The correct use of the comma creates the appropriate meaning of the text. The rules on comma usage are written in the spelling book. The basis for understanding the comma is not only knowledge of the rules, but also mastery of the syntax system. Primary school teachers are the first to provide pupils with knowledge of comma spelling in education. Their knowledge influences their pupils' spelling ability, so professionalism in this area is essential.
In the theoretical part, we define the comma as a punctuation mark, the history of spelling books and the rules of comma usage in the Slovene language. From the current Slovenian spelling book, we extract the spelling rules on the use of the comma. In the curricula for primary and secondary school, we find the operational learning aims and standards of knowledge on the use of the comma. We explain the role of the primary school teacher in developing students' spelling skills and draw suggestions from the literature for improving the quality of comma teaching. In addition, we list common difficulties with the comma identified in previous research, the reasons why comma use is important, and the possibilities for language support in developing spelling competence.
We surveyed primary school teachers and prepared a knowledge test to determine where they have difficulty placing commas in sentences. We presented the results of a study designed to determine whether performance on the knowledge test on comma usage is related to gender, number of years of teaching, class taught, self-assessed comma mastery, self-assessed comma difficulties, marked comma difficulties in sentences, and desire for training in this area. In addition, the aim of the survey was to find out which source of language support is most effective in helping with the comma splice dilemma and whether the opinion on comma splice mastery and the level of education with the most knowledge received on this topic varies among teachers according to the number of years of teaching. The sample included 112 primary school teachers from different Slovenian primary schools. The participating teachers completed a questionnaire and a knowledge test available on the 1KA web portal.
We found that primary school teachers have a good knowledge of comma usage, with an average score of 72,6% on the knowledge test. However, we would like to see their spelling skills improve when it comes to using commas. The lowest score was achieved by teachers who have been teaching for 31 to 40 years (64,9%). Teachers who rated their knowledge of comma use as very good scored the highest on the knowledge test. More than three quarters of the teachers surveyed (78,6%) expressed a wish to attend a workshop on comma usage. In the survey, almost all primary school teachers consider mastering the use of commas to be important (96,4%). Most teachers claimed that it gives meaning to the text (48,2%). The Slovenian Spelling book - Rules and asking a colleague are the most frequently chosen language sources of support, often helping users to resolve a dilemma when using a comma. Most of the teachers surveyed chose to have received the most important part of their knowledge on comma usage during their studies at university (46,4%).
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