Specific Learning Trajectories of Spelling Regularities

Abstract

This study analyzes four regular spelling patterns: (1a) final unstressed <e>; (1b) final unstressed <o>; (2a) final <r> in infinitive verbs; and (2b) final <r> in nouns. Patterns in (1) are similar in terms of stress context, as both involve unstressed vowels. Patterns in (2) involve the occurrence of the letter <r> at the end of words. Writing samples were collected from children and adolescents enrolled in the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th grades of a public elementary school in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The hypothesis tested was that spelling error rates would vary significantly depending on the type of spelling pattern. The data supported this hypothesis. In final unstressed contexts, learners made more spelling errors with the letter <e> than with <o>. Regarding the letter <r>, infinitive verbs were spelled with more errors than nouns. Drawing on the Integration of Multiple Patterns Theory (IMP) (Treiman & Kessler, 2014), we argue that seemingly similar spelling patterns may entail distinct learning trajectories. In other words, we assert that spelling acquisition occurs through multiple trajectories that can only be identified through contextualized analyses—ones that consider not only letter-sound correspondences but also phonetic variability and the morphological structures underlying each pattern. In summary, we propose that both the analysis and teaching of spelling should move beyond the traditional dichotomy of regularity versus irregularity.