Spelling challenges in English as a foreign language: vowels, digraphs, and novel phonemes.
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| Title: | Spelling challenges in English as a foreign language: vowels, digraphs, and novel phonemes. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Sammour-Shehadeh, Rana1 (AUTHOR), Prior, Anat1,2 (AUTHOR), Kahn-Horwitz, Janina3 (AUTHOR) janina_k@oranim.ac.il |
| Source: | Reading & Writing. Apr2026, Vol. 39 Issue 4, p1431-1454. 24p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Spelling errors, *Arab students, *English as a foreign language, *Orthography & spelling, Vowels, Phoneme (Linguistics), Graphemics |
| Abstract: | Spelling in English as a foreign language (EFL) has been relatively understudied, particularly among learners whose first language (L1) utilizes an abjad writing system. Thus, the current study sought to enhance understanding of EFL spelling by examining the accuracy and frequent errors in spelling various phonemes and orthographic conventions among fifth-grade (N = 84) and eighth-grade (N = 80) Arabic-speaking students. Participants were presented with pseudowords composed mostly of phonological and orthographic features that are novel to Arabic speakers, and therefore may pose spelling challenges for them. Results revealed that students in both grades demonstrated lower accuracy in spelling vowels than consonants, struggled more with novel phonemes than familiar ones, and faced challenges in spelling the digraph, a novel orthographic convention, providing support for the linguistic and orthographic proximity hypothesis. In addition, the spelling accuracy for most phonemes and orthographic conventions was comparable between fifth and eighth grades, and the most frequent types of errors were also very similar. These results underscore the challenges of spelling novel orthographic conventions and phonemes for EFL learners at the early and intermediate stages of English instruction. These findings can be attributed to the limited exposure to English in a foreign language setting, along with inadequate literacy instruction. Pedagogical implications for EFL instruction are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Reading & Writing is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 193563712 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Spelling challenges in English as a foreign language: vowels, digraphs, and novel phonemes. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sammour-Shehadeh%2C+Rana%22">Sammour-Shehadeh, Rana</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Prior%2C+Anat%22">Prior, Anat</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kahn-Horwitz%2C+Janina%22">Kahn-Horwitz, Janina</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> janina_k@oranim.ac.il</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Reading+%26+Writing%22">Reading & Writing</searchLink>. Apr2026, Vol. 39 Issue 4, p1431-1454. 24p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Spelling+errors%22">Spelling errors</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Arab+students%22">Arab students</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22English+as+a+foreign+language%22">English as a foreign language</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Orthography+%26+spelling%22">Orthography & spelling</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Vowels%22">Vowels</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Phoneme+%28Linguistics%29%22">Phoneme (Linguistics)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Graphemics%22">Graphemics</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Spelling in English as a foreign language (EFL) has been relatively understudied, particularly among learners whose first language (L1) utilizes an abjad writing system. Thus, the current study sought to enhance understanding of EFL spelling by examining the accuracy and frequent errors in spelling various phonemes and orthographic conventions among fifth-grade (N = 84) and eighth-grade (N = 80) Arabic-speaking students. Participants were presented with pseudowords composed mostly of phonological and orthographic features that are novel to Arabic speakers, and therefore may pose spelling challenges for them. Results revealed that students in both grades demonstrated lower accuracy in spelling vowels than consonants, struggled more with novel phonemes than familiar ones, and faced challenges in spelling the digraph, a novel orthographic convention, providing support for the linguistic and orthographic proximity hypothesis. In addition, the spelling accuracy for most phonemes and orthographic conventions was comparable between fifth and eighth grades, and the most frequent types of errors were also very similar. These results underscore the challenges of spelling novel orthographic conventions and phonemes for EFL learners at the early and intermediate stages of English instruction. These findings can be attributed to the limited exposure to English in a foreign language setting, along with inadequate literacy instruction. Pedagogical implications for EFL instruction are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Reading & Writing is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1007/s11145-025-10659-3 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 24 StartPage: 1431 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Spelling errors Type: general – SubjectFull: Arab students Type: general – SubjectFull: English as a foreign language Type: general – SubjectFull: Orthography & spelling Type: general – SubjectFull: Vowels Type: general – SubjectFull: Phoneme (Linguistics) Type: general – SubjectFull: Graphemics Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Spelling challenges in English as a foreign language: vowels, digraphs, and novel phonemes. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Sammour-Shehadeh, Rana – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Prior, Anat – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Kahn-Horwitz, Janina IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 04 Text: Apr2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 09224777 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 39 – Type: issue Value: 4 Titles: – TitleFull: Reading & Writing Type: main |
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