The development of the abilities to acquire novel detailed orthographic representations and maintain them in long-term memory

Previous studies have clearly demonstrated that the development
of orthographic representations relies on phonological recoding.
However, substantial questions persist about the remaining unexplained
variance in the acquisition of word-specific orthographic
knowledge that is still underspecified. The main aim of this study
was to explore whether two cognitive factors—sensitivity to orthographic
regularities and short-term memory (STM) for serial
order—make independent contributions to the acquisition of novel
orthographic representations beyond that of the phonological core
component and the level of preexisting word-specific orthographic
knowledge. To this end, we had children from second to sixth
grades learn novel written word forms using a repeated spelling
practice paradigm. The speed at which children learned the word
forms and their long-term retention (1 week and 1 month later)
were assessed. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that
phonological recoding, preexisting word-specific orthographic
knowledge, and order STM explained a portion of the variance in
orthographic learning speed, whereas phonological recoding, preexisting
word-specific orthographic knowledge, and orthographic
sensitivity each explained a portion of variance in the long-term
retention of the newly created orthographic representations. A secondary
aim of the study was to determine the developmental trajectory
of the abilities to acquire novel orthographic word forms
over the course of primary schooling. As expected, results showedan effect of age on both learning speed and long-term retention.
The specific roles of orthographic sensitivity and order STM as
independent factors involved in different steps of orthographic
learning are discussed.