(1980) hypothesized that effective interlingual transfer of reading skills requires the attainment of some particular threshold of second language (L2) knowledge. Results from a study by Hacquebord (1989) suggested that the interlingual transfer of reading skills also requires active reading of the first language (L1). Results from a longitudinal study carried out over a 1-year period with 52 Bosnians learning French as a L2 supported Clarke's hypothesis but were only partially in accord with Hacquebord's. Significant correlations between L1 and L2 reading performance for the subgroup of nonactive L1 readers suggested that failure to maintain L1 reading did not prevent the transfer of reading skills. However, the greater improvement in L2 reading ability by the active L1 readers than by the nonactive L1 readers suggested that maintaining L1 reading enhances the transfer of reading skills. IN 1984, ALDERSON LAUNCHED A DEBATEas to whether problems in foreign language reading stem from reading problems or language problems. He suggested that methodological shortcomings of previous studies were responsible for results that pointed in both directions and stressed the need for further studies to clarify the situation. Since Alderson's article appeared, at least 10 studies have examined the relative influence of first language (L1) reading ability and second language (L2) knowledge on L2 reading ability. In 1995, Bernhardt and Kamil reevaluated previously published data, which contributed to a resolution of Alderson's question. They concluded that the five studies that explicitly addressed the question (Bossers, 1991;Brisbois, 1995;Carrell, 1991;Hacquebord, 1989;Roller, 1988) pointed to the dominance of the L1 reading variable but that the range of estimates was too broad to allow for firm conclusions.Bernhardt and Kamil (1995) also presented new data from 186 English speakers reading English and Spanish. In their data, language proficiency accounted significantly for over 30% of the variance in L2 reading scores, whereas L1 reading FRANÇOIS PICHETTE

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