CHILDREN’S SPELLING DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS.

Abstract

First Language Acquisition theory is anchored on the mentalist proposition which recognizes milestone in the child’s linguistics. This likened spelling as a cognitive process which develops like language with age (milestone). Research has shown that learning to spell is a developmental process. Students begin by stringing random letters together. Next they attempt to match letters to the sounds they hear in words, producing “words” that are not always understood or recognized by adults. As they begin to acquire a sight vocabulary for reading, they become aware of visual patterns in familiar words, such as solicit letters and letter combinations. Gradually they incorporate these patterns in their spellings. Later, children produce many conventional spellings for familiar words, but still must work on how to join syllables for example, by dropping final “e” or doubling consonants when-ing or –ed is added. They learn to spell the complex patterns associated with Latin and Greek elements and other foreign words borrowed into English. Finally, the researcher involves four theories in comparism, in a view to ensure the best theory for the children’s spelling development.