Relationship between phonological awareness and spelling proficiency in first-grade students
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Abstract
Background and Aim: Phonological awareness (consisting of phoneme, syllable and intra-syllable awareness) is an important part of receptive and expressive language; it facilitates reading and writing skills through phonological re-coding. Multiple studies in several languages have studied the relationship between phonological awareness and dictation. This research is based on a study of the relationship between phonological skill and spelling score in first-grade Persian students.
Methods: Four hundred first-grade students participated in the study, including 209 girls and 191 boys. A phonological awareness test was individually administered for each student and then a spelling exam was administered in groups. The correlation between the two tests was studied using a simple regression model. The comparison of mean scores of girls and boys was evaluated employing an independent t-test.
Results: A correlation coefficient of 0.82 was obtained between phonological awareness and spelling proficiency (p<0.001). Phonological skill sub-tests also showed a significant correlation with spelling proficiency (highest for phoneme awareness r=0.34 and lowest for rhyme awareness r=0.12). The mean scores of girls and boys differed significantly (p<0.05).
Conclusion: There is a strong positive association between phonological awareness and spelling proficiency. Therefore, if phonological skill is improved, spelling score can be enhanced.
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| Issue | Vol 23 No 5 (2014) | |
| Section | Research Article(s) | |
| Keywords | ||
| Phonological awareness spelling score first-grade students | ||
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