Error Analysis of Written Compositions of Dyslexic Learners in Selected Secondary Schools in Southeast Nigeria

Dyslexia is a language-related disorder that has a neurobiological origin. It manifests as reading and spelling disabilities that affect the victims’ performance in the target language. This study examines the written texts produced by four dyslexic learners in secondary schools in Anambra and Enugu states, Nigeria, to discover the types and causes of errors in them. Qualitative analysis method is used to examine the data through the lens of Velluntino et al. (2004) Phonological Deficit Theory, whereby the theory’s phonological awareness, letter-sound decoding, and word identification components provide the framework for data analysis. Findings reveal the presence of different types of errors, such as orthographic, lexico-semanitic, global, and morpho-semantic errors. It is further discovered that the first three types of errors are caused by deficiency in phonological awareness skills, poor knowledge of the language letter-sound decoding system, and word identification challenges. The study concludes that phonological deficiency is a major underlying cause of reading and spelling challenges faced by the dyslexics.