This is the first book devoted to the effects of orthographic forms (spellings) on second language phonology.

Written by one of the pioneer researchers in the field, the book provides an authoritative overview of the effects of spellings on the perception, production, awareness, learning and teaching of sounds and spoken words in a second language. Using the findings and implications from a large-scale research project at its centre, the book reveals that English consonants spelled with double letters lead Italian learners and users of English as a second language to perceive, produce, classify, and learn English consonants as geminates (long consonants).

Presenting a narrative of a second language research project, and discussing its implications, the book will be of interest to scholars and researchers in the fields of orthography, phonology, and speech and language perception. Language teaching practitioners will also find the book useful.

Bene Bassetti is Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy, and Senior Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, UK