Research Symposium

BIO

Izabella Blanco is a sophomore at Florida State University studying biochemistry from New York. She looks forward to attending dental school and getting involved in research after she graduates from Florida State. In the project, Izabella studied how children read and write and the various skills and components that affect an individual's ability to read and write. As a pre-dental student, Izabella joined this research project with the intent of expanding her knowledge and connecting what she learned with the individuals she interacts with as a 12U softball coach and a summer camp assistant director.

Examining the Contributions of Oral Language and Literacy Skills to Spelling Performance in Young Learners

Abstract

The relationship between language variation and spelling production is a critical, yet under-researched, aspect of literacy development. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of children’s oral language skills, literacy skills, and word-level characteristics on spelling production for child speakers of African American English. A sample of 75 students in grades 1-2 completed measures of phonological awareness (CTOPP-2), word reading (TOWRE-2), language variation (DELV-ST), and oral language (CELF-5). For analysis, item-level responses will be modeled using cross-classified random effects models to examine the effects of oral language, literacy, and word features for spelling production of words with regular past tense (e.g. “jumped”). Results of this study will inform our understanding of the influence of oral language, literacy, and word features on spelling production for child-speakers of AAE.

Keywords: Language, Literacy, Spelling