The impact of L1-L2‭ ‬phonological distance on‭ ‬nonword‭ ‬repetition‭, ‬phonological awareness‭, ‬word learning and word decoding in‭ ‬EFL‭: ‬A comparison between TD and RD children

Dr. Hala Hanna-Irsheid, Prof. Elinor Saiegh-Haddad

Languages are structurally different from each other. These linguistic differences between languages are usually referred to as “Linguistic Distance״ which is believed to affect the quality of phonological representations constructed for L2 linguistic units, with consequences for the development of various phonological reading-related skills. In addition, the reading disability may play a role in development of literacy related phonological skills of SL learners. Research shows that children with typical reading development (TD) outperform those with developmental reading disability (RD) in phonological processing.

The aim of the study was to test the impact of the phonological distance between Arabic as first language (L1) and English as a foreign language (L2/FL) on a range of phonological tasks, and to compare its effect in TD versus RD children and in younger 3rd versus 5th graders.

A total of 100 children (50 TD and 50 RD; 25 3rd and 25 5th graders) were tested. Nonword repetition, phoneme awareness, word learning and word decoding tasks using pseudo words were used. All tasks manipulated linguistic distance and used pseudo word stimuli. The linguistic distance between Spoken Arabic (SpA) and English was operationalized on the basis of novelty in terms of whether the word encoded a phoneme (e.g. fip, jez) or a syllabic structure (e.g. pland, scloft – CCVCC, CCCVC, CVCC) that exist only in English (novel) but not in SpA as against structures that are used in both (non-novel).

Results showed main effects of grade and group, on all four tasks with older children outperforming younger ones and with TD children outperforming RDs. Moreover, the results showed a main effect of phonological novelty with children scoring higher on non-novel pseudowords than on novel pseudo words, in both grades and groups. Effects on some of the tasks were particularly strong in younger than in older children and in the RD than in the TD group.

The results showed the expected phonological deficit among RD children, as well as the expected growth in phonological awareness with grade level in English L2 among NR children. More importantly, the results showed that phonological distance between Arabic (L1) and English (L2) has a significant impact on all four phonological processing skills tested in English (L2). These results have important implications for teaching and assessment of reading skills and reading disability in L2.