Understanding and Improving ABE and ESL Students’ Spelling

1. Understanding and Improving ABE and ESL Students’ Spelling Kristi Vanderhoof, M.A. California State University, Fresno COABE and CCAE 2011 Conference

2. Spelling Processes and Skills • Phonological Processing: decoding the sounds in the word and recoding it with graphemes • Orthographic Processing: using a visual memory of the word • Some people only use orthographic processing; others use both

3. Stages of English Spelling Development G Pre-phonetic PZRBL Phonetic/semi-phonetic PEZURABOL Phonetic PAESHIRBOLE Transitional PLESHURABOLE Patterns Within Words PLESURABLE Syllable Juncture PLEASURABLE Derivational Morphology

4. Comparing Spelling Development • Native English-speaking adults and children, and native-Spanish speaking children progress through the same stages • Adults tend to prefer orthographic strategies (relying on visual memory of words) • ESL learners tend to rely more on knowledge from their L1 until they gain more L2 knowledge

5. Spelling Errors for Non-Native English Speakers • Phonological errors: when students hear a phoneme that they do not have in their long term memory and replace it with a similar phoneme from their L1 • Example: writing SHEEP or CHIP for ship • Related to perception/production of English sounds • Orthographic Errors: due to a lack of knowledge of how sounds are represented in English • Example: Spanish speakers writing JIRO for hero • Example: Arabic speakers writing WSHWAL for usual

6. Adult ESL Students • Possible advantages: • More literacy experience with their L1 • Positive transfer if writing system is similar to that of English • Possible disadvantages: • More difficulty with hearing and producing English sounds

7. Research Questions • Do adult ESL students and Native English-speaking adults follow the same path of development when learning English spelling? • Do adult ESL students have difficulties with decoding sounds even after they have passed the phoneticspelling stage?

8. Participants • 97 students at an adult school in California • 44 English as a Second Language (ESL) students and 53 adult basic education (ABE) students • English as a Second Language (ESL) students: • Reading level was determined by most recent score on the CASAS test, a work readiness literacy test • ABE Students: • Reading Level was determined by most recent score on TABE

10. Procedures • Background Survey • Language • Education • Literacy • Diagnostic Spelling Test • Analysis of the types of words misspelled • Analysis of types of errors produced

11. Average Score on the Real-Word Portion of the Spelling Test

12. Words Misspelled by 50% or More Students

13. Percentage of Students at Each Level Who Spelled Pseudo-Words Plausibly

14. Examples of Spellings of Words at Five Stages

15. Percentage of Students Who Used a Particular Spelling Strategy At Least Twice N=Non-Phonetic S=Semi-PhoneticP= Phonetic T=Transitional W = Word PatternsJ= Syllable Juncture

16. Pseudo-words:Percentage of Students Who Used a Particular Spelling Strategy At Least Once P= PhoneticT=Transitional W = Word Patterns

17. Discussion of Qualitative Results • ESL students employed a transitional spelling strategy most often • lack of increase in overall spelling performance is linked to lingering phonological difficulties • ABE students at higher levels use more advanced strategies than those at lower levels • ABE students’ spelling development is more traditional

18. Cognates: Other possible L1 interference Some of the native Spanish speakers spelled satisfied in the following way: • SATISFACED • SATISFACTION • SATISFICE None of the ABE students spelled the word in this way. Satisfacer (Spanish) = satisfied (English)

19. Conclusions • CASAS reading scores may not be accurate indicators of ESL students’ English spelling ability. • ESL students’ spelling may develop slightly slower than that of ABE students. • A deficiency in phonological awareness may hinder ESL spelling development. • Low ABE students need more help with sight words • Low and Intermediate ABE students would benefit from syllable juncture instruction

20. Suggestions for Further Research • Conduct a longitudinal study that compares ABE and ESL students’ spelling • Test ESL students’ perceptions of sounds, versus their ability to write those sounds

21. First Recommendation • Increase students’ phonemic awareness, especially for beginning ABE, and all ESL, students • Beginning ESL readers have more difficulty spelling sounds that are not present in their L1 • Poor spellers are more likely to make phonologically implausible errors • Students with better phonemic awareness can memorize more sight words • Phonemic awareness is correlated with word recognition and reading for native speakers and ESL students

22. Increase Students’ Phonemic Awareness • Songs and poems that rhyme • Phonics Through Poetry • Jack Prelutsky, Shel Silverstein • Tongue twisters and alliterations with blends • Change names to call roll • Same or Different? • Individualized activities in the computer lab • Phonetic bingo

23. Coming Out of the Shoe Shop Got new shoes so I can hop. I can stomp and I can clop. I can even flip and flop. The problem is— I cannot stop! --Eileen Spinelli

24. Increase Students’ Phonemic Awareness For ESL students: • Pronunciation: • Individualized activities in the computer lab • Minimal pair Tic-Tac-Toe • Songs and poems

25. English Front Vowels Short E Yes Help Every Wednesday Long A Make Sale Same

26. Second Recommendation Instruct students in common English spelling patterns and syllable juncture changes • Beginning and low intermediate ABE students demonstrate a lack of knowledge in these areas • High intermediate ABE students can spell patterns-based words more successfully

27. Spelling Patterns • Reading: • Notice common word patterns in a text • Hickory Dickory Dock (notice how /k/ sounds are represented) • Read rhyming poems • Grouping words from the same family • Give students a list of words and ask them to categorize the ones with similar spellings • Have students circle words in a text

28. Hickory Dickory Dock Hickory Dickory Dock! The mouse ran up the clock. The clock struck one. The mouse ran down! Hickory Dickory Dock!

29. Hickory Dickory Dock Hickory Dickory Dock! The mouse ran up the clock. The clock struck one. The mouse ran down! Hickory Dickory Dock!

30. Memorize these words! • Tylla • Mackarn • Norsebe • Mylla • Starn • Trebe

31. Memorize These Words! • Tylla • Mylla • Norsebe • Trebe • Mackarn • Starn

32. Syllable Juncture Changes • Integrate with grammar lessons: • Changing y to ie (story stories) • Doubling consonants (swim swimming) • Deleting silent e (bake baking) • Activities • Chain stories • Watch a video and retell the story • Tic Tac Toe and Bingo • Relay • Writing sentences and categorizing the verbs according to spelling rules

33. Consonant Doubling If the last 3 letters in the word are CVC (Consonant-Vowel-Consonant), double the last consonant when you add –ED or –ING. Pop+ -ED = Popped Trap + -ING = Trapping

34. Sort these verbs • Swim • Watch • Get • Stop • Call • Run • Hop • Skip • Teach • Learn

35. Encourage Students to Write! • Encourage students to spell a word, even if they are unsure: • Replace missing letters with a dash: • On We—sday, we have class. • Put a question mark in parentheses if you are not sure: • On Wendsday(?), we have class. Source: Teaching Spelling and Phonics in a Whole Language Classroom

36. Avoid Spelling Words for Students at First • Instead: • Tell the student which letters are correct • Tell the student if a letter is missing • Prompt the student with a word he/she knows that has a similar pattern • Refer the student to a text/chart that contains that word • Pronounce the word the way the student has written it Source: Teaching Spelling and Phonics in a Whole Language Classroom

37. General Suggestions • Keep spelling instruction within the context of meaning as much as possible • Encourage students to notice spelling patterns themselves • Use multi-sensory methods • Group words so that they are easier to remember • Encourage students to write! • Use spelling logs

38. Acknowledgments • California State University, Fresno, and my mentors, Drs. Barbara Birch and Ellen Lipp • The adult school that allowed me to do my research there • The American English Institute in Fresno, which provided me with the projector!

39. References • Bear, D.R., Truex, P., & Barone, D. (1989). In search of meaningful diagnosis: Spelling-by-stage assessment of literacy proficiency. Adult Literacy and Basic Education, 3, 165-185. • Beers, J.W. (1980). Developmental strategies of spelling competence in primary school children. Developmental and cognitive aspects of learning to spell: A reflection of word knowledge. Eds. E. H. Henderson & J.W. Beers. Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association, 36-45. • Birch, B. M. (2007). English L2 reading: Getting to the bottom. 2nd ed. Mahwah, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates. • Boiarsky, C. (1969). Consistency of spelling and pronunciation deviations of Appalachian students.Modern Language Journal. 53(5), 347-350. • Burt, J.S., and Blackwell, P. (2008). Sound-spelling consistence in adults’ orthographic learning. Journal of Research in Reading, 31 (1), 77-96. • Cramer, R.L. (1998). The spelling connection: Integrating reading, writing, and spelling instruction. New York: Guilford Press. • Ehri, L. (1989). The development of spelling knowledge and its role in reading acquisition and reading disability. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 22(6).

40. References (contd.) • Diffily, D., and Sassman, C. (2006). Engaging Activities to Teach Phonics and Phonological Awareness. Greensboro, NC: Carson-Dellosa Publishing, Inc. Ehri, L. (1986). Sources of difficulty in learning to spell and read. In M. L. K. Wolraich & D. Routh (Eds.), Advances in developmental and behavioral pediatrics (pp. 121-195). Greenwich, CT: JAI. • Fashola, O. S., Drum, P. A., Mayer, R. E., & Kang, J. S. (1996). A cognitive theory oforthographic transitioning: Predictable errors in how Spanish-speaking children spell English words. American Educational Research Journal, 33, 825–843. • Figueredo, L. (2006). Using the known to chart the unknown: A review of first-language influence on the development of English-as-a-second-language spelling skill. Reading and Writing. 19: 873-905. • Greenberg, D., Ehri, L.C., & Perin, D. (2002). Do adult literacy students make the same word-reading and spelling errors as children matched for word-reading age? Scientific Studies of Reading. 6(3), 221–243. • Hajdusiewicz, B.B. (1999). Phonics Through Poetry. Glenview, IL: Good Year Books. Henderson, E. H. (1990) Teaching Spelling. 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

41. References (contd.) • Harrison, G.L., & Krol, L. (2007). Relationship between L1 and L2 word-level reading and phonological processing in adults learning English as a second language. Journal of Research in Reading, 30 (4), 379-393. • Henderson, E.H. (1990). Teaching Spelling. 2nd Ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. • Masterson, J., Laxon, V., Lovejoy, S., & Morris, V. (2007). Phonological skill, lexical decision and letter report performance in good and poor adult spellers. Journal of Research in Reading, 30 (4), 429-442. • Mazur, C. (2005). The effect of a reading program with focused fluency instruction on reading comprehension and fluency of adult ESL learners. Retrieved from Hamline University Department of Education PDF Database (http://www.hamline.edu/education/pdf/) • Moats, Louisa Cook. Spelling: Development, Disability, and Instruction. Baltimore: York, 1995. • National Reporting System. (2005). National Reporting System Implemenation Guidelines. Retrieved from http://www.nrsweb.org/foundations/

42. References (contd.) • Odlin, T. (2003). Cross-linguistic influence. In Catherine K. Doughty and Michael H. Long (Eds.), The handbook of second language acquisition (pp. 436-486). Malden, MA: Blackwell. • Powell, D., and Hornsby, D. (1993). Learning Phonics and Spelling in a Whole Language Classroom. New York: Scholastic Professional Books. Seeff-Gabriel, B. (2003). Phonological processing a platform for assisting second-language learners with English spelling. Child Language Teaching and Therap, 19(3), 291-310. • Stever, E. F. (1980). Dialect and spelling. Developmental and cognitive aspects of learning to spell: A reflection of word knowledge. Eds. E. H. Henderson & J.W. Beers. Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association, 46-51. • Wang, M., & Geva, E. (2003). Spelling acquisition of novel English phonemes in Chinese children. Reading and Writing, 16, 4, 325-348. • Wang, X., & Munro, M. J. (2004). Computer-based training for learning English vowel contrasts. System, 32(4), 539-552. • Woodward, S.W. Fun With Grammar. Pearson Longman. Retrieved from http://www.pearsonlongman.com/ae/ download/funwithgrammar/home.html • Zutell, A., & Allen, V. (1988). The English spelling strategies of Spanish-speaking bilingual children. TESOL Quarterly, 22(2), 333-340.