The Relation between Spelling and Reading Development in L2 Learners

Abstract

When L2 learners acquire English, it is important for them to be able to recognize and process an individual word as quickly as possible. However, many L2 learners find it difficult to read and spell English words automatically. It can be inferred that the difficulty of reading and spelling English words may be due to the inherent nature of the English writing system. The present study aims at investigating two research questions. The first research question is concerned with what factors contribute to the development of L2 reading (decoding) and spelling skills, and also the relation between them. The issue of how these lower-order skills are related to reading comprehension ability is explored by focusing on the distinct type of L2 learners who are good at reading comprehension but poor at spelling (Good Readers Poor Spellers = R+S-). The second research question deals with effective teaching techniques to develop "Good Readers Good Spellers = R+S+." The method called SPS is considered to be an effective technique for beginners to develop their knowledge of the spelling- sound rules of English.