Spelling Errors’ Analysis of Regular and Dyslexic Bilingual Arabic-English Students
Salim Abu-Rabia, Rana Sammour
University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
DOI: 10.4236/ojml.2013.31007   PDF    HTML     9,247 Downloads   15,299 Views   Citations

Abstract

The present study is an investigation of spelling errors of 8th grade dyslexic students (n = 20) and a group of 5th and 6th graders (n = 21) matched to the dyslexic group according to their spelling level. All students were tested on spelling isolated words in Arabic and English. The spelling errors were classified into four categories: phonetic, semiphonetic, dysphonetic, and word omissions. The results of the present study revealed that phonetic errors were more prevalent in Arabic than in English, while semiphonetic errors were more prevalent in English than in Arabic. Furthermore, the dyslexic group made significantly more semiphonetic errors in Arabic than the spelling-level matched group, while the two groups made a similar number of semiphonetic errors in English. The discussion attempts to clarify and explain the results by analyzing the specific features in Arabic and English that posed difficulty for the dyslexic and regular Arab students. A number of instructional recommendations regarding the teaching of English spelling to Arabic speakers are presented.

Share and Cite:

Abu-Rabia, S. and Sammour, R. (2013) Spelling Errors’ Analysis of Regular and Dyslexic Bilingual Arabic-English Students. Open Journal of Modern Linguistics, 3, 58-68. doi: 10.4236/ojml.2013.31007.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1] Abd El-Minem, I. M. (1987). Elm al-Sarf [Arabic grammar]. Jerusalem: Al-Taufik Press. (in Arabic)
[2] Abu-Rabia, S. (2001). The role of vowels in reading Semitic scripts: Data from Arabic and Hebrew. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 14, 39-59. doi:10.1023/A:1008147606320
[3] Abu-Rabia, S., & Siegel, L. S. (2003). Reading skills in three orthographies: The case of trilingual Arabic-Hebrew-English speaking Arab children. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 16, 611-634. doi:10.1023/A:1025838029204
[4] Abu-Rabia, S., & Taha, H. (2004). Reading and spelling error analysis of native Arabic dyslexic readers. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 17, 651-689. doi:10.1007/s11145-004-2657-x
[5] Abu-Rabia, S., & Taha, H. (2006). Phonological errors predominate in Arabic spelling across grades 1 - 9. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 35, 167-188. doi:10.1007/s10936-005-9010-7
[6] Akamatsu, N. (1999). The effects of first language orthographic features on word-recognition processing in English as a second language. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 11, 381-403. doi:10.1023/A:1008053520326
[7] Akamatsu, N. (2003). The effects of first language orthographic features on second language reading in text. Language Learning, 53, 207-231. doi:10.1111/1467-9922.00216
[8] Al-Ani, S. H. (1970). Arabic phonology: An acoustical and physiological Investigation. The Hague: Mouton.
[9] Azzam, R. (1989). Orthography and reading in the Arabic language. In P. G. Aaron, & M. Joshi (Eds.), Reading and writing disorders in different orthographic systems (pp. 203-218). London: Kluwer Academic Publishers. doi:10.1007/978-94-009-1041-6_12
[10] Azzam, R. (1993). The nature of Arabic reading and spelling errors of young children. Reading and writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 5, 355-385. doi:10.1007/BF01043112
[11] Brown, T., & Haynes, M. (1985). Literacy background and reading development in a second language. In H. Carr (Ed.), The development of reading skills (pp. 19-34). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
[12] Bruck, M. (1988). The word recognition and spelling of dyslexic children. Reading Research Quarterly, 23, 51-68. doi:10.2307/747904
[13] Carlisle, J. F. (1987). The use of morphological knowledge in spelling derived forms by learning disabled and normal students. Annals of Dyslexia, 37, 90-107. doi:10.1007/BF02648061
[14] Cummins, J. (1979). Linguistic interdependence and the educational development of bilingual children. Review of Educational Research, 49, 222-251.
[15] Cummins, J. (1981). The role of primary language development in promoting educational success for language minority students. In California State Department of Education (Eds.), Schooling and language minority students: A theoretical framework (pp. 3-49). Los Angeles: Evaluation, Dissemination, and Assessment Center, California State University, Los Angeles.
[16] Ehri, L. C. (1986). Sources of difficulty in learning to spell and read. In M. L. Wolraich, & D. Routh (Eds.), Advancements in developmental and behavioral pediatrics (pp. 121-195). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
[17] Ehri, L. C. (1992). Review and commentary: Stages of spelling development. In S. Templeton, & D. R. Bear (Eds.), Development of orthographic knowledge and the foundations of literacy: A memorial festschrift for Edmund H. Henderson (pp. 307-332). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
[18] Ehri, L. C. (2000). Learning to read and learning to spell: Two sides of a coin. Topics in Language Disorder, 20, 19-36. doi:10.1097/00011363-200020030-00005
[19] Eviatar, Z., & Ibrahim, R. (2000). Bilingual is as bilingual does: Metalinguistic abilities of Arabic-speaking children. Applied Psycholinguistics, 21, 451-471. doi:10.1017/S0142716400004021
[20] Fender, M. (2003). English word recognition and word integration skills of native Arabic and Japanese-speaking learners of English as a second language. Applied Psycholinguistics, 24, 289-315. doi:10.1017/S014271640300016X
[21] 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: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 19, 873-905. doi:10.1007/s11145-006-9014-1
[22] Fox, R. A. (1983). Perceptual structure of monophthongs and diphthongs in English. Language and Speech, 26, 21-60.
[23] Frith, U. (1980). Unexpected spelling problems. In U. Frith (Ed.), Cognitive processes in spelling (pp. 495-515). London: Academic Press.
[24] Ganschow, L., Sparks, R., & Schmeider, E. (1995). Learning a foreign language: Challenges for students with language learning difficulties. Dyslexia, 1, 75-95.
[25] Gentry, J. R. (1982). An analysis of developmental spelling in GNYS AT WRK. The Reading Teacher, 36, 192-200.
[26] Goldsmith-Phillips, J. (1994). Toward a research-based dyslexia assessment. In N. C. Jordan, & J. Goldsmith-Phillips (Eds.), Learning disabilities: New directions for assessment and intervention (pp. 85-100). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
[27] Hagan, M. (1991). Spelling errors in native Arabic-speaking English majors: A comparison between remedial students and fourth year students. System, 19, 45-61. doi:10.1016/0346-251X(91)90007-C
[28] Hakuta, K. (1976). A case study of a Japanese child learning English as a second language. Language Learning, 26, 321-351. doi:10.1111/j.1467-1770.1976.tb00280.x
[29] Hayes-Harb, R. (2006). Native speakers of Arabic and ESL texts: Evidence for the transfer of written word identification processes. TESOL Quarterly, 40, 321-339. doi:10.2307/40264525
[30] Henderson, E. H. (1985). Teaching spelling. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
[31] Ibrahim, R. (2006). Morpho-phonemic similarity within and between languages: A factor to be considered in processing Arabic and Hebrew. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 19, 563-586. doi:10.1007/s11145-006-9009-y
[32] Kapliwatzky, J. (1940-1976). Arabic language and grammar. Jerusalem: Hemed Press.
[33] Koda, K. (1988). Cognitive process in second language reading: Transfer of L1 reading skills and strategies. Second Language Research, 4, 133-156. doi:10.1177/026765838800400203
[34] Koda, K. (1990). The use of L1 reading strategies in L2 reading: Effects of L1 orthographic structures on L2 phonological recoding strategies. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 12, 393-410. doi:10.1017/S0272263100009499
[35] Koda, K. (1995). Cognitive consequences of L1 and L1 orthographies. In I. Taylor, & D. R. Olson (Eds.), Scripts and literacy: Reading and learning to read alphabets, syllabaries and characters (pp. 311-326). Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic. doi:10.1007/978-94-011-1162-1_20
[36] Miller-Guron, L., & Lundberg, I. (2000). Dyslexia and second language reading: A second bite at the apple? Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 12, 41-61. doi:10.1023/A:1008009703641
[37] Mitchell, T. F. (1993). Pronouncing Arabic. New York: Oxford University Press.
[38] Moats, L. C. (1983). A comparison of the spelling errors of older dyslexic and second-grade normal children. Annals of Dyslexia, 33, 121-139. doi:10.1007/BF02648000
[39] Moats, L. C. (1996). Phonological spelling errors in the writing of dyslexic adolescents. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 8, 105-119. doi:10.1007/BF00423928
[40] Nelson, H. E. (1980). Analysis of spelling errors in normal and dyslexic children. In U. Frith (Ed.), Cognitive processes in spelling (pp. 475-493). New York: Academic Press.
[41] Rack, J. P., Snowling, M. J., & Olson, R. K. (1992). The nonword reading deficit in dyslexia: A review. Reading Research Quarterly, 27, 29-53. doi:10.2307/747832
[42] Read, C. (1973). Children’s judgments of phonetic similarities in relation to English spelling. Language Learning, 23, 17-38. doi:10.1111/j.1467-1770.1973.tb00095.x
[43] Read, C. (1975). Children’s categorization of speech sounds in English. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, Research Report No. 17.
[44] Rittle-Johnson, B., & Siegler, R. S. (1999). Learning to spell: Variability, choice, and change in children’s strategy use. Child Development, 70, 332-348. doi:10.1111/1467-8624.00025
[45] Ryan, A., & Meara, P. (1991). The case of the invisible vowels: Arabic speakers reading English words. Reading in a Foreign Language, 7, 531-540.
[46] Singh, S., & Woods, D. R. (1971). Perceptual structure of 12 American English vowels. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 49, 1861-1866. doi:10.1121/1.1912592
[47] Snowling, M. J., Goulandris, N., & Defty, N. (1996). A longitudinal study of reading development in dyslexic children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 88, 653-669. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.88.4.653
[48] Sparks, R., & Ganschow, L. (1991). Foreign language learning difficulties: Affective or native language aptitude differences? Modern Language Journal, 75, 3-16. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4781.1991.tb01076.x
[49] Stage, S. A., & Wagner, R. K. (1992). Development of young children’s phonological and orthographic knowledge as revealed by their spelling. Development Psychology, 28, 287-296. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.28.2.287
[50] Tal, M. (2005). An analysis of the English spelling difficulties of native Hebrew speakers. M.A. Thesis, Haifa: University of Haifa.
[51] Taouk, M., & Coltheart, M. (2004). The cognitive processes involved in learning to read in Arabic. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 17, 27-57. doi:10.1023/B:READ.0000013831.91795.ec
[52] Temple, C. M., & Marshall, J. C. (1983). A case study of developmental phonological dyslexia. British Journal of Psychology, 74, 517-533. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8295.1983.tb01883.x
[53] Treiman, R. (1993). Beginning to spell: A study of first-grade children. New York: Oxford University Press.
[54] Treiman, R., & Bourassa, D. C. (2000). The development of spelling skills. Topics in Language Disorders, 20, 1-18. doi:10.1097/00011363-200020030-00004
[55] Treiman, R., & Cassar, M. (1997). Spelling acquisition in English. In C. A. Perfetti, L. Rieben, & M. Fayol (Eds.), Learning to spell: Research, theory and practice across languages (pp. 61-81). Mahwah: Erlbaum.
[56] Varnhagen, C. N., McCallum, M., & Burstow, M. (1997). Is children’s spelling naturally stage-like? Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 9, 451-481. doi:10.1023/A:1007903330463
[57] Zutell, J., & Rasiniski, T. (1989). Reading and spelling connections in third and fifth grade students. Reading Psychology, 10, 137-15 doi:10.1080/0270271890100203

Copyright © 2024 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.

Creative Commons License

This work and the related PDF file are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.