The Contribution of Executive Functions to Spelling: A study in L1 Arabic and English as a Foreign Language

Executive Functions (EFs) are known to play a role in academic performance, especially in reading and mathematics, but their role in spelling is not clear and has received scant research attention. The present study targets this gap in the literature and examines the contribution of EFs to spelling beyond phonological awareness (PA). It broadens the perspective by concomitantly examining spelling in L1 Arabic and in English as a foreign language. Measures of EFs (working memory, inhibition, and shifting), Arabic and English PA, and Arabic and English spelling were administered to a sample of 84 fifth graders and 80 eighth graders. Results demonstrated that working memory showed a marginally significant contribution to spelling in Arabic, but not in English, whereas inhibition and shifting did not significantly predict spelling in either language. Further, the links between EFs and spelling remained stable across the two grade levels. These findings identify working memory as a potential contributor to spelling which may vary depending on the language status, but do not support the contribution of inhibition and shifting to spelling.