Preventing dysorthography in elementary school students with underdeveloped competence in morphology-related spelling rules

This article considers the results of the speech therapy to prevent dysorthography in second grade students with general speech underdevelopment (GSU) due to insufficient knowledge of morphological (morphemic and morphological-syntactic) rules. During the error correction intervention, the children gradually developed the ability to consciously choose and apply orthograms using the morphological principles of spelling, differentiate them from other orthographic rules, and build relevant skills and general learning abilities (GLA). When working with linguistic and graphic material, they were taught to use traditional and innovative methods of handling orthographic tasks, employ specific and generalized strategies for spelling, as well as master cognitive, basic logical and research, and regulatory (self-control) GLA, which are central to spelling performance. The linguistic aspect of spelling development was promoted by strengthening the children’s proficiency in language as a complex semiotic system and helping them make linguistic generalizations. The ideas of the sound structure of words, semantics, and morphemic composition were summarized. The concepts of orthograms, terms, rules, algorithms, and spelling tasks were explained. The findings show that when children develop a psychological basis of spelling activity, they become more motivated in it, learn to encode linguistic information in an analytic–holistic style, and respond to it in a reflective way. They also improve their short-term verbal auditory memory, self-control and evaluation of spelling accuracy, and the ability to predict spellings and prevent spelling errors.

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