New research from the Australian Catholic University (ACU) highlights the importance of teaching morphology—breaking words into their meaningful parts—as part of primary school reading and spelling instruction. The study, conducted by ACU’s Australian Centre for the Advancement of Literacy and published in the Educational Psychology Review, reveals that incorporating morphology into classrooms improves students’ ability to spell and read taught words and extends this knowledge to untaught words.
Lead researcher Dr Danielle Colenbrander (pictured) highlighted the findings, explaining that children learning about components like the suffix -ly (e.g., “sadly” and “slowly”) could apply this knowledge independently to spell unfamiliar words such as “loudly”.
“Our review is the first to show that morphology instruction can lead to improvements in spelling untaught words,” Colenbrander said.
The study analysed data from 28 research papers focusing on primary school-aged children in English-speaking countries. While it confirmed the positive effects of morphology instruction on spelling and word reading, it found limited evidence linking it directly to improved reading comprehension. Colenbrander explained that reading comprehension is influenced by a range of skills beyond morphology, including vocabulary and critical thinking.
Complementing phonics with morphology
Phonics, which focuses on letter-sound relationships, remains central to literacy teaching. However, Colenbrander emphasised that morphology complements phonics, particularly as children encounter longer, more complex words. For example, recognising morphemes in words like “kicking” (comprising the base “kick” and suffix -ing) supports students’ ability to decode and understand these structures.
“After phonics instruction is complete, morphology instruction continues to be useful into the middle and upper grades, as children learn to read and spell increasingly complex words,” Colenbrander noted.
Implications for teachers
The study suggests that teaching frequently used morphemes—such as -ing, plural -s, and past tense -ed—provides a strong foundation for literacy. Teachers are encouraged to integrate these lessons into wider reading, writing, and vocabulary activities to reinforce learning and enable practical application.
Colenbrander recommended beginning with simple, frequently encountered morphemes and gradually introducing more complex forms. “In addition to explicit instruction in the basics of morphology, children should apply their morphological knowledge in reading and writing activities, and discuss the morphology of words during reading, spelling and vocabulary instruction,” she said.
Despite its promise, the study noted significant variability in the effectiveness of morphology instruction due to differences in implementation, instructional time, and teaching materials. Researchers called for further studies to explore long-term impacts and how to optimise its use for different student groups.