Retrieval Practice and the Acquisition of English Spelling Rules and Etymological Knowledge in Elementary EFL Learners
Abstract
This study investigated whether retrieval practice with feedback enhances elementary EFL learners’ acquisition of English spelling knowledge—a critical yet challenging component of L2 writing proficiency. Although spelling instruction in many EFL contexts relies heavily on rote memorization, retrieval with feedback may improve learning of morphophonological spelling rules and etymological knowledge, two areas where effective instructional approaches have been underexamined. Here, etymological knowledge refers to instructionally presented word-origin and word-structure associations, including simplified information about roots, affixes, lexical stems, place-name elements, and semantic or cultural associations. In two within-subjects experiments, one of which was preregistered, fourth-grade EFL learners acquired English spelling patterns via retrieval practice (application questions with corrective feedback) or traditional reading-based study, with retention tested at 24 hours and one week. Experiment 1 (n = 86) targeted 20 spelling rules, whereas Experiment 2 (n = 84) featured 16 instructionally presented etymological associations. Retrieval practice with feedback improved learning in both experiments, including superior performance at 24 hours (d = 0.47) and one week (d = 0.70) for spelling rules, with performance remaining stable across both time points, and consistently higher retention than reading at both 24 hours (d = 0.33) and 7 days (d = 0.50) for etymological knowledge, with performance again remaining stable across both time points. Thus, retrieval practice with feedback appeared to benefit learning of spelling rules and etymological knowledge targeted in the present intervention, as reflected in multiple-choice application performance after the tested delays. Implications for L2 literacy instruction and practical recommendations are discussed.
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BibTeX
@misc{rui2026retrieval,
title = {{Retrieval Practice and the Acquisition of English Spelling Rules and Etymological Knowledge in Elementary EFL Learners}},
author = {Dong Rui and Rashida Khudiyeva and YIN LI and Steven C. Pan},
howpublished = {PsyArXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.31234/osf.io/p4d5z_v1},
url = {https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/p4d5z_v1/},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Retrieval Practice and the Acquisition of English Spelling Rules and Etymological Knowledge in Elementary EFL Learners
AU - Dong Rui
AU - Rashida Khudiyeva
AU - YIN LI
AU - Steven C. Pan
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/08
PB - PsyArXiv
DO - 10.31234/osf.io/p4d5z_v1
UR - https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/p4d5z_v1/
AB - This study investigated whether retrieval practice with feedback enhances elementary EFL learners’ acquisition of English spelling knowledge—a critical yet challenging component of L2 writing proficiency. Although spelling instruction in many EFL contexts relies heavily on rote memorization, retrieval with feedback may improve learning of morphophonological spelling rules and etymological knowledge, two areas where effective instructional approaches have been underexamined. Here, etymological knowledge refers to instructionally presented word-origin and word-structure associations, including simplified information about roots, affixes, lexical stems, place-name elements, and semantic or cultural associations. In two within-subjects experiments, one of which was preregistered, fourth-grade EFL learners acquired English spelling patterns via retrieval practice (application questions with corrective feedback) or traditional reading-based study, with retention tested at 24 hours and one week. Experiment 1 (n = 86) targeted 20 spelling rules, whereas Experiment 2 (n = 84) featured 16 instructionally presented etymological associations. Retrieval practice with feedback improved learning in both experiments, including superior performance at 24 hours (d = 0.47) and one week (d = 0.70) for spelling rules, with performance remaining stable across both time points, and consistently higher retention than reading at both 24 hours (d = 0.33) and 7 days (d = 0.50) for etymological knowledge, with performance again remaining stable across both time points. Thus, retrieval practice with feedback appeared to benefit learning of spelling rules and etymological knowledge targeted in the present intervention, as reflected in multiple-choice application performance after the tested delays. Implications for L2 literacy instruction and practical recommendations are discussed.
ER -