Cross-linguistic Study of Spelling in English as a Foreign Language
Cross-linguistic Study of Spelling in English as a Foreign Language

Author: Nadezda Lvovna Dich

Publisher:

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 168

ISBN-13:

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The study investigated the effects of learning literacy in different first languages (L1s) on the acquisition of spelling in English as a foreign language (EFL). The hypothesis of the study was that given the same amount of practice, English learners from different first language backgrounds would differ on their English spelling proficiency because different orthographies "train" spelling skills differently and therefore the opportunities for positive cross-linguistic transfer that benefits English spelling would differ across L1s. The study also predicted that cross-linguistic differences in English spelling would not be the same across different components of spelling proficiency because cross-linguistic transfer would affect some skills involved in spelling competence, but not others. The study tested native speakers of Danish, Italian, and Russian with intermediate to advanced EFL proficiency. The three languages were chosen for this study based on the differences in native language spelling skills required to learn the three orthographies. One hundred Danish, 98 Italian, and 104 Russian university students, as well as a control group of 95 American students were recruited to participate in the web-based study, which was composed of four tasks testing four skills previously identified as components of English spelling proficiency: irregular word spelling, sensitivity to morphological spelling cues, sensitivity to context -driven probabilistic orthographic patterns, and phonological awareness. The study confirmed the existence of cross-linguistic differences in English spelling and found that the differences were not the same across different spelling skills tested in the study. The evidence from the study suggests that the characteristics of L1 orthography have an impact on the cognitive procedures involved in second language spelling explained by the transfer of cognitive spelling strategies from L1 to L2. The study contributes to the relatively new area of research investigating spelling in a second language by exploring languages that have not been previously studied in the context of EFL spelling and by considering multiple aspects of spelling proficiency. The implications of the findings for theoretical cognitive-linguistic research and educational practices are discussed.

Dyslexia in First and Foreign Language Learning
Dyslexia in First and Foreign Language Learning

Author: Monika Lodej

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2016-08-17

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 1443898120

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According to International Educational Statistics (2008), there are total of 654.9 million school-age children in the world. If dyslexia affects 10–15% of these youth (Fletcher et al. 2007), this translates to approximately 65–98 million students with difficulties in reading and writing. The EU strategic plan for education (2010) recognises the need for EU citizens to speak a foreign language. As such, foreign language courses are introduced on an obligatory basis at the primary level of education. Dyslexic students are not exempt from this regulation, and, thus, are confronted with different language systems that must be mastered. The difficulty here escalates if the systems differ significantly in their levels of orthographic transparency. Reading and writing are operationalised by the same biological functions that are defined by the universal perspective. However, language systems differ in terms of their transparency; for example, English and French are considered opaque scripts, whereas Spanish and Italian are described as transparent orthographies. These differences are discussed in this book as part of the language specific perspective, which can, in turn, raise questions such as: “Is a dyslexic student equally impaired in any language they study?” and “Is the type of difficulty primarily dependent on the language system or is it rather a dyslexia syndrome?” This volume provides answers through a synthesis of research on reading difficulties in first and foreign languages and existing taxonomies of dyslexia sub-types.

Learning to Spell
Learning to Spell

Author: Charles A. Perfetti

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 1997-08-01

Total Pages: 448

ISBN-13: 1135691339

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This distinctive cross-linguistic examination of spelling examines the cognitive processes that underlie spelling and the process of learning how to spell. The chapters report and summarize recent research in English, German, Hebrew, and French. Framing the specific research on spelling are chapters that place spelling in braod theoretical perspectives provided by cognitive neuroscience, psycholinguistic, and writing system-linguistic frameworks. Of special interest is the focus on two major interrelated issues: how spelling is acquired and the relationship between reading and spelling. An important dimension of the book is the interweaving of these basic questions about the nature of spelling with practical questions about how children learn to spell in classrooms. A motivating factor in this work was to demonstrate that spelling research has become a central challenging topic in the study of cognitive processes, rather than an isolated skill learned in school. It thus brings together schooling and learning issues with modern cognitive research in a unique way. testing, children writing strings of letters as a teacher pronounces words ever so clearly. In parts of the United States it can also bring an image of specialized wizardry and school room competition, the "spelling bee." And for countless adults who confess with self-deprecation to being "terrible spellers," it is a reminder of a mysterious but minor affliction that the fates have visited on them. Beneath these popular images, spelling is a human literacy ability that reflects language and nonlanguage cognitive processes. This collection of papers presents a sample of contemporary research across different languages that addresses this ability. To understand spelling as an interesting scientific problem, there are several important perspectives. First, spelling is the use of conventionalized writing systems that encode languages. A second asks how children learn to spell. Finally, from a literacy point of view, another asks the extent to which spelling and reading are related. In collecting some of the interesting research on spelling, the editors have adopted each of these perspectives. Many of the papers themselves reflect more than one perspective, and the reader will find important observations about orthographies, the relationship between spelling and reading, and issues of learning and teaching throughout the collection.

The American Way of Spelling
The American Way of Spelling

Author: Richard L. Venezky

Publisher: Guilford Press

Published: 1999-07-23

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 9781572304697

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Can ghoti really be pronounced fish? Why is "o" short in glove and love, but long in rove and cove? Why do English words carry such extra baggage as the silent "b" in doubt, the silent "k" in knee, and the silent "n" in autumn? And why do names like Phabulous Phoods and Hi-Ener-G stand out? Addressing these and many other questions about letters and the sounds they make, this engaging volume provides a comprehensive analysis of American English spelling and pronunciation. Venezky illuminates the fully functional system underlying what can at times be a bewildering array of exceptions, focusing on the basic units that serve to signal word form or pronunciation, where these units can occur within words, and how they relate to sound. Also examined are how our current spelling system has developed, efforts to reform it, and ways that spelling rules or patterns are violated in commercial usage. From one of the world's foremost orthographic authorities, the book affords new insight into the teaching of reading and the acquisition and processing of spelling sound relationships.

Cross-linguistic Similarity in Foreign Language Learning
Cross-linguistic Similarity in Foreign Language Learning

Author: Håkan Ringbom

Publisher: Multilingual Matters

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 153

ISBN-13: 1853599344

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This book explores the importance of cross-linguistic similarity in foreign language learning. Similarities can be perceived in the form of simplified one-to-one relationships or merely assumed. The book outlines the different roles of L1 transfer on comprehension and on production, and on close and distant target languages.

Cross-Language Studies of Learning to Read and Spell:
Cross-Language Studies of Learning to Read and Spell:

Author: C.K. Leong

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 1997-01-31

Total Pages: 444

ISBN-13: 079234457X

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The present volume is based on the proceedings of the Advanced Study Institute (AS I) sponsored by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) held in Alvor, Algarve, Portugal. A number of scholars from different countries participated in the two-week institute on Cognitive and linguistic aspects of reading, writing, and spelling. The present papers are further versions with modifications and refinements from those presented at the Advanced Study Institute. Several people and organizations have helped us in this endeavor and their assistance is gratefully acknowledged. Our special thanks are to: the Scientific Affairs division of NATO for providing the major portions of the financial support, Dr. L.V. da Cunha of NATO and Dr. THo Kester and Mrs. Barbara Kester of the International Transfer of Science and Technology of the various aspects of the institute; and (ITST) for their help and support the staff of Hotel Alvor Praia for making our stay a pleasant one by helping us to run the institute smoothly.

Handbook of Orthography and Literacy
Handbook of Orthography and Literacy

Author: R. Malatesha Joshi

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-05-13

Total Pages: 1203

ISBN-13: 113678134X

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Until about two decades ago, the study of writing systems and their relationship to literacy acquisition was sparse and generally modeled after studies of English language learners. This situation is now changing. As the worldwide demand for literacy continues to grow, researchers from different countries with different language backgrounds have begun examining the connection between their writing systems and literacy acquisition. This text, which derives from a NATO sponsored conference on orthography and literacy, brings together the research of 70 scholars from across the world--the largest assemblage of such experts to date. Their findings are grouped into three parts, as follows: Part I, Literacy Acquisition in Different Writing Systems, describes the relationship between orthography and literacy in twenty-five orthographic systems. This section serves as a handy reference source for understanding the orthographies of languages as diverse as Arabic, Chinese, English, Icelandic, Kannada, and Kishwahili. Part II, Literacy Acquisition From a Cross-Linguistic Perspective, makes direct comparisons of literacy acquisition in English and other orthographic systems. The overall conclusion that emerges from these eight chapters is that the depth of an orthographic system does influence literacy acquisition primarily by slowing down the acquisition of reading skills. Even so, studies show that dyslexic readers can be found across all orthographic systems whether shallow or deep, which shows that dyslexia also has internal cognitive and biological components. Part III, Literacy Acquisition: Instructional Perspectives, explores literacy acquisition from developmental and instructional perspectives and ends with a look into the future of literacy research. This Handbook is appropriate for scholars, researchers, and graduate students in such diverse fields as cognitive psychology, psycholinguistics, literacy education, English as a second language, and communication disorders.

Dyslexia in the Foreign Language Classroom
Dyslexia in the Foreign Language Classroom

Author: Joanna Nijakowska

Publisher: Multilingual Matters

Published: 2010-06-23

Total Pages: 249

ISBN-13: 1847694004

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This book addresses specific learning difficulties in reading and spelling – developmental dyslexia. Set in the cross-linguistic context, it presents issues surrounding dyslexia from the perspective of a foreign language teacher. It is intended to serve as a reference book for those involved in foreign language teaching, including experienced in-service teachers and novice teachers, as well as teacher trainers and trainees. It offers an up-to-date and reader-friendly study of the mechanisms of dyslexia and an overview of the current research on the disorder, in theoretical and practical terms. Its aim is to help teachers tackle one of the many challenges they face in the modern classroom: the organization of an effective foreign language teaching process for students with dyslexia.

Spelling and Writing Words
Spelling and Writing Words

Author:

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2019-02-26

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 9004394982

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The volume covers recent theories and findings on writing and spelling words. Understanding word production is fundamental to writing research as it allows understanding how words -the basic elements of written language- are stored in the writers’ brain, and how words’ and tasks’ properties affect word retrieval.

Cross-linguistic Transfer in Reading in Multilingual Contexts
Cross-linguistic Transfer in Reading in Multilingual Contexts

Author: Elena Zaretsky

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company

Published: 2016-10-03

Total Pages: 183

ISBN-13: 9027266514

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This book represents concurrent attempts of multiple researchers to address the issue of cross-linguistic transfer in literacy. It includes broad spectrum of languages and reflects a new generation of conceptualizations of cross-linguistic transfer, offering a different level of complexity by studying children who are trilingual and even learning a fourth language. The collection of papers in this volume tried to capture the dynamic developmental changes in cross-linguistic transfer that include such factors as age of acquisition, typological proximity of L1 and L2 (and L3, L4), intensity of exposure to language and reading in ambient and newly acquired language(s), quality of input and home literacy. More stringent methodological considerations allowed to isolate specific constructs that suggest either primary levels of children’s metalinguistic abilities (phonological awareness that can be applied cross-linguistically) or a more language-specific constructs (morphological awareness) that relies on various factors, including typological proximity, language proficiency and task demands. Originally published in Written Language & Literacy, Vol. 17:1 2014.