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Background: In conjunction with written literacy both research and the international comparative studies PISA and IGLU focus in particular on difficulties with reading comprehension, while spelling is treated rather marginally. In particular, little research has been published in German-speaking countries on the specific difficulties of children with spelling difficulties and potential influencing factors. Aims: On the one hand, the paper aims to provide information about the spelling phenomena with which students with special educational needs have the greatest difficulties at the end of elementary school. On the other hand, it should make clear which (meta-)linguistic-cognitive functions have the strongest influence on spelling performance. Methods: N=253 students were assessed in terms of their spelling performance, reading skills, phonological information processing (phonological awareness, naming speed, working memory), processing speed and cognitive abilities. In order to be able to make a statement about the spelling difficulties of the participating students, the orthographic skills were qualitatively evaluated in a differentiated manner. The influence of (meta-)linguistic-cognitive functions was determined using correlation and regression analyses. Results: Participating students have particular difficulties with the spelling of the /s/- or /z/-phoneme and prefixes as well as the use of the umlauts <ä> or <äu> and double consonance at morpheme boundaries at the end of primary school. However, errors can still be identified which indicate that the phonological principle has not yet been fully mastered. The strongest influence on spelling performance was demonstrated for phonological awareness. Conclusions With regard to the acquisition of correct spelling, the promotion of phonological awareness should not be neglected for students with special educational needs, even at the end of primary school. Morpheme-based approaches are suitable for dealing with specific spelling difficulties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supporting phonological awareness is an important part of the early reading and writing acquisition especially for children with speech and language disorders. One popular method of teaching focuses on hand gestures although there is no evidence for their application. The aim of the bachelor thesis was to explore the efficacy of hand gestures in the context of phonological awareness. Moreover, the need and practical implementation should have been evaluated. Therefore, an experiment was conducted within a first grade of a school focusing on children with speech and language disorders (n=11). The class was divided into an experimental and a control group. Whereas the experimental group used additional hand gestures, the control group only received support on phonological awareness. A pre- and post-test as well as a competency grid were used to assess proficiency development in phonological awareness and the usage of hand gestures. The results suggests that hand gestures are effective to support the phonological awareness and that children improve their skills by using hand gestures. Nevertheless, it became apparent that the implementation of hand gestures in this form does not seem to be sufficient and, accordingly, it should be revived in the systematic learning of letters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recent international research comparing reading abilities in children reveal distinct difficulties in reading comprehension for German students. In detail, every fifth child can only retrieve and comprehend explicit information from a written text but shows difficulties in combining information, inferencing and interpreting texts. Aims: The aim of the study is to determine specific components of language-, literacy- and cognitive skills that contribute to the difficulties in reading comprehension among students with special educational needs. Based on these specifications implications for treatment will be given. Methods: Based on the data of 184 fourth-grade students from special education school centers (Sonderpädagogische Förderzentren) correlation analysis are calculated between specific components of language-, literacy- and cognitive skills and the level of reading comprehension. Further on, regression analysis are used to determine the component with the greatest impact on reading comprehension. Results: Correlation as well as regression analysis reveal word recognition as a specific skill with the strongest influence on reading comprehension skills in students with special educational needs. Conclusion: Enhancing reading comprehension in late primary school students should especially focus on (automatized) word recognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conception of early foreign language learning is based on an unproblematic first language acquisition, which cannot be assumed for children with special language needs. This qualitative study aims to describe the special learning dispositions of the students and how teachers deal with these needs in the foreign language classroom. Therefore, interviews with teachers were conducted and evaluated using qualitative content analysis. In addition, English lessons were observed. Because of its special importance for teaching English to young learners a focus was put on listening comprehension. The results show that listening comprehension presents difficulties for children with special language needs. Teachers at special needs schools for children with speech and language disorders have a wide range of options at their disposal for dealing with these special learning dispositions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Since in Germany an inclusive school system is successively implemented, a lot of children who are at risk of developing dyslexia will attend local mainstream primary schools. To meet the special needs of these children, teachers need economic and valid methods for early identification in order to preventively promote children with unfavorable preconditions. Aims: Does the newly developed testing method measuring phonological awareness and naming speed help to identify children who are likely to develop disorders in written language acquisition? Methods: At the beginning of the school year, 253 students of the first grade from five inclusive primary schools were tested on phonological awareness and naming speed. At the end of the first and second grade, their reading speed, reading comprehension, and orthographic skills have been measured. Results: Compared to other internationally published studies, TEPHOBE achieved satisfactory to good results regarding its prognostic validity. Moreover it has become clear that children with a "doubledeficit" have the highest risk of developing disorders when learning to read and/or to write. Conclusions: TEPHOBE is an economic, practicable, and valid method for inclusive primary schools for the early identification of children who are at risk of developing reading and/or spelling disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]