The Moderating effects of SES on the relationship of cognitive-lingustic skills and english spelling abilities of Filipino bilinguals

• Main Author: Ilustre, Clarisse Anne P.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2014
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_doctoral/377
• Institution: De La Salle University

This dissertation comprised an investigation of second language spelling acquisition in the context of bilingualism. It involved 60 first grade emergent bilinguals from two SES groups, the low and middle class, whose dominant language is their first language, Filipino. The primary aim of the research was to investigate first and second (English) language cognitive linguistic skills (i.e. receptive vocabulary, verbal short term memory, verbal working memory, phonological awareness, and rapid access naming ) that influenced L2 spelling abilities, specifically real word and nonword spelling. It also examined whether these componential skills develop similarly regardless of differences in or thography. Another aim of the study was to look into the role of SES as a predictor of L2 spelling abilities and a moderator of the relationship between each cognitive linguistic skill and spelling L2 spelling abilities. Results indicate that although the orthographies of English and Filipino differ, underlying skills (with the exception of RAN) that propel the English spelling abilities of the bilinguals in the study are language universal. It was also found that two different routes are taken when spelli ng English words and nonwords, as evidenced by the models that emerged from the SEM analyses. A distinct working memory skill must be tapped in order to spell English words (i.e. L1 and L2 verbal working memory) and English pseudowords (i.e. L1 and L2 verb al short term memory). English (L2) phonological awareness was the major common cognitive mechanism predicting Filipino English bilingual children’s English spelling abilities. SES played a minor role in predicting early spelling ability; nevertheless, t his underscores the fact that multiple factors play a role in the development of spelling and in predicting whether a child will be a proficient speller in the early school years. Moreover, beyond the link found between L1 verbal working memory and real wo rd spelling and L2 receptive vocabulary and real word spelling, SES was found to moderate the relationship of these variables. Particularly, the impact of these independent variables was stronger for the low socioeconomic status group than the middle class group. This suggests that through these skills, the difficulty encountered when spelling English words could be lessened. The implications of these findings, particularly to the mother tongue based multilingual education (MTB MLE), are discussed.