Spelling Skills Research Articles

Development of Metalinguistic Awareness in EFL Vocabulary and Spelling: A Longitudinal Case Study of a Child and Adult with Dyslexia

This longitudinal case study aimed at investigating the development of metalin- guistic awareness in EFL spelling and vocabulary in two Croatian learners with dyslexia who differed in age and language proficiency – a child and an adult. They attended weekly sessions that aimed at improving their English spelling and vocabulary. The data were collected for 45 weeks using the teacher’s notes and audio-recorded lesson observations. The results showed that the participants developed their metalinguistic skills; however, the age and language proficiency factor was salient. Also, the metacognitive component of the instruction had a different effect on the development of metalinguistic skills in spelling and vocabulary acquisition. Pedagogical implications are discussed.

The Predictors of Literacy Skills among Monolingual and Bilingual Finnish–Swedish Children During First Grade

ABSTRACT The aim of the study was to examine which predictor variables are related to literacy skills among monolingual Swedish (n = 269) and bilingual Finnish–Swedish (n = 229) children at the first grade in the Swedish-speaking schools in Finland. The participants were assessed in phonological awareness, letter knowledge, rapid automatized naming (RAN), word recognition, reading fluency, and spelling. The results showed that RAN was the most significant predictor of reading and spelling skills in both language groups, and monolingual children performed significantly better in RAN. Moreover, letter knowledge predicted reading and spelling skills in both groups. However, no significant differences between language groups in reading and spelling skills were observed. The results emphasize the importance of interpreting the pre-literacy screening, especially with bilingual children.

The "Sound of Silence": Sensitivity to Silent Letters in Children With and Without Developmental Language Disorder.

Purpose Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) demonstrate general spelling difficulties. This study investigated accuracy on and sensitivity to silent letters in spelling in children with and without DLD. Investigating silent-letter production provides a window into orthographic and morphological knowledge and enhances understanding of children's spelling skills. Method A group of children with DLD (M age = 9;11 [years;months]) and two control groups of typically developing children (n = 30 in each group) were given a dictated spelling task of 44 words that each contained a derivational or a nonderivational silent letter. We coded the silent letter in each word and counted 1 point for each correctly spelled letter in order to examine accuracy on silent letters. Two error patterns were distinguished to analyze sensitivity to silent letters: silent-letter substitutions and silent-letter omissions. Results Repeated-measures ANOVA showed that children with DLD produced significantly more errors on silent letters than did both control groups. Both control groups showed a greater sensitivity to silent-letter endings, as they tended to substitute incorrect silent letters where they made errors. In contrast, children with DLD tended to omit silent letters in their spelling attempts. Conclusions Our results suggest that silent-letter production is a major source of difficulty for spellers, especially for those with DLD, who appear to lack sensitivity to silent letters. These results highlight the importance of promoting spelling instruction to enhance orthographic knowledge in children with DLD.

Facilitating positive L1 transfer through explicit spelling instruction for EFL learners with dyslexia: an intervention study

There is growing evidence that dyslexia may involve difficulty with implicit learning, which may hinder learners with dyslexia to acquire spelling skills in a foreign language through implicit instruction. Paradoxically, this is exactly how Dutch students with dyslexia learn English spelling at school. This research aims to determine if implementing explicit spelling instruction, based on a direct comparison between L1 Dutch and L2 English spelling, facilitates the development of spelling skills of dyslexic learners in English as a Foreign Language. The participants were 40 Dutch-speaking secondary-school students independently diagnosed with dyslexia (age 12–14). Twenty participants attended their regular English lessons (comparison group), whereas 20 other participants received explicit contrastive spelling instruction once a week for eight weeks (intervention group). The results reveal that during the eight weeks of the intervention spelling skills of the intervention group developed faster than those of the control group, and they remained at the same level five weeks after the intervention. These findings suggest that even a relatively short intervention based on explicit instruction of spelling rules and cross-linguistic comparisons has a facilitative effect on the development of spelling skills of students with dyslexia in a foreign language.

Prenatal exposure to air pollution is associated with childhood inhibitory control and adolescent academic achievement

BackgroundPrenatal air pollution exposure is associated with reductions in self-regulation and academic achievement. Self-regulation has been separately linked with academic achievement. Understudied, however, are the contributions of pollution exposure to inhibitory control, a facet of self-regulation, and whether pollution-related inhibitory control deficits are associated with impairment in academic achievement. MethodsParticipants were recruited from a prospective birth cohort. Measures of prenatal airborne polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) during the third trimester of pregnancy, inhibitory control (NEPSY Inhibition) at mean age = 10.4 years, and Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement-III at mean age = 13.7 were available for N = 200 participants. Multiple linear regression examined sex-dependent and sex independent associations among prenatal PAH, childhood inhibitory control, and academic achievement during adolescence, and whether childhood inhibitory control mediated associations between prenatal PAH and academic achievement during adolescence, controlling for ethnicity, maternal country of birth, language of prenatal interview, maternal marital status, maternal years of education, material hardship, quality of home caregiving environment, and early life stress. ResultsAcross all participants, higher prenatal PAH was significantly associated with worse spelling skills (WJ-III Spelling, β = −0.16, 95%Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.30, −0.02, p = .02). Trend level associations between higher prenatal PAH and worse reading comprehension (WJ-III Passage Comprehension, β = −0.13, 95%CI: 0.28, 0.01, p = .07) and math skills (WJ-III Broad Math, β = −0.11, 95%CI: 0.25, 0.03, p = .11) were detected. Across all participants, higher PAH was significantly associated with worse inhibitory control (β = −0.15, 95%CI: 0.29,-0.01 p = .03). Better inhibitory control was significantly associated with better reading comprehension (WJ-III Passage Comprehension, β = 0.22, 95%CI: 0.09, 0.36, p < .002) and math skills (WJ-III Broad Math Index, β = 0.32, 95%CI: 0.19, 0.45, p < .001), and trend level associations with better spelling skills (WJ-III Spelling, β = 0.12, 95%CI: 0.02, 0.26, p = .10). Inhibitory control significantly mediated PAH-related achievement effects for Passage Comprehension (β = −0.61, 95%CI: 1.49, −0.01) and Broad Math Index (β = −1.09, 95%CI: 2.36, −0.03). ConclusionsHigher prenatal PAH exposure and lower childhood inhibitory control were associated with worse spelling, passage comprehension, and math in adolescence. Notably, childhood inhibitory control mediated PAH exposure-related effects on achievement in adolescents. Identifying these potential exposure-related phenotypes of learning problems may promote interventions that target inhibitory control deficits rather than content specific deficits.

Attention Components and Spelling Accuracy: Which Connections Matter?

Attention and working memory are cross-domain functions that regulate both behavioural and learning processes. Few longitudinal studies have focused on the impact of these cognitive resources on spelling skills in the early phase of learning to write. This longitudinal study investigates the contributions of attention and working memory processes to spelling accuracy and handwriting speed in 112 primary school children (2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade; age range: 7.6–9.4 years) learning to write in the Italian transparent orthography. Standardised batteries were used to assess their attention and working memory skills, as well as their spelling. Homophone and non-homophone errors were measured, as they may involve different attentional and working memory processes. The results showed that, for 2nd grade children, selective attention shifting, planning, and inhibition predicted non-homophone errors, whereas sequential working memory predicted homophone errors and writing speed was explained by planning and selective attention. In 3rd grade, only homophone errors were predicted by planning and inhibition. No significant relationships were found in 4th grade, nor in the transition across grades. Dynamic and diversified roles of attentional and working memory processes in predicting different writing skills in early primary school years emerged, with a gradual decrease in the attention–writing relationship with age.

Adapting Technology to Meet 21st -Century Language Learning Difficulties

The use of technology tools in education is one of the modern educational methods that have proven themselves in a short period and have become an important reference for the parties to the educational process. This study aims to study the importance of adapting technology to meet 21st -century language learning difficulties. Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, English has gradually replaced regional dialects in schools. The English language today occupied a prominent place among the languages of the whole world, and it has become the language of science and technology and the language most learned and used as a second or foreign language (FL). In the other hand, many previous studies showed that students face difficulties when learning the English language. Although these English learning difficulties in the classrooms, several researchers indicated that utilizing technologies in language learning processes is a useful instrument that could improve students’ performance. The results indicated that technologies are considered as a vital part in the recent learning process, and it could enhance learners motivations and develop their spelling, vocabulary and sentence structure skills. This study results also showed that the main difficulties that could face English teachers especially when adapting technologies in the teaching process are, technical difficulties, poor management abilities of teachers and Bad technological learning infrastructure. The study recommended preparing a technology assisted environment to cover 21st English learning abilities.

THE EFFECT OF PHONOLOGICAL INSTRUCTION FOR STRUGGLING READERS IN ELEMENTARY

This study aims to determine the impact of phonological instruction interventions on dyslexic students in elementary schools. We tested the effect of phonological instruction on phonological awareness, reading and spelling skills in 4 subjects who had almost similar reading difficulties at different grade levels. This study used an experimental design method single subject research (SSR). The SSR design used is the A-B-A design which consists of three stages of conditions, namely: A-1 (baseline 1), B (intervention), A-2 (baseline 2). Tests given to measure baseline and intervention results of phonology awareness tests, reading tests and spelling tests. Measurement of ability at the baseline was given as many as 4 sessions while the intervention for 12 sessions. The results showed that phonological instruction had an effect on increasing phonological awareness, reading and spelling skills. The significant effect of phonological instruction interventions suggests that understanding phonological principles is beneficial for students with dyslexia.

Android interactive word game in mother tongue for early childhood learners

As ownership of mobile devices increases, the trend in the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in education also advances. In line with the mandate of the department of education to develop interactive strategies, this study aimed to design, develop, and evaluate an android interactive word game in Mother Tongue on the level of acceptability of the system based on content, instructional quality, technical quality, presentation and organization, and accuracy and up-to-dateness to address the gap for interactive mobile learning. This study used developmental and quasi-experimental research. The first phase of the study used developmental research to design, develop, and evaluate the acceptability of the android word game. The second phase of the study used quasi-experimental to evaluate the effectiveness of the developed android word game on the pupils' academic performance in mother tongue. The evaluation of the information technology (IT) experts resulted to a very acceptable rating for the android interactive word game, which was observed to be effective based on the higher post-test mean score or higher mean score of the pupils in the spelling skills after their exposure to the android interactive word game.

Crossing the bridge to literacy in foreign languages: C-test as a measure of language development

Abstract Throughout an educational career, literacy skills become more elaborated. However, little is known about the development of reading and writing skills in foreign languages in adolescents. In this contribution, we focused on the development of language skills in the foreign languages English and French in Germany as measured by a C-Test. Hereby, we aimed to explore the potential of C-tests to provide a differentiated approach to the assessment of foreign language development in secondary school students. We draw on the data from the German panel study “Multilingual Development: a Longitudinal Perspective” (MEZ) on students’ language skills in the foreign languages English (n = 1987) and French (n = 662). We investigated the differences in the means of “classical” and “word recognition” scores in English and French C-tests and the development of these differences. The application of both scores in our study provided differentiated information on students’ receptive and productive aspects of literacy in adolescents and showed that students in secondary school are still on their way of developing spelling skills in both foreign languages. Furthermore, our results reveal that the receptive and productive components of language proficiency show different developmental patterns at various stages of foreign language learning.

Predicting EFL vocabulary, reading, and spelling in English as a foreign language using paired-associate learning

L1 studies show that the paired-associate learning (PAL) of novel pronunciations, verbal learning, contributes to the prediction of individual differences in vocabulary, reading, and spelling development. The present study examined whether verbal learning predicts vocabulary and literacy development in English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Dutch Grade 7 students (N = 455) completed a PAL task in which they learned to associate known Dutch words with their unknown English (spoken and written) translation. Both verbal and orthographic learning were assessed. Additionally, vocabulary, and reading and spelling skills were measured at the beginning of Grade 7 and five months later. The results showed that verbal learning contributed to development in vocabulary and reading accuracy. The contribution of orthographic learning was limited to development in spelling and pseudoword reading fluency. Overall, these findings are in line with findings in L1, indicating that especially verbal learning adds to the prediction of EFL development.

A Network Analysis of the Relationship among Reading, Spelling and Maths Skills.

Background. Skill learning (e.g., reading, spelling and maths) has been predominantly treated separately in the neuropsychological literature. However, skills (as well as their corresponding deficits), tend to partially overlap. We recently proposed a multi-level model of learning skills (based on the distinction among competence, performance, and acquisition) as a framework to provide a unitary account of these learning skills. In the present study, we examined the performance of an unselected group of third- to fifth-grade children on standard reading, spelling, and maths tasks, and tested the relationships among these skills with a network analysis, i.e., a method particularly suited to analysing relations among different domains. Methods. We administered a battery of reading, spelling, and maths tests to 185 third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade children (103 M, 82 F). Results. The network analysis indicated that the different measures of the same ability (i.e., reading, spelling, and maths) formed separate clusters, in keeping with the idea that they are based on different competences. However, these clusters were also related to each other, so that three nodes were more central in connecting them. In keeping with the multi-level model of learning skills, two of these tests (arithmetic facts subtest and spelling words with ambiguous transcription) relied heavily on the ability to recall specific instances, a factor hypothesised to underlie the co-variation among learning skills. Conclusions. The network analysis indicated both elements of association and of partial independence among learning skills. Interestingly, the study was based on standard clinical instruments, indicating that the multi-level model of learning skills might provide a framework for the clinical analysis of these learning skills.

Fine motor and executive functioning skills predict maths and spelling skills at the start of kindergarten: a compensatory account (La motricidad fina y las funciones ejecutivas predicen las competencias en matemáticas y lengua escrita al comienzo de la etapa preescolar: una propuesta compensatoria)

ABSTRACT Research shows that executive functions (EF) and fine motor skills (FMS) contribute to early academic skills, possibly in overlapping ways. We examine whether and how EF and FMS interact in the concurrent prediction of maths, reading and spelling skills at the start of kindergarten. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) on data from 1248 five-year-olds supports a compensatory account of EF and FMS in contributing towards maths and spelling skills. Controlling for socio-economic status, age, time spent in kindergarten and intelligence, the influence of EF on spelling achievement was larger for children with poorer compared to better FMS, and vice versa; FMS significantly predicted maths achievement only in children with high but not low EF, and vice versa. Identifying EF or FMS difficulties at or before the start of kindergarten may be important. Different approaches to intervention involving EF and FMS may be appropriate for maths versus spelling skills. We suggest for early childhood curricula to enhance opportunities for FMS development, especially for children who enter kindergarten with poor FMS.

Assessing the Effectiveness of Structured Word Inquiry for Students in Grades 3 and 5 With Reading and Spelling Difficulties: A Randomized Controlled Trial

AbstractResearch syntheses have demonstrated that morphological instruction can improve the literacy skills of poor readers and spellers. However, studies have used a wide variety of training methods. Questions remain about what type of morphological instruction is most effective and under which circumstances. In this study, we conducted a randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of Structured Word Inquiry for poor readers and spellers. Structured Word Inquiry teaches students the logic of the English spelling system via instruction in morphology and etymology. Students in grades 3 and 5 with poor reading and spelling skills were randomly assigned to receive either Structured Word Inquiry instruction or a comparison instruction method involving robust vocabulary instruction and reciprocal teaching. Instruction was delivered by teaching assistants over the course of a full school year. After training, there were few differences between the groups in terms of literacy or vocabulary skills. However, teaching assistants found Structured Word Inquiry instruction challenging to deliver, which is likely to have impacted the results. Our findings have implications for the nature and content of morphological instruction for poor readers and spellers, and for future attempts to scale up the delivery of morphological interventions.

Supporting Acquisition of Spelling Skills in Different Orthographies Using an Empirically Validated Digital Learning Environment.

This paper discusses how the association learning principle works for supporting acquisition of basic spelling and reading skills using digital game-based learning environment with the Finland-based GraphoLearn (GL) technology. This program has been designed and validated to work with early readers of different alphabetic writing systems using repetition and reinforcing connections between spoken and written units. Initially GL was developed and found effective in training children at risk of reading disorders in Finland. Today GL training has been shown to support learning decoding skills among children independent of whether they face difficulties resulting from educational, social, or biological reasons.

The contributions of separate pinyin skills and oral vocabulary to Chinese word reading of U.S. Mandarin immersion third graders

The present study aimed to examine the contributions of two separate Pinyin skills and oral vocabulary to Chinese word reading of 70 third graders in a U.S. Mandarin Immersion program where Pinyin was introduced at Grade 3. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that Pinyin initial-final spelling—the skill to spell Chinese syllables using Pinyin letters—and oral vocabulary were uniquely associated with Chinese word reading, after accounting for the effects of phonological awareness and the other Pinyin skill of tone identification. The variance in Chinese word reading explained by tone identification was fully accounted for by oral vocabulary, Pinyin initial–final spelling, and phonological awareness, suggesting that tone identification might involve both phonology- and meaning-related processes. Oral vocabulary and tone identification explained more shared variance in Chinese word reading than the two code-related skills of phonological awareness and Pinyin initial-final spelling. The importance of meaning-related skills in learning the deep orthography of Chinese characters for Chinese L2 young learners is discussed.

Neural patterns of word processing differ in children with dyslexia and isolated spelling deficit

There is an ongoing debate concerning the extent to which deficits in reading and spelling share cognitive components and whether they rely, in a similar fashion, on sublexical and lexical pathways of word processing. The present study investigates whether the neural substrates of word processing differ in children with various patterns of reading and spelling deficits. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we compared written and auditory processing in three groups of 9–13-year olds (N = 104): (1) with age-adequate reading and spelling skills; (2) with reading and spelling deficits (i.e., dyslexia); (3) with isolated spelling deficits but without reading deficits. In visual word processing, both deficit groups showed hypoactivations in the posterior superior temporal cortex compared to typical readers and spellers. Only children with dyslexia exhibited hypoactivations in the ventral occipito-temporal cortex compared to the two groups of typical readers. This is the result of an atypical pattern of higher activity in the occipito-temporal cortex for non-linguistic visual stimuli than for words, indicating lower selectivity. The print–speech convergence was reduced in the two deficit groups. Impairments in lexico-orthographic regions in a reading-based task were associated primarily with reading deficits, whereas alterations in the sublexical word processing route could be considered common for both reading and spelling deficits. These findings highlight the partly distinct alterations of the language network related to reading and spelling deficits.

The contribution of individual differences in statistical learning to reading and spelling performance in children with and without dyslexia.

Using an individual differences approach in children with and without dyslexia, this study investigated the hypothesized relationship between statistical learning ability and literacy (reading and spelling) skills. We examined the clinical relevance of statistical learning (serial reaction time and visual statistical learning tasks) by controlling for potential confounds at the participant level (e.g., non‐verbal reasoning, attention and phonological skills including rapid automatized naming and phonological short‐term memory). A 100 Dutch‐speaking 8‐ to 11‐year‐old children with and without dyslexia participated (50 per group), see also van Witteloostuijn et al. (2019) for a study with the same participants. No evidence of a relationship between statistical learning and literacy skills is found above and beyond participant‐level variables. Suggestions from the literature that the link between statistical learning and literacy attainment, and therefore its clinical relevance, might be small and strongly influenced by methodological differences between studies are not contradicted by our findings.

A sentence-combining intervention for struggling writers: response to intervention

Children who struggle with writing are a heterogeneous group and may experience difficulties in a range of domains, including spelling, reading, and oral language. These difficulties are reflected in their writing and may influence their responsiveness to writing interventions. The effectiveness of a targeted sentence-combining intervention to improve the writing skills of 71 struggling writers, aged 7 to 10 years, was compared with a spelling intervention and a business as usual (waiting list) control condition. Some struggling writers also performed poorly on measures of reading and oral language. Children's performance on a range of writing measures were assessed at baseline (t1), immediate post-test (t2) and delayed post-test (t3). Children receiving the sentence-combining intervention showed significant improvements in the sentence combining measure at t2 and t3 compared to both the spelling intervention and waiting list controls. Exploratory regression analyses found that children in the sentence-combining intervention, with a low t1 sentence combining score, low reading skills or better t1 spelling skills, were more likely to show improvements at t2. Findings indicate that when devising interventions for struggling writers, specific profiles of skills should be considered. Specifically, sentence combining may be more appropriate for SWs whose primary area of difficulty is reading, rather than poor spelling or oral language.

Effects of a phonics-based intervention on the reading skills of students with intellectual disability

BackgroundTo date, only a few studies with randomized controlled trials have been published on the effectiveness of phonics-based reading interventions to teach decoding and spelling skills to students with intellectual disability. AimsThis study evaluated the effects of a phonics-based reading intervention program on the progress of French-speaking elementary students with intellectual disability. MethodsA total of 48 non decoding elementary students with intellectual disability were randomly assigned to either a treatment group or a control group. Most of the participants (75 %) had nonverbal IQs below 55. The reading intervention program was implemented for seven months by the students’ teachers and mainly in a small-group format (two to four students). ResultsStudents from the treatment group made significantly more progress in word and nonword reading measured by a researcher-designed test with a medium effect size. An almost significant difference was also found on spelling (p = .058) and on word and nonword reading measured with a standardized test (p = .060) with medium effect sizes. ConclusionsThese findings suggest that students with ID benefit from phonics-based programs integrating research-based approaches and techniques.