A student's spelling attempt of "elephant" as "elafint" suggests which stage of spelling?

The student's spelling attempt of "elephant" as "elafint" aligns with phonetic spelling, which is characterized by representations of sounds based on how words are pronounced. In phonetic spelling, learners strive to capture the sounds of spoken language, even if they do not quite conform to standard spelling rules.

In this case, the student's input reflects an understanding of the individual sounds in the word "elephant," though not all the sounds are represented accurately according to conventional spelling standards. The "el" captures the initial sound, "af" corresponds to the middle vowel sound, and "int" represents the ending sounds. This exemplifies the characteristics of phonetic spelling, where the focus is more on the auditory experience of the word rather than its correct orthographic representation.

Understanding this stage helps educators identify where a student is in their spelling development and what instructional strategies might be appropriate to support their growth in literacy.