ERIC Number: EJ1469851
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-May
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0141-0423
EISSN: EISSN-1467-9817
Available Date: 2025-02-26
Word Spelling in Monolingual and Bilingual Children with Developmental Language Disorder
Elise H. Bree1,2; Wendy Bliekendaal1,3; Madelon Boer1
Journal of Research in Reading, v48 n2 p119-130 2025
Background: Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) are reported to have word spelling difficulties. These findings concern monolingual children with DLD; little is known about bilingual children with DLD. We examined word spelling abilities of bilingual children with DLD to determine if bilingualism is an additional risk factor for spelling problems. Methods: We compared word spelling outcomes of monolingual (n = 87) and bilingual children with DLD (n = 51), who attended upper elementary years (Grade 5 or 6) of special education for children with DLD. Spelling measures obtained were a standardised curriculum-based word spelling task, an experimental dictation task and word spelling in short written texts. Results: Outcomes on the curriculum-based spelling test established that both the monolingual and bilingual groups of children with DLD on average showed a spelling delay. Results on this test, as well as those of the experimental dictation task and the writing task, did not indicate differences between the monolingual and bilingual groups with DLD, even when lower oral language outcomes of bilingual children in the school language were controlled for. Conclusions: The results indicate that DLD is a risk factor for word spelling difficulties while bilingualism is not.
Descriptors: Developmental Delays, Language Impairments, Spelling, Monolingualism, Bilingualism, Children, Elementary School Students, Grade 5, Grade 6, Special Education, Writing (Composition), Foreign Countries
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Grade 5; Intermediate Grades; Middle Schools; Grade 6
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Netherlands
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Research Institute of Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; 2Department of Education and Pedagogy, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands; 3Royal Dutch Auris Group, Rotterdam, The Netherlands