Spelling Errors of Monolingual English-Speaking Students and Spanish-Speaking Bilingual Learners

This study examined the types of spelling errors produced by typically developing bilingual learners (BLs) and monolingual English-speaking students and investigated whether students' vocabulary knowledge predicted the rate of spelling errors.

Writing samples were collected from 100 fifth-grade students (50 Spanish-speaking BLs and 50 monolingual English speakers) during an authentic classroom writing assessment. Spelling errors were coded based on English phonology, orthography, and morphology. A simple linear regression examined the relation between students' vocabulary knowledge, measured by a standardized vocabulary task, and their total number of error codes.

Only the proportion of whole-root morpheme substitution errors differed significantly between groups, with monolingual English-speaking students producing a higher proportion of these errors. Students' vocabulary knowledge significantly predicted their total number of errors, with higher vocabulary knowledge associated with fewer spelling errors.

These findings suggest that while Spanish-speaking BLs and monolingual English-speaking students share many types of spelling errors, monolingual students may produce more whole-root morpheme substitution errors. Additionally, vocabulary knowledge is a significant predictor of spelling accuracy. Understanding these patterns can inform instructional decisions and intervention targets for school-based speech-language pathologists working with BLs and monolingual students.

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.33134633.