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Metalinguistic contributions to reading and spelling in second and third grade students

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Abstract

Minimal research has been conducted on the simultaneous influence of multiple metalinguistic, linguistic, and processing skills that may impact literacy development in children who are in the process of learning to read and write. In this study, we assessed the phonemic awareness, morphological awareness, orthographic awareness, receptive vocabulary, and rapid naming abilities of second and third grade students (N = 56) and determined how these abilities predicted the children’s reading and spelling skills. Regression analyses revealed that morphological awareness was the sole unique contributor to spelling and, together with orthographic awareness, uniquely contributed to word recognition. Morphological awareness also was significantly related to reading comprehension. The results add to a growing literature base providing evidence that early literacy development is influenced by morphological awareness, an ability that has received considerably less educational attention. Additionally, the findings point to the importance of tapping into multiple sources of metalinguistic knowledge when providing instruction in reading and spelling.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Communication Science and Disorders, Florida State University, 127 Honors Way, Tallahassee, FL, 32306-1200, USA

    Kenn Apel, Elizabeth B. Wilson-Fowler & Danielle Brimo

  2. Center for Health Research, Kaiser Permanente Northwest, Portland, OR, USA

    Nancy A. Perrin

Authors
  1. Kenn Apel
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  2. Elizabeth B. Wilson-Fowler
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  3. Danielle Brimo
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  4. Nancy A. Perrin
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Correspondence to Kenn Apel.

Appendix

Appendix

Phonemic awareness target words taken from Masterson et al. (2006).

  • Cane

  • Lung

  • Match

  • Honey

  • Dress

  • Bottle

  • Cries

  • Stopped

  • Babies

  • Biting

  • Repair

  • Continue

  • Skeleton

  • Prisoner

  • Argument

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Apel, K., Wilson-Fowler, E.B., Brimo, D. et al. Metalinguistic contributions to reading and spelling in second and third grade students. Read Writ 25, 1283–1305 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-011-9317-8

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