Using Spelling Error Analyses to Examine Individual Differences in German Students From Diverse Linguistic Backgrounds: A Latent Class Approach.

The current study examined German spelling errors among students with German as their first language (L1) and those with German as their second language (L2) in Grades 3-4 (elementary school students; n = 127) and Grades 5-7 (secondary school students; n = 379). Five hundred and six students participated in the study. We performed two separate latent class analyses on elementary and secondary school students. Results indicate that elementary school students can be categorized as good (Class 1), consonant error dominant (Class 2), or poor (Class 3) spellers. However, secondary students can be categorized as addition and sequence error dominant (Class 1), substitution and omission error dominant (Class 2), or poor (Class 3) spellers. The three-step multinomial logistic regression analyses suggested that decoding was associated with the highest chances of being poor spellers in both elementary and secondary schools. Speaking German as L1 or L2 was a significant predictor of heterogeneities in secondary, but not elementary, school students. Polish L1 secondary students had the highest possibility of being poor spellers. The results suggest heterogeneities of student profiles. In addition, special attention should be given to secondary school students with the Polish L1 background in their spelling struggles associated with German orthography.

English Spelling Performance in Writing Samples Among Spanish-Speaking ELLs.

The depth of the English orthography makes reading and spelling in English a difficult task; particularly for English language learners (ELLs) whose first language (L1) has a shallow orthography. Mastering spelling in English is a critical component of increasing the English literacy of ELLs. This study investigated the English spelling of 569 Spanish-speaking ELLs in Grades 4 to 6. Participants' writing samples were analyzed for spelling errors. Latent class analysis was utilized to discover hidden categories within the data using eight spelling error categories: (a) Vowel Omission; (b) Vowel Addition; (c) Vowel Substitution; (d) Vowel Sequence; (e) Consonant Omission; (f) Consonant Addition; (g) Consonant Substitution; (h) Consonant Sequence. Consonant- and vowel-based errors were nearly equal in each grade level. Latent class analysis resulted in a two-class model. Students in Class 1 made more types of errors than students in Class 2. As the grade level increased, the percentage of students in Class 2 increased. The results of this study show the effects of English and Spanish orthographies on the spelling of Spanish-speaking ELLs, with spelling errors occurring among both vowels and consonants. As omissions were the most prevalent errors in both classes, spelling instruction aimed at decreasing omissions should be considered for ELLs.

International Perspectives on Spelling and Writing in Different Orthographies: Introduction to the Special Series.

This article serves as an introduction to the special issue on spelling and writing in different orthographies. Most studies and theoretical models of writing are based on the English language, and it is generally assumed that what is true for English is also true for other languages. Further, there are more studies on reading compared to studies of writing and spelling. Considering that 80% of the world's population speaks a language other than English, we need more studies on writing and spelling in languages other than English. With this intention, we are presenting 6 papers on writing and spelling in different languages of different orthographic depth, from highly transparent orthographies like Spanish and Italian to highly opaque orthography like Cantonese.

A meta-analysis on the effectiveness of intervention in children with primary speech and language delays/disorders: Focusing on China and the United States.

The purpose of this meta-analysis was to investigate the immediate and long-term effects of intervention for children with primary speech and language delays/disorders and to explore whether some characteristics of interventions, specifics of the study and research participants moderate the magnitude of the effectiveness of interventions. Using the random effect model, we pooled the effect size and conducted a publication bias evaluation, a moderating effect analysis in CMA 2.0. Results of a random effects model analysis demonstrated a moderate immediate effect (g = 0.70), whereas the long-term efficacy was small (g = 0.23). Additionally, type of measure, language of intervention, parental involvement, intervention content and study quality, as well as the duration of intervention, significantly moderated the effect size of intervention effectiveness.

The "GIST" of the reading comprehension problem in grades 4 and 5.

Main idea and summary are essential elements of reading comprehension. We report results from Grades 4 and 5 student performance on two years of state-mandated standardized reading testing which indicate that students perform statistically significantly lower on main idea and summary questions on the tests than any other question category. In this study, teacher competency was measured in a main idea task and teacher surveys were used to understand what instructional practices and materials they use to teach reading comprehension. Descriptive analyses indicate that teachers have a moderate competency for writing main ideas and many use instructional practices that are not supported by empirical evidence or reviewed by the What Works Clearinghouse. Thus, teacher knowledge and instructional practices may be malleable factors that contribute to student outcomes.

Teachers' knowledge about language constructs related to literacy skills and student achievement in low socio-economic status schools.

Teachers' knowledge is a critical component to students learning to read proficiently. The present research sought to determine the literacy knowledge of 150 urban, elementary school teachers from 11 low socio-economic schools in one of nation's largest cities. Teachers' ability to understand concepts relating to phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, alphabetic principle/phonics, and morphology as well as their knowledge about teaching these fundamental skills were assessed through a standardized measure. Using exploratory factor analysis to understand the latent constructs underlying the survey scores and hierarchical linear modelling on factor scores of each construct, the results revealed that teachers located in low socio-economic status schools did not have explicit knowledge needed to effectively teach struggling readers. Although the teachers possessed a high level of knowledge regarding syllable counting skills, they lacked knowledge related to morphology. Practical implications are provided to assist teachers in increasing their literacy knowledge.

Exploring Chinese EFL teachers' knowledge and beliefs relating to the teaching of English reading in public primary schools in China.

The present study explored knowledge and beliefs about reading instruction of Chinese teachers teaching English as a foreign language (EFL). Theoretical Orientation to Reading Profile and the Survey of Basic Language Constructs Related to Literacy Acquisition were administered to 262 EFL teachers in the south-eastern part of China. Additionally, three teachers were interviewed, and their instructional practices were observed. The results showed that there was no correlation between teachers' self-efficacy beliefs and the performance on the knowledge of basic language construct survey. However, it was found that teachers' knowledge, beliefs, and instructional practices were mediated by the Chinese EFL contextual factors. Educational and practical implications are discussed.

Knowledge about dyslexia among early literacy teachers in China.

This study examined knowledge about dyslexia among Chinese-speaking early literacy teachers in Mainland China. A total of 516 teachers, including 203 kindergarten teachers from developed regions (KDRs), 166 primary school teachers from developed regions (PDRs), and 147 primary school teachers from less developed regions (PLDRs), completed a survey measuring knowledge about dyslexia in three domains: general information, symptoms/diagnosis, and treatment. PLDRs scored significantly lower on the total scale and each of the subscales than KDRs and PDRs, with the latter two not significantly different from each other. The percentages of misunderstandings and lack of knowledge ("do not know" response) were higher for PLDRs than for KDRs or PDRs. In general, compared with alphabetic language-speaking teachers in developed countries reported in previous studies, Chinese teachers showed less knowledge about dyslexia but similar misunderstandings. Prior exposure to children with dyslexia explained significant variance in Chinese teachers' knowledge about dyslexia, indicating that when specialized training is not available, learning from practice is a major source of knowledge about dyslexia. Findings of this study point to the universal need of providing explicit training on dyslexia for teachers, particularly in less developed regions where teacher knowledge is poorer.

Knowledge about basic language constructs among teachers of English as a Foreign Language in China and South Korea.

The purpose of the present study is to explore cross-cultural differences among teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) on the basic language constructs and the impacts on their perceived teaching ability in English-reading instruction. Chinese EFL (n = 73) and Korean EFL (n = 39) teachers were administered the Reading Teacher Knowledge Survey for testing their implicit and explicit knowledge on phonemic awareness, phonological awareness, phonics, and morphological awareness; and their self-perceived teaching ability on teaching typical readers, struggling readers, phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. Results showed that both Chinese EFL and Korean EFL teachers' knowledge on the phonemic awareness, phonological awareness, and phonics was implicit rather than explicit. However, the teachers' knowledge on morphological awareness showed cross-cultural difference: Chinese EFL teachers had greater explicit knowledge on morphological awareness than implicit knowledge, while their Korean EFL counterparts showed opposite pattern. Self-perceived teaching ability was also distinct cross-culturally, in that Chinese EFL teachers were only confident in teaching English vocabulary, whereas Korean EFL teachers had generally positive self-perception on teaching typical readers, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. Importantly, both groups of EFL teachers' explicit knowledge on the basic language constructs explained additional variance for predicting their self-perception on teaching English reading, controlling for the effects of their years of teaching and implicit knowledge. Educational implications and future research ideas are discussed in relation to the cross-cultural differences of teacher knowledge and their perceived teaching ability.

Gender differences in anomalous subcortical morphology for children with ADHD.

Although studies showed subtle reductions in brain volume in fronto-striatial regions in children with ADHD, there have been limited investigations of volume and lateralizaton in subcortical structures and a paucity of exploration of the influence of gender on these findings. This study aims to examine morphology of subcortical structures and their association with ADHD symptoms in boys and girls as compared to their typically-developing (TD) peers. One hundred and eighty five children aged 7-14 years with and without ADHD were included from ADHD-200 Consortium. Results showed that compared to TD boys, boys with ADHD had reduced accumbens, amygdala and hippocampus volumes. There were no volumetric differences in any structure between ADHD and TD girls. Asymmetry analysis revealed right lateralization compressions within the thalamus in ADHD boys relative to TD boys. The findings suggest a gender dimorphic pattern of differences in subcortical structures in children with ADHD, and a possible neurobiological mechanism where boys with ADHD demonstrate increasing difficulties with hyperactivity/impulsivity.

Investigating the Asymmetrical Roles of Syllabic and Phonemic Awareness in Akshara Processing.

In this study, we examine the relative contributions of syllabic awareness, phonemic awareness, and oral vocabulary knowledge in early akshara reading ability from Grades 1 through 5. The performance of 488 students in two states of South India, Karnataka (Kannada language) and Andhra Pradesh (Telugu language), was measured. Results from a commonality analysis indicate that there was an increasing independent contribution of syllabic awareness to Kannada and Telugu decoding through the five grades, but the unique contribution of phonemic awareness steadily declined through the five grades, as it became subsumed within syllabic awareness. The contribution of oral vocabulary knowledge did not present a clear pattern across the five grades. This study builds on a growing body of literature on the akshara orthographies to shed light on the precise nature of the developmental asymmetry in the dual syllabic and phonemic representation in akshara reading.

Models of Reading in Different Orthographies: An Introduction.

The authors provide a summary of the articles in the special series on reading development in different orthographies from various writing systems and scripts.

Reading Research and Practice: Indian Perspective.

The authors outline the basic structure of akshara, the basic unit of writing in Indic writing systems used widely in South and Southeast Asia; present preliminary studies relating to reading, assessment, and instruction of akshara; and outline recommendations for future studies.

Cross-language Transfer of Metalinguistic Skills: Evidence from Spelling English Words by Korean Students in Grades 4, 5 and 6.

The present study examined unique and shared contributions of Korean (first language) phonological, orthographic and morphological awareness (PA, OA and MA, respectively) to English (second/foreign language) spelling among 287 fourth-grade, fifth-grade and sixth-grade Korean children. Korean measures of PA, OA and MA were administered, in addition to English vocabulary and spelling measures. Results from structural equation modelling showed that PA, OA and MA were caused by one common construct, metalinguistic awareness (META), and the contribution of Korean META to English spelling was statistically significant, controlling for English vocabulary. In particular, Korean MA and PA played unique roles in explaining English spelling; whereas Korean OA did not significantly contribute to English spelling. Findings from the present study provided empirical evidence of first language META transfer effect on second/foreign language spelling development. Educational implications and future research ideas are discussed. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Comparing Bilingual to Monolingual Learners on English Spelling: A Meta-analytic Review.

This study reports on a meta-analysis to examine how bilingual learners compare with English monolingual learners on two English spelling outcomes: real-word spelling and pseudo-word spelling. Eighteen studies published in peer-reviewed journals between 1990 and 2014 were retrieved. The study-level variables and characteristics (e.g. sample size, study design and research instruments) were coded, and 29 independent effect sizes across the 18 retrieved studies were analysed. We found that bilinguals outperformed monolinguals on real-word spelling overall and more so in early grades, but monolinguals outperformed bilinguals on pseudo-word spelling. Further, bilinguals at risk for reading difficulties did better on real-word spelling than monolinguals at risk for reading difficulties. Having investigated systematic sources of variability in effect sizes, we conclude that in comparison with their monolingual peers, bilingual learners, especially those from alphabetic L1 backgrounds, are able to master constrained skills, such as English spelling, in the current instructional context. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.