The Effect of Spell-Checker Features on Spelling Competence among EFL Learners: An Empirical Study

Writing is an essential skill in any languages. There are several sub-skills involved in writing, the most important one is spelling. Spelling is regarded as one of the most challenging aspects of writing as it requires learners to acquire a range of detailed knowledge including writing system, orthography, and punctuation. With the wide spread of technology use in almost all aspects of our lives, learning and teaching processes are not exceptional from this storm that ultimately affects the way language learning and teaching are maintained. In this line, the current study intended to examine the effects of using technological tools that are featured with auto-spell checker on the spelling abilities of learners. To do so, a quasi-experimental method was carried out to address the issue under investigation. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS and GraphPad Prism. The findings exhibited the influence of such technological tools on spelling competence of the learners in which those who heavily depend on such technological tools face more challenges pertaining spelling in their writing tasks