Independence of reading and spelling in backward and normal readers

Abstract

To investigate how backward readers spell and the connections between their spelling and their reading, a large group of backward readers and a comparable group of normal readers were given the same words to read and spell. The two skills were surprisingly separate in both groups, in that the children could read words which they did not spell and spell words which they did not read, although the discrepancy was greater in the backward readers. Further analysis suggested that both groups used a phonological cues in spelling more than in reading. This suggestion was supported in a second experiment, in which encouragement to use phonological cues changed the children's reading patterns.