The Effect of Feature Complexity in Spanish Spelling in Grades 1-3

• In Event: Exploring Influences on Learning English as a Second Language

Abstract

The current study explored a possible continuum of spelling features that children receiving literacy instruction in Spanish might be expected to master in Grades 1-3. We administered a developmental spelling inventory representing nine distinct Spanish spelling features to 864 students in bilingual and dual language schools across the U.S. Findings revealed a distinct hierarchy of Spanish spelling features that move from reliance solely on sound-symbol correspondences (e.g., open syllables, closed syllables, blends, nasals, diphthongs) to word patterns (e.g., inconsistent consonants and rule-based consonants) and finally to meaning units (e.g., affixes and roots).

Authors

• Karen Lee Ford, University of Virginia

• Francis Howard Lim Huang, University of Missouri - Columbia

• Marcia A. Invernizzi, University of Virginia