Abstract
Recently, it has become necessary to provide supportive teaching for junior high school students who are having learning difficulties. The present study aimed to investigate risk factors that may cause Japanese junior high school students to have difficulty spelling English words. Participants were 625 students from the 7th (n=226), 8th (n=197), and 9th grades (n=202). The students completed an achievement spelling test of English words, a test of basic skills (including a test of phonological awareness, a test of writing romaji [English letters used for transliterating Japanese words], and an English word-chain test), and a test of verbal working memory. The participants were divided into 2 groups: (a) students with difficulty spelling whose scores were below the 10th percentile, and (b) students without spelling difficulties. The students in the former group had different characteristics in their learning of basic skills and verbal working memory, compared to those in the other group. A multiple logistic analysis suggested that students with low attainment of the skill of writing romaji exhibited risk factors that were related to their difficulty with spelling. Poor scores on verbal working memory appeared to be a risk factor in the 7th- and 8th-grade children. Low attainment of phonological awareness of double vowels and poor skills at searching for English words appeared to be a risk factor in the 8th- and 9th-grade students. These results suggest that grade-appropriate supportive instruction may have a specific effect in decreasing the students' difficulty with English spelling.
