A Cognitive Theory of Orthographic Transitioning: Predictable Errors in How Spanish-Speaking Children Spell English Words

Abstract

Schools in the United States serve a large and increasing number of Spanishspeaking students who are making the transition to English language literacy. This study examines one aspect of the transition to English literacy, namely, how Spanish-speaking students spell English words. Samples of 38 students who speak Spanish at home (Spanish-speaking group) and 34 students who speak English at home (English-speaking group) listened to a list of 40 common English words dictated to them by the teacher and wrote down each word one at a time. Spanish-speaking students produced more errors that were consistent with the correct application of Spanish phonological and orthographical rules (i.e., predicted errors) than did English-speaking students, and the groups generally did not differ in their production of other kinds of spelling errors (i.e., nonpredicted errors). Theoretical and practical implications for bilingual education are discussed.

Bilingual spelling patterns in middle school: it is more than transfer

“…Most of the previous research on Spanish-English spelling focused on the influence of language transfer (e.g., Cronnell 1985;Escamilla 2006;Fashola et al 1996;Rollo San Francisco et al 2006;Rubin and Carlan 2005;Sun-Alperin and Wang 2008). However, as noted in the previous section, many misspellings, whether they originate in Spanish or English, may not always be transfer exemplars but errors that occur in systematic ways, which are not unique to bilingual spellers.…”

“…On the other hand, eight studies investigated English-only spellings in Spanish children (Cronnell 1985;Fashola et al 1996;Howard et al 2006;Raynolds and Uhry 2010;Rollo San Francisco et al 2006;Rubin and Carlan 2005;Sun-Alperin and Wang 2008;Zutell and Allen 1988). The most frequently occurring patterns involved vowels and noncontrastive consonants (i.e., consonants not present in the second language).…”

“…Prior spelling research on kindergarten and elementary school-age bilingual students focused primarily on how Spanish language knowledge may influence or transfer to English spelling (Cronnell 1985;Escamilla 2006;Fashola et al 1996;Howard et al 2006;Rollo San Francisco et al 2006;Rubin and Carlan 2005;Sun-Alperin and Wang 2008;Zutell and Allen 1988). Analyzing 27 studies of first language influence on English spelling (languages included Arabic, Cantonese, and Spanish, among others), Figueredo (2006) concluded that the interaction of two languages for transfer of spelling knowledge may be facilitated or hindered by the level and depth of transparencies of the first language writing system to English.…”

“…Consonant doubling presented as another misspelling pattern since doubling is related to the preceding vowel duration in English, and vowel duration is not relevant in Spanish (Rubin and Carlan 2005), e.g., prity for pretty. A third robust pattern entailed the misapplication of one-to-many vowel mappings in English (Fashola et al 1996;Rubin and Carlan 2005;Sun-Alperin and Wang 2008), as illustrated by clin for clean.…”

Can yu rid guat ay rot? A Developmental Investigation of Cross-Linguistic Spelling Errors Among Spanish–English Bilingual Students

“…These studies have independently confirmed that such errors are frequently cross-linguistic in nature, meaning that Spanish sound-symbol correspondences are brought to bear on the spelling of English words (Bear, Helman, Templeton, Invernizzi & Johnston, 2007; Bear, Templeton, Helman & Baren, 2003; Dressler, 2002; Fashola, Drum, Mayer & Kang, 1996; Ferroli, 1991; Raynolds & Uhry, 2010; Rolla San Francisco, Mo, Carlo, August, & Snow, 2006; Terrebone, 1973; Zutell & Allen, 1988). For example, some of these Spanish-influenced errors include substituting j for h (e.g.…”