How morphology impacts reading and spelling: Advancing the role of morphology in models of literacy development

A defining feature of language lies in its capacity to represent meaning across oral and written forms. Morphemes, the smallest units of meaning in a language, are the fundamental building blocks that encode meaning, and morphological skills enable their effective use in oral and written language. Increasing evidence indicates that morphological skills are linked to literacy outcomes, including word reading, spelling, and reading comprehension. Despite this evidence, the precise ways in which morphology influences the development of children’s literacy skills remains largely underspecified in theoretical models of reading and spelling development. In this paper, we draw on the extensive empirical evidence base in English to explicitly detail how morphology might be integrated into models of reading and spelling development. In doing so, we build on the perspective that morphology is multidimensional in its support of literacy development. The culmination of our efforts is the Morphological Pathways Framework—an adapted framework that illuminates precise mechanisms by which morphology impacts word reading, spelling, and reading comprehension. Through this framework, we bring greater clarity and specificity on how the use of morphemes in oral and written language supports the development of children’s literacy skills. We also highlight gaps in the literature, revealing important areas to focus future research to improve theoretical understanding. Furthermore, this paper provides valuable theoretical insight that will guide future empirical inquiries in identifying more precise morphological targets for intervention, which may have widespread implications for informing literacy practices in the classroom and educational policies more broadly.

Children’s Phonological Awareness as a Predictor of Reading and Spelling

Numerous observational and experimental studies have shown that phonological awareness relates to reading and spelling. However, most studies were conducted in English-speaking countries, neglecting the issue of the generalizability of the findings across different orthographies. This meta-analysis focused exclusively on studies from German-speaking countries and explored how measures of phonological awareness relate longitudinally to reading and spelling. It summarized 19 manuscripts reporting the results of 21 independent studies. Results indicated a mean effect size of Zr = 0.318 (r = .308) for the relation between phonological awareness and later reading and spelling. Moderator analyses showed that phonological awareness on the rhyme level was less related to reading and spelling than phonological awareness on the phoneme level. Furthermore, the predictive power of phonological awareness remained substantial even for children beyond the second grade. The findings suggest that research on reading and spelling development should take into account the characteristics of German orthography.