Beyond the Alphabet: Unpacking Orthography and Its Impact on Students with Dyslexia

We've explored various facets of reading and writing, from decoding individual words to understanding their internal structures. Now, let's zoom out slightly and look at the bigger picture: Orthography. This concept is fundamental to understanding why reading and spelling in English can be particularly challenging, especially for our students with dyslexia.

What Exactly is Orthography?

Orthography is the study of writing systems and, more practically for us, the set of standard conventions used for writing a particular language. It's the "rulebook" that governs how sounds are represented in print.

For languages like English that use an alphabet, orthography is based on the principle that written symbols (graphemes – letters or letter combinations) generally correspond to units of sound in the spoken word (phonemes). However, a crucial point is that this correspondence is not always exact or one-to-one. Different languages have different degrees of "transparency" or consistency between spelling and pronunciation.

English Orthography: A Beautifully Complex Beast

Let's be honest, English orthography is renowned for its complexity! It has a "deep" orthography, meaning the relationship between sounds and spellings can be quite opaque. We have:

• Regular Correspondences: Many words follow predictable patterns (e.g., 'c-a-t' spells /kæt/, 'sh-i-p' spells /ʃɪp/).

• Irregular Correspondences: Many common words defy simple phonetic rules (e.g., 'said', 'was', 'knight', 'yacht'). These often reflect historical influences or words borrowed from other languages.

Beyond just spelling, orthographic conventions in English include a wide array of elements necessary for clear written communication:

• The letters of the alphabet themselves (uppercase and lowercase).

• Spelling rules (and their many exceptions!).

• Punctuation (commas, periods, question marks, etc.).

• Word boundaries/word spacing (knowing where one word ends and another begins).

• Use of capital letters (for proper nouns, beginnings of sentences).

• Hyphens.

• Conventions for emphasis (like italics or bolding).

• And much more!

Knowledge of a language’s orthography is absolutely essential for accuracy in both reading (decoding) and writing (encoding) and for overall comprehension.

The Dyslexia Connection: Navigating an Inconsistent System

For students with dyslexia, whose primary challenge often lies in phonological processing (the sound system of language), the inconsistencies and complexities of English orthography present enormous hurdles:

1. Learning Letter-Sound Correspondences: The sheer number of ways sounds can be spelled (e.g., the /f/ sound can be 'f', 'ff', 'ph', 'gh') and the multiple sounds a single letter or digraph can represent (e.g., 'ea' in 'read', 'bread', 'great') is overwhelming.

2. Internalising Spelling Patterns: Storing and retrieving the visual patterns of frequently occurring letter sequences (like 'ight', 'tion', 'ough') is much harder when the underlying phonological connections are weaker.

3. Remembering Irregular Words: Words that don't "play by the rules" require strong orthographic memory, which is often an area of difficulty.

4. Applying Conventions: Beyond individual words, learning and consistently applying rules for punctuation, capitalisation, and word spacing adds another layer of cognitive load.

5. Visual Processing & Orthographic Details: While dyslexia is not primarily a visual problem, the precise visual discrimination of letters (b/d, p/q) and attention to the exact sequence of letters within words can be more challenging when the phonological "anchor" is less secure.

Imagine trying to learn a complex board game where some rules are consistent, some change depending on the situation, and many have exceptions you just have to memorise. That's akin to what learning English orthography can feel like for a student with dyslexia.

What This Looks Like in Your Classroom:

Difficulties with orthography manifest in many ways:

• Persistent spelling errors, even with common patterns or words they've been taught.

• Inconsistent use of punctuation and capitalisation.

• Problems with word spacing (either running words together or spacing them irregularly).

• Difficulty visually tracking text or confusing similar-looking words.

• Slower reading speed as they grapple with decoding unfamiliar or irregular orthographic patterns.

• Reluctance to write due to the sheer mental effort involved in retrieving and applying orthographic rules.

How Understanding Orthography Helps You Support Them:

When we appreciate the orthographic challenge, our instruction can become more targeted and empathetic:

1. Explicit and Systematic Instruction: Students with dyslexia benefit immensely from direct teaching of orthographic patterns, spelling rules (and common irregularities), and conventions like punctuation. Don't assume they will "pick it up" implicitly.

2. Multisensory Approaches: Engaging multiple senses (seeing, hearing, saying, writing/tracing) helps solidify orthographic patterns in memory.

3. Focus on Patterns, Not Just Isolated Rules: Group words by common spelling patterns (e.g., word families ending in -ight: light, fight, might, night).

4. Structured Word Inquiry: For older students, exploring why words are spelled the way they are (often touching on etymology and morphology) can make orthography feel less arbitrary.

5. Ample Practice & Exposure: Orthographic skills improve through regular practice and consistent exposure to well-written texts. Provide opportunities for both reading and writing.

6. Use Good Models: Ensure students see and work with correctly spelled and punctuated text.

7. Provide Tools & Scaffolds:

   • Word walls displaying high-frequency words and common spelling patterns.

   • Personal dictionaries or spelling notebooks.

   • Checklists for editing (e.g., "Did I use capital letters? Did I use periods?").

   • Graphic organisers that visually structure writing.

8. Be Patient and Understanding: Mastering English orthography is a significant undertaking, especially for students with dyslexia. Acknowledge their effort and provide ongoing support.

By understanding that orthography is the entire system of our written language, not just individual letters and sounds, we can better appreciate the multifaceted nature of the difficulties faced by students with dyslexia. This broader view allows us to provide comprehensive instruction that addresses not just decoding and spelling at the word level, but all the conventions that make written English understandable.