Decoding the bilingual puzzle in Chinese children with dyslexia: Should L2 English literacy be salvaged through assimilation or accommodation?

Abstract

<p>Research on second-language (L2) English literacy development in Chinese children with dyslexia is<br>limited, but exis ng studies suggest a puzzling phenomenon: These children experience difficul es in<br>reading both na ve (L1) Chinese and L2 English, despite the dis nct cogni ve processes involved in<br>reading Chinese and English which suggest minimal transfer between the two wri ng systems. This<br>paper aims to inves gate the above phenomenon and examine the role of phonics skills in improving<br>English word reading in dyslexic Chinese children in 2 studies. Study 1 found that le er-sound-<br>decoding knowledge robustly and significantly predicted English word naming and reading fluency in<br>Chinese dyslexic children. Study 2 revealed that phonics-based interven ons is required to<br>significantly improve English literacy skills. The accommoda on-assimila on hypothesis explains<br>cross-language transfer of reading difficul es in Chinese-English bilinguals: Dyslexic Chinese children<br>assimilate English word-decoding processes using their na ve language; they can accommodate and<br>improve English literacy by learning le er-sound decoding skills.</p>