The study examined the development of two types of context-sensitive spelling knowledge, position constraints and sequential dependencies, in Chinese EFL learners (fourth graders, sixth graders, and college English majors). Knowledge of position constraints was assessed by the doublet production/choice tasks, which assessed whether the participants preferred words spelt with final doublets at the end of a word rather than at the beginning (e.g., baff vs. bbaf). Knowledge of sequential dependencies using vowel information to spell consonant was assessed by the onset production/choice tasks as well as the coda production/choice tasks, which examined whether the participants preferred to spell onset / k / when it preceded /I, e / than when it preceded /a, a, A / and whether coda was extended (e.g., –tch) when it followed a short vowel, but not when it followed a long vowel. The results revealed that the two types of context-sensitive spelling knowledge emerged no later than the fourth grade, the youngest group in the study. Both types of spelling knowledge developed saliently from elementary school ages to college ages. The findings suggested that context-sensitive spelling knowledge, though not directly taught in school, develops implicitly and progressively with accumulation of literacy experience in Chinese EFL learners.
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