Peer-reviewed research
Spelling across Tasks and Levels of Language in a Transparent Orthography
Lucia Bigozzi et al., PLoS ONE, 2016 · DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0163033
Read the originalRead on October 17, 2026
- What it is
- Two studies of Italian first graders that compared spelling to dictation with spontaneous spelling, first for single words (132 children) and then for texts (81 children).
- How much weight it carries
- Peer-reviewed, open access and based on standardized tasks. The samples are Italian children in a transparent orthography, where spelling is more regular than in English, so the findings may not carry over directly to English classrooms.
Facts taken from this source
- In a 2016 study of 132 Italian first graders, spelling words and pseudo-words to dictation was more difficult than spontaneous spelling of words, and this held for low achievers and children with spelling impairments too.
“spelling words and pseudo-words to dictation was found to be more difficult than spontaneous spelling of words” (Abstract)
- The 2016 study found a moderate correlation between spelling to dictation and spontaneous spelling, which the authors read as showing that the two tasks are supported by partially different spelling processes.
“the two tasks are supported by partially different spelling processes” (Abstract)