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The current narrative review focuses on cross-language influences (CLI) in spelling English as a foreign language (EFL). We identify three types of distance between first language (L1) and English that may impact English spelling, namely distance in writing system, in orthography and in phonology. The review describes and specifies the spelling difficulties that different groups of EFL learners may experience due to these distance types. We present a detailed examination of these inter-connected aspects of distance in order to characterize the different sources of CLI in spelling. Because CLI plays a significant role in learning a new language, understanding and characterizing the types of distance that lead to CLI has important implications for EFL instruction and learning. The empirical studies reviewed here clearly indicate that distance from L1 affects the English spelling of both beginning and advanced English learners, and this effect depends on the type of distance. In addition, we suggest that spelling difficulties are exacerbated in cases where L1 is distant from EFL in more than one way. Suggestions for future research are provided and pedagogical implications for EFL instruction are offered.

English as a foreign language (EFL) literacy is necessary for the career success of non-English speaking students. Many students lack adequate EFL literacy skills which may indicate a gap between EFL literacy instruction theory and practice. Teachers' self-efficacy regarding their ability to teach reading and writing, years of teaching experience, and/or native language may influence their selection of components for EFL literacy instruction. This study examines these components as they are perceived by teachers. One hundred and sixty-seven Israeli EFL elementary school teachers completed online questionnaires. Findings showed a weak correlation between teachers' self-efficacy and their instructional approach. Teaching experience and teachers' native language did not influence their selection of EFL literacy instructional components or their sense of self-efficacy regarding their ability to teach reading and writing. Providing theoretical knowledge in teacher education to all types of EFL teachers may lead to more effective literacy instruction.

Israel is one of many countries in which English is not the spoken language. In these countries, it is of the utmost importance for students to acquire literacy in English as a foreign language (EFL) to support their entry into higher education and enhance their social and business opportunities. However, many students do not acquire adequate literacy skills by the conclusion of their elementary school years. To obtain these skills, the curriculum as reflected in EFL textbooks must include extensive and accurate content related to the constructs of the English language. This study aimed to explore to what extent literacy instruction components, as defined by research, are incorporated into textbooks that are commonly used for teaching EFL in elementary schools in Israel according to teacher self-reports. The textbook examination was based on the research-based literacy components aligned with the Science of Reading for English as a first language and on additional EFL literacy instruction components. The findings indicate that textbooks inadequately cover theory-based instructional materials for each of the literacy components. The conclusions of this study can be used to raise awareness regarding how EFL literacy instruction in Israel may be improved by providing theory-based textbooks.

This study examines the knowledge of language components in 44 teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL). These components include phonology, orthography, and morphology, for reading and spelling instruction. The study also examines teacher attitudes towards and perceptions of these language components in the context of their self-reported practice. Mixed methods analyses showed that teacher knowledge was not at ceiling level but was greater than reported comparative studies in the Israeli EFL context. Similar to previous studies, this study found that teacher knowledge of phonological awareness was weak. The teachers in this study were keen to learn more; however, their self-reported practice demonstrated a discrepancy between their perceptions of the importance of language components such as orthography and their implementation in the field, with the least number of teachers reporting teaching the orthographic conventions. The teachers' responses provide some insights into their thinking about the relevance of language components to their teaching in an EFL context where they are often the only guiding source in the path towards literacy. For EFL teachers to impact their students' progress in literacy, there is a need for them to acquire a more in-depth understanding of language components such as phonology, orthography, and morphology to become professionally adept.

This study examines the efficacy of using a digital gamed platform in acquiring phoneme-grapheme correspondences of closed syllables with short vowels. Fifty-five fourth-grade English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners navigated through five digital escape rooms where they learned, practiced, and produced target graphemes. Mixed methods analyses found that spelling competence in the intervention group as opposed to the control group improved in the post-test and continued to improve significantly in the delayed post-test. Following analysis of the participant interviews four themes emerged. Autonomous learning and self-monitoring were the dominant themes followed by engagement and motivation, self-confidence and self-esteem, and peer learning and social interaction in decreasing order of prevalence. Combining learning with play while participants navigated within the digital learning environment proved to be an effective method of teaching young EFL learners to spell. The results of this intervention contribute to recent research in the post-COVID-19 era and mirror OECD goals for the 21st century which have highlighted the need for effective digital platforms that promote independent learning while maximizing student engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acquiring literacy in English as a foreign language (EFL) is important for language development. However, many students enter middle school without adequate EFL literacy skills. This may indicate a gap between EFL literacy instruction theory and the classroom practice that is occurring in elementary school classrooms. The aim of this study was to explore the components of EFL literacy instruction as perceived by teachers. The study investigated whether perceptions of classroom practices are theoretically based, thus shedding light on the gap between EFL literacy theory and practice. The participants were 167 EFL elementary school teachers, who submitted anonymous online questionnaires regarding their reported EFL teaching in year one, two, three, four, and five of elementary school. The research was based on the five pillars of literacy instruction for English as a first language (National Reading Panel, 2000) and additional EFL components (August & Shanahan, 2006). Results of this study showed that EFL teachers expressed views that may indicate a gap between teachers' practices and most cutting-edge research. The study concluded that providing EFL elementary school teachers with theoretical knowledge may lead to more productive literacy programs and may improve classroom practices.

Linguistic abilities as well as home environment explain successful English as a foreign language (EFL) reading acquisition. The aim of this study was to examine the extent to which morphological derivational awareness measured in Arabic as a first language (L1) predicted EFL word recognition and reading comprehension among 66-11th grade female high school students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Measures included L1 phonological awareness, orthographic knowledge, and derivational morphological awareness, as well as EFL word recognition and reading comprehension. Background variables including socioeconomic background measured as home-population density and English exposure out of school measured by time spent viewing English television per day were controlled for. Hierarchical regression analyses found L1 phonological awareness, orthographic knowledge and derivational morphological awareness judgment all directly contributed to EFL word recognition. English home language exposure and derivational morphological awareness production directly predicted EFL reading comprehension, and morphological awareness mediated the connection between L1 phonological awareness, orthographic knowledge and EFL reading comprehension. These results highlight the cross-linguistic role of morphological awareness together with home background on EFL reading for female high school students from low socio-economic backgrounds.

In order to inform English foreign language (EFL) diagnostic assessment of literacy, this study examined the extent to which 175 first-language Hebrew-speaking EFL young learners from fifth to tenth grade exhibited differences in single-letter grapheme recognition, sub-word, and word reading, and rapid automatized naming (RAN) of letters and numbers. In addition, this cross-sectional quasi-experimental quantitative study examined correlations between the aforementioned literacy components and oral reading speed, spelling, vocabulary, syntax, and morphological awareness. There were no differences between the grades for single-letter grapheme recognition, and participants demonstrated incomplete automatic recognition for this task. Sub-word recognition improved across grades. However, the results highlighted a lack of mastery. Sub-word recognition correlated with word reading and spelling throughout. RAN speeded measures and oral reading speed correlated with sub-word, word recognition, and spelling in the older grades illustrating the presence of accuracy and speed components. Correlations across grades between literacy components and vocabulary, syntax, and morphological awareness provided support for theories explaining how knowledge of multiple layers of words contributes to literacy acquisition. These results comprising EFL diagnostic assessment can inform reading and spelling teaching and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to examine the pedagogical implications of the "linguistic and orthographic proximity hypothesis." This hypothesis claims that the similarities and differences between first and additional languages and scripts help or hinder the acquisition of literacy in the novel language. In this study we examined the impact of Arabic language and literacy as opposed to Hebrew language and literacy on the acquisition of English basic literacy skills amongst elementary school Arabic L1 speaking versus Hebrew L1 speaking children. All these children are considered emergent bi-, tri- or multi-lingual and literate. A total of 75 fifth grade children participated in the study: 30 Arabic L1 speaking children and 45 Hebrew L1 speaking children. Tests in decoding and spelling various English target conventions were conducted. Arabic L1 speaking children showed an advantage in both decoding and spelling for the short vowel /ae/, the digraph , in decoding of short vowels and in spelling of vowel digraphs thus supporting the "linguistic and orthographic proximity hypothesis." There were no significant differences between the two groups on decoding and spelling the silent , which provided a challenge for all participants. As predicted, the phoneme /p/ posed a challenge for spelling for Arabic L1 speaking children. These data provide support for a metaphoric treasure chest consisting of various languages and literacies that children bring into the classroom and which should be considered by teachers. The contents of this treasure chest which are linguistically or orthographically similar to English facilitate its literacy acquisition.

This quasi-experimental study adds to the small existing literature on orthographic-related teacher knowledge in an English as a foreign language (EFL) context. The study examined the impact of a course on English orthography on predominantly non-native-speaking EFL preservice and inservice teachers' orthographic content knowledge, and the extent to which these teachers retained orthographic-related content knowledge four months after participating in a semester course on the topic. In addition, the study examined the relationship between participants' acquired orthographic-related content knowledge and EFL spelling. Both groups of teachers that studied in the course improved on overall orthographic-related content knowledge, both immediately following the course and longitudinally. Preservice and inservice participants showed similar levels of orthographic knowledge prior to course participation and both showed significant improvements compared to controls following course participation. Participants also retained knowledge four months after course completion. Overall, the inservice teachers scored higher on orthographic-related knowledge, possibly as a result of the immediate application of their newly acquired knowledge. An unexpected finding was a lack of interaction between acquired orthographic-related content knowledge and pseudo word spelling scores. Possible methodological limitations, such as number of participants as well as the length and scope of the course, may explain this outcome. This paper also discusses practical implications of this study for EFL decoding and spelling instruction.

This study examined English as a foreign language (EFL) spelling development amongst 233 fifth-grade, eighth-grade and 10th-grade Hebrew first-language speakers to examine effects of English orthographic exposure on spelling. Good and poor speller differences were examined regarding the acquisition of novel phonemes (/ae/, /?/ and /?/) and orthographic conventions (/ð/, /?/, /a?/ and silent "e"). Hebrew measures included standardised spelling and orthographic and phonological tasks. Experimental English measures included real-word and pseudoword spellings, orthographic tasks and standardised spellings. Results showed significant differences in spelling accuracy between good and poor spellers at all grades. Spelling accuracy for most conventions did not improve after the eighth grade. Spellings of consonantal clusters, initial h and /ð/ differed between good and poor spellers in the fifth grade only. Hebrew spelling was one of the strongest predictors of EFL real-word and pseudoword spellings in both fifth and eighth grades. Implications for teaching practice are discussed.

English foreign language (EFL) literacy achievement is a major challenge for EFL pupils in Israel. To better understand this challenge, this study used a quantitative approach to examine differences between experienced and preservice EFL teachers' content knowledge of the English orthography and the impact of a semester course on this knowledge. A qualitative analysis examined perceptions of the English orthography, effective teaching methods for word recognition and spelling as well as effectiveness of the course. Results supported English first language teacher knowledge research showing relatively weak English orthographic knowledge for all participants with experienced teachers demonstrating a slight advantage. Post course scores showed significant improvements for preservice EFL teachers but these scores were still far from ceiling. Participants were unanimous in stating that they felt that they benefited and gained significant knowledge as a result of participation in the course. They acknowledged the challenges of EFL spelling but were divided regarding whether and how it should be taught. Poor scores on the overall Teacher Knowledge Survey suggest that participants did not have the orthographic related knowledge necessary to guide their decisions as to how to teach EFL literacy. Orthographic related instruction for EFL preservice and practicing teachers should continue to be examined as a facilitating factor for effective teaching of EFL word recognition and spelling.

English as a foreign language (EFL) spelling was examined longitudinally three times (4th, 9th, 12th grades) during 9 years of EFL study among Hebrew first language (L1) students. The study examined the impact of L1 literacy variables including phonemic awareness, word attack, and spelling on EFL spelling and the relationship between EFL literacy variables and EFL spelling. Results showed that English spelling measured at earlier points strongly predicted later English spelling. L1 literacy skills measured in fourth grade were more significant than English word recognition in explaining end of ninth grade EFL spelling. Beginning of first year EFL letter knowledge in fourth grade predicted end of first-year EFL spelling. These results show qualitatively different L1 and EFL literacy abilities impacting EFL spelling at 4th, 9th, and 12th grades.

The "script-dependence hypothesis" was tested through the examination of the impact of Russian and Hebrew literacy on English orthographic knowledge needed for spelling and decoding among fifth graders. We compared the performance of three groups: Russian-Hebrew-speaking emerging triliterates, Russian-Hebrew-speaking emerging biliterates who were not literate in Russian (but only in Hebrew) and Hebrew-speaking emerging biliterates. Based on similarities between Russian and English orthographies, we hypothesised that Russian-Hebrew-speaking emerging triliterates would outperform both other groups on spelling and decoding of "short vowels" and "consonant clusters". Further, we hypothesised that all groups would face similar difficulties with "novel orthographic conventions". Russian-Hebrew-speaking emerging triliterates demonstrated advantages for spelling and decoding of short vowels and for decoding of consonant clusters. All three groups experienced difficulty with spelling and decoding the digraph "th" as well as the split digraph (silent "e"). (Contains 7 tables.)

This study examined individual differences among beginning readers of English as a foreign language (EFL). The study concentrated on the effects of underlying first language (L1) knowledge as well as EFL letter and vocabulary knowledge. Phonological and morphological awareness, spelling, vocabulary knowledge, and word reading in Hebrew L1, in addition to knowledge of EFL letters and EFL vocabulary, were measured. The study also investigated the effect of socioeconomic background (SES) on beginning EFL readers. Participants included 145 fourth graders from three schools representing two socioeconomic backgrounds in the north of Israel. The results indicate that knowledge of English letters played a more prominent role than knowledge of Hebrew L1 components in differentiating between strong and weak EFL readers. The Linguistic Coding Differences Hypothesis was supported by L1 phonological awareness, word reading, and vocabulary knowledge appearing as part of discriminating functions. The presence of English vocabulary knowledge as part of the discriminant functions provides support for English word reading being more than just a decoding task for EFL beginner readers. Socioeconomic status differentiated the groups for EFL word recognition but not for EFL reading comprehension. (Contains 2 tables.)

This study examined whether factors affecting first language reading acquisition also affect English Foreign Language (EFL) reading acquisition. Hebrew (L1) and EFL reading related measures were administrated to 145 fourth graders from the north of Israel who were beginning their first year of English instruction. Results from a Linear Structural Equational Analysis (LISREL) showed that the Hebrew independent variable consisting of morphological and phonological awareness, orthographic ability, and word reading (accuracy and speed) predicted EFL knowledge of letter sounds and names, word attack and reading comprehension. In addition to the Hebrew independent variable, English word recognition (accuracy and speed) predicted English reading comprehension. These results support the Linguistic Coding Differences Hypothesis (LCDH), which argues for core linguistic abilities that influence first and subsequent language reading acquisition.

The study investigated English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers' knowledge of the linguistic foundations of the English language, teachers' reported classroom practices regarding time allocation to different language teaching and learning activities, and the relationship between these two parameters. An additional goal was to investigate teachers' beliefs regarding various aspects of literacy acquisition. Results indicated low scores for language constructs, especially those related to phonology and orthography. EFL teachers reported dedicating the largest amount of classroom time to vocabulary-related activities whereas the smallest amounts of time were allotted to teaching phonemic awareness and word reading. Teachers with higher scores on phonological, syllabic, and orthographic knowledge allocated more time to teaching and practicing phonemic awareness, grapheme-phoneme correspondence, and reading skills. Educational implications include the importance of research based, focused teacher professional training both in content knowledge of basic language constructs and in pedagogical knowledge of EFL literacy acquisition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]