The relation between orthographic processing and spelling in grade 1 French immersion children
Abstract
This study investigates the within‐ and cross‐language relations between orthographic processing and spelling for children learning to read in languages that share the same Roman script: namely, English and French. We examined these relations in a group of 152 children attending grade 1 in a French immersion program. Measures of English and French lexical orthographic processing (e.g., dream‐dreem; jaune‐jeaune) as well as English and French spelling were administered. Control measures included nonverbal ability, English phonological awareness, as well as rapid automatised naming, vocabulary, and word reading in English and French. We found a within‐language relation between orthographic processing and spelling in each of English and French. Cross‐language transfer from French orthographic processing to English spelling was also observed; there were no relations in the other direction. Our results suggest that orthographic processing is important for spelling development among bilingual children learning English and French.
What is already known about this topic
- Orthographic processing plays an important role in monolingual children's word reading and spelling
- Orthographic processing in one language is significantly related to word reading in the other language in bilingual children who are acquiring languages that share the same script
- The extent to which orthographic processing is related to spelling is not clear in bilingual children
What this paper adds
- Orthographic processing contributes to spelling within English and French in a novel group of bilingual children in French immersion
- Orthographic processing in French transfers to spelling in English
- The direction of cross‐language transfer of orthographic processing to spelling occurs from the more consistent orthography to the less consistent one
Implications for theory, policy, or practice
- Cross‐language transfer of orthographic processing may be due to shared orthographic structures and common underlying processes involved in extracting orthographic information in English and French
- The educational context in which second language is acquired may play an important role in spelling development in both English and French
- French immersion educators should highlight similarities in orthographic conventions in English and French during literacy instruction to facilitate spelling development
Number of times cited: 1
- Sheila Cira Chung, Xi Chen and Esther Geva, Deconstructing and reconstructing cross-language transfer in bilingual reading development: An interactive framework, Journal of Neurolinguistics, 10.1016/j.jneuroling.2018.01.003, (2018).
