Preliteracy Speech Sound Production Skill and Linguistic Characteristics of Grade 3 Spellings: A Study Using the Templin Archive.

PURPOSE: This archival investigation examined the relationship between preliteracy speech sound production skill (SSPS) and spelling in Grade 3 using a dataset in which children's receptive vocabulary was generally within normal limits, speech therapy was not provided until Grade 2, and phonological awareness instruction was discouraged at the time data were collected. METHOD: Participants (N = 250), selected from the Templin Archive (Templin, 2004), varied on prekindergarten SSPS. Participants' real word spellings in Grade 3 were evaluated using a metric of linguistic knowledge, the Computerized Spelling Sensitivity System (Masterson & Apel, 2013). Relationships between kindergarten speech error types and later spellings also were explored. RESULTS: Prekindergarten children in the lowest SPSS (7th percentile) scored poorest among articulatory subgroups on both individual spelling elements (phonetic elements, junctures, and affixes) and acceptable spelling (using relatively more omissions and illegal spelling patterns). Within the 7th percentile subgroup, there were no statistical spelling differences between those with mostly atypical speech sound errors and those with mostly typical speech sound errors. CONCLUSIONS: Findings were consistent with predictions from dual route models of spelling that SSPS is one of many variables associated with spelling skill and that children with impaired SSPS are at risk for spelling difficulty.

Comparing the spelling and reading abilities of students with cochlear implants and students with typical hearing.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether students with and without hearing loss (HL) differed in their spelling abilities and, specifically, in the underlying linguistic awareness skills that support spelling ability. Furthermore, we examined whether there were differences between the two groups in the relationship between reading and spelling. We assessed the spelling, word-level reading, and reading comprehension skills of nine students with cochlear implants and nine students with typical hearing who were matched for reading age. The students' spellings were analyzed to determine whether the misspellings were due to errors with phonemic awareness, orthographic pattern or morphological awareness, or poor mental graphemic representations. The students with HL demonstrated markedly less advanced spelling abilities than the students with typical hearing. For the students with HL, the misspellings were primarily due to deficiencies in orthographic pattern and morphological awareness. Correlations between measures of spelling and both real word reading and reading comprehension were lower for the students with HL. With additional investigations using a similar approach to spelling analysis that captures the underlying causes for spelling errors, researchers will better understand the linguistic awareness abilities that students with HL bring to the task of reading and spelling.

A comparison of oral and written english styles in african american students at different stages of writing development.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this investigation was to compare the rates of using African American English (AAE) grammatical features in spoken and written language at different points in literacy development. Based on Kroll's model (1981), a high degree of similarity in use between the modalities was expected at Grade 3, and lower similarity was expected at Grade 8. METHOD: Spoken and written language samples were analyzed for the occurrence of 6 AAE morphosyntactic features. Fifteen third graders and 15 eighth graders were asked to respond to interview questions and to retell stories in both modalities. Percentage use of the AAE grammatical features and a dialectal density measure were used to measure rates of AAE occurrence. RESULTS: Findings indicated comparable use of dialect in spoken and written modalities for 3(rd) graders, but a difference in use between the modalities for 8(th) graders. The 8(th) graders used more dialectal features in speaking than writing. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that there is likely a period in writing development when speakers of AAE learn to dialect switch in their writing.

Phonemic awareness and early spelling skills in urban Australian Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children.

This study investigated the phonological awareness and early spelling skills of 10 Australian Aboriginal and 10 non-Aboriginal children in their first year of schooling at urban schools. Phonological awareness was assessed using a standardized test (the Queensland University Inventory of Literacy), and children completed a standard spelling task that required them to generate spelling attempts in response to 12 line drawings of familiar animals. Spelling was analysed using the Spelling Scoring Sensitivity procedure. All children performed within the normal range for scores on the QUIL. However, as a group, Aboriginal children performed more poorly than their non-Aboriginal peers. Statistically significant differences were found on the subtests non-word spelling, non-word reading, and phoneme segmentation. Both formal scoring and informal observations were used to examine the spelling skills of participants. Possible explanations of the differences between groups are discussed in terms of health and cultural factors, and implications for the education of Aboriginal children are suggested.

Coach talk: linguistic demands inherent in youth sports.

PURPOSE: This investigation expands the notion of academic language to extracurricular activities and provides preliminary data regarding linguistic expectations that are place on students who are participating in youth sports. METHOD: Five coaches of young girls' basketball teams (2 competitive; 3 recreational) were observed during practice sessions divided into individual versus group and stationary versus active contexts. Communication was characterized with various measures of content, form, and use. RESULTS: Coaches rarely used pauses or communicative repetitions. Recreational coaches' utterances contained more mazes than competitive coaches' utterances. Utterances used during stationary activities tended to be longer and contain more than one verb compared to utterances used during active activities; sentence fragments were more frequent during active contexts. All coaches used jargon quite frequently. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: The system reported here can be used to document linguistic demands in other extracurricular activities, such as music programs and scouting. Speech-language pathologists might include clinical activities to help students deal successfully with the linguistic requirements that are inherent in sporting activities.

Effects of phonotactic and orthotactic probabilities during fast mapping on 5-year-olds' learning to spell.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the orthographic-processing skills of typically developing 5-year-old preschool children. Of interest was whether phonotactic probabilities and/or orthotactic probabilities affected their ability to quickly learn the orthographic forms of 12 novel words. Orthographic processing was measured by the children's ability to spell and identify spellings of the novel words. Specifically, we were interested in whether (a) children quickly stored or "fast mapped" orthographic information after minimal exposure to novel words during storybook readings, (b) phonotactic and orthotactic probabilities affected orthographic fast-mapping skills, and (c) orthographic processing explained unique variance on a measure of the children's early spelling abilities. The results of this study indicated that young children quickly fast mapped orthographic information after minimal exposure to novel words, and their spelling (generation or reproduction but not recognition) was influenced by phonotactic and orthotactic probabilities. The significance of this work is that it demonstrates that preschoolers can fast map orthographic words they see onto spoken words they hear while listening to storybooks read to them and that the spelling of preschoolers is influenced uniquely by both phonological and orthographic information (probability of frequent letter and sound sequences in English words).

Effect of modality on spelling words varying in linguistic demands.

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which spelling accuracy is influenced by response modality. A spelling list consisting of 40 words that varied in linguistic complexity was administered to students in Grades 2 through 6. Each student completed three tasks: (a) a words-per-minute measure to determine keyboarding proficiency, (b) spelling a word list via handwriting, and (c) spelling a word list on a computer. Independent variables included response modality, linguistic complexity, and grade level. Dependent measures included the percent words spelled correctly. Keyboarding proficiency was included as a covariate. Modality rarely affected spelling accuracy, regardless of the linguistic complexity of the target words. These findings suggest that spelling knowledge draws on modality-free, lexical representations stored in long-term memory. Further, they suggest that computer-based instruments are a viable option for spelling assessment.

A comparison of single words and conversational speech in phonological evaluation.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the current study was to compare conversational speech samples with single-word samples that were partially tailored to the participants' individual phonological profiles, using aspects of nonlinear phonological frameworks as a basis for evaluation. METHOD: There were 20 participants in the study, ranging in age from 3;0 to 10;5 (years;months). The Computerized Articulation and Phonology Evaluation System (J. J. Masterson & B. Bernhardt, 2001) was used to elicit single-word productions. RESULTS: Both group and individual comparisons indicated very few differences in accuracy or treatment ramifications. The time required to elicit and transcribe the conversational samples was typically 3 times greater than the time required for the single-word task. The single-word task elicited more of the English-language targets. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that a single-word task tailored to some extent to the client's phonological system gives sufficient and representative information for phonological evaluation. A brief conversational sample remains useful for examining prosody, intelligibility, and other aspects of language, and as a check on the representativeness of the single-word sample.

El deletreo en inglés y en español: desarrollo, evaluación e intervención / The spelling in english and spanish: development, evaluation and intervention

El deletreo es una habilidad lingüística compleja que requiere de la conciencia fonológica, del conocimiento ortográfico, del conocimiento morfológico y de la habilidad para almacenar representaciones de partes de palabras. Se define cada uno de estos cuatro factores y se describe el papel que ellos desempeñan en los diversos momentos del desarrollo del deletreo. Se incluyen ejemplos de habilidades de deletreo de niños que estan adquiriendo el inglés y de niños que estan adquiriendo el español. Se sugiere un modelo para la evaluación del deletreo y se proporcionan principios para su intervención.

Theory-Guided Spelling Assessment and Intervention: A Case Study.

PURPOSE: Current research and theory in spelling development and best practices for literacy instruction were reviewed to develop a set of theoretically guided assessment and intervention procedures. These procedures were applied to the case of a 13-year-old student with spelling difficulties. METHOD: The student was involved in an intensive group intervention program that focused on increasing foundational skills for spelling and on oral word-level reading. Assessment results led to an intervention program targeting phonemic and morphological awareness skills and orthographic knowledge. RESULTS: The student demonstrated clinically significant growth in phonemic and morphological awareness, orthographic knowledge, spelling, and word-level reading. CONCLUSION: Results of the case study suggest that assessment and intervention procedures guided by theory and research can lead speech-language pathologists to effective participation in aspects of spelling remediation. Additionally, the case study may serve as a model for clinical services and evidence-based practice within clinical settings.

Learning to Spell: Implications for Assessment and Intervention.

Background information regarding spelling development and factors that influence spelling performance are presented. The use of this information in assessment and intervention activities with a student who had deficits in spelling is illustrated. After 6 weeks of treatment, the student showed improvements in both formal and informal measures of spelling performance. Implications for optimal assessment and intervention methods, as well as directions for future research, are discussed.