The Future of Education

Edition 14

Accepted Abstracts

Teaching and Learning Standard English Spelling

Tessa Daffern, University of Wollongong (Australia)

Abstract

Learning to spell in Standard English is a complex word-formation problem solving process, yet it is a critical fundamental literacy skill to teach. While explicit instruction in spelling is known to improve literacy outcomes (Graham & Santangelo, 2014), there is a need to better understand what type of explicit teaching is effective, particularly beyond the first few years of formal schooling. This session provides a summary of findings from an intervention study that explored the effectiveness of using error analysis to systematically plan and deliver explicit teaching of the phonological, orthographic and morphological components of spelling. Informed by Triple Word Form Theory (Daffern, Mackenzie, & Hemmings, 2015; Daffern & Ramful, 2019), the 10-week intervention study involved 572 students, aged between 8 and 12 years, from four demographically diverse schools in Australia. Classroom teachers involved in the intervention group (n=14) were required to systematically respond to the diverse linguistic needs of their students as determined by a spelling error analysis tool informed by Triple Word Form Theory (Daffern, Mackenzie, & Hemmings, 2015). Teachers in the comparison group (n=17) continued their practice following a ‘business as usual’ pedagogy which was largely characterized by rote learning and phonics. Results of this study indicate that the intervention was significantly effective in improving performance in spelling across all classes in the intervention group. By contrast, no significant gains were observed in the comparison classes. Implications of the findings for the assessment and teaching of Standard English spelling, as well as theoretical perspectives on spelling development, will be discussed. Examples of specific recommended teaching and assessment strategies will also be shared.

Keywords: English spelling, language teaching, language assessment, writing.

References:
[1] Daffern, T., Mackenzie, N. M., & Hemmings, B. (2015). The development of a spelling assessment tool informed by Triple Word Form Theory. Australian Journal of Language & Literacy, 38(2), 72-82.
[2] Daffern, T., & Ramful, A. (2019). Measurement of spelling ability: Construction and validation of a phonological, orthographic and morphological pseudo-word instrument. Reading and Writing, 26(8). doi:10.1007/s11145-019-09976-1
[3] Graham, S., & Santangelo, T. (2014). Does spelling instruction make students better spellers, readers, and writers? A meta-analytic review. Reading and Writing, 27(9), 1703-1743. doi:10.1007/s11145-014-9517-0
[4] Richards, T., Aylward, E., Field, K., Grimme, A., Raskind, W., Richards, A., . . . Berninger, V. (2006). Converging evidence for triple word form theory in children with dyslexia. Developmental Neuropsychology, 30(1), 547-589. doi:10.1207/s15326942dn3001_3

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