The influence of orthography in early grade letter knowledge among Sidaama school children

Abstract

Though the use of similar scripts in two or more language curricula is common in Ethiopia, the literature on orthographic influences on reading ability development is thin so far. The purpose of this study was, therefore, to examine the facilitating or hindering effects of orthography in letter name identification and letter-sound correspondence tasks in Sidaama and English languages that use Latin-based script. Data were collected from randomly selected grade 2 students in two Hawassa city administration schools using a survey. The descriptive statistical analysis technique on the reading tests showed greater accuracy of children when reading letters and sounds in Sidaama (transparent orthography) than in English, which is characterized by a deep orthographic system. Confusion was observed in both languages across the two tasks where children mixed up letters with sounds, especially when they tried to distinguish between identical letters and sounds in both languages. Such influence comes because the two languages share a common script, though their orthographic consistency differs by language, which has important implications for classroom instruction and curriculum organization.