An Investigation of the Spelling Skills of Braille Readers

Abstract

This study compared the spelling skills of students who are braille readers to a normative sample. The Test of Written Spelling was administered to 23 students who are blind at various grade levels to ascertain their spelling ability. A one-sample t-test indicated no significant difference in spelling ability. Implications are discussed.The authors dedicate this article to their dear colleague, Norma DeMario, who served individuals with visual impairments with grace, dignity, and passion.

An Investigation of Spelling in the Written Compositions of Students who Read Braille

“…The braille errors were identified and omitted from this analysis. The TWS-4 allowed an analysis of the spelling of individual words, and the results of that study, which was previously published, indicated that the participants did not differ significantly from their sighted peers in this regard (Clark & Stoner, 2008).…”

“…The differences between traditional writing production, through the use of a pen and paper, and the use of braille have not been investigated in regard to spelling. Since research has indicated that students who read braille are similar to sighted children regarding the spelling of individual words (Argyropoulos & Martos, 2006;Clark & Stoner, 2008), one would assume that spelling in written compositions would also be similar. The difficulty is that there are no standard assessments for determining typical spelling ability in written compositions for children with no disabilities and thus that a comparison with children who are blind is difficult at best.…”

“…The few studies that have focused on the spelling skills of students who read braille have found that these students' spelling skills are similar to those of sighted students when spelling individual words (Clark & Stoner, 2008;Dodd & Conn, 2000;Gillon & Young, 2002;Grenier & Giroux, 1997). Although spelling assessments of individual words are valuable, they lack natural relevance (Tindal & Marston, 1990) because individuals are rarely asked to spell individual words in isolation outside elementary school.…”

Διδακτική Των Αγγλικών Ως Ξένης Γλώσσας Σε Μαθητές Με Προβλήματα Όρασης: Η Εκπαίδευση Των Καθηγητών Της Αγγλικής Γλώσσας

“…Αρκετοί ερευνητές έχουν ασχοληθεί με τις γνώσεις και τις δεξιότητες που πρέπει να διαθέτουν οι εκπαιδευτικοί των μαθητών με προβλήματα όρασης (βλ. αναλυτικά Clark & Stoner, 2008). Αναφέρεται ότι η επάρκεια που θα πρέπει να έχουν οι εκπαιδευτικοί των μαθητών με προβλήματα όρασης που αποφοιτούν από πανεπιστημιακά εκπαιδευτικά προγράμματα περιλαμβάνει τη γνώση των μεθόδων και των υλικών για τη διδασκαλία της ανάγνωσης, τη γνώση των μεθόδων και των υλικών για τη διδασκαλία της ανάγνωσης Braille, την ικανότητα χειρισμού συσκευών και μεθόδων, την ικανότητα να εντάσσουν την Braille στην τάξη και τη χρήση λογισμικού για τη μεταγραφή σε Braille (Clark & Stoner, 2008, σ.…”

Vocabulary Word Instruction for Students Who Read Braille

“…Recent research suggests that Braille use does not affect spelling ability (Clark & Stoner, 2008; Clark-Bischke & Stoner, 2009; Wall-Emerson et al, 2009). Clark and Stoner (2008) administered the Test of Written Spelling (Larsen, Hammill, & Moats, 1999) to Braille users and compared scores to the normative sample. Results showed that Braille users had scores similar to the general population, as defined by the normative sample.…”