Spelling error analysis in young English language learners from a German background: A comparison of three literacy intervention programmes

Abstract

The study at hand commemorates the legacy of Vivian Cook by highlighting an essential aspect of second-language (L2) writing systems: The significant role of L2 spelling. Furthermore, in response to Cook’s suggestions for future areas of research, we investigated the effectiveness of three literacy intervention programmes on the L2 spelling achievement of young English-language learners (ELLs). In addition, the focus of our investigation was to identify and analyse the most common types of spelling errors and to examine how first-language German phonology and orthography affect L2 English spelling errors. Participants (N = 75) were young ELLs with German as their first language. Over a two-year period, children received either (a) phonics, (b) whole word or (c) combined instruction when learning to read and spell in L2 English. Results indicate that there were no significant group differences on real word or pseudoword spelling accuracy, but phonics instruction led to better L2 vocabulary knowledge, while combined instruction appeared to increase children’s L2 reading rate. Additionally, young learners’ L2 misspellings were subjected to error analyses across two metrics: Phonological and orthographic errors. Groups differed significantly in the types of errors learners made. Phonological errors were predominant in all three groups, but the fewest phonological and first-language interference errors were made in the phonics group. We discuss the results in relation to the Triple Word Form Theory and Orthographic Mapping Theory and highlight educational implications.

Keywords

• l2 spelling
• spelling error analysis
• cross-linguistic influence
• intervention studies
• young english language learners