Do syllable structure and word length affect the spelling performance of 11-year-old Greek students with and without literacy difficulties?

Analysing the spelling difficulties of students with and without specific learning disabilities (SpLDs) through written text production offers greater ecological validity. These texts capture authentic errors made during free writing, providing insight into the types of mistakes learners make without the pressure of a formal spelling test. This study first examined if the number of spelling errors produced by students with and without SpLDs in a free writing task differed as a function of parts of speech and learning disability status. The second research aim was to investigate whether the type of errors made (phonological, suffix and stem errors) are related to the syllabic structure. Finally, the third aim examined whether word length (in terms of syllables) is related to the syllable structure and, specifically, the position in which the error was made. Thirty-two Greek-speaking students without and twenty with a diagnosed SpLD at the age of eleven wrote a short descriptive text without external support. A factorial ANOVA revealed that students with SpLDs made more spelling errors for all parts of speech except participles. A chi-square was used to examine the associations between syllable structure, the position of the error, and the error type. The analysis showed-significant associations between error type and syllable phonetic structure for both groups. Finally, a multinomial logistic regression revealed that word length is associated with the syllable structure and the position of the error only for students without SpLD. Developing the spelling skills of all Greek students should not be neglected or underestimated in favour of reading instruction. The proposed analyses of spelling errors made will help teachers adjust their instruction and literacy researchers focus their attention on less investigated spelling parameters.