. When the teacher realizes the students' abilities and tendencies, she can understand the difficulties they face in their education, so there are many educational means that students can choose what suits them and what adapts to their abilities and preferences and use them, and thus the teacher and the learner achieve their goals (Conkline&Frei,2007). English language learners face difficulties in teaching writing by using old traditional methods such as transcription and dictationalthough it considered one of the basics of mastering the English language and an urgent need that cannot be dispensed with in the transmission of information and communication, ignoring this skill by teachers in the classroom is a disaster that cannot be ignored (Pihuave Pincay, 2021). Bee Spelling strategy is one of the modern means that can be exploited in the development of the educational process. It is a good mediator if the preparation, 3 planning, and presentation of educational programs are well designed and organized (Griffith Griffith, Maynard and Bagner,2020). Spelling bee also called spelldown is an international competition in which students must spell words chosen by a specialized committee in the English language in front of an audience and a neutral judge who gives points if the answer is correct or withdraw points from the student if he answers in a wrong way. The student has the right to inquire about some words as they are incomprehensible or higher than the student’s level, such as asking about the origin of the word and its type in terms of conjugation, and he may be asked to put the word in a simple sentence so that he can distinguish it from among the dictionary of words that he knows and spells it correctly(Wafaa,2017). The bee contest can be held at any place and time to raise the level of students in writing skills, as it is considered a complex intellectual process at the exits of the speaker's voice upon hearing the word and then analyzing each sound with its correct letter and the subsequent skill of commitment to order and consistency all together. It is more than just memorizing an enormous amount of vocabulary and it is more complex than the skill of remembering as well. Despite that, it increases students' motivation to learn and raises the level of competition among students (Yu, Gao& Wang,2021). The importance of this strategy is highlighted in helping students with spelling, linking alphabet words with their sounds, increasing their English vocabulary, and flying their use of language while writing. The bee spelling strategy is not limited to memorization and spelling, but rather to enhance their self-confidence in front of the audience in addition to improving their pronunciation and expanding their understanding of vocabulary and meanings of words (Sabirli& Coklar,2020). There are many ways in which the bee spelling strategy can be applied in the classroom in an interactive and fun way to make students participate in this educational process and to stimulate an atmosphere of competition among students while spelling words in front of the students and the audience parents. Bulqiyah, Mahbub, and Nugraheni 2021, state that before starting to use the strategy, prepare students a day or two before starting by using some activities and games that depend on the alphabet, and then move to the next stage in which you start using the 4 specified strategy by distributing papers with lists of words wanted for students to practice their spelling and consider if the teacher wants to start the activity individually by giving each student a separate paper or dividing the students into groups, and each group has its own word list, then a suitable time is determined to stop looking at the words, and here comes the role of the teacher, who must have a major role in pronouncing the word correctly so that students can spell it correctly, and in the event that the student makes a mistake, he is excluded from the competition and completes until all students have finished (Bulqiyah, Mahbub and Nugraheni, 2021). It is necessary to highlight the importance of moving gradually in the difficulty of words and length, so that, the sequence is done from the easiest to the most difficult so that the students get accustomed to this strategy and this activity is completed and skillfully followed by writing by making written spelling in secret and correcting it to know how effective this strategy is on the students' writing skill in the writing class (Whahidah,2018). The gap that the researcher is working to close in this study is to reveal the students’ weakness in the writing skill and the demolition of sufficient interest by teachers in improving their level in this skill, in addition to the lack of local Palestinian research that pays attention to this topic. The researcher works through this study to bridge this deficiency and strengthening work on this aspect. 1.2 Aim and Objectives of the Study This study aims to investigate the impact of the Bee spelling strategyon the 7th graders achievement in writing skill. Objectives This study has the following objectives: • To illustrate the Bee spelling strategy and how to use it. Examine whether there is an effect of spelling bees, whether positive or negative, on the performance of seventh graders on writing skill. • To identify if the Bee spelling strategy can motivate, and increase the students’ confidence in using language effectively and creatively in the classroom. • To map the weaknesses of students in writing skill. 5 • To explore the effectiveness of the new educational methods that focus on the use of spelling and improve students' writing skill. • To find out the attitudes of teachers towards the impact of the bee spelling on the 7th graders achievement in the writing skill at Jenin district. 1.3 Questions of the Study Main question ‘What is the impact of the bee spelling strategyon the 7thgraders achievement in the writing Skill? Sub-questions 1. What are the attitudes of English language teachers in Jenin district towards the impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7th graders achievement in writing skills? 2. Are there significant statistical differences at (α =0.05) in the response's degree of the attitudes of English language teachers in Jenin district towards the impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7th graders achievement in writing skills attributed to the variables of gender, qualification and years of experience? 1.4 Null Hypotheses of the Study a. There are no statistically significant differences at (α=0.05) in the response's degree of the attitudes of English language teachers in Jenin district towards the impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7th graders achievement in writing skills attributed to gender. b. There are no statistically significant differences at (α=0.05) in the response's degree of the attitudes of English language teachers in Jenin district towards the impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7th graders achievement in writing skills attributed to qualification. c. There are no statistically significant differences at (α=0.05) in the response's degree of the attitudes of English language teachers in Jenin district towards the impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7th graders achievement in writing skills attributed to experience . 6 1.5 Statement of the Problem According to Operto, La Corte, Del Duca, Viggiano, Coppola, Nicoletti, Esposito, 2020),writing is one of the language elements that need to be taken into consideration without separation with the four skills to master the language. Learning English without mastery of writing will affect reading and even they can’t answer any question in written form. We should realize the importance of writing skill as one of the language elements that needs to be mastered by the students in different levels, because it will be hard for them to improve their language skill without using writing. Moreover, Sykira 2018, states that by mastering writing, students will be communicate easier with other people chat and all social media platform. Writing was considered as one of the hardest skills that student can master especially in secondary level although the studies on primary levels were uncommon, Thus, this research will fill this gap by explaining the obstacles that student face in learning writing and spelling English. Writing is a productive, complex, challenging and high- level skill that the students need to practice it regularly (Wu and Liu, 2021). In real practice, Ghulamuddin, Mohari, and Ariffin state that students usually have an obstacle in writing. This probably refers to several reasons, such as the teaching learning process and learning technique applied or from the students themselves. Generally, students who learn English as a foreign language face difficulties in learning writing. therefore, they won't be interested in learning it. In this situation the slow progress in their writing is due to not practicing more and dislike toward learning English (Ghulamuddin, Ariffin and Mohari,2020). Many studies as (Septiawan, 2020) have investigated the problems that the student face in learning English writing. Both local and international studies were taken into account. Kharma (1985) showed that student had problems in writing long sentences. The researcher focuses on a big issue that students face while learning English language which is spelling, as it is quite related to the writing skills. When a student misses a letter, or switch between close sounds, for example (f) sound instead of (v), or (c) instead of (k). Dealing with (26) English letters with vowels, silent letters, repeating, 7 with approximately (42-45) sounds. Mistakes happen easily. This study will focus on a new strategy to enhance writing skills which is the Bee Spelling Strategy which will help the student decrease their mistakes in their writing (Hidayah,2021). According to the researcher’s experience in teaching English, she observed that most students are incompetent with regard to writing and applying it with other skills to give correct spelling in writing skill or expressing correctly orally when reading. To (Guo, 2006) students are not competent enough to use correct writing and spelling freely They also have many other psychological barriers such as shyness and hesitation. So, in an attempt to help them solve these problems, the researcher conducts this study 1.6 The Significance of the Study The study helps in investigating if Bee Strategy is an effective method in teaching English writing or not, and the means and ways to develop writing competency. This study can be beneficially effective in three aspects, they are: English language researchers, students, and teachers or practitioners of English Language and advisors. So, 1. This study is helpful for the researchers to examine more information about the students' needs and developing the process of learning English by Appling method. 2. This study also assists students to get better in their writing mastery in English language. 3. This study provides to the teachers or practitioners of English language to realize the effectiveness of Spelling Bee strategy to be applied in order to achieve the purposes of teaching and learning process. 4. This study is useful for teachers as well as advisors to inform them of the impact of the new strategy as an effective way to develop learners' levels of writing skill. 1.7 The Limitations of the study This study has the following limitations: 1. Locative limitations: The population of the study consistedof teachers in Jenin governmental schools. 2. Temporal limitations: The study was carried out in the second semester of 2020- 2021. 8 3. Human limitations: The population of the study consisted of the English Language teachers for the 7th grade. 4. Topical limitations: It was limited to The Bee Spelling Strategy with one of the English language skills which is the writing skill. 1.8 The Operational definitions 1. Writing, as Graham (2019), mentioned is a way of expressing your own thoughts and feelings. It’s not only related to vocabulary, grammar, and punctuation but also cares about the way of production the language itself. Writing is defined as the ability of a person to arrange a group of letters in a systematic and correct manner within the correct rules of writing so that this word forms an understandable meaning through which he expresses his thoughts or feelings.Where writing skill is directly related to spelling and distinguishing each letter with its own sound, a person can write words with different syllables despite not knowing their meaning, as a result of associating each letter with its correct sound, a person can link them together to form the sound of the word from successive letters and form words with correct pronunciationand meaning, and creating sentences through which the reader can understand their content in a smooth and coherent manner (Uswatun,2020). 2. Spelling: The arrangement letters of the words according to its usage, it’s a reflection of the letters of the alphabet into their spoken sounds. Orthography is the basic rule of orthography (Treima,2018).Spelling is the pronunciation of the letter's name, not its sound, so that each letter is independent of itself, forming a group of letters that will form the word in length 3. The Bee Spelling Strategy: It is an annual global competition to spell different words in English in front of the audience and the court. The examinee pronounces the word for the first time in a correct and clear way. Then the contestant tries to ask about the source of the language.Once again, and this is allowed, provided that it is repeated only twice, then the contestant begins to spell in sequence without hesitation. The words may be in the field of medicine or art, the origin of the word may be Grecian or Latin, but it must be graded from the easiest to the most difficult in choosing words and training the contestant to spell clearly and smoothly in front 9 of others.It aims to develop students' spelling and vocabulary Moreover, it can be used as a fun game to break the routine and in teaching writing and spelling actively, it begins to spread in the American language(Khasanah,2020). 1.9 Conclusion This chapter discussed the importance of English writing and the relation of its perfection to master other skills communication. It also discussed using a new strategy in teaching writing, the Bee spelling, as an attractive strategy more than the traditional teaching strategies which can make students more interested in work in an atmosphere both students and teachers feel engaged and comfortable. Consequently, students' achievement and performance will be enhanced. As a result, this strategy has been chosen by the researcher to investigate its effect on students' writing achievement. This chapter also included the problem of the study, the purposes and the aims of applying this research, also the questions the researcher wanted to answer. It also presented the significance of implementing this study. It also identified the limitations to which the researcher has been committed while implementing the research. Finally, it presented some definitions of some important terms related to the research subject. 10 Chapter Two Theoretical Background and Related Literature Preview This chapter presents some theories and related literature connected to the study topic. Moreover, it shows local, Arabic and foreign studies; to compare between the current study and the mentioned related ones. 2.1 Theories and the Bee spelling Many theories have relations with the Bee Spelling Strategy in the field of learning English writing. Constructivism, Social Constructivism, Behaviorism, Active Leaning, and Cooperative learning theory try to create a suitable learning environment enriched with motivation and cooperation. The researcher discussed the relationship between the mentioned theories and The Bee Spelling in the following few pages of this chapter (Meyer, 2009). Writing skills are critical in order to enable other skills that help students acquire language. Students need teaching methods that reduce boredom and increase motivation for learning. Among these methods is the Bee Spelling Strategy. 1. Constructivism and Bee Spelling Piaget and Inhelder, (1969) assured that the interaction of the children with the surrounding environment is considered the best way to learn, making them think deeply and constantly question and present challenges to them instead of giving them information directly, and this is what the bee spelling strategy is based on this strategy provides an opportunity for children to reflect, develop and advance their mental capacities. There has been considerable interest in experimenting with non-traditional methods of education since the end of the 1980s, as many of the most important methods of teaching and learning have emerged from constructivist theory. According to Al-Faleh (2003), the emergence of modern constructivism in the educational arena over 20 years ago, and the ideas of this theory became more widely known and were used in educational fields by educationalists based on the idea that the learner builds knowledge in his mind by the learner himself Al-Faleh (2003).In contrast, there are some scholars, 11 who believe that constructivist theory is the result of the work of Dewey, Piaget, Bruins, and Vygotsky in the past era, where these researchers established the theoretical base of constructivism (Steffe and Gale, 1995). The constructivist theory is consideredas the oldest and most widely used in children's education programs and is less used in adult education (Walkerdine, 2003). This theory believes that knowledge is not given but is acquired through experiences that contain a purpose and meaning through which they seek to exchange and discuss views (Vygotsky, 1978). In addition, the constructive classroom the students' work as interactive, dynamic, social and communicative groups based on cooperation and exchange of ideas, which is inconsistent with the traditional classroom in which students work individually and strict adherence to the study topics specified in the textbooks. The constructivist theory is not concerned only with securing a suitable educational classroom environment for students, but rather focuses on how it occurs in the classroom related to the theory of social learning, as it emphasizes the importance of learning through direct classroom observation between students of one another, and this theory argues for reward and punishment systems, as Bamlund (2008) emerged. In integrating cognitive learning with behavioral learning. 2. Social Constructivism and Bee Spelling According to Yang and Wilson 2006, Interest in social constructivism increased in the 20th century, where social interaction was seen as central to the development of the emotional and cognitive aspects, as well as emphasizing the importance of social interaction and the creation of dialogues between the learner and those who surround him. Vygotsky also emphasizes the importance of the ability of the learner to build knowledge by what he or she writes and utters, as education is the result of the learner's interaction with the environment or his or her own ideas, that is, learning is at the social and individual levels (Lianrui, 2006). Wilson(1997), states that the psychologist Vjyotsky (1978), the father of social constructivism, laid the foundation stone for the theory of the interactive to acquire a foreign language, and according to what was reported that social interaction plays a 12 prominent role in the cognitive stage and has a fundamental role in and central in the learning process in other words to ensure real and effective learning that must be based on cultural development organizer(Almiani, 2016).Therefore, the bee spelling also based on interactive and communications between the learners to pass knowledge and to get successful learning(Wilson, 1997). 3. Behaviorism and Bee Spelling According to behavioral theory, learning is the process of individuals being affected by events in the ocean, as well as by emotions and experiences. This theory suggests that a person learns if he or she can change his or her behavior, focusing on the course of events and not what happens in the world of thought. The response of an individual to the effects surrounding him or her can be enhanced by positive reinforcement of the conduct required, and punishment may sometimes be used to reduce negative behaviors that an individual may perform, and thus follow the conduct or procedure required(Hidayat-Allah, 2018). Al-Osayli (1999) suggests that learning is adaptive changes in human behavior that change human habits, as well as the result of environmental effects and responses by the learner while interacting with the environment. The author emphases that reinforcement plays an important role in stabilizing and rectifying individual responses. The researcher also points out that language is learned by listening and speaking, because students are considered competent in their use of language in everyday life Behavioral theory emphasizes the importance of reinforcement in reviving the educational process, and bee spilling is full of motivational activities, responses and continuous reinforcement as its use generates a flame of interaction and competition in students and raises the sense of motivation and desire to learn, which can be applied in the classroom under supervision A teacher aware of the importance of interacting in the classroom (skinner,1988). 4. Active learning theory and Bee Spelling Education strategies that involve the learner in the learning process are the most successful and important, creating a real learning environment in contrast to traditional learning methods that are increasingly criticized over time. In order not to fall into the 13 frailties of traditional education, Hassoun points out that researchers have worked hard to devise more advanced methods, and strategies, including active learning, which activates the role of the learner and makes it essential to the educational process. This makes a learner's role positive in attitudes (Hassoun, 2016). Active learning is one of the most successful teaching methods used in the 21st century, as it is based on involving students in the educational process and making the focus of education at the core of their needs and desires, taking into consideration the four skills which are necessary to build the student linguistically far from the standard education that passive teachers confined to the policy of instructional education(Sleman,2021). There are many activities through which it is possible to ensure the student’s effective role in the educational process, such as the skill of critical thinking, group discussions, problem solving, writing sentences, skills of dealing with others and others, and all of them are among the skills required during the use of the spelling rest. The researcher sees the importance of creating an enjoyable, interactive environment through the inclusion of these new educational methods, which will improve students ’level as they acquire the English language, especially writing (Mustafa,2005). 5. Cooperative learning theory and Bee Spelling The idea of cooperative learning, according to Salako, Eze, and Adu (2013), is based on the theory that the learning process is done through several stages beginning with the realization of basic skills. They point out that not every cooperation in the group is a cooperative learning, but that the idea of cooperative learning is for all members of the group to cooperate to achieve common goals. Cooperative education as the kind of education that allows a group of at least two and no more than seven students to learn with each other within groups, where they learn to achieve specific goals and learning experiences that work towards the desired goal of education. Slavin argues that cooperative education is one that includes group behavior in a group of two or more people, as the group's cooperation with each other leads to success(Slavin, 1997). The cooperative learning theory as Downes (2006) shows that successful educational methodology for organizing classroom activities as it differs from group work in that it 14 depends on the exchange of positive experiences in the form of groups to complete the task collectively towards a single academic goal and requires broad intellectual and creative skills, in contrast to individual learning, just as the role of the teacher changes completely. From giving abstract information to facilitating student learning and general supervision over the course of the educational process. 2.1.1 What is English writing? English is the most widely spoken language in the world, being the first or second language in some countries, and is the language used to communicate the different contents of science and technology throughout the world. English is the language of the era, and is the key to many countries and continents. It also facilitates communication with other cultures. It plays an important role in building human personality, strengthening knowledge and understanding of the content of books and various types of magazines (Kalimova, 2013). Writing is not a natural activity that the person could use as a grant such as speaking, it is a skill that required high teaching techniques from the teacher. Writing is thinking, which is generally used to convey ideas, thoughts, feelings which is somehow a person can’t express them by speaking, moreover to archive the speaker's emotions, important events for history to be remembered in time. Greek used writing before 500 BC using simple tools to write on, but generation after another, with the technological revolution all the concept of writing has changed, and multi-communication appeared with modern devices so people move to contact easier by voice-call, voice-record, and video-call instead of writing by hand (Coulmas,2003). 2.1.2 What is the importance of writing in English language? Writing is the drawing of letters and visual symbols indicating that sounds are in mind; these symbols reflect the meaning and ideas that are to be conveyed to others (Mustafa,2005). Writing is considered as the less popular and the most difficult skill that the students need to deal with to acquire a foreign language, but still fateful in enhancing the language. Writing is essential in foster communication, it helps to improve creative thinking, and makes a logical discussion, moreover it is essential in higher education 15 such as writing proposals and research papers, and in the workplace as well such as writing a CV’s or to fill an application (Klimova,2013). English is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, and it is also relied upon for many daily transactions. It is also the most widely spoken language in the professional sectors, the Internet world, scientific research, academic sectors and all types of science. It is also the official language of the United Nations, Interpol, the International Olympic Committee, the International Space Station, the European Union and NATO, making it a necessary language in the diplomatic and political sectors as well, so the importance of writing in English is great. 2.1.3 What are the weaknesses that the students struggled with in their writing? English is one of the most important achievements of man in the twenty-first century, and the importance of learning it increases over time, and mastering it is among the priorities of the world's educational systems. Looking at English as a subject, it is dynamic, affecting all its skill (reading, writing, speaking, listening), and is influenced by them. However, at any educational level, a pupil may experience various difficulties in learning English associated with a reader's understanding (such as a pupil's thinking in his mother tongue), which makes it difficult to understand the text or sentence or even the word, or to change the location of the word from one sentence to another. Students may also find it difficult to read words or sentences that they have never dealt with in English, or to pronounce them incorrectly, which may change their true meaning within the sentence (Al Khalili,2020). The similarity of some words in pronunciation may not enable the pupil to acquire their true meaning; a student must realize that he or she is not only acquiring language in his or her studies as a sentence and linguistic knowledge, but also as an appropriate expression to counter the social situations to which he or she may be exposed. This is due to the administrative patterns that English teachers practice with their pupils, their incompetence, the learning's impulse and lack of awareness of the importance of English in their daily school life, or to the family environment that does not correct their language mistakes. Many reasons could increase the level of difficulty for the students to deal with writing firstly, is the Grammar which means the construct of the sentences, in building a correct 16 sentence with a right tense, and form. Secondly, students faced a real issue in cohesion and vocabulary, which means the sequence between the actions and logically connected. Moreover (Rhoma, 2019) shows the lack of vocabularies that the students suffered from is in the heart of the problem because how they will write about things that they don’t have much vocabulary on them. In the third place, students struggle in spelling and pronunciation, and that’s what my study try to solve and put head point which could enhance students writing skills by using a new strategy in teaching which is The Bee Spelling strategy (Ahour,Mukundan,2009). 2.1.4 How can teacher improve students writing skills? Writing skills are the highest on the list of language skills. When a child learns his or her mother tongue, he or she learns to listen at first, then speak, and then when he or she enters school he or she starts to learn to read and finally write. Ravichandran (2017) points out that there are many challenges facing learners in writing English. English is one of the languages whose pronunciation does not match that of writing. There are no established rules for pronunciation and spelling, which is different from Arabic and other languages. The second reason is to neglect to save the form of the word when the student learns it for the first time, since an individual may not save the meaning of the word, namely the translation, and may master its sound through his or her ears, but he or she neglects the way in which it is written, and when he or she neglects it in preservation and revision, he or she will find himself or herself with days and he or she has a writing skill behind the rest of the skills. According to Jabbarova (2020), spelling is one of the efficient ways to improve the students' writing skills. Also, encourage students to read more, because as much as they spell, as much as they write. On the other hand, students should be given topics in whatever they want and let them write about it in their way, moreover brainstorming strategy also helps students in their writing, and always remind your students about the value of writing. 2.1.5 What is the Bee Spelling and what are its benefits? It’s an American term, appeared in 1875, it occurred orally. (Spelldown), is not memorizing letters of the word moreover it’s a complicated thinking process, depends 17 on spell the letters of the words orally, once you miss a letter, you will be eliminated from the competition (Rohmawati,2014). The bee spelling method has been used to learn vocabulary. Oranga (2013), has defined bee spelling as the competition in which a competitor is excluded when he or she misspells the word. Not only is it about how to keep the word and its spelling, but it is a complex process of thinking that improves and enhances students' levels of thinking. Maybin, Swann, Pope and Carter (2011), defined bee spelling as a word spelling competition by students. they noted that bee spelling had been part of American culture for a long time, with students participating in the competition being primary and middle school students. McPherson stated that the spelling game was used as a kind of motivation to create motivation for students to learn, and this competition was seen as an opportunity for students to demonstrate their language skills in the ability to properly spell and memorize words (Monaghan, 2010). Wahidah (2018) mentioned that there are many benefits in using the spelling Bee strategy, firstly it improves the students spelling in general and reduces the students' mistakes in writing in specific. Moreover, it enriches students with a large amount of vocabulary, Mayasari (2018) states that bee spelling also helps the teacher in creating a good atmosphere in the classroom because it considered as a game which the teacher can divide the classroom to two groups and make a competition between them. 2.1.6 What are the procedures that the teacher can use to apply the Bee spelling in her classroom? The teacher while dealing with this strategy should concern about the followings: first, the teacher should start by the easy words which students are familiar with, pronounce the words correctly, and slowly to help the students to understand them and recognize the different sounds and different letters, repeat the words if necessary, and give the students plenty of time to think about it. The spelling bee has three stages: direct, regional, and national. Each stage occurred in a different country, so the competitors should move from one stage to another, and from one country to another and their stage happened in Islamabad (Khasanah,2019). 18 In brief, teaching spelling built on the constructivism theory which focused on teaching from an early age will help students to build their hypotheses toward words and differentiate between letters and sounds. Also, it means producing knowledge rather than receiving it. This theory is considered as a student-centered approach which makes students a center learner in the whole teaching process this is a good point to take because it is an enjoyable approach for the learners, it provides the learners with a good experience for them to depend on themselves in learning and create their thoughts and knowledge according to their abilities. But in contrast, it doesn’t fit the standardized exam, and not all students could deal with this theory especially slow learners. 2.2 Review of the related studies As far as the researcher knows, there are no scholarly publish studies in local studies discussing the Bee Spelling new strategy in teaching. The researcher looked for this title in all thesis under the title of “ Humanities and Art department” or “department of Education” in most the West Bank and Gaza strip universities and in different Universities in the Middle East which are (An-Rajah National University, Arab American University, Bir-Zeit University, Islamic University of Gaza, Al-Aqsa University in Gaza, Hebron University, Bethlehem University, The University of Jordan, King Saud University, Qatar University, Cairo University, Al-Quds Open University, Tunis University, Al-Iraqia University, Abu-Dabi University).So, the researcher will mention only the foreign studies which are related to her research topic as the following: 2.2.1 Local Studies Harb (2007), carried out a study entitled "The Effectiveness of Educational Games on the Sixth Graders' Achievement in English Language in Gaza Southern Governorates". This study aims at investigating the impact of bee spelling on the sixth graders English language achievement in Gaza. The experimental approach was adopted by the researcher. A study sample was selected from a boys' and a girls' schools consisted of 94 male and 98 female. The researcher applied the strategy of educational games in teaching the experimental group, while applying the traditional method in teaching the control group. The results indicate that there is a notable impact of the bee spelling on the achievement of the sixth graders in English language. The researcher 19 recommends implementing the educational games while teaching English in order to make the education process a more fun one and have better outcomes (Harb, 2007). 2.2.2 Arab Studies Aloghah (2018), in his study entitled "Spelling Errors Among Arab English Speakers" aimed at investigating the mistakes made by Arabic English learners during speech, as well as the reasons behind making mistakes and facing problems and difficulties. The researcher has related many previous studies and followed the descriptive approach in order to reach the results. According to the results, a high proportion of Arab students have great difficulty spelling monosyllabic words because teachers focus on reading and conversation skills and lose sight of spelling skills, neglecting and ignoring the skills that help spell words correctly. The researcher recommends that teachers diversify into teaching methods and not lose sight of any English skills in order to achieve sound and integrated learning. According to Al-Shabbi (1994), in his study entitled "A communicative approach to spelling for Arab students of English" he aimedto discuss the types of activities for the classroom of the Arabs who learn English as a foreign language which retain the orientation of the Communicative Language Teachingin their approach to spelling while promoting accuracy. The researcher discusses three types of activities for the Arab EFL classroom that retain a CLT fluency orientation in their approach to spelling but which promote "accuracy" in spelling, the first of which is reading activities, the second is inductive-reasoning, and the third is language –focusing activities. The researcher followed the descriptive and analytical approach in achieving the study aims. Of the most important findings of the researcher in this researchis that students perceived the importance of the accuracy of language, in addition to the fact that the correction of pronunciation, pronunciation practice in class, and oral correction are valuable to students. The researcher recommends the teachers have to go beyond spelling learning, and that teachers have to create a classroom that is full of activities which enhance the acquisition of spelling. 2.2.3 Foreign Studies Ovaningtyas and Training (2016), “Spelling Bee as a Teaching English Vocabulary Grades of Elementary School” aimed to measure any significant differences between 20 the students' performances before and after using bee spelling in teaching vocabularies. The researcher used tests because it was experimental research, the researcher designs the test consists of 30 questions and divided it to multiple-choice, fill the blanks, and matching. The results show that there are significant differences between the students who applied this strategy and who don’t in the end the researcher recommended using this technique in teaching due to its enhancing and motivating the student in the classroom. Yusuf, Mustafa, &Alqinda (2017) “The use of spelling bee game in teaching vocabulary to junior high school students”aim to learn about the impact of bee spelling on improving vocabulary learning among seventh graders in school, focusing on vocabulary that is directly related to nouns. Researchers used the pre- and post- text and applied the experiment to a group of seventh graders.The results of the vocabulary tests showed that the bee spelling game significantly improves and promotes vocabulary learning in students. Because of these findings, researchers recommend using bee spelling as an effective strategy during the educational process to teach students the vocabulary of English as a second language. Ylianti (2017), “The Influence of Using Spelling Bee Game Media Toward Students’ Speaking Skill at Eight Grade of SMP Muhammadiyah” aimed to notice any significant differences for eighth grades student speaking skills. The researcher used tests and documentations to collect to accept or reject the hypothesis data were analyzed by using Chi-Square and t-test formulation. And the researcher due to the results, he recommended using bee spelling in speaking lessons for the eighth graders. Ismah (2019), “The Implementation of Spelling Bee Game to Improve the Students’ Pronunciation at Seventh Grade of MTs Muhammadiyah 29 Stabat” aimed to discover the improving students’ pronunciation by using spelling bee game. The researcher used a mixed-methods approach in collecting data, the researcher used pre- and post- test and interviews, observation, and documentation. The researchers applied this experiment on 20 students who are at seventh grade, where the quantitative data were taken from the test, while the qualitative were taken from the interview, observations, and documentation. The results showed the high result of the progress that the students make after using this strategy. 21 Viviany (2020), “Using Spelling Bee Game in Teaching Pronunciation. (An Experimental Research at Eighth Grade Students of MTsN 1 Kota Serang- Banten)” aimed to recognize the use of Spelling bee game in teaching pronunciation. The researcher used the pre and post-test on eighth grade students of MTsN 1 Kota Serang Banten, and then analyzed the results by quasi-experimental design and quantitative method. The results showed high progress in the students pronouncing so the researcher has recommended using the bee spelling. Rohmawati (2015), in his study entitled "Spelling Bee in Teaching Vocabulary" aims at discovering use of spelling bee effectiveness in vocabulary teaching using texts that are descriptive, as well as discovering the perceptions of students regarding the Spelling Bee game. A per-experimental design was implemented by the author of this study. The author distributed a questionnaire to a study sample of 26 seventh graders in a Cimahi school, and the study sample was trained in word spelling. The post-test was conducted to determine the difference before and after the training. The results suggest that the application of bee spelling is an effective and useful way for students to learn English words, where students learn how to spell words correctly. The results also indicate students' satisfaction and acceptance of bee spelling in English vocabulary learning and spelling, which causes the researcher to recommend the use of bee spelling to add pleasure during learning, motivating students and enhancing the learning process. Mayasari and Nurpitasari (2018), in their study entitled "The Use of Spelling Bee Game to Increase the Students' Vocabulary Mastery of the Seventh Grade at Smpn I Bantan" aims at finding out how the use of bee spelling affects the proper mastery of English and English spelling by students, where the researcher focuses on learning the level and mastery of students before learning to use bee spelling, and then noting the impact of using bee spelling on students' mastery of different English words. In order to obtain results, the researcher conducted a pre-test and post-test examination on a group of 20 students for the experimental group, and another 20 students for the control group. The results are that bee spelling works to increase students' learning and mastery of English words. The researcher advises to use bee spelling in the classroom to upgrade students and teach them different vocabulary using unconventional methods that attract students' attention (Nurpitasari et al., 2018). 22 Ningrum and Pusparini, (2020) in their study entitled "Improving Students' Vocabulary Mastery Using Spelling Bee Game at fifth Grade in SditYaBunayyaPujon" aims at researching why students are unable to master the vocabulary in English and use it properly. The study suggests that bee spelling is an effective way to improve and advance vocabulary in students, with the research aiming to measure the effectiveness of using bee spelling to master English vocabulary. The researcher held pre- test and post-vocabulary test on a group of students in the classroom. One of the most important findings of the researcher's study on the required sample is that there has been a marked improvement in the level of students, as bee spelling has helped students increase their educational activity and motivate them to learn English. The researcher recommends the use of bee spelling by classroom teachers in order to create a particularly fun atmosphere in classes with young students (Ningrum et al., 2020). Astina (2021), in his study entitled "Penggunaan Media Permainan “Spelling Bee” untukMeningkatkanKeterampilanMenulis Bahasa Arab" aims at applying the bee spelling to seventh graders at MTs Bani Haji Abdul RosyidNgadirejo in Indonesia school in order to improve writing skills in Arabic, as well as to note the difference in skills of students who use bee spelling and those who do not use it and are content with traditional methods of learning. The researcher conducted field and experimental research, selected an experimental group and a control one, and conducted a pre-test and post-test on the study sample. The results indicated a marked improvement in the experimental group with respect to word spelling. The researcher recommends using bee spelling to teach students the vocabulary (Astina, 2021). Khasanah and Sabiq (2020), in their study entitled "Dealing with Students Pronunciation: the "Spelling Bee" Effect" aim at the impact of bee spelling on students' pronunciation. The researcher studied the effect of bee spelling on an experimental and control group which were randomly selected, where the experimental group sample consisted of 32 students, while the control group consisted of 31. A pre- test and a post-test were conducted in order to determine the difference between results regarding the effect of using bee spelling learning. Results have shown that the bee spelling method has a significant impact on the teaching of seventh graders, where the bee spelling method can be used to improve students' pronunciation, vocabulary and 23 spelling. The researcher recommends using bee spelling to improve student spelling and improve learning (Khasanah et all., 2020). Arief and others (2020), in their study entitled "The Effect of Spelling Bee Game on Students' Vocabulary Achievement at SMP Negeri 17 Kendari" aim at studying the impact of bee spelling on students' achievement and individual acquisition. The study sample consisted of 30 students in the second grade, where the researcher took a pre- and post-tests of the study sample, which was divided into an experimental group and a control group, in order to observe the change at the student level after the bee spelling learning experiment. The results indicated that the bee spelling game had a clear impact on students' acquisition and mastery. The researcher encourages the use of modern methods of education, including bee spelling, to improve students' learning and add some kind of fun and motivation during learning (Arief et al., 2020). Critten and others (2016), carried out a study entitled "Young Children's spelling representations and spelling strategies" the researchers aim to demonstrate the cognitive processes underlying the successful spelling of vocabulary, indicating that these cognitive processes are often ignored and overlooked, thus not evolving. The researcher applied his study to a sample of 96 English-speaking children aged 5-7, providing performance measures for spelling and evaluating children's performance. The results indicate that there are a kind of relation between the recognition and the production of the letters and vocabulary. The researchers recommend focusing on all cognitive processes that promote children's learning in order to acquire education properly (Critten et all., 2016). Septarena (2017), carried out a study entitled "Penggunaan Media Permainan Spelling Bee dalamPembelajaranKosakata Bahasa Mandarin Pada Siswa Kelas X Bahasa SMA Negeri Grogol Kediri TahunAjaran 2016/2017". The study aims at studying the impact of bee spelling on mastering Chinese vocabulary for 10th graders, especially Mandarin vocabulary.The results showed the positive impact of bee spelling at the student level, as their use in education improves learning for students. At the end of the research, the researcher recommends using bee spelling to teach the vocabulary to students(Septarena, 2017). 24 Sekarina (2019), carried out a study entitled "Implementing Spelling Bee Game through Three Phase Technique to Improve the Seventh Graders’ Spelling Ability" The research aims to highlight the spelling errors that students make in their writing, and to explore the impact of the use of bee spelling by seventh graders on word spelling on improving the ability of seventh graders, as well as investigating how the “Spelling Bee” game could be used to improve the seventh graders’ spelling ability. The researcher used an observation checklist, field notes, a questionnaire, a scoring rubric, an interview guide, and the students’ written works to collect the information he needs. This action research study applied on a class consists of 39 students. The researcher used a questionnaire and interviews with students to achieve the goal of the study. Results have shown that bee spelling could improve students'ability to spell, and motivate them to learn new words the researcher found out that students' responses were much better and they were excited and motivated all the time moreover, the researcher recommends applying the Bee spelling game in the English curriculum to switch teaching to be more enjoyable and easier to suit the students’ abilities and needs. The researcher recommends some important steps that improve the spelling of vocabulary by students (Sekarini, 2013) 2.3 Conclusion Many researchers, such as Arief and others and Khasanah and Sabiq, conducted pre- and post- tests on two study samples, thus using the traditional teaching approach to the control group, and using the vocabulary instruction method through the bee spelling game on the experimental group. The findings in the research highlighted in this paper have informed the effectiveness of the use of bee spelling on school students. An individual might wonder how bees are associated with spelling to refer to a spelling contest, it's because bee at the time means something about the effect of assembly. It first appeared in this sense in the mid-18th century, referring to people coming together to do some work, like building a barn or something. Previous researchers have conducted studies on bee spelling, where previous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of this method in teaching students to spell words and vocabulary, and the positive effect has been evident in the results of these studies. Yusuf's study (2017),suggested that bee spelling is suitable for use in the classroom 25 because it helps students learn new vocabulary and spell vocabulary they may have learned before. Previous studies highlighted in this research paper suggest that a highly qualified teacher must be present in order to carry out the teaching process, so that he or she can provide a clear and correct education and speech to the words he or she teaches to the students. Moreover, the teacher involved in the process of teaching writing must also have a particular strategy that will attract and motivate students to learn English and increase their ability to learn English vocabulary. Monaghan states that games increase motivation by providing an atmosphere for learning the target language. In addition, games are a major driver of learning because of their entertainment and challenge(Monaghan, 1999). Meaningful and useful games give students an opportunity to learn vocabulary from and outside the textbook, and as Swan and others have pointed out, bee spelling helps students improve vocabulary mastery by following a new learning curriculum (Lianrui, 2006). Most previous studies have reported that learning students in a pleasing and pleasant environment helps students learn many words, learn their meaning and definitions, as well as use them in sentences of student creation, and it should be noted that all students can participate in this game(Meyer, 2009). Bee spelling also has the advantage of creating an atmosphere of social cooperation as in groups divided by the teacher in classes, contributing to the process of discussion among the members of the group and agreeing on a common and correct answer (Leni,2018). 26 Chapter Three Methodology and Procedures Preview This chapter was devoted to clarifying the steps and methodology that the researcher followed during the implementation of her research in order to achieve the aims of the study and answer its questions. Through this section, the researcher showed several matters, including the research methodology, the study population, sample, and the statistical analysis followed. 3.1 Methodology and Procedures To investigate the purposes that compatible with the study goals, the researcher used a quantitative, and qualitative approaches (mixed method). The researcher used two instruments to collect the study data; first, an open-ended questionnaire, second, a semi- structured interview. The interview included English language teachers for seventh grade students from all governmental schools in Jenin. The researcher took gender, years of experience and qualifications into consideration. The questionnaire was designed to answer the study’s questions. 3.2 Population of the Study The study population are (100) English teachers in governmental school in Jenin district, the sample consisted of 80 teachers in the field of teaching 7th graders schools in Palestine., and the researcher has sent the study tool on-line , only (80) responded which consisted the study sample and considered it as a stratified random sample. The background of the study sample is varied in terms of gender, qualification and years of experiencs as shown in Table (1). Table (1) Distribution of Sample According to Study Independent Variables Variable Class Frequency Percentage % Gender Female 40 50.0 Male 40 50.0 Qualification Diploma 19 23.8 B.A 41 51.3 M.A 20 25.0 Years of Experience 1-5 years 32 40.0 5-10 years 29 36.3 More than 10 years 19 23.8 Total 80 100.0 27 3.3 Tools of the Study To recognize the impact of the Bee Spelling strategy on the 7th graders achievement in writing skills in Jenin district a questionnaire was distributed online to all the selected teachers at the governmental schools in Jenin. Also, the 13- items questionnaire was designed as an open-ended question in order to answer on the questions of the study. The researcher has divided the questionnaire into two main parts; the first focused on demographic data of the respondents such as gender, qualification and years of experiencs, on the other hand, the second part consisted of 13 items measuring the impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7th graders achievement in writing skills in Jenin district. The questionnaire uses a 5points Likert scale, in which (strongly agree =5 points, agree =4 points, neutral = 3,disagree = 2 points and strongly disagree = 1 point) which allows the examiners to choose their agreement or disagreement on each statement according to their point of view about the impact of the Bee Spelling strategy on the 7th graders achievement in writing skill. Moreover, the researcher has designed a semi-structured interview that includes main questions and other sub-questions emerged from the main ones. The interview was planned to include 8 inquiries. The interviews were conducted as telephone interview with 20 English language teachers from both genders for 7th grade English language teachers. In addition, it shed the light on the new strategy which is the Bee spelling, and the reasons behind the inefficiency of the students in mastering the writing skill, in addition, how the Bee spelling from the teachers' point of view will affect the students’ writing competency. 3.4 Validity of the tools To ensure the validity of the questionnaire and the interview were shown to a jury to validate their content and to make sure that it matches the study goals. The jury consisted of (4) specialists in English language teaching and curriculum and teaching methodology from different universities. The jury committee consists of Dr. Ayman Nazzal, Dr. Fawaz Aqel, Dr. Ziad Al-Tanni, Dr. Mosaddaq Yahya. The respondents’ comments and the jury's suggestions were taken into consideration to modify and improve the questionnaire's content and wordings by omitting, adding or rephrasing items bringing the number of items to 13 items and 8 questions for the interview. 28 3.5 Reliability of the tools The Cronbach Alpha coefficient was used to find out the reliability of the questionnaire and total score. Table (2) Cornbach Alpha test for the study tools Study Tool Items Cornbach Alpha Total 13 88.5 Results in Table (2) illustrate that Cronbach Alpha coefficient for the total degree was (88.5). This value is excellent and acceptable for the purpose of the study. In order to evaluate the results of Cronbach Alpha, the following scale is used as demonstrated in Table: Table (3) Cronbach alpha Internal Consistency Cronbach alpha Internal Consistency α ≥ 0.9 Excellent 0.7≤ α < 0.9 Good 0.6≤ α < 0.7 Acceptable 3.6 Procedures of the study 3.6.1 Data Collection The data of the study is collected according to each object of the study. Moreover, the data for the research is gathered through the questionnaire and the interviews, so all responding were recorded for statistical examination. 3.6.2 Procedure The researcher followed a set of procedures to collect data that help in answering the study questions. The researcher designed a set of pretest and posttest and presented them to an arbitration and review committee to apply them to a group of students as a random sample to examine the impact of the bee spelling strategy on writing skill of seventh grade males and females students in governmental schools, but due to the repetitions of school closures as a result of the spread of the Corona epidemic, the researcher was unable to apply the specific tool to know the effect of the spelling bee 29 strategy on students’ writing skill by comparing the scores before and after using the strategy. The researcher tried to spread the pretest and posttest online to the students through their school email accounts, but there were no enough responses from the students. Therefore, the researcher avoided the tool and completed her research using two new tools, namely, the telephone interview and the online questionnaire, which are considered among the safest and easiest tools in the conditions of the spread of the epidemic. The researcher designed an online questionnaire consisting of two parts, the first part contains personal information for the examinee, while the second part contains 2 domains consists of 13 items that help in answering the research questions, this was distributed online to seventh grade teachers of the English language regardless of their gender, but the researcher took into her consideration the academic qualifications and years of experiences.On the other hand, the interview was designed as a semi-structured interview, which contains 8 questions in the core of the topic and was conducted over the phone for a period of 5 to 10 minutes. For the examinees, the researcher explained that these questions were for research purposes to complete the Master’s thesis, and that their responses will be recorded, transcribed and analyzed statistically, and they have agreed on that. Although some teachers did not answer the phone and some numbers were out of service, the researcher was able to collect the required data that serves the purposes of the research. 3.7 Variables of the Study The study contained the following variables: 3.7.1 Independent Variables • Gender ( male and females) • Qualifications ( Diploma, Bachelor, Master, PhD). • Years of experience (less than 5 years, 5-10 years and more than 10 years). 3.7.2 Dependent Variables These are the teachers’ responses through open-ended questionnaire and semi- structured interview towards the impact of the Bee spelling strategy on students’ achievement in writing skill. 30 3.8 Statistical Analysis The researcher has used SPSS and percentages to estimate the teachers' responses on each item and total score. The data collected were analyzed using (SPSS) to provide answers to the hypotheses and questions of the study.The researcher used the following: 1. Means, frequencies, standard deviations, and percentages in order to estimate the relative percentage of every item . 2. T-tests for Independent Samples to test the assumptions related to the variable of gender. 3. One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to test qualification and years of experience. 4. Cronbach Alpha is used to test the consistency of the items in the questionnaire. Interviews were recorded, and the researcher determined the similarities and differences in the answers of the interviewees. Then, these differences and similarities were organized in a table according to the items of the study. 3.9 Data Analysis The data collected were analyzed using (SPSS) to provide answers to the questions and hypothesis of the study. Means, frequencies, standard deviations, were used to find out descriptive statistical analysis. Accordingly, the researcher used the following scale to represent the estimation level of sample responses. In order to limit the length of the cells of the five-point Likert scale ( minimum and maximum limits , range has been calculated (5-1=4) , divided on the correct length of the cell (4/5=0.80 ) and added to the lowest value of the scale (1) in order to reach the highest limit of this cell . Cell limits appear in Table (4): Table (4) Scale for representing the estimation level of sample responses Mean Percentage % Estimation Level 4.20 and more 84.0 % and more Very High 3.40-4.19 68.0 – 83.8 % High 2.60-3.39 52.0 – 67.8 % Moderate 1-80- 2.59 36.0 – 51.8 % Low Less than 1.8 35.9% and less Very Low 31 3.10 Conclusion The third chapter of this study presented the descriptive approach that the researcher used in analyzing the collected data and setting the obstacles that faced the researcher in applying his research tool and how she changed the way of her research from quantitative approach to mixed method, where she relied on the semi- structured interview, and open-ended questionnaire in collecting data from seventh grade English teachers in governmental schools, where the questionnaire consisted of 13 items distributed online, and the telephone interviews consisted of 8 questions, and all these questions were directly answering the questions of the study. Moreover, the researcher showed the independent variables which consist of the Bee spelling strategy, the qualification of the teacher, and the years of experience. Finally, this chapter also presented the analytical section and the jury on tools, percentages, and Cronbach's alpha to calculate the reliability of the questionnaire. 32 Chapter Four Results Preview This study aimed at identifying the impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7th graders achievement in writing skills in Jenin district. It also aimed at identifying the effect of several variables on the responses . To accomplish the aims of the study, the researcher analyzed the data of the questionnaire and interview in the accordance with the study questions. The results were as follows: 4.1 Results of the Questionnaire 4.1.1 Results related to the First Question which is What are the attitudes of English language teachers in Jenin district towards the impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7th graders achievement in writing skills? To answer this question, the researcher used means , standard deviations and estimation level as shown in following tables . 33 Table (5) Means, Standard Deviations and estimated level of English language teachers in Jenin district towards the impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7th graders achievement in writing skills in descending order. R a n k N o . in t h e Q u es ti o n n a ir e it em M ea n s st a n d a rd d ev ia ti o n s P er ce n ta g e % E st im a te d le v el 1 10 The Bee spelling strategy expresses excitement in classroom activities 4.61 0.51 92.2 Very High 2 12 The Bee spelling strategy expands the teacher activities in the classroom so students are active and more engaged. 4.60 0.51 92.0 Very High 3 13 The Bee spelling raises the students’ confidence while using the English language in front of the audience. 4.56 0.49 91.2 Very High 4 6 The Bee spelling strategy develops students' writing skills. 4.56 0.49 91.2 Very High 5 4 The Bee spelling strategy improves learners' performance in spelling as well as writing 4.53 0.50 90.6 Very High 6 11 The Bee spelling strategy motivates students to participate in the lessons actively. 4.51 0.50 90.2 Very High 7 5 The Bee spelling is a good strategy to reduce the students’ writing mistakes 4.50 0.52 90.0 Very High 8 8 The Bee spelling strategy attracts the student attention and interest 4.41 0.49 90.0 Very High 9 7 The Bee spelling strategy enables the learner to write any English words correctly. 4.38 0.58 87.6 Very High 10 9 The Bee spelling strategy creates a positive attitude towards English spelling 4.37 0.48 87.4 Very High 11 1 The Bee spelling strategy affects positively on the student's achievement in writing skill. 4.36 0.62 87.2 Very High 12 2 Students' writing ability enhanced when they use bee spelling in their writing lessons. 4.28 0.48 85.6 Very High 13 3 The Bee spelling strategy gives the learner necessary feedback about their mistakes. 3.51 0.94 70.2 High Total 4.40 0.15 88.0 Very High Table (5) shows that the total degree for the attitudes of English language teachers in Jenin district towards the impact of the Bee Spelling Strategy on the 7 th graders achievement in writing skills was (4.40) which suggest a very high level of estimation . The highest mean was given to the item (The Bee spelling strategy expresses excitement in classroom activities).The lowest was for the item (The Bee spelling strategy gives the learner necessary feedback about their mistakes). 34 4.1.2 Results related to Second question which is Are there significant statistical differences at (α =0.05) in the response's degree of the attitudes of English language teachers in Jenin district towards the impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7th graders achievement in writing skills attributed to the variables ofgender, qualification and years of? To answer this question, the study hypotheses have been analyzed by using Independent sample T- test and One Way ANOVA test as the following: 4.2 Results related to Study Hypotheses 4.2.1 Results related to First hypotheses which is There are no statistically significant differences at (α=0.05) in the response's degree of the attitudes of English language teachers in Jenin district towards the impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7th graders achievement in writing skills attributed to the variables ofgender. To analyze the first hypotheses, Independent sample T- tests were used and Table (6) shows the results: Table (6) Independent two sample t test result of the attitudes of English language teachers in Jenin district towards the impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7 th graders achievement in writing skills attributed to the variable ofgender The impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7th graders achievement in writing skills Gender N Mean S. D t Sig.* Male 40 4.39 0.16 -0.216 0.830 Female 40 4.40 0.14 *. The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level. Table (6) shows that there are no statistically significant differences at (α=0.05) of the attitudes of English language teachers in Jenin district towards the impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7th graders achievement in writing skills attributed to the variable of gender. The significant value was (0.830) which is more than (0.05).Thus we accept the hypothesis. 35 4.2.2 Results related to Second hypotheses which is There are no statistically significant differences at (α=0.05) in the response's degree of the attitudes of English language teachers in Jenin district towards the impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7th graders achievement in writing skills attributed to the variables ofqualification . To analyze the third hypotheses, One Way ANOVA test was used and Tables (7) and (8) show the results: Table (7) Frequencies,Means and Standards Deviations of the attitudes of English language teachers in Jenin district towards the impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7 th graders achievement in writing skills attributed to the variable ofqualification Qualification(Total Degree) N Mean S.D The impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7th graders achievement in writing skills Diploma 19 4.40 0.19 B.A 41 4.41 0.12 M.A 20 4.37 0.18 Total 80 4.40 0.15 Table (7) shows that there are differences in means of the levels of the qualification. In order to show these differences, One Way ANOVA test was used and Table (8) shows the results Table (8) Results of One-Way ANOVA of the attitudes of English language teachers in Jenin district towards the impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7 th graders achievement in writing skills attributed to the variable ofqualification The impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7th graders achievement in writing skills Qualification Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. Total Between Groups 0.023 2 0.012 0.459 0.634 Within Groups 1.964 77 0.026 Total 1.988 79 * The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level. Table(8) shows that there are no statistically significant differences at (α=0.05)of the attitudes of English language teachers in Jenin district towards the impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7th graders achievement in writing skills attributed to the 36 variable of qualification. The significant value was (0.634) which is more than (0.05). Thus, we accept the hypothesis. 4.2.3 Results related to Third hypotheses which is There are no statistically significant differences at (α=0.05) in the response's degree of the attitudes of English language teachers in Jenin district towards the impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7th graders achievement in writing skills attributed to the variable ofexperience. To analyze the third hypotheses, One Way ANOVA test was used and the Tables (9) and (10) show the results: Table (9) Frequencies, Means and Standards Deviations of the attitudes of English language teachers in Jenin district towards the impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7 th graders achievement in writing skills attributed to the variable ofexperience Experience Degree) N Mean S.D The impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7th graders achievement in writing skills 1-5 years 32 4.39 0.15 5-10 years 29 4.40 0.12 More than 10 years 19 4.39 0.21 Total 80 4.40 0.15 Table (9) shows that there are differences in means of the levels of the experience. In order to show these differences, One Way ANOVA test was used and Table (10) shows the results. Table (10) Results of One-Way ANOVA of the attitudes of English language teachers in Jenin district towards the impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7 th graders achievement in writing skills attributed to the variable ofexperiance The impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7th graders achievement in writing skills Experience Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. Total Between Groups 0.002 2 0.001 0.039 0.962 Within Groups 1.986 77 0.026 Total 1.988 79 * The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level. 37 Table(10) shows that there are no statistically significant differences at (α=0.05) of the attitudes of English language teachers in Jenin district towards the impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7th graders achievement in writing skills attributed to the variable of experience . The significant value was (0.962) which is more than (0.05). Thus, we accept the hypothesis. 4.3 Results of the interviews To collect data and obtain more information about the study problem, semi structured interviews have been conducted . The first step was contacting (20) English language teachers in Jenin District from schools in order to request an interview with study sample to discuss the issue of interest. As soon as request approval was acknowledged by the interviewed , interviews were arranged related to English language teachers in Jenin district towards the impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7th graders achievement in writing skills. Analysis procedures of transcribed interviews was done based on the guidelines of thematic analysis. It was mainly interested in detecting themes that demonstrate the current situation of the English language teachers in Jenin district towards the impact of the bee spelling strategy on the 7th graders achievement in writing skills. The results from semi- structured interviews were classified into central themes. Tables (1) summarize the results. Table (11) Summary of teachers’ responses on the interview No. Theme Class Frequency Percentage 1. What are your strategies to deal with the students writing problems? Preparing and giving exercises 5 25.0 Writing and dictation vocabulary 9 45.0 Using words in full meaningful sentences 3 15.0 Using flashcards, Facebook school page and other teaching means 3 15.0 Total 20 100.0 2. According to your experience in teaching, why students are facing problems in writing proficiency? Inadequate time for predicting writing in the class 9 45.0 English language differences in spelling and pronunciation 4 20.0 Students' weakness in grammar and vocabulary 7 35.0 Total 20 100.0 38 3. How can the Bee spelling strategies solve the weakness of the student in writing? It helps writing method 7 35.0 It motivates students to spell correctly 8 40.0 It helps in memorizing and understanding words 5 45.0 Total 20 100.0 4. How does the out of date in teaching strategies affect the student's quality performance in writing? It affects negatively 8 40.0 It helps students writing correctly only in the exam 3 15.0 They make class routine 4 20.0 They neglect students' role and weakening the learning process 5 25.0 Total 20 100.0 5. What do you know about The Bee Spelling as an educational method in teaching writing skill? New method which helps students 10 50.0 It encourages competition and learning motivation among students 10 50.0 Total 20 100.0 6. How does applying new strategies in teaching, as the Bee spelling, can improve the students writing performance? It develops students' performances and skills 10 50.0 It motivates students to learn 7 35.0 It breaks learning routine 3 15.0 Total 20 100.0 7. How does The Bee Spelling enhance the students writing skills? It develops writing skills 13 65.0 It encourages students to do their best 3 15.0 It helps in memorizing new words 4 20.0 Total 20 100.0 8. What is the significance of implementing The Bee spelling in English writing lessons? It helps students to write more effectively and correctly 12 60.0 It supports class learning and enriches curricula 8 40.0 Total 20 100.0 The eight themes emerged from the teachers' semi structured interviews are presented below: 1. Teachers' strategies to deal with the students writing problems are: Giving the students exercises for example to fill the gap, to start writing letters then ask them to write full words then paragraphs, to show them models of written essays and discussing them, using power point to motivate them, use the dictionary 39 more, doing more writing and dictation vocabulary, using words in full meaningful sentences and using flashcards, Facebook school page and other teaching means. Each teacher has his own strategy to deal with the students writing problems. 2. Students are facing problems in writing proficiency because : inadequate time for predicting writing in the class, English language differences in spelling and pronunciation and Students' weakness in grammar and vocabulary also the time is not enough to cover the 4 skills in active participate in the classroom. 3. TheBee spelling strategies can solve the weakness of the student in writing because:it helps writing method, it motivates students to spell correctly and it helps in memorizing and understanding words, so the student can write the words correctly and more and more of practicing for the competition less of occur mistakes 4. The out of date in teaching strategies affect the students quality performance in writingbecause: It affects negatively by not motivating them in other word, old teaching strategies not fire the desire of the student to learn more about the language, also focusing on memorizing without understanding won’t help the students to make any progress in learning the language, moreover it makes English classes full of routine and it neglects students' role in the classroom, and weakening the learning process. 5. The Bee Spelling as an educational method in teaching writing skillis a new strategy appeared in the USA, helps student to improve their English language by covering the 4 skills, and it encourage competition and build the student confidence in using the language in front of others, it happened every year in different country and the winner gets 50,000$ as a prize. 6. Applying new strategies in teaching, as the Bee spelling, can improve the students writing performance because: it develops students' performances and skills, it breaks learning routine, encouraging students gradually