Greek-spelling predictors; an investigation of literacy- and cognitive-related factors

Greek spelling has been less explored than reading, and studies looking at predictors have primarily focused on phonological ability (PA) and rapid automatised naming (RAN). Few studies have been conducted on visual attention span (VAS), although there is growing acknowledgement that spelling involves processes other than phonological ones. We investigated single-word spelling accuracy cross-sectionally with 145 students attending Grades 1–7 in Greece. We conducted regression analyses for the beginner and more advanced spellers separately. We found that only PA was a significant predictor for the beginner spellers after controlling for reading speed and chronological age. For the more advanced spellers, VAS and RAN were significant predictors in addition to PA. The outcome suggests that as the children gain more spelling experience, phonological and visual processes are important. Analyses of the effects on spelling accuracy of the item-related variables printed word frequency and phoneme-grapheme probability supported those obtained from the child-related analyses. The educational implications of the findings are discussed.