Spelling Proficiency Research Articles

Constructed‐response spelling and literacy development: an application in an urban classroom

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of constructed‐response spelling procedures with disadvantaged children attending a public inner‐city elementary school. Ten students of primarily Cape Verdean descent participated in the study as part of a classroom‐wide implementation of constructed‐response procedures. A multiple‐treatment design was used to assess the effectiveness of the constructed‐response strategy versus traditional spelling instruction. The dependent variable was the percent of words spelled correctly on weekly spelling tests. Results indicated that mean spelling scores were higher during both constructed‐response conditions than during traditional instruction for 9 of the 10 students. The relationship between spelling proficiency and literacy development is discussed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

From letter names to word reading: The nascent role of sublexical fluency

Information processing theory suggests that sublexical fluency skills are important to word reading development, but there are few supportive data. This study investigated if sublexical fluency (letter name fluency, letter sound fluency, and phoneme segmentation fluency) contributed to the development of word reading and spelling in 92 kindergarten children. The pattern of findings suggests that, as early as kindergarten, sublexical fluency skills explain a small, but significant, amount of unique variance in literacy outcomes when also considering the influence of accuracy in these skills. Also, growth in sublexical fluency skills is related to both word reading and spelling proficiency at the end of kindergarten. We suggest that knowledge of early literacy skill development may be enhanced by attention to sublexical fluency and that these skills, specifically letter sound fluency, may provide the mechanism that supports early word reading and spelling.

The effects of computer technology in assisting the development of literacy in young struggling readers and spellers

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effect of MultiFunk, a computer program designed to assist reading, on the reading and spelling proficiency of struggling readers. Fifty‐two below‐average readers and spellers, in grades 5, 6 and 7, were randomly assigned as experimental and control groups (N = 26 + 26). In addition, 114 classmates, who read normally, were included to compare changes in basic literacy development during the intervention. A pre‐test, intervention, post‐test, control‐group design was used to evaluate the effects of the software, using texts to suit the pupils’ own choices and interests. The findings indicate that computerized assistive reading has the potential to aid and support the development of basic literacy skills in a broad group of struggling readers and spellers. Issues concerning the MultiFunk text‐to‐speech technology are discussed.

The Developmental Dynamics of Literacy Skills During the First Grade

The aim of the study was to investigate prospective relationships between reading and writing performance during the first grade of primary school. The data was collected from 83 Finnish‐speaking children who were examined four times on reading, spelling, and productive writing skills during the first grade. At the beginning of the school year, they were also tested on initial reading skill. The results showed that reading and spelling manifested a reciprocal relationship during the first semester: reading performance increased subsequent spelling proficiency, and spelling skills enhanced subsequent reading. Later on, however, reading predicted spelling in a less reciprocal association. In turn, productivity of writing predicted subsequent reading performance during the first grade although the reverse was not true. The results suggest that it may be important to emphasize the support which compositional writing may offer to the development of reading.

Processing of phonological representations and adult spelling proficiency

In Experiment 1, good and poor spellers in a sample of university students differed most markedly in pronunciation accuracy on highly irregular words, and spelling ability was strongly associated with pronunciation accuracy for recently studied unfamiliar words. In Experiment 2, students named recently studied, unfamiliar words and matched familiar controls, named nonwords, and recalled six-item-sequences of visually and aurally presented consonants. Accuracy at nonword pronunciation was the primary predictor of spelling after nonverbal intelligence was controlled. Ability to reproduce unfamiliar-word pronunciations did not improve the contribution made by the other predictors of Experiment 2. The results are consistent with the importance in spelling of well-established representations of words for fluent retrieval of pronunciation and meaning. In addition, they support a major role in spelling of facility with producing phonological codes for visually presented, word-like letter strings.

Rapid processing of base and derived forms of words and grades 4, 5 and 6 children's spelling

This paper emphasizes the productive aspect of morphological processingand the effect on spelling proficiency in 226 grades 4, 5 and 6 children. Two convergent studies using reaction time measures aimed at exploring ten- to twelve-year old spellers' sensitivity to, and knowledge of, derivational morphology with lexical items varying in orthographic and phonological transparency and opacity. There is some evidence, from the accurate and rapid vocal production of base forms or derived forms of source words in sentential contexts, that the depth of segmentation to base morphology and the converse process of derived morphology of words, plays a role in spelling performance of these children. There are complex orthographic, phonological and semantic factors affecting morphological processing.

Enhancing Spelling Performance of Students with Mental Retardation: Comparative Effects of Three Remediation Procedures

We examined the comparative effects of three specialized remediation procedures on the spelling accuracy of students with moderate mental retardation. In the first experiment, we compared directed rehearsal and imitation training against a no-training control condition, in an alternating treatments design. Both procedures were more effective than a no-training control condition, and imitation training was marginally more effective than directed rehearsal. In the second experiment, we investigated further the effectiveness of imitation training by comparing its effects against interspersal training and a no-training control condition in an alternating treatments design. Although both procedures were more effective than no training, there was little difference between the two procedures, in terms of the students’ rate of learning new words. This study showed that these three specialized remediation procedures can be used to increase the spelling proficiency of students with moderate mental retardation.

Enhancing the Spelling Performance of Learning Disabled Students

We investigated whether the efficacy of directed rehearsal could be enhanced by increasing a student's motivation through task variation. The efficacy of three conditions (directed rehearsal, directed rehearsal combined with task variation, and no-training control) on the spelling performance of four students with learning disabilities was compared in an alternating treatments design. Following each spelling error during the directed rehearsal condition, the teacher pronounced the word, the student pronounced the word, the teacher said aloud each letter of the word, and the student said aloud each letter of the word as he wrote the word correctly. This sequence was repeated five times. The same procedure was used during directed rehearsal plus task variation, except that previously learned words were alternately presented with new words. Results showed that although the two training conditions were more effective than no training, there was no difference between the two training procedures in terms of the cumulative number of words learned to criterion. This study showed that the addition of task variation to directed rehearsal does not increase the spelling proficiency of learning disabled students.

Does the study of Latin affect spelling proficiency?

This investigation explores Latin study as a possible route to superior spelling proficiency. The spelling ability of two groups of academically able eleventh graders — students of Latin and students of other second languages — is compared. It was found that the Latin students were superior in general spelling ability and were particularly proficient at spelling words of Latin origin. In addition, analysis of the spelling of derivatives for which knowledge of Latin could either facilitate or mislead the speller shows that Latin students were differentially affected by the two types of derivatives. In contrast, students of other second languages, lacking the knowledge of Latinate derivatives, simply made more errors on both types of words. Thus, it appears that Latin study does have an effect on spelling performance. Whether it can fully account for the superior spelling proficiency of the Latin students, however, remains a question to be answered by a prospective longitudinal investigation. Implications for instruction drawn from the present study are discussed.

Use of Computer Assisted Instruction to Improve Spelling Proficiency of Low Achieving First Graders

Computer-assisted instruction (CAI) has proved effective in many classroom situations. In this study, seven single case experiments were conducted with first graders who were experiencing difficulty remembering their spelling words, to determine whether CAI could improve spelling accuracy. Results were encouraging.

THE USE OF SIGNING AND FINGER SPELLING TO IMPROVE SPELLING PERFORMANCE WITH HEARING CHILDREN

Single Case Experiments (N=l), while initially developed for clinical studies, are gaining respectability for classroom research. This report of the use of finger spelling and signing as an asset to spelling proficiency is an example. Using an AB (N=l) design this experiment is labeled pre‐experimental. It suggests, however, that finger spelling and signing should be studies in more precise designs (ABAB, for example) since the results reported here are encouraging. That each first grade student using the independent variable improved spelling performance in the N=l experiment encourages further investigation.

Assessment of the Effectiveness of a Juvenile Transitional Center for Facilitating Re-entry

Abstract The programmatic research presented in this study concerned the Jefferson Parish Day Caie Transitional Center Project in Gretna, Louisiana, a community-based day care treatment program offering services to adjudicated juveniles who have lengthy records or prior arrests and convictions. This research is part of a more comprehensive on-going program evaluative effort. The purpose of (he programmatic research involved in this investigation was to gain a tint approximation to impact evaluation. The research involved before and after measures on target participants in the areas of (1) reading, spelling and math proficiency as measured by the Wide Range Achievement Test; (2) intelligent quotients as determined by administration of the Slosson Verbal IQ Test; (3) personality traits as derived by the Minnesota Multiple Phasic Inventory Test or the KinCannon short version for low readers; and (4) arrests/offenses as recorded in Jefferson Parish Juvenile Courts Services' masterflle. Simple before and after...