The Efficiency of Metacognitive and Metalinguistic Awareness in Word Spelling Among Hebrew Speaking Children with SLI: An Intervention Study

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to assess the effect of metacognitive and metalinguistic instructional practices on the spelling acquisition of Hebrew speaking children with specific language impairment (SLI). Sixty-seven kindergarteners with SLI in a supported learning context participated in the study. Children were classified into three groups: metalinguistic with metacognitive strategies (MLMC); metalinguistic (ML); and control. Letter naming, sounding letters, word spelling, and word recognition were assessed both on the pretest and posttests. Findings indicate that both the MLMC and the ML group made statistically significant gains in all measures. However, the metacognitive instructional practice had a stronger effect on the spelling and reading skills of children with SLI compared to the ML group and the controls. This study provides evidence that children with SLI benefit from the combination of metacognitive and metalinguistic instructional practices when acquiring early spelling skills.