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Accommodation or Adaptation? How L2 Reading Proficiency Affects Reading Strategies in EFL Learners with and without Dyslexia

Venagli, Ilaria LU ; Marinis, Theodoros ; Melloni, Chiara ; Lallier, Marie and Kupisch, Tanja LU (2026) In Journal of Child Language
Abstract

This study investigates how reading proficiency in an orthographically opaque foreign language (L2 English) modulates word recognition and decoding strategies of Italian adolescents with and without developmental dyslexia (DD), whose native language orthography is highly transparent. The size of the visual and phonological units that are processed while reading is modulated by the orthographic depth of the language being read. In the case of early biliterate readers, reading strategies are characterized by cross-linguistic transfer. It is an open question whether this is also the case for late biliterate bilinguals, and whether such cross-linguistic modulations are also discernible in the presence of dyslexia-related impairments, such... (More)

This study investigates how reading proficiency in an orthographically opaque foreign language (L2 English) modulates word recognition and decoding strategies of Italian adolescents with and without developmental dyslexia (DD), whose native language orthography is highly transparent. The size of the visual and phonological units that are processed while reading is modulated by the orthographic depth of the language being read. In the case of early biliterate readers, reading strategies are characterized by cross-linguistic transfer. It is an open question whether this is also the case for late biliterate bilinguals, and whether such cross-linguistic modulations are also discernible in the presence of dyslexia-related impairments, such as phonological and visual attentional span deficits. By means of eye-tracking, this study shows that cross-linguistic interactions in the reading system also emerge in late biliterates, though this effect is limited in individuals with DD.

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author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
keywords
bilingualism, developmental dyslexia, eye-tracking, grain size accommodation hypothesis, literacy
in
Journal of Child Language
publisher
Cambridge University Press
external identifiers
  • scopus:105039690421
ISSN
0305-0009
DOI
10.1017/S0305000926100701
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
105e5eea-8c64-4790-bb5b-7526a35daa8b
date added to LUP
2026-09-15 12:16:31
date last changed
2026-09-15 12:17:19
@article{105e5eea-8c64-4790-bb5b-7526a35daa8b,
  abstract     = {{<p>This study investigates how reading proficiency in an orthographically opaque foreign language (L2 English) modulates word recognition and decoding strategies of Italian adolescents with and without developmental dyslexia (DD), whose native language orthography is highly transparent. The size of the visual and phonological units that are processed while reading is modulated by the orthographic depth of the language being read. In the case of early biliterate readers, reading strategies are characterized by cross-linguistic transfer. It is an open question whether this is also the case for late biliterate bilinguals, and whether such cross-linguistic modulations are also discernible in the presence of dyslexia-related impairments, such as phonological and visual attentional span deficits. By means of eye-tracking, this study shows that cross-linguistic interactions in the reading system also emerge in late biliterates, though this effect is limited in individuals with DD.</p>}},
  author       = {{Venagli, Ilaria and Marinis, Theodoros and Melloni, Chiara and Lallier, Marie and Kupisch, Tanja}},
  issn         = {{0305-0009}},
  keywords     = {{bilingualism; developmental dyslexia; eye-tracking; grain size accommodation hypothesis; literacy}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Cambridge University Press}},
  series       = {{Journal of Child Language}},
  title        = {{Accommodation or Adaptation? How L2 Reading Proficiency Affects Reading Strategies in EFL Learners with and without Dyslexia}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0305000926100701}},
  doi          = {{10.1017/S0305000926100701}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}