The relation between orthographic processing and spelling in grade 1 French immersion children

Abstract

This study investigates the within-and cross-language relations between orthographic processing and spelling for children learning to read in languages that share the same Roman script: namely, English and French. We examined these relations in a group of 152 children attending grade 1 in a French immersion program. Measures of English and French lexical orthographic processing (e.g., dream-dreem; jaune-jeaune) as well as English and French spelling were administered. Control measures included nonverbal ability, English phonological awareness, as well as rapid automatised naming, vocabulary, and word reading in English and French. We found a within-language relation between orthographic processing and spelling in each of English and French. Cross-language transfer from French orthographic processing to English spelling was also observed; there were no relations in the other direction. Our results suggest that orthographic processing is important for spelling development among bilingual children learning English and French. What is already known about this topic• Orthographic processing plays an important role in monolingual children's word reading and spelling • Orthographic processing in one language is significantly related to word reading in the other language in bilingual children who are acquiring languages that share the same script • The extent to which orthographic processing is related to spelling is not clear in bilingual children What this paper adds• Orthographic processing contributes to spelling within English and French in a novel group of bilingual children in French immersion • Orthographic processing in French transfers to spelling in English

The Effect of Orthographic Neighbors on Second‐Grade Students’ Spelling Acquisition

“…This seems to suggest that although phonological skills play a dominant role in spelling (Cunningham, 2006; Share, 1999), depending on the learning condition, orthographic processing might have a stronger influence on spelling acquisition. Learners’ abilities to perceive, access, and manipulate orthographic representations and patterns play an important role in their spelling acquisition (Chung et al, 2018). Fostering early‐grade learners’ orthographic skills would, therefore, be recommended to enhance spelling instruction.…”

“…A series of studies on orthographic learning and self‐teaching has consistently demonstrated the importance of phonological skills when learning to read and spell (i.e., Cunningham, 2006; Share, 1999). However, less research has focused on the role of orthographic processing in spelling acquisition (Chung, Chen, & Deacon, 2018).…”

“…To date, our best evidence of orthographic processing and learning to spell is concurrent and predictive correlational evidence between orthographic processing and spelling and additional and independent variance in spelling explained by orthographic processing (e.g., Chung et al, 2018; Cunningham, 2006; Ouellette & Sénéchal, 2008; Rahbari, Sénéchal, & Arab‐Moghaddam, 2007). However, beyond the positive association between orthographic processing and spelling and the variance it explains, there is much more to be known (Chung et al, 2018). Of particular interest to us is whether the role of orthographic processing in spelling acquisition depends on word features and learning conditions, which we explored in the current study.…”

Lesen in der Fremdsprache Französisch. Kompetenzen von Drittklässlerinnen und Drittklässlern mit unterschiedlichen Schrift- und Sprachfähigkeiten in der Erstsprache Deutsch

“…B. alphabetisch oder logographisch). Andererseits gibt es auch Universalien, die für alle Schriftsprachen Gültigkeit haben (Perfetti & Verhoeven, 2017a (Chung et al, 2017;Chung et al, 2018;Commissaire et al, 2014;Kahn-Horwitz et al, 2014;Kim & Piper, 2019;Kuo et al, 2016;Shakkour, 2014;Wawire & Kim, 2018). Dabei zeigen sich besonders auf der Ebe-ne der hierarchiehöheren Leseprozesse Transferleistungen, wenig erstaunlich, handelt es sich dabei doch um konzeptuelles Wissen wie die Hinzuziehung von Vorwissen, die Inferenzziehung oder die Aktivierung von Textformatwissen (vgl.…”

Morphological awareness and literacy in second language learners: a cross-language perspective

“…For these learners, transfer occurs from a highly proficient L1 to a less proficient L2. However, recent studies have demonstrated cross-language transfer of metalinguistic skills from the L2 to L1, or in both directions in emerging bilinguals acquiring two languages simultaneously (e.g., Chen, Xu, Nguyen, Hong, & Wang, 2010;Chung, Chen, & Deacon, 2018a). To expand the scope of the transfer facilitation model, Chung, Chen, and Geva (2018b) proposes an interactive framework, which identifies key factors that influence transfer in both directions in bilingual learners of different levels of proficiency.…”