Analysis of Handwriting of English Letters by Children Before Learning to Write: The Characteristics of Their Handwriting and Classification of Children

Abstract

　　The present study aims to investigate how many letters of the alphabet 5th graders can write correctly and to classify the students based on their handwriting proficiency to obtain a deeper insight into an approach to the instruction of handwriting the English letters. Results show that regarding uppercase letters, Z, W, Y, C, E, and S were the easiest for children to write, whereas more difficulty was had with writing D, K, and P. Furthermore, among lowercase letters, a, s, o, and c were the easiest for children to write, and more difficulty was experienced with writing f, q, j, and l. Based on results from cluster analysis of their handwriting, the students can be divided into five error groups. Although some of the students were already able to write most English letters correctly, others had some problems with the shapes of lowercase letters and the correct positioning of letters according to the descender line, baseline, mid-line, and ascender line. The results suggest that it is necessary to instruct letter sounds first and familiarize the children with lowercase letters.