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Spelling in Adults: The Combined Influences of Language Skills and Reading Experience

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Abstract

One hundred and twelve university students completed 7 tests assessing word-reading accuracy, print exposure, phonological sensitivity, phonological coding and knowledge of English morphology as predictors of spelling accuracy. Together the tests accounted for 71% of the variance in spelling, with phonological skills and morphological knowledge emerging as strong predictors of spelling accuracy for words with both regular and irregular sound-spelling correspondences. The pattern of relationships was consistent with a model in which, as a function of the learning opportunities that are provided by reading experience, phonological skills promote the learning of individual word orthographies and structural relationships among words.

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  1. School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queesland, QLD 4072, Australia

    Jennifer S. Burt

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  1. Jennifer S. Burt
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Correspondence to Jennifer S. Burt.

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Burt, J.S. Spelling in Adults: The Combined Influences of Language Skills and Reading Experience. J Psycholinguist Res 35, 447–470 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-006-9024-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-006-9024-9

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